2008 Aveo LS Sedan. DRM lights always on, driver side headlight and clock not working

[Mister Sir]

Hello, I am new to forums, as of this post. I own a 2008 Chevrolet Aveo LS, Sedan. This is a problem that I had for a while, almost 5 years. I had ignored it until now. All interior backlights (radio, odometer) seemed to be stuck in daylight running lamps mode, even when it is dark, which means everything is really dark in the car, and I cannot see my MPH, odometer, radio buttons... Also, the clock is not working, displaying nothing. It used to turn on after starting the engine and stay on for about a minute, but now it just stays off completely. I checked MOST fuses that could be causing all these problems (I may have missed about 5 and the main yellow covered one, but all checked out okay), and I will check all of them when I have time.
-Fixed driver side headlight.

The car had been stored for almost 3 to 4 years in a Texas garage, which can get really hot.

I don't remember when these issues happened, before the storage or after, but I thought the heat would have something to do.
Any ideas? I will be taking a second look at the car soon.

-Sorry about the HUGE mistakes on the thread that I can't figure out how to fix...

[thankful_ragamuffin]

I have customers come into the shop with similar problems all the time. The first thing I check is that the dimmer switch for the dash lights has not been inadvertently turned all the way down or off. Once that is established and all fuses are deemed OK, I would check powers and grounds at the switch and gauge panel. From there I would check circuit continuity. The clock will be a separate issue and is common in these cars.

[Mister Sir]

It is not the dimmer switch, because that is always all the way up, all the time. There were NO busted or burned fuses, and I am not sure what to do about the grounds and circuit continuity you mentioned.

[thankful_ragamuffin]

Using a test light or multimeter check for power going into and out of the headlight and dashlight dimmer switch. The switch needs to be on to test for power out of the switch. If you have power, check for proper grounding at both switches. Do the same at the dash panel.. if there is power at the switches, but none at the dash lights, check for continuity in the circuit. This is to test for broken wires to the panel. If the wire tests good, chances are that the cluster has an issue and will need to be replaced.