Dear Wareagle32789,

Hope you're well. By "idiot lights" do you mean the warning lights at the bottom of the instrument cluster? If so, the problem could be corrosion on the instrument cluster ground which - if I recall correctly - is behind the plastic panel on the door-side of the driver's footwell.

That panel is secured by two, T-20 screws. To remove the panel, you'll need to remove the first two screws that secure the threshhold strip. These screws are under the rectangular plastic covers, which can be removed by lifting them with the tip of a small (1/8" - 3.5mm wide) flat blade screw driver or the tip of a knife.

The panel covering the ground plate has a long upper extension. The panel is best removed by sliding it rearwards (towards the driver's seat), while disengaging the upper extension from beneath the plastic molding. Go gently: old plastic is brittle!!

Another possibility is that the ignition switch is "on the way out". A faulty ignition switch can cause multiple malfunctions of the sort you describe.

First, though, clean the grounds. An aerosol electric contact cleaner - which dissolves corrosion - is helpful. I use DeOxit, but there are others. Do not rely on visual inspection: a layer of corrosion a few molecules thick - for too little to be seen with an unaided eye - suffices to block flow of current.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook