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New 95 SE with Questions

mjwood0

CEG'er
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Messages
81
Location
Southern Tier, NY
I just inherited a 1995 SE, fully loaded (leather, sun roof, power everything). It's only got 46K on it so I'm looking forward to some good use out of it. Therefore, it seems worth it to me to fix it up a little.

So... here are my questions.

1. When I leave the keys in the ignition and open the door, shouldn't there be a bell? Also, when I leave the lights on I would expect a bell. There is none and I'm worried about leaving lights on / keys in. Is this hard to replace and where would I find a new one?

2. I upgraded the stock cassette deck with a nice Alpine deck that will control my iPod. It's got blue lights and I would really like to switch my interior lights over to blue. Plus, a couple of the door handle lights are not working anyway. How hard is this and do I have to take off the entire door panel?

3. The car is setup for keyless entry and remote trunk release. The remotes and the trunk key were lost before I got the car, so now I have to open the door and pop the trunk / unlock the doors. Since it was wired for this, if I get a remote starter / alarm installed, there should be no problem with the shop installing the remote starter / alarm programming the new remotes to unlock the doors and open the trunk?

4. The fuel door doesn't like to open unless I pop the trunk and use the manual override cable. I've seen this discussed here but it doesn't appear to be the seal around the door. Any other causes?

And finally...

5. Is there any way to add cup holders??? The two that are in the center console that "pop up" don't even clear the leather seats so you can't even open them. I need my coffee in the morning and I would prefer not having to hold it.

Thanks in advance! It looks like this car is a lot of fun and this community is great!

Mark
 
1. there should be a bell when you leave the lights on (w/ door open) and when you leave the keys in (door open)

2. theres a how-to on taking apart the door and putting different color led's in there. It involes some simple soldering, but nothing too difficult. I do believe you have to take off the door panels, but check the how-to.

Also Some place sell different color gauges, a/c, and headlight dials (black/white w/ blue/red/green/etc. glows, as well as replacement (brighter) leds for them. If you want those to match too.

5. not that I know of. I do find the space behind where the buckle goes and the seat works quite well though. (If you mug is small enough)
 
Welcome Mark.
Congrats on the new ride. :cool:

Here is a site where you can get LED bulbs: http://www.superbriteleds.com/
You will have to take the door panels off. Some of the screw covers are tricky to get off, just take your time. You can also get "plug and play" bulbs for under the the dash and the overhead map lights.

If you have an alarm installed you can have them do the remote entry at the same time. You will then be able to unlock the doors and trunk with that remote.

Lucky you, you have cup holders that actually work. :) I know some of the CEG members have been looking for them, they're hard to come by these days.

Again, welcome. :)
 
Thanks to both of you for your responses. I'm really enjoying the car thus far, but there are a few quirks since it's not been driven more than once a month for the last 5 years or so.

Oddly enough, the bell started working again. Weird, but I'm not complaining.

Also, I found the tutorial regarding the door LED installation. Doesn't look too hard so once I get the install / starter wired up, I'll start on that.

I'm sure I'll have lots of adventures with this so I'll try to post some pictures or some questions depending how things go!

Finally, thanks for the welcome! There is so much good information on this site I'm just starting to sort through it all.
 
There is a ton on info on this site. Good to know that you are doing the reading and finding things that will help you! :cool:

Stop by the Northeast forum and say hi. We have other members that are in your area or are close by. They have get togethers every now and again and you are certainly welcome to join them.
 
IRingTwyce -
Thanks so much for that link. I think it's the one I found during my searching but I had lost it again! It doens't look too hard. My stereo is blue and I like blue. So I think I'm going to switch everything over on the doors at least. Eventually, I want to re-paint the car black (instead of the red it is now). It's got some scratches and will probably need a re-paint in the near future anyway. The idea of black / tan leather sounds good. Add blue LEDs and I'll be very happy! <grin>

Luca - Thanks! I never realized there was such a following of the Contour till I came here. I remember my father leasing one and I thought it was a lot of fun. I always liked my grandma's and would try to drive it when I went to visit her. My mom knew this so she gave it to me when my grandma passed away this last spring. I just had a chance to pick it up and now am starting to work on it.
 
5. Is there any way to add cup holders??? The two that are in the center console that "pop up" don't even clear the leather seats so you can't even open them. I need my coffee in the morning and I would prefer not having to hold it.

Some folks have added cup holders from a 92-94 Taurus. This is a single din unit that has cup holder and coin storage. There is some work involved since it needs to be installed in the location occupied by the radio. The radio is then moved lower in the position of that storage pocket. You need to make a hole and reroute the radio connections.

Another option is to get the replacement cup holder from Ford ($21+/-). It is a single and is much stronger than the OEM one. Mine had this one in it when I got it, I have an original double set but have not had it installed, so I don't know if it is taller. However, I also have a 95 with leather seats and have had no problem using it.
my 2 cents
 
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