I have an old 81 Toyota Celica. I replaced the headlight/turn signal switch because the headlight wouldn’t stay on two years ago. There looked like there was a short. Now when I use the turn signal with the lowbeams only on the dashlights and running/tail lights go out. When the highbeams are on this doesn’t happen. I have to flick on the highbeams to get the lights on. When I turn the turn signal off the lights sometimes will come on sometimes not. Is there anything I can do besides replace the switch? I saved the old switch that had the short in it.
If This Car Would fit In A Shoe Box, I’d Tell You To Bury It In The Backyard.
It’s Done. Put A Fork In It.
"[i]From a recent post by: Celica 81 03/25/2011 8:53:09 AM
Should I replace my 1981 Toyota Celica?
I had the mechanic look it over again. He said the frame is good but the floor panel’s need to be reinforced which a his welder would charge about $125 for each side. The list of things that should be taken care of now include the rear shocks,pinion seal, central shaft bearing, rear transmission seal, oil pressure switch, oil pan gasket trailing arm which would all run for $1500. He also said I should in the near future do the timing cover seal and as long as I’m doing that the chain which would run around $1200 to make everything clean so it seems within reason. I could also get the rear quarter panels rebuilt for around $1200.
It seems like a reasonable option. I had the shocks replaced about 2 to three years ago and now one is busted and I hadn’t noticed. It’s crazy how bad the roads are.[/i]"
Do you see a pattern in the frequency and severity of your car problems ?
Put your money into a newer car, maybe something from the past decade. From a person who drives cars until they are used up, it’s difficult for me to say (swallowing hard), but this one’s used up.
CSA
I am moving in that direction. I want to get someone else to look at the car for a second opinion who doesn’t have a vested interest.
I would try to diagnose the problem just out of curiosity, but then dispose of the car. I have a 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon 4-4-2. The car isn’t worth much (4-4-2 was just a trim package in those days) and I will probably get rid of it this summer. However, when something is wrong, I can’t sleep until I figure out the problem. If I had your car, I would figure out the electrical problem to see if I could solve it. However, I would then get rid of the car. I would guess that your car has considerable rust and there is a corroded chassis ground somewhere.