Echlin vs OEM

[Sandberm]

Without delving into my problems with my pickup, I am not able to buy OEM electrical parts as they are unavailable. Napa sells Echlin, is that a good alternative?

[follow maggie]

I’ve used lots of echlin parts from napa for many years with good results. It’s all I use.

[Sandberm]

I’ve used lots of echlin parts from napa for many years with good results. It’s all I use.

Thanks for the reply. I went ahead and ordered the Echlin part. Hope it cures my problem.

[follow maggie]

👍

[GWP]

They have been around for a long time and have been noted for quality.
Hope (?) it fixes your problem to!

[Woodchuck]

It's as good an alternative as any other. There's about a 95% chance that it's the same manufacturer that sells to Auto Zone or Carquest or...

[Sandberm]

It's as good an alternative as any other. There's about a 95% chance that it's the same manufacturer that sells to Auto Zone or Carquest or...

I think you are right.

What I'm trying to replace is an ignition switch on a 03 Chevy s-10. Last September i had some weird electrical problems and one of the parts i threw at it in hopes that it would fix my problem was a new ignition switch...that I bought from Oreilys,... "Standard" brand. Now i have new problems and am wondering if the "cheap" switch I put in last fall is the problem.

Today i got my "Echlin" brand ignition switch from Napa. I saved the box from the switch I put in last September. Comparing...both switches were made in Taiwan...

So, are they the same switch made by the same supplier but with different branding? Thus, my hopes of getting a better quality product then what I bought last fall are all for naught?

If I would have gotten an AC Delco/GM OEM switch would it have been built at the same factory with the same standards just different packaging?

Hope to get the switch changed out in the next 1-5 days and then i will do a visual comparison between the Standard and the Echlin switches.

[Woodchuck]

It's as good an alternative as any other. There's about a 95% chance that it's the same manufacturer that sells to Auto Zone or Carquest or...

So, are they the same switch made by the same supplier but with different branding? Thus, my hopes of getting a better quality product then what I bought last fall are all for naught?

Pretty much, what issue/s are you having?

[Sandberm]

It's as good an alternative as any other. There's about a 95% chance that it's the same manufacturer that sells to Auto Zone or Carquest or...

So, are they the same switch made by the same supplier but with different branding? Thus, my hopes of getting a better quality product then what I bought last fall are all for naught?

Pretty much, what issue/s are you having?

Long winded but detailed post 

On a cold morning, below lets say 63 degrees, when I turn the key to the ON position , the fuel gauge , odometer and gear selection will not work/light up. As the day warms up i can go out and turn it on and they work. Over lets say 70 degrees and everything lights up and is normal.

If I go ahead and engage the starter when those gauges are not working, the truck starts right up and runs fine. However when i go to put it in reverse, the transmission clunks. It backs up fine but then when I put it in drive it is in 3rd gear.

As long as those guages are working when I turn the key on, i can engage the starter and the truck runs fine and the transmission works mostly normal.

Last weekend when it was in the mid 60's, I turned the key on, the gauges did not light up and I tapped on the steering column where the switch is and they turned on. So I concluded the switch might be my problem. However when i went out on Monday or Tuesday morning when the temp was in the mid 50's and tapped on it, the gauges did not work.

To me this seems like a printed circuit board/electrical connection problem. As things warm, the tiny connections join back up. I had intermittent problems like this in an old Case tractor once till the tractor just stopped working altogether and it ended up being a printed circuit board with about 20 wires going to it. I was extremely lucky to figure this out as the head service tech at the dealership basically told me all of his mechanics were too young to figure out old tractor problems. (Is made in 1984 old? To me its not but to folks who sell tractors its ancient)

To back up the story a bit, last September I had a dead dead battery one morning. I took the 3 year old battery in to exchange it for a new one. The battery guy told me he thought the battery was fine, that I might have other issues. I went ahead and bought a new one just to eliminate that as a problem source. To make a long story short, despite having a really clean connection, a new positive battery cable ended up solving my dead battery problem. The cable that came with the truck must have broken down and been corroded on the inside. I didn't figure this out before i threw a few parts at it including a new starter switch from Oreillys. Fast forward to June of this year and my current problem started. I ended up buying a new negative battery cable and made sure all my connections were clean and secure and THOUGHT i had fixed it. It was fixed because it was July and every morning was warm enough to not have problems. Cooler mornings have revealed its not fixed. 

[Woodchuck]

Well that ranks about a 8.5 on my weird crap o meter for sure. That said, I do see the logic in your thinking. Let me know how it goes please. Do you have a bunch of keys or other goodies on your key ring?

[Sandberm]

Well that ranks about a 8.5 on my weird crap o meter for sure. That said, I do see the logic in your thinking. Let me know how it goes please. Do you have a bunch of keys or other goodies on your key ring?

No, just the house key, FOB and my late dogs little name tag.

On a sidenote, I've done hours of internet searches on this problem and I came upon one thread on one forum that a posters problem matched my problem. They were pondering that it was the starter switch. But OF COURSE...OF COURSE!...they never updated the 6 year old thread to say if they resolved the problem! 

Now i just need to get in the mood to get on my knees and contort myself under the steering column to put the new switch in. I'll report back if it works.

My other thought was that it might be the ECM.  One step at a time.

[Woodchuck]

The other popular item on those is the instrument cluster itself. There is a fair amount of communication that goes through the cluster.

[Sandberm]

I put the starter switch in Sunday morning and all was good.

Monday morning the gauges worked at 66 degrees. I actually drove it to town in the afternoon.
Yesterday at 62 degree it worked.
Today at 70 degrees my problems returned. Turned key to on position, fuel gauge and gear indicator/odometer did not work. After maybe 8-10 seconds they did. Turned key off and back on, didnt work for maybe 5 seconds. Frustrating.

 Ponder for a bit and investigate the instrument cluster being the cause next I guess. I have a feeling I will have to give up and pay someone else to fix it. $$ 

[Woodchuck]

I'll send you my card. 

[Sandberm]

I'll send you my card. 

Hmmm...in a bit of a bad mood.... Wife came home and i told her about my frustrations with my s-10. She said at this point my s-10 with almost 280,000 miles is a hobby! A hobby?!?! 

Ehhh, she doesnt understand the importance of treating a pickup right, keep it running, give it hope for another adventure. I say, a mans only as good as he treats his best rig!

Next step to working on my hobby...eerrrr, my investment,... is to tackle the instrument cluster.

I'll get this thing fixed if it bankrupts me or drives me crazy. Its 300,000 miles or bust...gulp 

The vultures are circling...i see you Woodchuck!

 

[Jpmiller]

I'll send you my card. 

Hmmm...in a bit of a bad mood.... Wife came home and i told her about my frustrations with my s-10. She said at this point my s-10 with almost 280,000 miles is a hobby! A hobby?!?! 

Ehhh, she doesnt understand the importance of treating a pickup right, keep it running, give it hope for another adventure. I say, a mans only as good as he treats his best rig!

Next step to working on my hobby...eerrrr, my investment,... is to tackle the instrument cluster.

I'll get this thing fixed if it bankrupts me or drives me crazy. Its 300,000 miles or bust...gulp 

The vultures are circling...i see you Woodchuck!

My daily driver rolled over 290 a few months back. Don't give up on it! Still a lot of life left in it I'm sure!

[Sandberm]

Follow up.

I took the instrument cluster out and took the back cover off exposing the printed circuit board. Going over each solder joint with a magnifying glass I saw nothing wrong. After doing internet research i discovered that there are a number of folks who will fix instrument clusters for a fair price ($150). They all plead with you to not try and fix it yourself before sending it to them. I decided it was best not to pull the front off the instrument cluster which would have meant pulling all the gauge needles off and thus perhaps getting them out of sync when i put them back on. Plus, if i did find a solder joint that looked suspect, my soldering skills are terrible and i would probably end up melting something.

So, I decided to do what i do best and that is ponder(procrastinate) my problem...for 2 weeks. I put the instrument cluster back in and hoped that something had changed, perhaps an electrical connection that I pulled apart and put back together would cure my pickups problem. OF COURSE it didn't do any good.

So, in the 2 weeks I had to ponder I decided that a new computer would be my next logical step, not sending my instrument cluster off to be rebuilt. I ordered one from fs1inc online for $185. I gave them my VIN, they programmed it and sent it to me and I put it in last night. After some troubles getting the security system/key to recognize each other I got it fired up this morning. Everything works on the cluster. The engine seems to run just fine and when I test drove it my sometimes shifting hiccups were gone. The automatic transmission shifts very smooth.

Cross my fingers that my little trucks intermittent problems are cured.   

[Sandberm]

The other popular item on those is the instrument cluster itself. There is a fair amount of communication that goes through the cluster.

I hate when folks do not do updates to explain whether the problem was fixed or not so I here I am to update 

Well, I put a new cluster in on Wednesday and everything seems to be working. I bought it from ISS Automotive for $250. This is after I put a new ECM($185) in it in September. I went with the computer before the cluster because of the transmission problems. After the new ECM was put in it worked for about 5 days before my intermittent problem came back. I must say that in those 5 days the truck did seem to run a little better and the shifting was flawless so I don't feel like that $185 was a total waste.

My little truck has 280,000 miles, hoping for 300,000. 

[Sandberm]

Another followup. Instrument cluster did not fix my intermittent problem.

I ended up putting the original ignition switch back in and now everything seems to work going on 12 days .

I think the "Standard" brand ignition switch I bought at O'Reillys and the "Echlin" switch I bought from Napa were made at the same factory in Taiwan an re branded to such. Each was bad out of the box.

Terrible buying new parts an they do not work. 

Doesn't bode well going forward in trying to fix my rigs buying parts store parts when OEM isn't available anymore.

[Sandberm]

Another followup. Instrument cluster did not fix my intermittent problem.

I ended up putting the original ignition switch back in and now everything seems to work going on 12 days .

I think the "Standard" brand ignition switch I bought at O'Reillys and the "Echlin" switch I bought from Napa were made at the same factory in Taiwan an re branded to such. Each was bad out of the box.

Terrible buying new parts an they do not work. 

Doesn't bode well going forward in trying to fix my rigs buying parts store parts when OEM isn't available anymore.

They are the same company! Eff me running. The box says says Standard when its sold at Oreillys, Autozone or Advanced Auto and Napa tricks you into thinking it is a better quality part by selling the same part under the Echlin brand. Found this out after watching this video. If it doesnt start there, go to the 10:22 time in the vid for explanation.

Thought Id share this bit of info for you fellas that work on your own vehicles.

[Woodchuck]

Have you torn your hair out yet? 

[Sandberm]

Have you torn your hair out yet? 

You mean because I expected BRAND NEW PARTS TO ACTUALLY WORK!?  TWICE!

You mean cuz I spent another $500 throwing more parts at it assuming THE BRAND NEW PARTS WERE NOT THE CULPRIT!?

Could have put that 5 hundy toward some rogaine(or tires). My little S-10 is up an running now, just spent another $500 on cheap tires for it this week on my quest to get to 300k miles 

[Woodchuck]

Have you torn your hair out yet? 

You mean because I expected BRAND NEW PARTS TO ACTUALLY WORK!?  TWICE!

You mean cuz I spent another $500 throwing more parts at it assuming THE BRAND NEW PARTS WERE NOT THE CULPRIT!?

Could have put that 5 hundy toward some rogaine(or tires). My little S-10 is up an running now, just spent another $500 on cheap tires for it this week on my quest to get to 300k miles 

Welcome to my world, lol.