Gen Ii Neon

Frat-man-du

Frat-man-du

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Sorry I need a quick rant...

I have been away for a few days and while I was out my was stopped by an officer who advised the center neon lamp was out.

My wife being very sweet didn't want me to come home and find out she took the Mark VIII for a spin, so took it to a Ford Dealer to get it fixed. They told her, after 3 days it was a discontinued part and cannot be fixed, the car will not pass state inspection and it would be wise to trade the car in.

When I got home she told me the story and I went to look, these are simple and rarely break, except for the transformer (which any sign shop that deals in Neon can repair). I could not believe it could not be fixed. 5 minutes to remove the trunk liner and lamp assembly and 5 minutes to diagnose and repair and 5 minutes to put back together (Oh and I cleaned and waxed everything).

The ground screw on the ballast had corroded enough to break the connection - quite obvious I might add. Quick hit with the dremel and a new screw/washer and poof the light works.

I am gong by there today to have a word with the Service Advisor, they charged $360 for 4hrs (over 3 days??) of diagnosis time.
 
Just got back, they gave me all the money back as soon as I told him what was wrong and how I fixed it. They also threw in a coupon for a free oil change and tire rotation (Like I trust them not to screw that up- I guess I might use it on my Expedition).

Went much better then I thought. I guess they new the jig was up. They gave a song and dance this lamp was only used for two model years and it was over 10years ago, no one knows how to trouble shoot this...blah, blah...
 
Good to hear you got your money back... they saw your wife and simply said "oh it's a woman, we'll take her for a ride". 4hrs to diagnose a light, coming to the conclusion that a replacement is need... absolute nonsense. Then to add in they were wrong. Amazing!
 
Why would it matter if the neon was out as far as johnny law is concerned? You still have 2 tails and a brake light like every other car on the road.
 
ditto.

WI state law, as far as I know, requires only three tail lights. Matter of fact, is that not federal law? In that case, my Gen 1 would be illegal. The cop must have been familiar with the Mark series.
 
Dealerships that suck

I've had the same kind of experiences. The OEM's aren't training troubleshooters and problem solvers, just parts swappers. For example, Pittsburg Ford, couldn't figure out how to install an afftermarket underhood alarm pin switch since the Ford item was no longer made for Marks.
They replaced the entire blower motor due to a bad connector on its power cable.
They wanted $350 for front brakes- I went to Autozone and bought both rotors, ceramic pads for less than $100 and had a buddy who has a repair shop do the one hour labor for $40.
They told me that an airbag light could not be reset and needed a $300 airbag monitor replacement.
They wanted almost $1000 to replace the front airbags.
That said, I wonder if its possible to set up a neon system from a gen2 on a gen1- not the lens, but the electrics behind the gen1 lens.
P.S. let the cop write the ticket- it's be worth it to see his reaction when the judge reams his butt for writing a bullcrap ticket.
 
Kevin O'Connell said:
That said, I wonder if its possible to set up a neon system from a gen2 on a gen1- not the lens, but the electrics behind the gen1 lens.
Click to expand...

May work. Then Gen 1 has a wider deck lid where it meets the trunk so the neon may not reach both ends though.
 
that cop was bored out of this world, and knows Gen2 got the neon.......... :eek:




when u think about it theyre lot of cars out there with trunks that got a "reflector" type of thing on the trunk, but dont light up.......

example: my girlfriends '01 excort ZX2, its got a reflector across the trunk but doesnt light up..........

example 2: my parents '97 Sentra......its a red panel on the trunk, but doesnt reflect anything nor light up........u cant even tell its red till ur right behind it at night, lol........

so he had nothing better to do........
 
unity said:
The cop must have been familiar with the Mark series.
Click to expand...

Familiar enough to know it was a light not just a reflector, but not familiar enough to know that if it's actually dead it's damn hard to find a replacement.

The ticket wouldn't fly in court anyway...
 
Good to hear.. Dealerships are taught to screw you and make money. Most wouldn't come back or know the difference.

Many at dealership don't understand that some of us like the older car and don't want a new one.

Free Oil Change... does that include Snythetic Oil?:D

Frat-man-du said:
Just got back, they gave me all the money back as soon as I told him what was wrong and how I fixed it. They also threw in a coupon for a free oil change and tire rotation (Like I trust them not to screw that up- I guess I might use it on my Expedition).

Went much better then I thought. I guess they new the jig was up. They gave a song and dance this lamp was only used for two model years and it was over 10years ago, no one knows how to trouble shoot this...blah, blah...
Click to expand...
 
brentalan said:
Why would it matter if the neon was out as far as johnny law is concerned? You still have 2 tails and a brake light like every other car on the road.
Click to expand...

In Virginia - if there is a light on the vehicle, it has to work! This includes things like fog lights, lights mounted on top of trucks, etc.
 
mespock said:
Good to hear.. Dealerships are taught to screw you and make money. Most wouldn't come back or know the difference.

Many at dealership don't understand that some of us like the older car and don't want a new one.

Free Oil Change... does that include Snythetic Oil?:D
Click to expand...


yes it did, I had the Exp done yesterday.

My ma-in- law and bro-in- law own a law firm - I asked them over the week end and you can still get a ticket, iif you got it, it is supposed to work - you could have 20 lamps and if one is out they can give you a ticket. Can you fight it and win, most cases yes. They were pretty certain most cops wont give a ticket, but warnings. As to the inspection will most likely loose. They consider it safety related and it has to work. But they have to know what it is in order to fail it. I see several Gen IIs, most dont have working neons
 
On the 97-98 marks, there is another Third brake light in the back window, so you don't need the center one to work they prob put that one there for a reason because they knew that was going to happen with them neon lights, as long as the 2 side lights and the third brake light works you should have no problem, so that cop prob knew someone that had as Mark VIII or if the thing was connected and when you hit the brakes it flashes for a sec if theres a problem with it.. Cops are stupid sometimes.. and there should not be a problem with that for an inspection sticker.. Mine is kinda messed up 2 but I want to get it working because it looks awsome at night all lit up..
 
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