PAPA - NOT A MECHANIC, BUT I'M GETTING CLOSE
Trust me, I am not a mechanic!
There may be a few things that I know about vehicles. Usually, I can tell if a vehicle is a car, truck, or van. Also, I can tell what color they are most of the time. However, that is about all that I really know about vehicles. These days, as I try to save money and be more self-sufficient, I'm trying to learn and apply. Here is my recent attempt to fix an issue that I was having.
MY PROBLEM
My recent issue with my vehicle is that my brake lights went out. Thankfully, the brakes still worked, but no warning lights would come on. This can be dangerous, so I got right to work.
Under the dash is a whole mess of wires. Honestly, I have no real idea what I am looking at under there. I can see a lot of pretty colors, and they almost look like little snakes, but, other than that, I'm pretty much clueless.
I wasn't about to let my ignorance stop me, so I got right down there and started messing with things. As it turns out, when you press the brake pedal, not only does it engage the brakes, it also presses a brake light switch that sends a signal to the brake lights.
I bought a new on and began to figure out how to take the old one out. It took some effort, but eventually I got it and we were on to the next step.
Hooking the new one up was basically the same process as unhooking the last one, I just had to do it backwards... but, this did not solve the problem. Actually, I only ended up swapping a good switch for another good switch.
Plan B?
Since that did not solve my problem, I needed to figure out something else to try. Having used electricity before, I knew that light bulbs could burn out. Since the brake lights had light bulbs, I thought that maybe they both burned out. The problem was that the bulbs were hidden by a plastic cover that almost acted like a force field to protect the bulbs and obstruct my vision.
A direct path seemed like the best one to take, so I busted out the cover. Unfortunately, this did not solve my problem either, since I could now see that all of the bulbs were still good. However, not wanting to risk anything, I replaced them anyway.
I also had to replace the cover, since the last one got broken somehow. wink! As a last resort, I checked the fuse box. Sure enough, the fuse was blown, and I had to replace that too!
As I said earlier, I an not a mechanic, but I think I figured out how some auto shops make so much money! Does anyone out there need some work done on their vehicle? If so, I can work for STEEM, but we may have to replace a few parts and it could take hours to "diagnose" the problem.
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-i-am-not-a-mechanic
Until next time…
Don’t waste your time online, invest it with steemit.com
the last time I did that thing on my car, I reversed the liquid cooling, and the liquid washer glass .... since I stopped to open the car hood !
LOL! Oh no!
You also know that you need toput some gas in your truck, from time to time.
And sometimes, you forget ...
Thank you! Almost forgot again!
Looks like you are more of a mechanic than Ill ever be!!
Tried that too. It was still there.
You are always doing a great job....good one indeed bud.
Feel free to see my post on the latest scam and phishing going on on steemit..Wish you a blessed day.
Funny but informative... note to self, check the fuse before you bust out the tail light cover!
LOL - It's best to start small.
Wow that was alot of work to replace a fuse. My father and grandfather taught me to always start at the cheapest and easiest solution first and work your way up from there. As someone who has been doing the majority of his own mechanic work for a decade and a half at least, this has never failed me. Add this to your list of mechanic knowledge.
Also in the future feel free to call me any time with mechanic questions. You have my number. Did you ever sort out that loss of power when excellerating you were telling me about a week ago?
Yeah, that one was a cable leading to spark plug that had burned through. Fixed now. Thanks Brother!
Awesome. Plugs and wires would have probably been about 4th on my list to check in that instance. Replacing the distributor cap and rotor (not the same as the ones behind the tires) and plugs and wires can got a long way with enhancing the performance of an older engine that might be running like it's "worn out.". Glad you got it fixed.
Tomorrow I think I might tear in to @beardo's brakes on his pickup. They went out the other day trying to haul almost 2 tons of water up @mericanhomestead's hill. I discovered a suspicious shiny spot on the inside of the right rear tire and the brake pad is almost gone. Gotta tear it apart to see how bad the damage is so we can fix it.
My brake rotor is all chewed up in St. Louis, so I will be getting it fixed tomorrow and then returning home. Shooting for stopping out by y'all on Tuesday. We will see.
Well I'll be at work Tuesday but everyone else will be here. Come on out brother!
oppssss.... sad position
Gotta do what you gotta do!
As a mech, your story had me rolling! As a mech, I hate troubleshooting electrical issues. Which reminds me...one of these days I need to fix my air bag warning light. Probably a loose or broken wire somewhere.
Anyway if you have issues, let me know and I can guide you in the right direction.
Glad that you enjoyed it. I had fun typing it up anyway.
I bet! Have a good day!
@papa-pepper,
you are awsome and do everything, your every article is cool amazing and impressive.