Hello. I installed a cd player in my new 2002 civic a few months ago. It was working fine for months when one day it just shut off. I retaped the wires thinking it was a bad connection. It didn't solve the problem though, It still shut down. That night I went to turn the headlights on and the dashboard lights didn't go on and smoke came out of the dashboard. I turned the car off. Now the dashboard doesn't light up at night. I reinstalled the stock radio and that works fine, but only lights up faintly at night. Stupidly I went to the dealer and explained the problem and they quickly pulled the voided warranty card and were like we have no idea what the problem is, but we will gladly dismantle your car for $85/hr to find out. I said forget, I don't need no stinkin lights to drive, but I do miss that night driving I lloved so much. Anyway, does anyone have any idea what the problem is? After some research, I think maybe it is the dimmer/headlight switch. Thoughts? Also, how much might something like that cost to fix? Thanks for your help...

Have you checked your fuses? Most likely, when you rewired your stereo, you put a ground wire to a power wire. That will smoke it in a flash. I'm sure you blew the fuse for your headlights. Replace it, and everything should work.