I drive a 2002 Olds Alero. Two months ago, my car inexplicably would not start and I was told the ignition sensor (or whatever tells the fuel pump to start working) needed to be replaced. Last week, it died again. Same problem (so it seemed). I was then told that the ignition switch needed to be replaced and that it was unrelated to the problem two months ago, although both were electrical. This morning, my signal lights stopped working. I am worried this is a serious electrical malfunction that is not being properly diagnosed. Any idea of what could be causing all these problems at the same time?
The ignition switch may be causing the fuel pump problem but I think you would see more electrical issues if that was the case. My guess would be the fuel pump relay is the real culprit. It would take some testing to see if that was really true or not.
The turn signal problem sounds like a seperate issue and shouldn’t be real difficult to fix unless it is within the combination switch. The flasher unit may be at fault. I recommend you have a shop that specializes in electrical problems look these things over. They will get you fixed up.
It sounds to me like the first problem, fuel pump not running, was not really fixed the first time and it was a flaky ignition switch which did get fixed the second time. The turn signals are probably unrelated. The only possible relation would be if the combination switch in the steering column got damaged or a wire loosened during the ignition switch replacement.
It is unlikely that you have some overall electrical problem.
Many mechanics are not very good with electrical stuff, and you might want to find a shop the specializes in electrical work to check this out. I’m not slamming mechanics. Electrical and electronics is really a different specialty. Some guys are good at one or the other, and some guys are good at both.