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SE V6 died, wont start up....

B

BADEVO

CEG'er
Joined
Feb 2, 2007
Messages
266
Location
Charleston SC
New guy here and I have spent the entire weekend online looking for answers. YES I have searched.
smile.gif


Bought an SE V6 from a buddy of mine on friday. Here is what it has been doing.

Monday he is on his way to work and he notices his gauge cluster is not acting right, flickering etc. He pulls over, pops the hood, looks around. Nothing. He gets back in the car, turns it off and tries to restart it....nothing. It's dead.

Has it towed on base and the folks at the base service station ( auto hobby shop) check it out and replace a 7.5 amp engine management fuse. Car cranks right up.

Tuesday morning he goes to the garage and tries to start the car...NOTHING. It doesnt even crank over. I went over and checked the fuses and all of them were good and the battery was holding a good charge.

Is this the alternator, the starter, bad wiring? Any help you guys could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Dan
 
Dan,

There is a ground near the fuse box that may be your problem. I can't remember if it's under the box (the box under the hood) or along side it. I think the ground wire is held to the chassis by a 10mm bolt. If the shop replaced a fuse and got the car started they may have messed around near that fuse box enough to get that ground to work.

I had this happen to me before and it made my dash go crazy (tach jumping) and the car finally died and wouldn't start. Wouldn't move and didn't even click. After a while there were no dash lights or anything.

You may want to check other grounds and I think there is one under the black intake tube which attaches to the motor. My money is on the ground near or around that fuse box. Since it's under the hood it may be subject to more corrosion than the one under the dash.

Reply back to let us know what's going on.
T
T
 
I'm heading over to where the car is in 30 minutes, and I will give that a check. Thanks for the help, it is much appreciated.

Dan
 
UPDATE: Went back to the house where the car is parked. Used my handy fluke digital multimeter and checked all the underhood fuses. Everyone of them was good. I proceed to the drivers side kick panel fuse. I start testing there, and bingo the same 7.5 amp ENGINE MANANGEMENT fuse was blown again. I replaced it and it fired right up.

Now my question is, what would cause it to continue to blow ? I checked the grounds that I could find and they were all intact.

Dan

PS - Thanks to those who have offered advice thus far!
 
BADEVO said:
UPDATE: Went back to the house where the car is parked. Used my handy fluke digital multimeter and checked all the underhood fuses. Everyone of them was good. I proceed to the drivers side kick panel fuse. I start testing there, and bingo the same 7.5 amp ENGINE MANANGEMENT fuse was blown again. I replaced it and it fired right up.

Now my question is, what would cause it to continue to blow ? I checked the grounds that I could find and they were all intact.
....
Click to expand...

Tony2005 said:
... Post what year the car is. You should consider putting the year, engine (2L, 2.5L or 3.0L) and transmission (MTX or ATX) in your signature.
......
Click to expand...
..........if you want an educated guess of what is the cause of your car problem.
 
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I updated my sig, for some reason it doesnt show.

Anyway, car specs.

1998 Contour SE
2.5 L V6
Auto Trans
94K Miles
 
You may have a wiring harness issue. Call Ford to see if you are covered by the 99M03 Customer Satisfaction Extended Warranty.
http://www.contour.org/FAQ/recall/99M03/

Check fuse holders and wiring next to "Fuse 30 - 7.5 - Brown - Engine management system" to see if the wiring is exposed or connectors are broken. Jumper a wire from fuse end to PCM end and see if it helps.

Edit. Read this thread and links for Fuse Panel info and "how to fix a melted fuse box."
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=7430
 
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Dan,

Check your door tag for the production date of the car.

There are two different schematics for the 98s with March 98 being the dividing line.

In both versions, F30 supplies circuits that includes the instrument cluster, the PATS module, and the OD cancel switch on the gearshift selector unit among others.

When F30 blows, the vehicle is immobilized due the the PATS system (cranking is disabled).

Faulty grounds will not cause a fuse to blow, they will cause many other problems, but that isn't one of them. Excessive current is what causes fuses to blow. That means you have a partial or intermittent short circuit in the load side of F30.

Based on my history with other Fords, especially the F150 and the SHOs, I'd hazard a guess that your wiring for the OD cancel switch is chafing in the gearshift selector unit and is intermittently shorting to ground and is blowing the fuse.

I'd start with that and either prove or disprove it.

Steve
 
Holy smokes.... I just realized this when you said it, but the wires on the overdrive are cut. I saw that yesterday when I was detailing the car and I had the console up. Its two green and black wires I believe. Maybe thats the issue.....
 
I had the same problem two days ago. For me it was the battery and the battery cables. The grounds might have something to do with it. Anyway clean the battery connections and you should be good.

____________
1996 Contour SE
2.5 L V6
134,000 miles
Manual
 
projectSHO89 said:
Dan,

Check your door tag for the production date of the car.

There are two different schematics for the 98s with March 98 being the dividing line.

In both versions, F30 supplies circuits that includes the instrument cluster, the PATS module, and the OD cancel switch on the gearshift selector unit among others.

When F30 blows, the vehicle is immobilized due the the PATS system (cranking is disabled).

Faulty grounds will not cause a fuse to blow, they will cause many other problems, but that isn't one of them. Excessive current is what causes fuses to blow. That means you have a partial or intermittent short circuit in the load side of F30.

Based on my history with other Fords, especially the F150 and the SHOs, I'd hazard a guess that your wiring for the OD cancel switch is chafing in the gearshift selector unit and is intermittently shorting to ground and is blowing the fuse.

I'd start with that and either prove or disprove it.

Steve
Click to expand...

I owe you a cold beverage of your choice sir! Thats exactly the issue it looks like.

I noticed the wires yesterday but honestly it didnt even occur to me to check those out. SO today after reading this I left work early and pulled the wires up through the console. turns out the tips were still exposed and the wire was chaffed. I taped and cut them and have them sitting away from anything and the fuse has been fine since 2pm (6 hrs ago).

Yesterday it wouldnt last 1 hour. I think thats it for sure.

Thanks again.

I look forward to checking her in the am.

Dan
 
That's some good information about your short circuit! I'm curious, is your o/d on or off? I had the shift lever off once, those green wires were very delicate. Had to fix the shift interlock.
 
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The default postoin of the thumbswitch (O/D CANCEL) is open which is the same state that will be present if the switch is completely disconnected. Closing the switch instructs the PCM to CANCEL O/D, turning it off and illuminating the indicator lamp in the cluster at the same time.

Glad that identified the problem.

Steve
 
This is an awesome day. I went down stairs this morning at 7:15 and it was freezing cold but the CON started right up! PorjectSHO89 I owe you one sir!
 
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