Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting cracked wiring

well, i verified i have cracked wires all over the place (had to peel back the black shield around the wires a little bid to see).

thank you qaz and mystiquesvt for suggesting I check them!

the four wires going to the coil pack (not the plug wires, the other ones) have visible cracks, one has a small piece of insulation missing. two of the connectors on the top/rear of the engine have insulation missing where the wire goes into the connector, and cracks all over.

its a 95, and i currently have 70k miles. recall 99M03 right?

going to the dealer tomorrow. anybody have any suggestions on getting them to honor the recall?

i'll let you know how it goes, and what happens.

also i?m going to pull out the under the hood insulation when i get it back. i?ve read a few posts that say it traps in heat and dust, and i can stand a little extra noise.

I doubt you'll have to push them very hard. I was trying to get the dealer to cover my cat clog up, and they wouldn't even look at the cat problem till they replaced the wiring harness. I had 82K miiles at the time. Unfortunately, they wouldn't do anything for my cat problems, but they did the wiring harness, no questions asked.

You are more than welcome. Check out my webpage....then download the 99M03 recall on the bottom of the screen. Print it.....study it....and hightlight the part that says "that if bare wires are found they must be replaced" or something to that effect. Good luck! Oh...make sure you check the wires coming off of your battery. Check the wires that go to the fans on the very front. Check the wires that go behind the engine. The Fuel Charge harness connects into the Engine control harness on the left rear of the engine. Look at all those connections very, very carefully with a flashlight. FIND ALL BAD WIRES.....

Believe me when I say this....you DO NOT want to replace them yourself.

Good luck...PM me when you get them to look at it!

recalls are always to be free of charge, and upon request you are to be supplied with a suitable rental car again at no charge for the rental fee.

Emission systems are covered by a federal government mandated warranty of a minimum of 80,000 miles and a set number of years which I am not sure of, and the warranty expires when either one of these limits are met or exceeded.

Funny you should mention pulling the underhood insulation...

1)Only 95-97 models are affected by the wiring harness cracking issue (caused by wiring insulation that cannot handle the heat)

2)98 and newer models don't have a hood liner

3)The hood liner traps heat

4)Unknown is whether 98 and newer models use the same wire insulation as previous models or not (it's easy to tell the difference but I can't easily get access to a 98 or newer model to see)

Brian

According to the .zip file on the FLCEG website, the recall accounts for a total of .8 hours of inspection time, both visual, and electronic testing. This should be something you can take to the dealer and be like: "test it, bisnich." and they should do it free of charge. Hopefully, they find something and replace it. I guess it'd be a good idea to check yourself too

My 98 has a hood liner (until I soon get around to removing it). No problems with my fuel injector harnesses - I was in there messing with them a few months ago when I put in new injectors. Nor does my coil pack harness have any problems. FWIW.

I really wish I had access to a 98 so I could see what sort of wiring insulation it uses.

Or a 95-97 with the replacement harnesses installed.

I guess I'm gonna find out, I can't let my '95 sit in my garage in pieces forever

Brian

Most recalls do not include rental cars. Some dealers will provide one if asked, but most recalls do not make a provision for alternate transportation.

Emissions warranties vary from year to year and from state to state. There is a warranty information book that comes with the owners manual that will give more complete information. Typical coverage for the last several years has been bumper to bumper coverage for most items, and 8/80 for some of the more expensive items. In the early 90's it was 5/50 for all smog items and the auto makers negotiated the change that would provide longer coverage for some items in turn for less coverage on some of the less costly items.

oh ok, the rental car thing was told to me by my local dealer that all loaner cars are free of charge if your car is in for recall, it must be a program they offer.

My "99 SVT had a hood liner, but I took it off and put it in the attic for the mice to eat