Anyone else try to make it way too difficult ??

[40]

Thought I'd share how I spent my Saturday....Should be good for a laugh I had an electrical problem with the wife's 55 Hardtop...the lights on the rear of the car haven't worked correctly since I gave it to her for her birthday.When the brake was applied,the dash lights came on...when the right turn signal was engaged,the license plate lights blinked and if the lights were on,no brake lights at all.The car was restored at a very reputable shop in the Dallas area so I assumed it was probably just a bad ground....That is what I checked first,even added additional grounds and no luck.Next,I untaped the rear wire harness and sorted everything out only to realize it was all correct.Must be in the forward wiring...right??Next,I inspect all the wiring from the fuse block back....everything is perfect ...and a nice job,I must say....no problems there.Now....I'm getting frustrated....I'm no electrical genius for sure but the wiring is very simple on a 55 ....I've done everything I can think of and still no results! Into the shop walks a friend of mine....he knows as much about cars as I do about flying the space shuttle and he proceeds to make several suggestions that are absolutely out in left field...the dumbest of which was "Maybe the bulbs are bad".I'm sure everyone has a friend like this....A nice guy but always seems to show up at a bad time and...always seems to make a bad situation even worse! He begins fiddling around and removes one of the bulbs...must not have believed me when I told him they were good....and rather matter of factly asks if "those two contacts in that socket are supposed to be touching each other".I looked and sure enough....the two spring-loaded plunger contacts were shorting against each other.....one had an overly large glob of solder on it and when the bulb was pressed into the socket,it created a short.After taking a small file and cleaning up the contacts....everything works perfectly! Put the tools away and bought my new "Chief Electrical Engineer" a late lunch! Sure glad he stopped by

[jaybee]

"Maybe the bulbs are bad".

I once had a very similar problem that proved to be a bad bulb, strangely enough.  If I kept track of the number of times I made something more complicated than it needed to be it would only be depressing.

[58 Yeoman]

Yep...sometimes you need a different set of eyes looking over your shoulder.

My GF bought a 90 GMC PU today, and it needed a muffler and a few odds and ends.  I put a muffler on that was lying in the garage, only to discover the exhaust pipe needs to be replaced also.  That's for another day.   She changed oil and filter while I got the tailgate handle working again.  Just needed some heat and PB Blaster.  Found a rusted spot on the gas tank, cleaned it up, and used JB weld on it.  Hope it holds; used tank is $75, new one about $160.

[enjenjo]

Trouble shooting lights, step one, check the bulbs.

[chopped]

How would you feel if it was the wife giving the answer. The answer that I ignored for a couple weeks when the engine kept cutting out. Thanks honey but I know that tach wire can't be the problem. Oh how I hated to have to tell her she was right.

[EMSjunkie]

Oh how I hated to have to tell her she was right.

I learned to like the taste of crow many years ago.  :oops:

my Mrs. is a redhead.  

Had a similar experience with her '97 Ranger.
had a Ford dealership mechanic tell me it was the turn signal switch.
replaced it, still had the problem.  :?

turned out to be a "buddy" plug for a trailer wiring harness, the kind
that plug into the factory harness.

it was tucked up behind the bumper, and was rubbing on the bumper,
causing a short. removed the plug and solved the problem.  


Vance

[Crosley.In.AZ]

when I am training a newbie into the automatic  transmission arena..... I always tell them the simple sh*t will get them every time IF they are not careful


I picked this up from an old mechanic years ago...... he told me no matter how big the problem seems, check the simple sh*t first

[PeterR]

"Maybe the bulbs are bad".

Had a similar experience.   Wife reported problem that the engine continued to run after ignition was switched off and she had to stall the engine, --but only at night.  

Seemed fanciful to me, but wisely resisted any smart comments.

Discovered a stop/tail bulb had popped one filament and the loose ends had welded to the other filament effectively joining the two contacts together.    With headlights on and foot brake applied, power from the tail light fed back through the brake light switch to the ignition circuit.  

The engine did indeed continue to run with the ignition off, --but only at night.

[donsrods]

Pulled up to the front of a 7-11 one night, and as I dimmed the lights, all four of the headlights went out. Hit the dimmer, they came back on. Has to be a bad dimmer switch, because there is no way all four bulbs would go at the same time.

Tore half the car apart to change dimmer switch, turned lights on, same problem still there. Found out all four bulbs HAD gone bad at the same time.

My wife at the time took great delight in reminding me she had suggested that was the problem.

[40]

It was the contacts inside the socket/housing that were causing the problem....The bulbs were fine....My buddy always carries a little pen light and he just happened to look inside the socket and notice the problem....I probably never would have looked inside the socket.I have heard nothing but glowing reports about the shop that did the restoration.....Sure seems like they should have caught this problem....perhaps it was almost Beer:30 on Friday