Been a while since I've been here. We have a '02 GMC Sierra 2500HD that's used mostly these days for towing the race car. The last couple of times we've been heading out, when you turn the key on the dash lights don't come on (It's usually o'dark-thirty in the morning when we roll out of the garage).

Last month, I believe the lights came on after I switched the truck off and did a restart. Today, however, that trick did nothing. I tried moving the headlight switch from auto to on, and still nothing. I even punched the dome light button on the headlight switch assembly, and while it did turn off and back on the dome light, it didn't affect the dash lights.

We went ahead and left with the dash lights inop, since it would be light soon, and I could always shine a light on the dash.

The first time I hit a turn signal, the dash lights came on. They worked the rest of the trip.

This afternoon, on the way back home, in the daylight, I noticed the compass in the rear view mirror was out. Not sure if this is tied to the dash light issue, but it is something I noticed.

Anyone have an idea where to start looking? Is there some sort of relay for the dash lights? I haven't dug into the FSM yet, and a search of 'dash lights' here yielded nothing very helpful. Has anyone experienced this issue before?

Thanks.