A/C-Heater Deck Lights NOT Working

[DanNowlan]

None of the lights/LEDs in my A/C-heater unit are working.

BACK STORY
I replaced all my turn signal and tail lights last year with LEDs because I got tired of replaced 3157NAs in my front turn signals and put the necessary in resistors so everything would actually work. And everything seemed fine for many months. Then, around Christmas my car just wouldn't start. I did all the simple troubleshooting stuff like battery, starter, and clutch position switch. All that was fine. I took it to a local shop that 10 days later found out some of the wires to my BCM had melted. Mechanic blamed it on LEDs—said they ran too hot—replaced the wires (not the BCM itself), swapped out all my LEDs for regular lights, and got me back on the road. However, my A/C-heater deck wouldn't light up anymore.

PRESENT DAY
I figured I'd just find the little grey wire that feeds the lights and splice into a hot light wire—I say it that way because I had to do the same thing for my steering wheel controls to light up a few years ago. Unfortunately, that didn't pan out. I found what I thought was the right grey wire on the back of the A/C deck and ran a hot to it but nothing happened. I pulled the front panel off and ran a fresh ground to the yellow wire, too. Still nothing. Then I started really looking at everything and noticed that there's an LED for the defroster that's seemingly not in the same circuit as the two regular, tiny incandescent lights and decided something else is going on.

I've tried everything I can think of and can't get anything to light up. What am I missing?

[cammed goat]

Maybe a burned/shorted ground wire somewhere. Are any of the light sockets melted?

[DanNowlan]

Not that I have noticed. (I've had to replaced the side marker sockets due to melting, but I don't think that's what you meant.) I ran temporary hot and ground wires to the A/C control lights and got nothing. I guess I'll try replacing them...if I can even get them out. They're so tiny!

[cammed goat]

Check for any pinched wiring behind the radio/HVAC controls and get back to us.