As I said earlier, I already in the past swapped the plastic cluster cover (junkyard grab)...but I guess there is the off chance I got one with the same issue. I will plug everything in tonight without the cluster and see what the brightness is like. If everything is bright (especially top vs bottom bulbs), then I guess I can conclude the cluster is bad. If not it's gotta be electrical.

Sorry I like thinking out loud. Especially since I am no electrician, you can get my thought process.

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2016 Monsoon Gray Audi Allroad - 21k
2008 Black Mercedes E350 4Matic Sport - 131k
2014 Jeep Wranger Unlimited Sahara - 62k
2003 Gray Mercedes ML350 - 122k