Complaint Review: Car Hop - Crystal Minnesota

This is in the realm of doing it yourself, if you know a little about electricity but more importantly have a lot of patience. The wiring for the lights, etc. in a car is only 12 volts so it cannot (under ordinary circumstances) shock or electrocute you, however you can cause burns or a fire shorting something out. But you have lots of that going on already. Rule out the possibilty the car was in a flood. Floods will indeed ruin the electrical system as well as the rest of the car. If it was a flood, don't bother trying to fix it. First, as Marc suggested, you disconnect and remove everything related to the stereo. Disconnect the battery first so that the car can't catch on fire while you're poking around the ghetto wiring. No matter what the history of the car, whenever a light doesn't work you'd always change the bulb first. If that doesn't cure it, then investigate further. It beats hitting yourself on the head after spending hours in the wiring, only to find it was a bad bulb all along. Worst case, you end up with a bunch of spare bulbs. I suspect what happened could be one of two things. First the fuse box itself, or wiring near it, may have been damaged by attempting to connect the stereo there. Basically everything branches out from the fuse box, so multiple failures like you describe could originate there. If the contacts in the fuse box are no good, things will work intermittently and fuses will melt and "blow" due to bad connections at the fuse itself. Upon careful examination it would be noticed that the "legs" of the fuse were getting hot, not the link inside. If you find the plastic of the fuse box has melted or been otherwise damaged, replace the entire fuse box with a new or used one. Or someone took part of the car apart and then when putting it back, either pinched the wiring harness against the metal or drove a screw thru it, causing a short to ground (which will blow the fuse). As you're removing the stereo you will note which access covers, etc have been removed. Damaged or frayed wires can be carefully seperated and then insulated with electrical tape.

Your problem is ELECTICAL, not MECHANICAL. Mechanics are not electricians, and vice-versa. Look in the phone book for an Automotive Electric repair shop. Ask a mechanic who he/she likes. Good luck.

Jocelyne, The first step in fixing this is to identify the circuit that is blowing the fuse. Look in your owners manual or on the fuse lising to see WHICH fuse is blowing. The second step is to find out WHY it is blowing. See what is hooked up to that circuit that does not belong, and disconnect it! Any High Amp stereo system MUST be hooked up and fused separately. Your tail lights being out may just be a fuse or a surge that blew both bulbs. Sometimes if both tail lights are out it is a broken ground wire. That total rewiring job suggested for $1200 was way out of line and they were trying to rip you off. Any competent mechanic could find the problem in a matter of minutes.

Why did you buy the car in the first place? I personally would never buy a vehicle that had a "ghetto" after-market stereo and all the gadgets, likely installed by some untrained individual who knows nothing about safe wiring. One look at these things should have been enough to steer you toward a different vehicle.

I have tried everyone licensed mechanic, alley mechanics and auto parts stores. Nobody can get a reading from their diagonasitcs machine. Since last night problem has spread.(I travel by highway, SCARRY!! One head light no tails) My left head light is now "winking" at me. The fuse box burns fuses the second you install them. The service dept is giving me headaches.

Your problem isn't that bad. I agree the ghetto stereo may be the problem, so unhook it, amp and all, and see what happens. You can have the car checked out for a LOT less than what you're being quoted. I'm in the towing business and regularly haul off cars that have been the victims of bad stereo installations. At least your car hasn't caught fire yet.