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The ignition module on the 95 cars will fire the sparkplugs without any help at all from the PCM, as long as it's getting input from the crank sensor. (That's why it'll still fire the plugs with the SPOUT jumper removed).
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Well, I finally broke down and had my car towed to my local for dealer. They traced the "no spark" issue to the wiring harness. Apparently, when they did a harness replacement under warranty 18 months ago, they only did the cooling fan harness. After pointing out that the recall specified that all harnesses should be replaced if even one is faulty (using the ONP 99M03 document in the Common Problems section of contour.org), they have agreed to replace the other harnesses, even though my car has 115k miles on it.  I think this is a good example of how not all dealerships are out for the quick buck, and many are willing to do what is right for the customer. I still won't be buying a Ford again in the near future, but I'll be happy to give them my future service business and refer friends. If anyone is curious, this was at Universal Ford, in Glen Allen, VA. One other note: Given that this failure was in the wiring for the ignition system, and that I previously had the hesitation problem common in V6's from 95/96, I suspect that this widespread hesistation issue may be wiring-related. Just a thought, and I'll post more info once I get my car back and can test it. Geoff
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Originally posted by wgharper:
One other note: Given that this failure was in the wiring for the ignition system, and that I previously had the hesitation problem common in V6's from 95/96, I suspect that this widespread hesistation issue may be wiring-related. Just a thought, and I'll post more info once I get my car back and can test it.
That's what I've mentioned before, about how it seems a rash of the same problems seem to appear at the same time. I had the recall done as well, they did the whole thing, and it took a month to get it right.
You might drop the owner of that dealership a letter stating the problem, & how his/her dealership failed to follow specified procedure. Probably won't do a damn bit of good, but may help the next guy in line for a recall...who knows.
"Fear is the little death."
Muadib.
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Well, funny you should mention sending a note to the owner... 
The first call from Universal was a message on my voicemail that the harnesses would need to be replaced, and that the labor alone would be $1400. To be fair, I hadn't brought up the earlier repair yet.
Before asking them to cover it based on the incomplete earlier repair, I called the Ford 800# and asked the customer service rep to clarify for me if the ONP required the replacing of all harnesses. After reading so many posts about this recall, with some people having trouble getting the dealer to agree that all of the harnesses should be replaced, I wanted to get clarification on this point in case I had a fight ahead. The rep told me that, as far as he could tell from the documentation on the program, all harnesses should be replaced. He also told me that he was going to send an E-mail to Universal clarifying that. 10 minutes later, the service writer at Universal called me, apologized for the confusion (and the 18 hr labor quote), and assured me that they would take care of the harnesses. He didn't mention the E-mail, but I can't imagine any other reason for him calling me before I had a chance to get back to him.
Despite the persuasion necessary to get this done, I still feel like they did the right thing without any real arm-twisting. And I wouldn't have had any leverage if I hadn't had the full dealer letter and instructions from this site in my posession when I called Ford.
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Good thinking on calling that number. Sounds like the ball is in motion. How long do they plan to have it? It's a pretty intensive job.
When you get it back, go over it carefully to make sure all the plugs have been plugged back in.
"Fear is the little death."
Muadib.
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Originally posted by wgharper:
They traced the "no spark" issue to the wiring harness. Apparently, when they did a harness replacement under warranty 18 months ago, they only did the cooling fan harness.
I'll bet they charged Ford for the replacement of all harnesses. That's warranty fraud, and Ford doesn't take kindly to dealerships that do it. I'd be on the phone with 800-392-FORD in a heartbeat about that one!
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They said it would take about a week. They can have all the time they need, as long as they take their time and do it right. I'm just glad I'm not having to spend any more money and I'm going to get at least another year or two out of my Contour (knock on wood).
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