Jim

The '90 headlight switches are one of a kind and only fit the '90 Reatta as that is the only year they had that switch with the fog light button on the bottom. The '91 Reattas and the Rivieras had a similar switch but did not have the fog light button on it. I have good '90 headlight switches available. These switches have been disassembled, cleaned, checked for any worn parts and those parts replaced if necessary and then put back together with a nice appearing "lights" button. I then test them in my own car to make sure all functions are good. I sell these switches for $ 65 exchange and guarantee them to be good. I have an electronics background and these switches are a pretty simple arrangement and have two rocker type contacts. Sometimes someone will push too hard on the lights button and the switches can fall apart. About 50% of the time when this happens it will blow the parking light fuse. In the '88-89 Reattas the headlight switches are a completely different arrangement of contacts and in these switches the contacts can get pitted or dirty and when this happens heat can be generated and can cause the wires to melt behind the switch but the '90-91 switches are completely different and this will not happen. I have disassembled at least 50 '90 style switches and have never seen pitted contacts. To the best of my knowledge I am the only one repairing these switches and if anyone ever had a problem with a repaired/rebuilt switch I would be the first to hear of it. I have never had one complaint. They did make a '90 mid year change in the wiring of the Reattas but the switches did not change and whether I assemble a switch or the factory assembled the switch it will go together the exact same way as it is a very simple assembly. Sometimes the seal on the outside has been broken. This only means the switch has been opened up. Maybe to replace a worn "lights" button or to replace a broken slider. The seal being intact means nothing only that it has been opened. If the switch works as it should it will be as good as any other original used switch that came from a parts car or a junk yard or anywhere else. To pay a lot of money for a switch simply because it has an intact seal is a waste of money.

I have a parts book I will give away free to anyone who has bought parts from me in the past. It only goes up to '89 and there may be a couple of pages missing but is over 99% complete. This book lists all the part numbers and exploded pictures of the parts. You pay the shipping. Send me a direct email for this offer. I will reply with the shipping cost options, media mail, Priority Mail etc. Jim

Unlike the '90-91 switches the '88-89s are a complicated arrangement of sliders and contacts, some hidden contacts. There is more current flow through the '88-89 contacts and as a result they can and do get pitted and can cause the wires behind the switch to melt. I have seen this a couple of times and also have sent wiring connectors to several folks who experienced the wiring problem. I am not going to say it never happens on the '90-91 switches but I have never personally seen that happen or have never had anyone ask me for connectors and wiring for those years. Adding a relay will not help, you simply need a good switch. Because these switches were so complicated and prone to contact failure GM redesigned them for '90. I also repair the '88-89 switches for $ 65 exchange and guarantee them to be good.

I am not familiar with the GNX and GN What are the years and differences? Jim

I have to agree I suspect it is not from a Grand National as CD players weren't popular in GM cars until '90 and then for a few years they were single disc stand alone players. I am also curious what year the pictured radio is actually from as I would like to put one in my wife's driftwood convertible.

I fully agree we have to be very careful when buy on Ebay especially from foreign countries. My sister purchased this watch for me about a year ago and and I am very happy with it. It looks good and keeps perfect time.

Pete, From previous emails I see you have an '88. The '88 pumps are different from the '89-90s in that the later ones used a steel line coming out of the top of the pump going to the master cylinder. The '88 pumps used a high pressure hose and where they screw into the pump and master cylinder the fittings are different and not interchangeable. I do have both the '88 style pumps and the '89-90 style available and will send you an email. Jim

I don't know the person but I see he has 100% positive feedback. I agree, I didn't notice the shipping cost, that is ridiculous.

From my experience I have seen several times when this happens it is a bad battery or ground cable where it attaches to the battery. Inside the large red and black rubber pieces the cables are crimped together and these crimps go bad. You cannot see the problem unfortunately. About the only solution if it is the battery or ground cable is to replace them. A person could cut away the red or black insulation and then recrimp the cables but even if this does solve the problem you will have to replace the cable if you want it to look like the factory cable. I do have good cables available. '88 cables were a little different from the '89-91s.

That is a good deal. No reserve.

Yes, but, they were featured on the spray cans of Prestone Deicer.

After all the football abuse I took from Dave this past NFL season, I have to say you haven't lived until last Sunday when I had the pure pleasure of watching the overrated Packers go down in defeat. Their defense was rated about 32nd in the league all season and they had no running game and yet after the game when they interviewed the coach and players they just couldn't understand how they could have lost. Now I am sure I will get a response from Dave but the bottom line is yes the Vikings finished last in the division and the Pack first but we both are sitting home watching the rest of the playoffs and the Vikings get the third overall pick in the draft, the Pack last, we get an easier schedule and our season was "Oh well" from about the middle but the Packer fans got a huge let down at the end. That being aside I have done both the cold weather and hot weather. Like some said, you can dress for the cold but nothing can be done in the 100 degree days. I will take the cold. We all get rain and one of the most unpleasant times I had was in the Pick A Part in Nashville when it was raining hard and they had just got in a '91 that was complete. I had to go to the local Walmart and buy an umbrella and I still got quite wet.

Curtis, Padgett posted the instructions so I am now sending you an email directly. Jim

I have a good heater programmer available. I am just going out the door. Will post here again later tonight and also send you an email. Jim

I agree. I just bought a '90 headlight switch in very good condition with the seal still intact, not that that makes it worth anymore, for $ 152.50 Ebay # 270890041535 Now I didn't get a great deal as that is about what they are worth but it is nice to be able to buy them when they become available.

Ed Farnell also has a complete on available for less than $ 500. I remember he put it on Ebay and the bids didn't meet the reserve which was a lot lower than $ 500. Ebay is a crap shoot and sometimes you can get good deals and sometimes you pay too much.

I was in the Detroit airport on Dec 15 and tried to call you at work but no answer. I am guessing you do not have my phone number anymore and also do not have my email address. Jim

I also have the wood grain panels in my wife's '90 Driftwood convertible with the tan interior. I have available Riviera simulated wood panels for all years.

I only scanned the replies to the initial thread but here is my take. I fully agree with groingo post 7 the bottom line is demand. For years visor clips were very hard to find. Barney made some good basic clips and Kingsley now has some excellent clips. For many years Mike talked about making a thousand or so, guess, but never did. Kingsley now has very nice ones and I would be interested to see just how many he has sold. Lots of folks say they want a part if it is reproduced but in actuality only a portion of those folks will actually purchase them. I hope I am wrong but if Steve does reproduce the letters his cost will be too high for the average person to purchase them. Some thoughts on Ronnie's list---- I currently have 10 '90 headlight switches available and I send out about one per month. In my opinion not enough demand. 10 volt inverters for the dash light and console OR a pigtail to adapt to new style inverter that is readily available. Reproduction metal or fiberglass sunroof panels. I get about one request per year. Pigtail to connect iPod jack to the radio. Might be good for some folks as this should be a cheap piece. Replacement tail light letters - (Steve has these on the way) Reproduction plastic control box for 16 way seats. About 2 requests per year. Reprogrammed computer chips, that are kept in stock and readily available for sale/exchange, to make the fans come on sooner. About two requests per year and that is not for the fans but to make the fuel pump run longer. Plug & Play headlight control kit with a harness and relay that would take the load off the headlight switch. 88/89 style door pull strap plastic end caps and retainers. I do have a limited supply of these but this is one part I would agree should be reproduced as there will be a demand Latch "catch" for the 88 style glove box. About 1 per year. 88/89 style gear shift indicator. Last week I shipped one and I think I have one more sold. These are the only requests in about a year. 88 glove box shocks My last request was about two years ago. Weather stripping for doors, windows and trunk Convertible top weatherstripping Definitely. Red Reflectors on the Tail Lens. I get about 6 requests per year and currently have a good stock of both sides. I certainly am not the only person that gets requests for parts but from my inquiries other than the convertible weather stripping and the door pull covers and inserts I would never invest the money as I am positive the return will not be there.

Ronnie, I think you hit the nail on the head. Years ago Reatta parts were very hard to find as damaged cars only showed up at the dealer auctions and at that time only Speedway and myself were specializing in Reattas. Mike did come along and purchased parts cars but he also had to pay a lot for his cars. The parts cars were going for high prices. One comes to mind that sold at a dealer only auction here in MN. I bid $ 1900 for the car and the whole front was gone. Speedway bought the car for a bid of $ 2200. They then had to pay the buyers fees and transportation to AZ. They had at least $ 3000 in the car and there were no front end parts any good. Today the cars are old and parts plentiful. This is evidenced by all the Reattas showing up in U Pull It type junk yards. The large wrecking yards don't even want them anymore. I used to sell lots of body parts but that has almost dried up as because the cars are so old folks are not fixing body damage anymore unless the car is a very nice low mileage car. Again you are right about the number of sellers. Look on Ebay, there are quite a few folks selling Reatta parts. Most of them have only one parts car or like one of the Ebay sellers you will find some folks regularly touring U Pull Its and scrounging Reatta parts to resell.

Just a quick look, if you pull the "courtesy lights relay B relay from the micro relay center and still blow fuses. With c200 disconnected the only other grounds I see come from the vanity mirrors themselves. For the vanity mirrors remove the three screws that hold the visor to the roof and let them hang down. The ground for the mirrors in the visors come from one of the three screws so that would eliminate the visor lights. If you still blow fuse two I am guessing you have a short somewhere. Let us know. Jim

Scott, I took a door apart and see inside there are two arms that go over to the latches on the ends. The latches pivot on a stud and there is a return spring there also. Looking at this mechanism it is possible if you remove about 10 Phillips screws that hold the front panel on and remove the latch you might be able to lubricate the pivot points. I am also sending you a reply to your email from last evening. Jim

Whenever I sell a latch I also include the directions on how to change the lock cylinder. I big problem is if a person buys a latch that has not had the cylinder removed as it is extremely hard to get the cylinder out without the key. This is the same as mentioned in the posts above but here is what I email to folks who have bought a latch from me. Subject: RMV lock cylinder Do not attempt to operate the handle on the new latch with the lock cylinder not installed. In this condition the latch is in the lock mode and needs to have the cylinder installed to be operational To remove the lock cylinder 1 Turn the latch mechanism by hand as if you were closing the glove box door. 2 Turn the key to lock ( clockwise ) and remove the key. 3 Hold the unit on it's side and insert a small screw driver or pick in the small square hole on the side of the assembly and depress the spring loaded tab. 4 Reinsert the key and turn a little further than you did when you were locking it, and the cylinder assy. with the key will come out of the latch assembly. Do not remove the key from the cylinder but put the unit directly into the new latch. If you do remove the key you will have to depress the small tab before putting the key back in.

I do have tested good ABS pressure switches and ABS pumps/motors.