So... recently I bought a $100 96 Chevy Lumina and a $300 95 BMW 318 as cars to fix and sell for some extra loot.

The problem with the Lumina is the brakelights... Chevrolet, in their wondrous intelligence, decided to run the brakelights through the turn signal switch. So when the turn signal switch starts wear (as parts tend to do), the brakelights quit working.

Therefore I have to take the steering wheel off to get to the turn signal switch. Chevy requires that I need to have a steering wheel puller and a lockplate remover to get to it. On TOP of that, I have to make my way past their airbag.

I've never dealt with an airbag.

Long story short, it all comes off and all goes back in taking about three and a half hours (I've never used a lockplate remover... it would take about thirty minutes at most now that I know what I'm doing). After cleaning the switch like I needed to do the brakelights work GREAT... unless you have the high beams on and you use the passenger's turn signal. Then only the third brakelight works. So now I have to take it all apart and reclean it all. AND I spent the whole time worried that I was going to put it all together wrong and the airbag would deploy when I either A.) put the airbag fuse in, or B.) reconnected the battery cable. Airbag maintenance freaks me out.

The BMW is red and the paint is oxidized. I spent another two hours trying to buff the paint out to make it all pretty, but the car is resisting my attempts, but I know I will get it eventually. Aside from that, I have to get the car running and I have it narrowed down to either the alarm immobilizer or the starter solenoid.

If I were to do what I did to the Chevy on my Civic it would have been a total of twenty minutes. We all know what in necessary to get the steering wheels off of our EFs.

If I were to do what I did to the BMW it would have taken me an hour at most. Thank God for clearcoats.

GAH! Just ranting. I feel like I just wasted a day.

CLIFFS: I love my EX.

 

I hate days like that, you work all day and it doesnt seem like you even got anything done! Atleast you have narrowed it down as to what the issue might be. Im getting air fuel spark and compression and timming is on. I dont know what the deal is, my car still wont start. I miss boost sooooo much!

Blaze

 

Yeah... and now it's raining. No work today.

*sigh*

 

Dude I had a 94 Gutlass Supreme and the same multifunction switch went out. I ghetto bypassed it and it still works to this day, and it was 3 years ago. First off though, My 3rd brake light still worked does yours? If so here is what I did, remove the lower bulb from each light, and get a single fillament bulb and plug that plugs in, then tap signal off of the 3rd brake light and add a relay to power up the new brake light only lights. Run power and ground to the relay and then the out put to your bulbs. Keep the other bulbs that you removed plugged in and just hide them under the carpet. This is way easier and less expensive than replacing the whole multifunction switch.