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here we go again....help please

formulad3

CEG'er
Joined
Apr 1, 2014
Messages
97
Location
watertown wi
so. after my much unplanned for motor swap. i take my car to get an alignment and when i pick it up i noticed it didnt seem to be running right. lacking power and idling slightly rough. not thinking much of i drive home and after showering quickly and heading out to shop the radio cuts out and i get this noise through the speakers that seems to go with the rpms. then my fuel pressure gage goes crazy and starts showing 100plus psi. then my abs, brake and alternator light comes on. i pull over, shut her down and restart it. seemed fine til about 2 minutes back on road and it happens again. pull over, let her sit for 5 minutes and she was good again. ran ok for 2 days then bam! starts acting up. it seems that if i try to accelerate even in a moderate fashion it happens. cycle power and its all good.

finally, last night after checking all the grounds and adding a missing one. i take it for a ride and at first it didnt happen but as i was on the home stretch to the shop i decided to test it and i attempted to accelerate and it happened again. only this time the lights went out while cruising at highway speeds.
my side markers were still on b ut no high/low beams. i make it back and cycle power. the low beams started working again but i cant for the life of me get the high beams to work. cant even hear the relay for them.

conclusion. is it possible that the tech performing the alignment accidentally messed up and abs sensor? or is it possibly bad wiring for the lights? im gonna start looking into this tonight when i get done with work and was wondering if anyone else had these same symptoms?

thanks all.
 
If it is a 98 model then check wiring harness for cracks in the coating.

Check to make sure alternator is charging 13 + volts as well.

There isn't anything the alignment shop could do that wouldn't be obvious when you look at the engine bay or underneath. ABS sensor would not matter.
 
Good ideas, i will have to check on these when i het home form work.
Thanks and please keep the ideas coming. I am scheduled for a dyno tune next week tuesday and i dont wanna miss it again.
This will be the 3rd time i will have to cancel
 
I third the notion for bad alternator or shoddy elec. harness. FWIW, if you have to swap the alt, follow the how to guide, but also drop your catback and y-pipe. It takes a bit of extra time, but the extra room is soooo worth it.
 
If the alignment shop had to torch your tie rods to get them to turn, they could have torched a wire(s) by accident if they are not careful.


I think it is alternator or harness issue.
 
update

update

after inspecting for loose/bad connections. I removed the hid lighting and left them out. it appears that the high beam bulbs have both been blown out. the sockets are getting good voltage. I took it for a drive and shortly after leaving the driveway it happened again only this time the batt light was only light to come on. I got her home and started measuring continuity in the sensor wires to the connectors by the rear pass side vale cover. the mass air has 2 wires that both have cont. in multiple pins. and the iat sensor wires have cont. through the same pins.

the car also isn't making any power and there are no codes being thrown by computer. not stored nor pending. im wondering how the high beam bulbs blew. is there a short in the lighting wiring or is the engine harness issues causing everything.

and if anyone would happen to have a wiring harness for a 98 e1. I am looking.
thanks
 
Have you checked the voltage output from the alt yet? Measure before the electrics go whacko and then as soon as your symptoms show up, measure again. I've seen surging gauges, battery lights, weird indicators, ghost signals from the speakers.....

I know we keep bringing it up but from the sounds of it, you haven't looked at this possibility yet. I stand to be corrected though.
 
yes, i checked it at cold start and was 14.33. but once it started to warm up it happened again and by the time i got back home the light had cleared ( alt light ) but the alt was struggling to hold 14.00 after the car warmed up and light had gone away. i was literally 5 feet from shop when light went off. like always, let cool down and tried to get it to happen again but it would not. however... it was not making any power. thought imrc wasnt functioning but it is. not sure why it happens as the engine is warming up then seems not to happen after it is at operating temp.
is it possible that while in closed loop a sensor is neglected then after going into open loop that sensor acts up then causes the problem?

anyone know which sensors are neglected while in closed loop? hoping to narrow this down by the weekend. or else i will have to remove wirig harness and replace the wires. grrrr.
but the high beam bulbs were blown out??? like a power surge happened. maybe as the alt warms up the regulator starts to fail?

anyone got a spare alternator to try? really dont wanna waste 200 bones on one if i dont need it.
thanks again all.
Aaron
 
could the elimination of the a/c compressor be causing a problem???
i eliminated the a/c when i replaced the motor and not sure if one of the plugs need to be grounded.
thanks
 
Update

Update

well, i hooked my meter up to radio connection n go for a drive and it warmed up fine
And ran well and then the alt light came on but i still had 14.06 vdc. I kept driving and
It still ran pretty decent. I pull up to house n monitor the meter then my voltage goes to
Low 12.30 vdc n starts running slightly rough n the voltage just kept falling off. I put on the heat full blast n the car almost died. Turned off heat and car, turned it back on n i had full voltage again.
 
i went to autozone and tested the alternator 10 times ( myself, so i know the real readings ) and it passed everytime. however the test is only 30 seconds long and my alt doesnt start acting up til a good 5-10 minutes into ride. im lost.

blu... i was actually gonna txt u last night about an alternator. so if you have some time today shoot me a message and we can work something out.
i really need this car back on the road as i have a dyno tune on tuesday and then off to road america on friday for some evening track time.
thanks
 
Common for regulators to spit out once they get good and hot but work fine at first.
 
so i put on a new alternator and after firing her back up, i let her idle for a few then tap the gas and the damn alt light came on again.
only this time when i rev it up the voltage drops to low 12vdc to high 11vdc. then after the rpm's settle back down to idle... voltage is 13.95 again.
the blinkers stopped working so i located the central fuse box and after swinging it down and looking over the connectins and putting cjb back up into position,
then the blinkers started to work again. this thing is crazy retarded.......
 
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