Tail lights no longer working

[jared858]

I've got a 1977 K20, and I was trying to replace what I thought was a non-functional cigarette lighter. I was trying to pry the housing out (still haven't figured out how to remove it, by the way) with a screwdriver when sparks flew. Yeah, I know... I should've disconnected the battery first. My bad. Anyway, it blew out the fuse my stereo was on. I replaced that fuse, as well as one other blown fuse, but now my tail lights are off, and my dash lights no longer come on. Headlights, brake lights, turn signals all work, just no tail lights. Any suggestions?

[Captkaos]

check for shorts.

[jared858]

Forgive my newbie ignorance, but any thoughts as to where I should be checking? It could be a coincidence, but it happened right when the sparks flew, so it's behaving like I blew a fuse, or a fusible link. Not sure if there are any fusible links on that circuit. I've also read that it could be my headlight switch.

[4x4HighSierra]

sounds like a blown fuse.  My truck has a loose connection where the fuse plugs in and my dash and tail lights will go out if i hit a hard bump goin down the road.  And just to let you know the back of the cigarette lighter plug just screws off to remove it.

[Irish_Alley]

it might be a coincidence cause I don't think the tail lights and cig lighter are on the same fuse and yes the switch can cause that problem check and tests you connection there and see what you have