MP.net Auto Service Center

[shocker1]

So, what fixed the lights? If they fixed themselves you may have an ignition switch fault and/or an intermittent open in the Batt feed circuit to the clock.

tell me you checked all the fuses with your eyes or a test light.

[zonk]

yes checked all the fuses with my eyes and a test light, took out the guage cluster and inspected all the wires in behind them , couldnt find anything out of the ordinaryu.

I became really confused and put everything back. I even inspected the clock and cannot find anything out of the ordinary that would cause it to go **** up. anywho the next day hopped int he car and drove and signed out on leave...i make it all the way back to my road and get 10 feet from my driveway and out of no where the lights come on. they haven't flickered or stopped working since, tey turn on and off just fine

is this a problem that maybe a low battery could cause or maybe my capacitor drawing too much energy and causing it to not have enough power to run the dash lights. I unplugged all my stereo stuff while i am searching for a damn stereo (going to go look in a local junk yard later this week sometime)

I posted a bulletin on craigslist asking for people to keep their ears open and all i have received is the smart asses much like on this site posting pics of stereos like mine or taunting me for not having an alarm and such

[shocker1]

Sounds to me like you have a bad connection or circuit problem. Maybe they yanked on the wires for the radio and pulled something in the harness. That is a good place to start being this all started with the theft. I gotta go to bed, i will think on this and holla at you tomorrow.

[zonk]

okay cool, and yes i agree with you there is an unknown red wire that is hot hanging from my dash. i taped it up and left it dangling being i cannot seem to find where it goes

[shocker1]

I bet that is the keep alive memory for the radio/clock and the area it connects probably contains the issue with the lights. My guess is they pulled that out of a connector or splice in the harness. There are several molex 6 8 and 10 pin connectors around there containing body control circuits. I do believe you are on the right track. Night pal and I will have some more info tomorrow.

[deagle]

not repair related, but still auto related :

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/military.htm

[zonk]

we get scammed really really hard out by the base. I have bought one car from a place right off base and i got charged over 13% interest. I know several people who have 17% interest on something like a mitsu lancer (non evo) bringing a 8k dollar car , the dealer asking 13k and then tacking on that interest the soldiers is paying over 32k dollars for this car and it had 45 thousand miles on it. I warned him not to go to around here and get some wheels and that I would take him to austin or somewhere int hat neighborhood but some other private coerced him into getting it. I got pretty pissed about it, called legal to see if he could return the car and seems the car lots had passed a measure that the soldiers are no longer allowed to do that. there was like a 72 hour window where the soldier could bring the car back and get his deposit and stuff back. I swear there should be a law against how much interest a car lot is allowed to charge a soldier...of course they would easily get away with charging the maximum allowed.

[2Sheds_Jackson]

I swear there should be a law against how much interest a car lot is allowed to charge a soldier...of course they would easily get away with charging the maximum allowed.

Well, there are usury laws...I'm sure they vary from state to state though. Try googling usury or payday loans to see what applies in your state....it wouldn't surprise me to find people creatively skirting the law somehow.

[shocker1]

I think the limit in Georgia is 27.9% and 29% on side notes like repairs or down payments.

Say you went to the lot I used to do work for. They have a $0 drive away deal, you still have to have a down payment say $500 but now you have broken that into 4 weekly payments. Added to your weekly car payment, monthly if that is the case. The interest on that would be nearly 150. Your weekly car payment's interest on the principle are calculated weekly, bi weekly or monthly depending on your payment structure. Most with a credit score of 600 or less can expect a weekly or bi-weekly set up.

My advice, stay away from a Buy Here Pay Here lot. They will take advantage of you.

[deagle]

in general just be aware that with these tough times (or any other time), there are "deals" like "free gas" or this or that. with every "discount", they'll try to make it up in other scamming ways.

its also troubling b/c dealerships know that once you sign, they'll get paid....even if serviceman/woman is hurt or worse.

its also important to note of course that not all places are like this.

[Mr. Bunny]

I currently have a car that is about 20% interest with a 5 year note, 59k on it. I am refinancing in the next few months once I get a job. It was my first car that I bought off a lot, did the dealing myself (which wasn't good) and my other car was sitting in the lot broken down and they knew. So I didn't have anything to stand on. So I got raped. But at least I got a car and will pay it off within the next 6 months. I made a bad deal, but I knew I was at the time and needed the car. I also had mildly bad credit and little to no income, with a residence of less than 6 months. So the circumstances all came against me.

On a side note. My dad has a 1993 bravada. IT was running rough in idle, so he pulled the distributor, changed the spark plugs, and checked everything south of the distributor. (I forgot the name) Long story short it turned out it was the EGR valve which is an easy fix, but he can't get a spark anymore, checked the fuses etc. So I am gonna try and go fiddle with it to try and get me a vehicle to use while I am in New Mexico.

[zonk]

yeah i noticed that when is igned the contract on my scion, they said that if i died over there it would be automatically payed off out of my life insurance.

here in killeen there have to be at least a 150 buy here pay here type lots, all with these cars that have been tricked out all the way down to a stock 67 suburban. worst interest one of my soldiers had was 23% and he still has the car for another 5 years. wwe are allowed 29%-32% interest here so I dare not buy anything from any of the lots around here. I am planning on going back to north carolina to try and get my next car.

[shocker1]

On a side note. My dad has a 1993 bravada. IT was running rough in idle, so he pulled the distributor, changed the spark plugs, and checked everything south of the distributor. (I forgot the name) Long story short it turned out it was the EGR valve which is an easy fix, but he can't get a spark anymore, checked the fuses etc. So I am gonna try and go fiddle with it to try and get me a vehicle to use while I am in New Mexico.

Hey, have not been around to answer. Your dad still having issues or did you fix it?

[Mr. Bunny]

Hey, have not been around to answer. Your dad still having issues or did you fix it?

Sorry man. I haven't been on much. Been unpacking.

After much cursing and hollering my dad figured it out. Two things were happening.

The hanes manual called for a spark gap of .035 while the info on the car called for a .045 gap. Also the EGR was bad. He was able to get it fixed after I left. So it's all good. It was a pain in the arse though.

[GoSka37]

Car - 1993 Ford Taurus

Problem - Everytime I go to stop at a stoplight, or stop sign... my car will pop into neutral. I'll go to accelerate forward... but I'm stuck there revving the engine. Usually I can only pop it into drive by putting it in reverse, revving the engine, and then when it jerks backwards, I'll shift back into drive and go on my merry way... until the next time I stop.

My dad can't find anything that tells him what's wrong with it... he's checked the Car Guides and the internet. He's thinking about just fully replacing the transmission.