Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Funky Problems

I have a 95 Contour LX V6, VIN #1FALP66L0SK239459 (don't know if that's important) and have been having some problems lately with it. I have had a CEL for a couple of months now that only seems to come on during highway driving. It doesn't stay on or blink, it comes on for a minute, stays off for a while, then comes on again, etc. I have also been having the problem of when I start the car in the morning, it starts, then sounds like it wants to die, but right when it is about to die, it revs back up and this continues for a few minutes. It also seems like it wants to die when I am driving and come to a stop. I have to put one foot on the brake and one on the gas to keep it going. I thought it might be the plugs.

I took it in to my local Midas to have codes read (Ford dealership charges $125 just to hook it up to the computer) and here is what they told me: I have some funky stuff going on. When they first hook it up, they read 10-15 codes and when they look at what the computer says are problems, the problems are fine. If it says a sensor is bad, they looked at the sensor and all was a-okay. They would then disconnect the computer and put the car back together, then hook it up again and 10-15 DIFFERENT codes would be read. He said they are reading "ghost codes". He said something is going on and doesn't know if it's a wire harness short or my car computer going bad or what it might be. He does not think it is the plugs. He said to call the dealership and find out if there are any recalls on it and take it there. I just had it in to the dealership and they said that they performed all the recalls that were on it that I had not had completed. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Hmm...the mechanical problem (engine choking) sounds like it might be a carbon buildup issue. I've got the same year, model, and engine as you, and at the 74K mile mark (or thereabouts) it got to where it wouldn't idle. The dealership cleaned it all out but NAILED me on labor. The procedure for carbon cleaning is on the CEG site, however, and sounds easy enough for most people to do.

As far as the code mess...that's weird. I'd do the engine cleaning, reset the computer, and then see what happens.

I don't know, but you may want to check the wiring harnesses under the hood. If you have any wires that are cracked or the insulation is broken or brittle, they need to replaced (better yet have ford check them under a recall they issued a while ago). This seems to be a problem with 95 models and ford will replace all the engine wiring harnesses for free under their recall, as long as you have less than 100k miles on your car. Infact my 95 Mystique is at the dealer right now getting the engine wiring harnesses replaced. I noticed with mine that my electrical power would fluctuate slightly when i took my foot off the gas, however there is no prescribed symptoms for failure of the wiring harnesses. When you have stripped or partially stripped wires exposed to other striped wires, anything could happen.
hope that helps,
good-luck

NOTE: You must ask specifically to have the wiring harness recall checked (recall # 99M03). They do not normally check it when you bring your car in. They only check and replace it if you complain about it - their lazy. This is what I had to do just a few days ago.

Your CEL sounds like partially clogged EGR or possibly O2 sensors. The cleaning mentioned above will take care of the clogged EGR passages. The O2 sensors do get weak and fail after a while, giving the symptom you mentioned. On your 95, you can find out the fault code by putting a jumper in the test connector and counting the CEL flashes. Or take it to a mechanic or even autozone to get the code scanned. The diagnostic connector is on the drivers side, just behind the strut tower.

what twowhellen said is probably it. use some progard fuel injector cleaner in it with a half a tank of premium and drive the crap out of it. sometimes this will help a lot.

In addition to the problems outlined in my original post, almost immediately upon starting my car, the cooling fan kicks on. Any ideas about this or does this help anyone know what might be wrong with my car big picture?

Don't think this is much help, but...

Cooling fan is always on when A/C is on. I had perhaps opposite problem of cooling fan not running immediately when a/c turned on. This was fixed by a pseudo-recall...I think the wiring harness thing refered to above.

Another follow-up to my own question. After doing research on this site, I came across something about recall #97E61 (catalytic converters). I had this recall done and soon after that, my idling problems began. In the article from this website, Peter Tampas put together a FAQ on this subject and I found out that other problems may be introduced "if the car is not reassembled completely. One common error is the Oxygen sensors not getting properly reconnected, which will result in crappy performance that you will notice right off the bat."

Do you think this is what is causing my idle problem???

One more thing. When I'm at a light and my 'tour almost dies, I put her in neutral and floor it and the rpm's max out at 4000. It will not go past this. Any more help on this will be fantastic.

Thanks

Sounds like a wiring harness, but I work aircraft, not cars. The PCM could be on it's way out (big $$) but it's most likely something electrical as there are just way too many problems there.

IIRC, the ATX trannies have a 4000 rpm limit in neutral or park BTW. Otherwise your limiter should be at 6750 but I can't see an ATX hitting that mark with a speed limiter of 112mph.