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98 problems

Q

QTnursestudent

Be Gentle I'm New Here
Joined
May 24, 2007
Messages
4
Location
South Texas
Hi. I'm new here. I'm a single mom and am having difficulties with my 98 Contour. I have a couple of friends who can help me with the actual mechanic work, but I need to do the research and leg work myself.

I believe it's a 2.0 (4 cyl) auto with abs. Where can I find info on the exact specs?

I understand there was a recall on the wiring harnesses of models up to and including 1997. My 98 has the same problem. All the wiring is brittle and cracked. Is the wiring causing or contributing to:

Overheating? Several months ago my car started overheating. My mechanic friend determined that both cooling fans were locked up. Ordered and replaced complete dual fan assembly. When the a/c was turned on during testing, it blew a fuse immediately. Twice. I can live without a/c, so for a few weeks the car was fine. Then picking up my daughter from school, I noticed the car was overheating again. I got it home and now only drive the car to town for groceries. Keeping it at highway speeds keeps the engine cool obviously.

Air bag flashing? Many, many months ago my air bag light started flashing. It's either 14 or 41. Either way, both of those are wiring related (or so I've read) One is something about the ground and the other is open circuit or something.

So.....
cracked, brittle wiring
cooling fans not working correctly
a/c blows fuses
air bag light flashing 14 or 41

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!
 
QTnursestudent said:
Air bag flashing? Many, many months ago my air bag light started flashing. It's either 14 or 41.
Click to expand...

Need to be specific on the codes for us to be of the best help.


QTnursestudent said:
So.....
cracked, brittle wiring
cooling fans not working correctly
a/c blows fuses
air bag light flashing 14 or 41

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

Had any other work done prior to these issues? Engine or tranny replacement or rebuild perhaps? Sounds like somebody may have impacted a harness during pull or install. Also, check your fuse box next to the battery & inspect the wiring there. Battery acid & corrosion may take a toll.

Your best bet may be to post in your regional forum & ask for some help. CEGers have been known to make a weekend out of getting somebodys car into top shape.
 
Overheating:

ARE your fans still working with the A/C off? Do you notice either the low or high fans cycling on/off?

Airbag: The code would be *digit one*- pause- *digit two* - long pause, repeat. So.. find the long pause, then start from there to get the correct code and then return with that code for us to further point you towards a corrective action.


Oh, and p.s: That was nowhere NEAR 98 problems. that was two or three :D :D :D
 
Ok. I went out to see what the air bag code was exactly. It was 41. (I knew it was either 14 or 41.) So, if the technicality helps: 4 1.

Also, my poor car has made it to 199,821 miles without too much work. No engine work. No transmission work. Tires, battery, mass air flow sensor, and refill the a/c. It's been rode hard, but it gets me to where I'm going. So, no, there was no work done before.

At first the other fan worked fine (not the a/c) I know it's worked since it got hot at the school that day (2 weeks after replacing fan assembly) because I've felt it cycle off, but honestly, no I don't think it's working like it should.

I will have my friend look at the stuff he did with the fan assembly. Once the a/c started blowing fuses, he went back and went over everything again to see if he had done something during installation. (He's a heavy diesel mechanic on tractor trailers. It's hard to transfer that knowledge into working on little cars. I keep telling him that I should start driving a big rig. At least then he'd know what he was doing. hehehe) He did tape some of the cracked wiring, so there is a possiblity that some of the wires inside are touching. If that's it though, I'd rather replace the whole wiring harness. It needs it anyway.

How do I figure out which wiring harness to order for my car? Is there someplace that has a parts lists for my particular vin? It's just funny that all these problems seem to be wiring related.

And, yes, my title was misleading....didn't mean to say there were 98 problems. Although, if I actually sat here and listed each and every little thing that is wrong with my poor old car, there would probably be 98!! :shocked:

I appreciate it!!
 
Thank you. I had already found all this info during my research.

Question is: are these issues all related to the wiring harness?

And: since my car is a 1998 model, do those numbers on the recall match my car?
 
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