About two weeks ago, the right turn signal bulb in the van I drive for work burnt out. I've been meaning to fix it, but I just never got around to it. Several months ago now, I fixed the left one, and from what I remember, it was super easy.
The bulb sits in a socket that is twisted into place. You simply unscrew it with half a turn, lift it out, work the bulb sideways until it releases, pop the new bulb into the socket, replace the socket and twist.
Of any kind of repair I've ever made, it's got to be among the simplest.
So, that's what I was expecting to happen yesterday evening when I popped the hood and unscrewed the socket.
That's where the easy part ended.
Instead of rocking its way out, the bulb wouldn't budge. I tried pushing and pulling on what appears to be plastic tabs on either side of the socket, and another piece that looks like it slips into a groove in the plastic part of the bulb, but none of that worked. I did it several times, increasing the force quite a bit, over a period of at least three minutes. Nothing. I used a flat head screw driver, and ultimately only succeeded in breaking off one of the tabs.
By the time I was finished, the bulb was cracking and threatening to break off from its plastic insert bit, but not budging at all from the socket.
I figured throughout this whole process that I was misremembering how easy it really was the last time. I went looking for the van's owner manual, but it's nowhere to be found (and wasn't the last time I looked for it, either). After some searching, I finally found a YouTube video with the same socket with someone demonstrating how to remove and replace the bulb. Just as I remembered it.
Still, the bulb would not come out.
At the point, the only thing I could think of doing was getting a replacement for the socket.
I bought the bulbs at a local parts store, so around 7:50 pm, I drove into town. When I got there, the parts store was closed. I got there an hour too late.
There are two other parts stores within a stone's throw of that one, but for some reason, I didn't even think to see if they were open. I just drove away and went home.
Today, after I found out I wouldn't be working, I decided I'd go ahead and go back in and get the part. The store was definitely open this time, but they didn't have the socket in stock, and when they checked their supplier inventory, no one else had it, either. I asked where else to try, and was directed to the other parts stores.
So, I went across the street. In the parking lot, I decided to check if Amazon had the part with their phone app, just in case the same scenario of no part on hand and none in inventory played out again. Then, I went in.
Here, the parts guy couldn't find it, but said he could order it and have there by around 3 pm. That was faster than Amazon, which promised a Friday delivery, but the part store was going to charge $5 more. I decided expediency was more important than $5. He took my number and said they would give me a call when it came in. I paid for it and left, feeling a little bit better.
However, by 3 pm, no one had called me. I waited another hour, and when still no one called, I called them. I was told that yes, they had the part, and so I went in and retrieved it. Since I had the replacement bulb with me, I put it into the new socket. Bingo. Popped right in. Just for fun, I tried to remove it. No problem.
Only one thing left to do. When I got home, I put the socket in its place and tested the turn signal. It worked.
Mission accomplished. Finally. Three trips into town (though at least one of them was on me for not even thinking to check the second parts place last night), and several hours of frustration and futility over a fix that might actually take a minute.
But Wait—There's More!
As I was finishing up with the turn signal replacement, my wife called. She was at the store trying to use a $25 gift certificate she was given at Christmas by a doctor who apparently gave out a total of 20 or so to staff members. Only, the gift certificate wouldn't work.
When the clerk went to swipe it, it was rejected. When the customer service later followed up, it again declined.
My wife was given a phone number to call to try to figure out what was going on and see what could be done to fix it.
My wife isn't very good with tech support issues over the phone, so she was calling me not only to tell me what was wrong, but to let me know I had a job to do when she got home. I was to call tech support.
Great. More fun for me.
I called the number. The recording makes you sit through an automated message even if it doesn't apply to you. Then, there's a couple layers of menus. When I finally got to the one I thought I wanted, it told me I needed to follow the instructions on the back of the card to check the balance.
Okay. Card directed me to a website, so off I went. The website wanted the card number, plus PIN that you reveal on the card by scratching off the coating on top of it. I inputed all the numbers and clicked enter. A balance appeared. $25.
Okay. Site says yes, but store said no. Twice. Now what?
I got back on the phone and redialed the customer service line. Sat through the automated message, again. Went through the prompts, but this time I pressed nine for a customer service representative. I waited. As I waited, I occupied myself with other things. Eventually, there was a dialing sound, like when it transfers you to another line, except...
It hung up!
Great. Redialing for the third time. Listen to the message. Again. Go through the menus. Again. Wait. Again. Finally, a real person answers.
I tell them the problem, and that I checked the balance. They say just a moment, they need to bump me up to the next level.
Okay. Not even an attempt to help. Call screener at tech support?
Presently, someone else answers. I give them the information. Very politely and apologetically, she tells me, basically, that she can't help. The only way to find out what happened with the card is to either have a receipt of purchase, which my wife doesn't have, or to have the person who gave her the card call up customer service and walk through the process. They need 10 numbers from the card she used and the date she purchased the card. If she doesn't have the receipt with that info on in it, there's probably a statement of some kind, and surely she remembers which card she used.
All I can do is shake my head at this point. The system is trying to protect against fraud, she says, or fake gift cards. Like anyone would call up over $25 that they were trying to illegally set up themselves? Especially when the gift balance site states there's $25 on it?
Unlike my turn signal bulb, this situation remains unresolved. My wife thinks she'll see the doctor who gave her the gift card sometime next week. She forgot to use it for six months, so what's another week or two or three?
Whatever. I'm not going to lose sleep over that, or anything else. I'm just glad the turn signal bulb is fixed. Now I just have to find out why the tire indicator light is coming on again and get it removed, this time, hopefully, for good.
All images courtesy of Glen Anthony Albrethsen