bighatnohorse wrote:
Regarding the eBay seller:
At first it was just one guy doing the repair - now there are many companies offering the same.
It was a simple fix.
Hazard?
The unit I have in question still works - the all-important break-away is still operational.
The state-dependent-requirement of supplemental braking action is defunct.
So, yes, I would have it repaired if possible.
All probably more information than needed but no, I'm not out of my mind.
BOTH "functions" are EQUALLY IMPORTANT, 1/2 working is not anywhere close to 100% working and most likely will be a considerably more complex part to repair than the breakaway part.
Comparing a FICM fix to your defunct brake system is apples and oranges, can't really compare them. The "fix" will be entirely different and most likely your brake system will be far more complex than you think to fix.
The folks offering repaired FICM are most likely NOT real "companies", most likely they are nothing more than ONE person tinkering in their garage or basement (it isn't any "secret" on how to fix FICMs). IF that was a real legit electronic repair company they would have at least their own real website and not attempting to sell their "products" via an AUCTION SITE. These sellers have no skin in the game after the purchase. They are often "fly by night" vendors.
That IS one of the big issues when dealing with EBay stuff.
Since you have it in your mind that it is a simple fix, perhaps contact a few of the EBay FICM sellers to see if they are interested in taking up your cause?
What do you have to lose?
Honestly, the manufacturer of your brake system is out of business, you have bought a used system WITH THE SAME ISSUE, cut your losses and go buy a new brake system with a warranty. Chances are it will be more dependable than a cobbled up repair.
This advice IS coming from a person who also attempts to fix everything, there is a point in time that you simply HAVE to put the fork in it and call it dead..
Heck I have a couple of 1970's CRT TVs sitting in my basement that still work, yes, I have repaired them multiple times over the yrs but they are not "reliable" the pix isn't as good as newer HD TVs, they are huge, weigh a ton and eat electricity.. They got replaced with newer LCD TVs that I repaired.. And you simply cannot give them away. Those OLD CRT TVs are destined for the curb..
Dumped my 2003 truck with 240,000 miles a couple of yrs ago, thing was literally rusting away in front of my eyes, repaired the bed wheel wells, repaired rusting brake lines, repaired rusting transmission lines, repaired rusting power steering lines, Tailgate was nearly rotted through, drivers door was shot, passenger door was nearly ratted through.. Was the best most reliable truck I have ever had with only a couple of trips to the dealer for repairs..
Just dumped our 2006 truck this spring, kept dumping money into repairs, bed rails rotted out, doors were showing sings of rot and the final kicker was the passenger exhaust header gasket blew out, no way was I going to sink $800-$1,000 into that repair which typically results in multiple broken exhaust studs in the process that require drilling out the studs.. That truck only had 120,000 miles..
Yes, your brake system was expensive, yes, it will be expensive to buy a new unit, Yes, it is irritating that it broke, but...
Sometimes you have to let things go..
