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96 Contour needs engine wiring harness help

S

sr_ryan1

New CEG'er
Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
9
will i be able to replace the whole engine wiring harness without removing the engine? the wiring on the engine has been degraded really bad there are bare wires crossing everywhere causings shorts and draws and now the car wont even start.

thanks
 
You don't have to pull the engine but the harness is going to cost you more than the car is worth.
 
yes its the Duratec V6. the car only has 95K miles on it and is in good shape we gave $100 for the car i can get the wiring harness at cost for $600. how long will it take to replace the hanress do ya thank?
20 labor hours maybe?
 
sr_ryan1 said:
yes its the Duratec V6. the car only has 95K miles on it and is in good shape we gave $100 for the car i can get the wiring harness at cost for $600. how long will it take to replace the hanress do ya thank?
20 labor hours maybe?
Click to expand...

If you paid $100, it is a steal. Mine is at 99K and has not manifested the harness issue (yet). If you click on the link and thread for 99M03, you will see it says 7.7 labor hours. It is probably closer to 20 for the average mechanic (or DIYer). There was a thread with pictures in the old forums from CSVT#49 who did his main harness.

If you do end up doing it yourself, please take pictures and post a how-to for the benefit of others (maybe even me ;) ). Thanks.

Edit. Good thread with good links from Old Forums.
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/s...er=1301863&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=all&vc=1
 
You may want to check this out 99m03 recall sheet . It gives you all the instructions on how to install. It's 57 pages in all. It also lists the part number. I'm going to change mine this weekend. I hope it goes well.
 
todras said:
but the harness is going to cost you more than the car is worth.
Click to expand...
What!?!?!? I call BS here. If the dealership installs it, then yes, it's more than the car is worth. But to DIY, absolutely untrue.

sr_ryan1 said:
yes its the Duratec V6. the car only has 95K miles on it and is in good shape we gave $100 for the car i can get the wiring harness at cost for $600. how long will it take to replace the hanress do ya thank?
20 labor hours maybe?
Click to expand...
Contact Bill Jenkins at Team Ford Parts. The harness for a V6 shouldn't cost more than around $400 or so. The one for my Zetec was only $140. (I just checked the Team Ford site, and the price has gone up in the last three weeks to $188 and change) Poking around the T.F. site some more, I'm coming up empty when I try entering the part numbers for the various V6 harnesses. You might want to call Bill directly at 1-800-791-6436 and talk with him about it. I'm positive he can get you a better deal than $600 for it.

As far as labor, the 99M03 recall quotes 7.7 hours for a V6 w/ ATX. If you're doing it yourself, multiply that number by about 4. They were smoking crack when they figured the labor. It took MUCH longer than the 1.9 they quoted for my Zetec, with one reason being that three of the harness connectors were completely different from what was on my car. So I had to cut the new connectors off and solder on the old ones. :nonono: PITA. If you got a great deal on the car ,which at $100 bucks you did (I paid $200 for my Zetec w/ bad wiring), then it's definitely worth the fix if you can manage to do it yourself. Not so much so if you have to pay someone else to do it.

Now you have my two cents worth.
 
IRingTwyce said:
What!?!?!? I call BS here. If the dealership installs it, then yes, it's more than the car is worth. But to DIY, absolutely untrue.......Now you have my two cents worth.
Click to expand...

Whoa! Take it easy buddy.

Anything more than a few hundred dollars could be more than the worth of the Contour depending on the condition of the vehicle. As you can see, he purchased it for $100. I would say that (based on Edmunds), a good condition, low mileage 96 V6 is worth closer to $2000. Tack on a few repairs (plus maintenance) and the repair cost can easily go above that. I know. I have spent $1900 so far this year (some repairs and maintenance done by me and some by indies) . But it is paid off, insurance and property tax is low, and it is my daily driver. So for me, it is worth paying $2 to $3K per year for repairs and maintenance. The only time when I will seriously consider letting go is if the repairs take more than a week or two. Then the rental car costs (or loss of vehicle use) plus the repair costs might push me over the edge. But for now, a weekday or two at the indie, or me spending a weekend day or two is acceptable in my books.
 
All four wiring harnesses cost $1400 from the dealership. If the dealership does it, under recall, they have to replace all 4. I went and got mine replaced last fall. Luckily it was covered under the recall, but I did have to pay an extra $375 in labor fees due to the turbo kit since it was harder for the mechanic to work on. It was an all day job for him.
 
thanks for all the help and links dont look to bad of a job to undertake, i will try to take some pictures as im going alone. thanks everyone.
 
If you want to save some money. I have a brand new fuel injector harness for a 96 V-6, #F6RZ-9D930-S6A.
If you already bought one and the part # is the same, save the box. I'll pay you $100, for the box, so I can return this harness for a credit at the dealer that did my recall.
 
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Here's some info. that may help (or discourage?) others:

Ford does not refer to this as a "recall" - that was their excuse for not notifying owners when I talked to their customersaskford phone number (800-392-3673) yesterday and today. They said a "recall" would mean notification of owners and no time or mileage limitations. I told them that the word "recall" is used in 99M03. They said that technically it's not a recall. Therefore no customer notification and the time/mileage limitations. They referred to this as a customer advisory or something like that (sorry I forget the exact wording). Bottom line is they would not budge on the limitations.


For zetec '96-'97, there are two possible harnesses listed in 99M03: F6RZ-14K289-S4TC (MECA II) and ...S4TD (MECA III). I had a lot of trouble finding out about MECA II and III - saw prveious posts trying to figure that out too.

A local dealer did turn up one reference to an OASIS Special Service Message No. 12520 that, along with looking at my HCU answered the question. Here's my pieced-together conclusion:
• MECA II has 4 hydraulic ports on one end of the HCU and 2 ports on the other end (obviously the 4 wheel and the 2 hydraulic cylinder lines).
• The MECA III has 3 lines on one end, and three on the other.

ALSO: Those two part numbers have changed. The ...S4TC and ...S4TC are now ...T4TC and ...T4TD. The first time I spoke to Ford, the girl told me that the parts were no longer even available anymore - that it was a moot point since they obviously could not perform the recall anymore without the parts available. She was FOS. Once I tracked down the updated part numbers, it turns out there are 70 some of each in the system. I called them back today with that info., but they still would not budge.

List on them are $813 and $959 respectively. Dr. Jenkins can supply for around $400 each. Significant discount, but too rich for my blood.
 
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My 98 v6 has electrical problems. It kept blowing the eec fuse and the dealer said the pcm was bad. I'm scared to put a new pcm in and have bad wires still.
 
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