To steal someone else's post...

But shortly after that one came up, my battery died. Push start got me going.. easy enough to know that my charging system not working.

But no lights on the dash at all...

No lights either when ignition on, engine off...

Then when it got dark, I realized that indeed, the battery light was on, though dim. And the other lights were on as well, but dimmer. No way so see them except for in the darkness of night.

Of course, first thing was to pull the brush pack/regulator.. no more brushes (the two were totally worn out, and surprisingly consistantly, though only one was still shiney).

Replaced them just now, and lo and behold, I turn the ignition on (engine still off), the dummy lights light up like a Christmas tree.. as they should. As soon as I start the motor, they all went off....

If bad brushes can cause all the lights to be on (if dim) when the engine is running, would said bad brushes also cause the lights to not be on when the engine is off?

If so... would/could no dummy lights coming on with engine off be a early diagnostic of brushes failure?