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

    You can register to join the community.

P1518

S

striker2

Official CEG Vendor
Joined
Mar 15, 2004
Messages
7,903
Location
Arvada, CO
this past week i have been getting a P1518, IMRC stuck open. with the CEL on, the IMRC is indeed open all the time. if i unplug the IMRC box with the engine running, i can watch the IMRCs close. now, if i clear the code and check them again they are closed and function properly for a short while. also, i cleaned the intakes back in November/December so i know they are good and clean.

something strang i noticed is that, aside from a strange idle when they are "stuck" open, the car runs just fine. it doesnt even feel like its that down on power in the lower RPMs.

I have searched and read every thread i could find on these forums, the old forums, NECO, even MEG. nobody has a thread with a post that says what was causing it or how they fixed it.
 
do you have a reason why? cause in several of the threads i read they replaced their IMRC as was suggested and it continued to "stick" open.
 
but not exactly cost effective when none of the JYs nearby have any V6 Contours. I prefer to pinpoint exactly whats wrong with it and then fix that fault instead of just throwing parts at it and hope it fixes it.

from what i can tell, there is no reason for the box itself to cause the IMRCs to "stick" open but still close properly when the key is turned off or the IMRC is unplugged. the only reason i could see it causing this would be frayed cable jamming it, but then it wouldnt close properly obviously.
 
not around here. they are all auto Zetecs or the engines are already pulled. :(

i do think i just found what i needed on the 00 Ford CD finally, i hate trying to navigate that CD (the 97 CD is so much easier lol).

Key off.

- Measure resistance between the IMRC driver circuit to PWR GND and then to SIG RTN and then to the monitor circuit at the IMRC harness connector.

- Are all resistances greater than 10,000 ohms?

Yes
REPLACE IMRC. GO to «HU38».

No
GO to «HU24».
Click to expand...
Ill have to double check them tomorrow but i believe that the answer was YES (which means there is a way for the IMRC box to cause this).
 
1) Check the linkage to make sure it isn't binding or the bushings haven't rotted apart.

2) Open the IMRC box and clean the contacts on the position sensing switch with some fine sandpaper. That fixed my P1518.

Steve
 
I should have mentioned but i already checked the linkage, cable, motor, and cleaned the contacts.

The bushings are still there with the linkage in place and the cable is not frayed. motor moves freely and doesnt bind.
 
Just give up. Leave it open and pull out the CEL bulb. :laugh:

After a 3 years of battling mine, I don't have many options left to try and fix it. I've done it all short of replacing the main harness.

3 different IMRC units
1 engine swap (P1518 code before and after 3L swap)
1 UIM/LIM cleaning and rebuild with new linkage grommets
1 PCM swap
1 injector harness swap

Mine sounds very similar to your situation. When I start the car up, the IMRC is closed. After about 10 secs of sitting idle, it opens and remains open until the engine is turned off, and returns to closed position with no problem. Before it jams open, I can rev it up and watch it open and close like it's supposed to, so I know it functions fine.
 
CSVT1214 said:
Just give up. Leave it open and pull out the CEL bulb. :laugh:

After a 3 years of battling mine, I don't have many options left to try and fix it. I've done it all short of replacing the main harness.

3 different IMRC units
1 engine swap (P1518 code before and after 3L swap)
1 UIM/LIM cleaning and rebuild with new linkage grommets
1 PCM swap
1 injector harness swap

Mine sounds very similar to your situation. When I start the car up, the IMRC is closed. After about 10 secs of sitting idle, it opens and remains open until the engine is turned off, and returns to closed position with no problem. Before it jams open, I can rev it up and watch it open and close like it's supposed to, so I know it functions fine.
Click to expand...
well im leaving for school this weekend so if i dont figure it out today nothing is going to happen to it until probably summer anyways.
 
CSVT1214 said:
Just give up. Leave it open and pull out the CEL bulb. :laugh:

After a 3 years of battling mine, I don't have many options left to try and fix it. I've done it all short of replacing the main harness.

3 different IMRC units
1 engine swap (P1518 code before and after 3L swap)
1 UIM/LIM cleaning and rebuild with new linkage grommets
1 PCM swap
1 injector harness swap

Mine sounds very similar to your situation. When I start the car up, the IMRC is closed. After about 10 secs of sitting idle, it opens and remains open until the engine is turned off, and returns to closed position with no problem. Before it jams open, I can rev it up and watch it open and close like it's supposed to, so I know it functions fine.
Click to expand...


How do you get through CT emissions testing?
 
Well, seeing as I've probably had more IMRC trouble than anybody here (ate 4 in the last 5 months), I'll offer this-

1) Try cleaning out the motor. Sometimes the brushes get gunked up and it messes with the whole system. Go to autozone or such and buy CRC QD Electrical cleaner. Pull the motor and board out of the case, and spray cleaner into the motor. Let it sit for a few hours, and put it back together. fornetti14 taught me this, and it has worked temporarily for me.

2) If #1 doesn't work, call around to the junkyards and find out which ones have V6 Continques. Some Taurus (not sure which) have IMRCs too, but with shorter cables, so you just take the motor and board and put it into your box. Otherwise, you can find a CEG'r with one for $40-50 shipped usually.

3) If you have IMRC problems again after putting a different IMRC on, then I would really suggest just gutting the LIM and tuning around the secondaries. This is my plan if my car eats one more IMRC.
 
ctmystique said:
How do you get through CT emissions testing?
Click to expand...

I thought for sure it was going to fail, but I had no problems.

The day I tested, I pulled over in a parking lot just before testing. I pulled the fuse for the PCM and cleared the CEL (still had a bulb at the time). Started up the car and left it running while waiting in line for testing. They pulled the car in and ran the test without shutting it off so the CEL never came on. I thought it would fail with the PCM not being "ready" yet from the reset, but no. :shrug:
 
I have the same issue a CSVT1214. I helped trouble shoot it at Ford with a Tech. The signal from the PCM was closed and remain so after the IMRC open upon start up. This didnt add up. I was cheaper to get them tuned out and pinning them then to have Ford do a Pinpoint test.
 
ok, little update. last friday i had my dad (an EE) look at the IMRC circuit board. tested the transistor and while it tested fine we determined that it was still over heating slightly due to the fact that the little plastic screw was broken. sometimes what happens when a transistor starts to overheat is it will "leak" and eventually leak enough amperage to turn itself on, thus resulting in the IMRCs opening all the time. we replaced the transistor and i havent had a problem since. in the process of replacing it we broke the old one into 2 pieces and sure enough, it was definitely burned slightly inside.

so, if you cant find anything wrong with the wiring, replace the transistor.
 
Where did you find a replacement transistor? The only place I've been able to find the proper replacement (according to Hightower's fix) is online. Neither Radioshack or the local electronics supply store had the transistor specified.
 
If I take a trip up to Aircougar's this weekend, where my car is stored, I'm going to pull the IMRC off and try out your fix striker.
 
BrApple said:
didn't you already put a 100% new imrc on your car?
Click to expand...

Yup, that's what is on the car now. Heres the twist though.....

It worked perfect for 2 days. I thought I had finally solved it with a new IMRC and just kept installing bad used ones. Then, it started doing the same problem all over again, and hasn't stopped since. :shrug:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top