Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Attention 95/96/97 Contour/Mystique owners!

i got a 96 V-6 contour.. had it since new.. and i think i got a letter from ford that the wiring harness is covered to 100,000 miles.. here is my problem.. i had the plastic water pump impeller break about 6 months ago and bought a new one.. instead of taking the old one apart and just replacing the impeller side. i had to take the battery out and the battery tray...with the battery tray out i found the heavy gauge wires from the battery leading to the power(fuse box under the hood) the insulation(red plastic/rubber was just about falling off the copper wire... it seemed that it was the entire length of the wire that was covered up from the battery tray...... is this also considered a part of the wiring harness??? if so i got to get it to the dealer to get it replaced.. only problem is each time we had it in the shop for something they either broke some plastic parts, like the dash panel or someting and had to order it from the factory... the last time it took a week.. it was on the truck coming in tomorrow, and then the next day tomorrow.... got them to pay for my Enterprise rental car for the week as it was their mistake(i dont have the extended warranty) and it was about intot he last month of the 3 yr. warranty... i guess they knew they made a mistake....

Yes...that wire is covered too! All underhood wires are covered, and if you have under 100K...and there is exposed copper........they HAVE to replace that harness. Do a little detective work and look for more wires.

Once you've looked at all the wires...take it to a dealer that won't break anything else.

Good Luck

Note: This advice brought to you by me, reporting from Southeastern Michigan, and not your regularly scheduled location of Ft. Lauderdale.