Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Problem cause from cold raining morning.

Okay, I tried the FAQ list and I didn't get the answer I wished for, so I'll detail my problem with my Contour the best I can. Please excuse me for any little annoyances caused.:

I have a 1995 Ford Contour with a V-8 engine and about 87,000 miles on it. This morning, I was driving home from work in heavy rain with the roads flooded in a few patches, all of them passable since I was following some other guy doing the same and he didn't have any problems. I drove through one of these puddles and suddenly I started losing power. The car stalled out a couple times and I had to restart it. Unfortunately, the restart didn't hold out and I finally conked out in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart with all of Mother Nature getting cranky on me. I tried to restart the car, but all I did was run the battery down low. I had it recharged and the car was dried out enough in case it was flooded, but I still can't get it to turn over and start. There's plenty of power, all the belts and wires are intact and linked up as they should (including the timing and serpentant. [Excuse the misspelling, guys. A car expert, I am not. ]), the gas tank's half full, and all I did prior to my conk-out was adding two quarts of oil that was a little unnecessary. (I was planning to get it changed, but I keep putting it off. Again, I'm a car idiot!)
My dad checked it out and he's at a loss over what happened.

I've checked my problem on a few car assistance sites and I got the link-up about this place from one of them. Any assistance is appreciated. As per forum rules, I've given all the information I can recall in detail. Thanks for the help and for setting up the site. I've learned how to fix one unrelated problem, so thanks for that help.

First of all, thanks for the help.

Second, It doesn't fire up. The battery's recharged with plenty of juice and all the electricals (including lights, radio, etc.) seems okay. I don't know of any energy drain or short to speak of. The fusebox was dry! The engine light functions as it should. No unnecessary lighting. The belt seems okay. It's nice and tight and in its place, as far as I can see. The oil level's fine. Nothing overflowing, thankfully.

That's all I recall now. Again, thank you for the help.

Oh, one last thing.: Please explain to me what a PCM is. As I said, I'm not mechanically-inclined.

"Oil level is fine" Is it between low and high?

PCM is Powertrain Control Module. This is the computer ("brain") for the car and is located under the Power Steering Reservoir in the engine compartment.

Is the Contour still at the parking lot or did you get it towed home?

I found out that I didn't need the oil because the dipstick is over the full marker. My sister thinks the excess oil might be the reason why there's no turn-over because it's interfering with the fuel intake. She had a similar problem when she put too much oil in her car. The minute the oil was drained, it ran normally.

The car's still in the parking lot and safe.

Oil is very likely NOT the problem.

Could be the MEGA-fuse that is located behind the engine near the fire wall.

I am in Florida. Where is Destin, maybe I can come by & help if its not too far...

I'm in Northwest Florida. You're too far to help. I do appreciate it, though.

What is the MEGA-fuse?

Behind the engine someplace, a 175 amp fuse for the alternator.

Irrelevant, as the megafuse would allow/stop the charging process, not the starting process.

Check in to the following:

Fuel pressure/fuel pressure safety button (inside the car, driver's side footwell - (you have... good)

Spark - Good spark from the coilpack? located at the firewall, where the six plug wires come together? Good spark at the plug itself?

Air - not a likely culprit due to the nature of your problem.

Compression - again, not likely because of how/when your problem occured.

The most likely culprit is a spark issue, or PCM issue. Have you checked all fuses in the engine bay, and interior? I know you said it was dry, but a fuse doesn't have to get wet.. the circuit that it protects can short from water and the fuse will blow. Check all related fuses (ignition, pcm (4&11), fuel, spark, etc.



Ray

Well, the car turned over briefly before it went back to its stalled out mode. I pumped the fuel pedal a few times and nothing.

As far as I know, the fuses are fine in the engine bay. I haven't check the interior yet. I didn't even thought of that, to be honest. I don't know about the spark plugs since I can't get them out to inspect them. They're the ones connected to the lines close to the oil cap, right?