so yesterday i attempted to change my head unit and when i finished i turned on the car to see if it would work and now the dash lights and gauges dont work and nither does the radio. the weird thing is the seatbelt light and all those other lights on the dash work just not the back lights. anyone have any ideas what happened?

 

You either didn't reconnect one of the connectors or it's not plugged up right.

 

i also by mistake touched the ground to one of the live wires can this be a reason?

 

check the white box behind the hvac controls. MAke sure all the connections are in. It controls all the alot electronics in the car that doesnt have to do with it running. Even though it wont run without it. All the gauges and hvac.

Is your ac blowing uncontrollably?

 

Then definitely check for blown fuses. Both at the kick panel and under the hood.

BTW boys and girls - that's exactly why you always disconnect the battery before working on ANY part of the car. There's a lot of sensitive electronic components that can easily be fried. There are also numerous connectors that if you unplug them when power is on, you'll be greeted by the SES light later when you start the car.