Tired of Ebay............

Well, I don't think its ebay. I think its the people. Sometimes they just don' t know what they have. I believe they are hoping for people that don't know exactly what they want. Its buyer beware. I recently went to look at a '69 Mustang Convertible that was on Hemming' s. Although the car is nice, some of the picture on the site were taken a long time ago. The truth about its original "mint" condition is questionable. Not long ago there was only the loco news paper add, and some magazines with lousy pictures. The computer is nice but we have to be a little smarter and sometimes just take a chance.

 

I've been shopping Ebay for years without a problem, lately I've been burned three times. You are right, it's not Ebay, it's the people on Ebay. Regaurless, it is absolutely the sellers responsibility to know exactly what they are selling. I believe I took every precaution, the add has a pic of the part and the box, it's small but you can tell it the right part. Also, the add stated clearly "This part is NOS (New Old Stock.)" word for word. Meaning new, as in un-used. Or, has the meaning of "new" changed…

 

Accidents happen sometimes, It shouldn't have a issue even without the clips.

 

FOr the amount of hassle and time lost just zip tie it together. I know its annoying but S$#% happens.

 

I for one am not ashamed of asking sellers questions, item specifics, more detailed pics, etc. Make sure YOU are getting what YOU want- you can't rely on anyone else in this world!
Here is a good way to look at NOS parts...
N.O.S.

NOS is the term used in the industry for "New Old Stock" parts. These are service replacement parts that are new, never installed parts that are no longer available from Ford. When a dealership goes out of business or decides to clear off some shelves to make way for newer, faster moving inventory these odd ball left overs find their way on the market. Sometimes these parts come from the supplier to Ford and never made it into Ford packaging. For those interested in restoring a car to a very high level, these are very sought after. Usually the quality is better than the reproduction equivalent but sometimes the standards are actually lower. One example is bumpers. Ford was not trying to build "show cars" at the time so when you look at a NOS bumper you will see stamping marks, grinding / polishing marks and an almost satin finish. Compare this to our "mirror finish" bumpers and most will say "Why would I spend the extra money?" Some will in fact pay extra for a "Factory look" complete with blemishes as it is the "look" they are after. Most customers should not even consider forking out the extra money for these parts. These parts are great for the guy that plans on encapsulating his car in a glass case and never driving it again but for the average person that actually drives their car? Save your money and buy good used parts.

taken from http://www2.cougarpartscatalog.com/nos.html

 

Not to read to much into this but that's their opinion. It looks like they do a healthy business in used parts, what's the profit margin on NOS vs. used parts anyway? Like I said, not reading to much into it. For me, it all depends on price, availability and original manufacture where possible. For this particular part, it seems to be NOS or used. It's not a part carried by a local parts house and it seems readily available NOS, so that's what I bought.

I've worked in several dealerships many years ago, in several positions. I know how they operate and I know that mechanics use "test" parts to verify problem resolution. If you look at my original picture, it's clear the part is not NOS, it in fact used and should have been sold as such.

The seller did finally get back to me today and he is sending me an "NOS" part. He apologized and said disregard the part originally shipped. I had a little time this evening and I installed what he sent me, it did not resolve the issue.

In fact, I believe it's worse, the reverse lights now do not work. From time to time a new part will be bad right out of the box but that’s pretty rare. I can't say for certain that the part is bad or good so I disassembled the original part to see how it works. I'll post my findings soon.

 

Here's my finding on the original switch. I used a multi-meter and determined each connection for each switch position (P,R,N,D,2,1). The switch operated on a simple open or closed connection (breaker point).

The below graph illustrates the way the switch is suppose to operate.

x = connection
blank or NULL = no connection





Attached pictures show the connector, the inside and outside of the switch in detail. If you look closely at the short jumper (middle two radius connectors) you'll see one is worn pretty bad (flat spotted). The outside radial connection never makes contact, I believe this is due to worn feet on the sliding connector.




My results on the original switch (not the used NOS switch).








The above clearly shows the switch is bad, remarkably there is a connection in park! That should not be possible but I checked several times.

Once the replacement NOS switch gets here I'll test that one. Then, I'll test the used NOS part sent (the one on the car now). I'll look at all three results and post the findings.

 

I received the part a few days ago. I verified the connection diagram and made one change (See picture below). I verified the quick splice connector is not factory and believe the previous owner was attempting to defeat the seat belt safety buzzer and light. Since I pulled out the original switch I have not blown a fuse (I was blowing fuses regularly). I'm about 99% sure the quick connector was the cause. I pulled the used NOS part out and verified it was good. I had it installed incorrectly. The new switch came with a red peg in it, the idea is you put the car in drive, install the switch and pull the red peg out. Once completed the switch is in correct position. Unfortunately, it didn't corrected the original problem I was going after. Time for a little diagnostics.……… At least on the bright side I got a more important problem fixed. Success on the master brake cylinder, the brakes work much better! Well pretty good for all wheel drum brakes anyway. I think the oldest got a little tired of hearing me yell "pump" and "hold" LOL!! Back at it tomorrow!