Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Starting problems

Hey group,

I have been having an intermittent starting problem. I have a 99 SE V6 with MTX. The car has been great for 75K and now this... Anyway, As soon as the weather goes below 30, the car does one of three things, either it starts up normally; starts after a few tries with some cranking 'hard stumbles' in between; or just cranks away nicely with no starting. The first time this happened we put in some gas line antifreeze and an hour later it started up. A few weeks later, it is still happening after burning through a few tanks or gas with gas line water remover/antifreeze in them. It seems that each of these events happens about 1/3 of the time. I have cleaned up the battery post, the negative was somewhat corroded with buildup on top, but that hasn't changed anything. I have gone for 3+ hours at 60+ mph and that didn't change things. I still have the original battery, but since the car cranks pretty well continually without any noticeable decline in crank speed, i don't think this is it. I do plan on replacing the battery this week anyway (Any brand/item number suggestions? must be good in cold weather). Also, any part numbers for the Battery cables? I want to replace them too. The family, my wife and I, sister in law, dog and 3 month old are heading north to WI for the holidays and I really don't want to be stranded with the infant! Yes, all in one Contour for FL to WI trip! Any doubts I will be pushing it to get there quickly?

Any suggestions/part numbers would help!

Thanks,

Mikeydo

Are you ready for this???? the cables for the contour cost about $60 to $90...... look at them and figure out what you can do with some regular $1.98 battery clamps and either cut the old ones down some and use the clamps on them or figure out a way to put some bulk wire onto the connections on the battery cable and then to the locations where they go under the battery tray.... gotta be cheaper than new cables.... probably whey they designed the cables the way they did???

hi dbird,

Thanks, i was considering that since i did hear they are some special order part, I was hoping someone found a part that would work that would be more typically available. THe improv cable/connector is probably the way to go though..

mike