Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Im having problems, need some help!!!

i just bought a 1999 Contour SE 2.0 DOHC 4 Cy. It has been running nice for 2 weeks, then one night it rained, i went thorugh a little puddle, and the next day hell began, the check engine light went on, so I hooked it up to a OBD II reader, and the code that came up is P1383. The car has no power, and it sounds like it has a loud exhaust. When going up hills or starting out, its bvery very underpowered, Ihave no idea what this could be. I looked in the chilton book, and it didnt have that code, I looked on my OBD Software and it said its the Camshaft Retard, and the obd reader said it is a misfire, what are some possible soluitons to fixt this? I replaced spark plugs to champion double plat. and put newark plug wires, im still having this problem, please HELP...

P1383 Cam Timing Advance is excessive.

The comprehensive component moniters ( CCM ) the VCT position for over retarted camshaft timing. The test fails when the camshaft timing exceeds a calibrated value or remains in the calibrated position.

Causes
- cam timing improperly set
- continous oil flow to the VCT piston chamber
- VCT solenoid stuck open
- camhaft advance mechanism binding ( VCT unit)

Welcome to CEG!

If you have over 90,000 miles and the timing belt has not been changed you can replace it and the belt tensioner and check the VCT mechanism together. Otherwise make sure the timing belt has not skipped a tooth and then go after the VCT. Sometimes the VCT will stick from varnish dropout of the oil, an oil system flush may fix.