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Ready to scrap a car over electrical gremlins. Wiggling the harness located the fault. Can't believe it was that easy. | Auto Mechanics - Vivisector

gavin704•6mo ago

Ready to scrap a car over electrical gremlins. Wiggling the harness located the fault. Can't believe it was that easy.

4 comments

4 Comments

henry_fox6mo ago

Totally get the "wiggling the harness" thing! I used to assume every electrical fault was some deep, impossible puzzle. Then I had a similar fix on my old truck, just a bad connection in a plug. Felt like a miracle after I was ready to give up. It really changed how I tackle problems now, starting with the simple stuff first. That hands-on check saves so much time and headache.

zara_smith6mo ago

My buddy had this happen with his sedan last year. He was convinced the whole wiring harness was fried, but after jiggling a connector under the dash, everything lit up fine. Reminds me of what @henry_fox said about checking the simple stuff first. Tbh, it's wild how many times it's just a bad connection hiding in plain sight. He was about to list the car online for scrap before that free fix saved him.

robert_kelly386mo ago

Man, that's exactly what happened with my old Corvette! The dash would go dark randomly and I was ready to rip out the entire instrument cluster. Turns out it was just a loose ground wire behind the fuse box, fixed it with one twist of a screwdriver. It's crazy how we jump to the worst case scenario when the answer is often something you can fix in five minutes for free. That experience totally rewired my brain to always check the easy connections before panicking.

abby1506mo ago

Classic move, ready to spend a thousand bucks before even trying the free wiggle test. Our brains are literally wired to assume the most expensive fix possible lol. You'd think after the tenth time this happens we'd learn, but nope, next time I'll still be convinced the whole computer needs replacing. It's a special kind of stupid that only car ownership can teach you.