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Headlights come on when it rains, cannot turn off! #940668 04/27/04 04:54 PM
Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 3 M MTOBryan OP Newbie
OP MTOBryan Newbie M Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 3	My daughter has a 1998 Contour LE Sports Sedan, 104,000 mi. Whenever it rains, the headlights come on and you cannot turn them off. This even happens when the car is sitting in the driveway with nobody in it, engine off, all switches off, door locked. If it rains and the lights come on, no matter what you do with the switches, they will not turn off! To keep from draining the battery when they come on, you have to pop the hood, remove the fuse box cover, and pull the middle relay out that turns on the lights. Leave it out for a few minutes and you can plug it back in and the lights will stay off. Relay has been replaced - twice. We have left for the weekend leaving the car behind. If it rains while we are gone, the battery is invariably dead. When you plug the battery charger in, you will see that the headlights are on. We have a friend with an identical model, this happens to his car sometimes even when it is in the garage. If it rains, his lights come on. Does the Contour have a sensor that turns the lights on while raining for safety reasons? My daughter thinks it is possessed. - Regards; MTOBryan

Re: Headlights come on when it rains, cannot turn off! #940669 04/27/04 07:16 PM
Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 44 I idioticslacker New CEG\'er
idioticslacker New CEG\'er I Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 44	Originally posted by MTOBryan: My daughter has a 1998 Contour LE Sports Sedan, 104,000 mi. Whenever it rains, the headlights come on and you cannot turn them off. This even happens when the car is sitting in the driveway with nobody in it, engine off, all switches off, door locked. If it rains and the lights come on, no matter what you do with the switches, they will not turn off! To keep from draining the battery when they come on, you have to pop the hood, remove the fuse box cover, and pull the middle relay out that turns on the lights. Leave it out for a few minutes and you can plug it back in and the lights will stay off. Relay has been replaced - twice. We have left for the weekend leaving the car behind. If it rains while we are gone, the battery is invariably dead. When you plug the battery charger in, you will see that the headlights are on. We have a friend with an identical model, this happens to his car sometimes even when it is in the garage. If it rains, his lights come on. Does the Contour have a sensor that turns the lights on while raining for safety reasons? My daughter thinks it is possessed. - Regards; MTOBryan Contours are not that luxurious as to have a nice sensor like that. I know in my contour I have a DEI nightlight system that automatically turns on teh headlights when it is dark and when I put the wipers on, but never when just sitting around in the rain. Only explination would be something in the wiring that there is water in either power distribution bos, or underneith and shorting the headlights to come on. I woudl check the wiring to the headlights. The relay could be being affected by the different barametric preasure when it rains but that jsut seems a little far fetched. 1999 Ford Contour Lx, 2.5L V6 ATX, 145,000 miles Pioneer DEH-P6400 H/U , Rockford Fosgate 351M 350 Watt Amp, Pioneer TS-W305DVC 12" Sub, Compustar 2WSS, Whelen CSP650 Strobe Pack with 6 strobes, Whelen Talon B/B LED Dash Light

Re: Headlights come on when it rains, cannot turn off! #940670 04/27/04 11:43 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 2,017 Toronto, Canada C chongo Hard-core CEG\'er
chongo Hard-core CEG\'er C Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 2,017 Toronto, Canada	There's a recall for the headlight wiring harness. This is the Canadian recall Make: FORD Model: CONTOUR Affected Year(s): 1996 1997 1998 Units Affected: 56107 TC Recall #: 1999094 Manufacturer: Campaign Code: 99S14 Recall Details The terminals at the headlight switch and wiring harness connector may experience heat damage as a result of overheating. This can cause distortion of the terminal and an open circuit in the instrument panel illumination, parking lamp and tail lamp circuits. Correction: Dealers will install a headlamp switch wiring connector containing bronze terminals and inspect and if necessary, replace the headlamp switch. 1996 2.5LT V6 Contour ATX My Tour+help/info pics E0 rims, Gutted Pre-Cats,CTA Custom Exhaust & Intake, Diablo Chip.

Re: Headlights come on when it rains, cannot turn off! #940671 04/28/04 08:03 AM
Joined: May 2000 Posts: 3,335 Ogden, UT E ExDelayed_dup1 Hard-core CEG'er
ExDelayed_dup1 Hard-core CEG'er E Joined: May 2000 Posts: 3,335 Ogden, UT	Mine would turn on the highbeams when it rained. I swapped it with the lowbeam relay and the problem went away. Seriously though, if you used some dielectric grease on the connectors it would keep the water out of the connections. Inspect the relays and make sure that the cases are weathertight, replacing if needed. The contacts inside the relay are small and it wouldnt take much water to cross them. The headlamp recall is on the switch inside the car, it wouldnt cause this problem. · Jon Miconi · Coming Soon! · 01 Cougar · 98 V70R

Re: Headlights come on when it rains, cannot turn off! #940672 04/29/04 07:21 PM
Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 3 M MTOBryan OP Newbie
OP MTOBryan Newbie M Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 3	I could see this problem happening due to water somewhere in the engine compartment, such a splashup when you are driving. But I do not understand how it can happen just sitting there in air weather, then it rans, and the lights come one.

Re: Headlights come on when it rains, cannot turn off! #940673 04/30/04 08:36 AM
Joined: May 2000 Posts: 3,335 Ogden, UT E ExDelayed_dup1 Hard-core CEG'er
ExDelayed_dup1 Hard-core CEG'er E Joined: May 2000 Posts: 3,335 Ogden, UT	Because there is a gap between the hood and fender. All it takes is some water running down the fender mount and into the distribution box and your set. · Jon Miconi · Coming Soon! · 01 Cougar · 98 V70R

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