• Welcome to the Contour Enthusiasts Group, the best resource for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

    You can register to join the community.

Finally got a coug for my 3l, but now it seems there may be an issue (cross post from neco)

K

KAOS_3.0

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
May 16, 2008
Messages
2,997
Location
SE / CLT,NC / ATL,GA
OK, so I picked up this little laser red 99 for 800 bucks. the owner claimed it had a knock in the engine so I just went and snagged it thinking it would be an easy home for my full 3.0 from my contour.

after I get it home, the plot thickens. I put a battery in it and hooked it to a charger and put gas in it and.... cranks indefinitely and sometimes will sort of stumble over but will not start. the kids dad claimed it would sort of run for a while but it seems not to at all. upon further questioning the kid admitted that somebody swapped the PCM. I was thinking pats so I shoved my contour pcm in but it gives a pats condition even with the contour key held against the coug key.

does the transponder need to be aligned in a certain way with the ignition? I had the transponder out of the contour key last night out of curiosity, it's a glass capsule with a coil on one end and a little circuit board on the other. I might have put it back in reversed.

the Xcal tells me P1602 which is a pats problem, as well as p1601 "ecm serial com port error" with my tuned computer in the 99.

the cougars PCM thew a code P0320 yesterday while I was trying to crank it, which is "engine speed input circuit malfunction" which for some reason makes me think of the trigger wheel, but the engine in this car has basically never been touched. no signs of people messing with it. the intake accordion was still sealed to the TB like it has never been apart.

the computer in the cougar does indeed have junkyard writting all over it and states "99 cougar 2.5" the serial is ssd3 or something like that, the Xcal tells me the strategy for it is KHAJCB9.

my already tuned PCM is strategy KHAI5AY, anybody know anything about PCM pin out changes between strategies?

this car is return style just like my 98 contour, so I'm hoping I should be able to just drop in my engine/harness/PCM and it should run, worst case scenario, I'd have to repin the connector at the bulk head, which I should be able to find a wiring diagram to help with, right? theres nothing firewall/dash side in the wiring harness that could cause the car not to start right?

my head is kind of all over the place right now so sorry if I'm not being to linear with my thought process right now.

I'm just trying to figure out if this car is even going to work for me, because if not, I'm pretty skrewed being that I already spent that money on it and there wont be enough left from my check to buy another one. I do have a good bit of cash on me that I can spend getting it going though, which is nice...

I just feel like I'd like to see it actually run a little before I start tearing the two of them apart only to find I have another issue after the swap. right now I have two cars that wont start and that bothers me quite a bit...

please feel free to go on any crazy limbs with your suggestions

thanks

-Paul
 
If it's turning over, then it's not PATS... so leave the ecu alone while you troubleshoot. Wouldn't the crank sensor be related to the error you got? Or it might be as simple as being spark related... but it would be weird if it was starting for the prior owner.
 
morbid said:
If it's turning over, then it's not PATS..
Click to expand...

^^^^thats not true......I was having pats issues a while back and thats all my car would do is turn over while the pats light blinked. The light is suppose to go solid then off when it is working properly.
 
Ah sorry.. I had a pats issue 2 years ago and didn't recall it kicking over. I recalled incorrectly then.
 
OK, but I dont get a pats code with the coug pcm, only with the contour pcm, I have both keys right next to each other so it should be a go for transponders, right? as for the coug pcm the only code I get is the timing issue code, with the contour pcm I get the pats issue, wont crank even, and a serial port code.

I'm not sure what parts to use is the point really. if the coug cm has an issue, then I need to try to use the contour pcm and loom. if the coug pcm would work with the contour loom with would save me time splicing fuel injector ends. if the coug and contour computers are swapable and the looms are the same my life is right as rain. know what I mean?
 
If your not getting any PATS codes for the Cougar PCM, then why did you swap them? If the code only appeared once and hasn't stayed, don't worry about it. And are you sure the car isn't just flooded? If it cranks and and will only stumble to a start after cranking for a while and then just die and keep cranking, it just sounds flooded.

If you don't think it's flooded, pull a spark plug and see if you have spark. If you have spark, I would try to put in some carb clean or starting fluid and see if it will kick over and run for a second. If you don't have spark, pull another cylinder and check if you have spark on that one. Chances are if it is an issue with your fuel or spark, it is a main issue and not individual. If it was individual, the car would start and just misfire. A main issue would be something that would affect every cylinder, like a coil pack, a fuel filter, or a fuel pump. Just things to think about...
 
yeah I get basic trouble shooting. I've already run a bit of gas and starting fluid through the UIM so it's not a lack of fuel. havent checked for spark yet for lack of a helper. should hit that tomorrow though. it would be awesome to have friends that come around during the day time...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top