Ok, so I'm not in the US right now and I got the following email from my wife:

hey baby,
Your car is being very strange. Tonite I went to blockbuster and everything worked fine while driving there but on the way back the dashlights stopped working. the only time they will turn on is when i press in the brake. What would cause it to do that? HELP!!!

Obviously, I can't go in and troubleshoot it, but my dad's near the car so i can relay information to him on what to do. Anyone have any suggestions I could pass along on things to check?

 

corrosion in taillight sockets FTL!

 

i think what internetautomar said is reasonable.

 

My car has been having this exact same issue! What did you find out? Did it actually turn out to be tail light sockets? And how would that affect the dash lights?

I was thinking it was likely the dimmer switch.

 

Mine did the same thing. It was due to a melted socket, from the heat of the rear tail light bulb. I'd look there first. The rear tail lights also were out (the running lights that should be on with the headlights are on). I think when I investigated the problem a bad bulb, a bad socket, or in one case some type of short involving the brake pedal wiring short circuit.

I think the dash lights are on the same circuit as the rear running lights, so that if there is a short, you will loose your dash lights and know there is an electrical problem, which otherwise you might not be aware to check if your taillights/running lights work.

sometimes the dash lights go out if an aftermarket stereo is improperly installed

 

Were you running brighter than normal bulbs?