Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Zetec Maintenance zetec heat

Ill just throw this out there. There is sensor that if you unpplug it will cause the fan to run when the ignition is on. It is on the thermostat housing. It is the top one in my 95 the bottom one (they look the same) actually sends the temp to the gauge. This will throw off a cel but if you really need to you can disconect it with no tools. It might help you out if your ever in a bind.

sounds like something to do while at the track in staging lanes. then hurry plug it back in before closing hood.... i'm not sure how other tracks work, but here you can have hood open till u'r just about to race.

well i just bought a 96 Contour GL and it is running in the L range the fans come on and it never goes below the a the car isnt overheating (no coolant loss or boilover hell no pressure even after running it in traffic
it is bugging me that it runs so hot

i am going to replace the fluids and the Thermastat with a 180

so this is a common thing running all the time in the L on the temp gauge

I suppose you could splice a toggle switch into one of the wires going to this sensor (I think it is the coolant temperature sensor). When you flip the toggle switch open, it should do the same thing as dis-connecting the switch. The next step in convenience is to extend the toggle switch and mount it in the dash, where you can turn it on and off from inside the car.

You could do a similar thing by splicing a toggle switch into the a/c pressure cut-off switch, that mounts into the high pressure a/c line. Connecting two of the wires from this switch will activate the high speed fan.

2 cents -

Car one - 180 thermo runs O -R antifreeze @ -40 with recall fan sensor
Car two - 195 thermo runs A - L af @ -45 all stock

Conclusion: I will install a 180 f into car two, because of the above observed conditions.

I've solved one cooling problem and now I'm finding new ones. I replaced my a/c pressure cut/off switch, so now the a/c and also the high speed fan appear to be working correctly. But, the low speed fan is not engaging at all. I suppose that's why my fan is not coming on until the gauge reaches the L, which is when the high speed fan kicks in. I've been tracing the wiring, and it appears that my resistor that mounts at the bottom of the radiator, which reduces the current for the low speed fan, is defective. Here's my question.....Is this resistor a replaceable unit? The diagram on Fordpartsonline.com makes it look like I have to replace the entire unit, including the fan, motor, shroud, housing....

Yeah, I thought life was good for awhile. That repair was for my contour, and the problem now is on my mystique, but the problems are similar.

What Ford did was to install a secondary inline resistor, right next to the fan. They didn't replace the one in the fan shroud. I still haven't figured out how they were getting the current to the inline resistor, but they apparently re-routed the wiring somehow. Well, after a short while, the inline resistor burned out, and Ford installed another one, which also burned out. I don't know what kind of resistor they were using, but it had a very short life expectancy, so I'm now trying to replace the original one.

On my last trip to Ford, they removed the inline resistors, and returned the wiring to its original routing, which means the current is now channeled to the dead resistor.

I checked the part number, and it shows it is for a 2.0 liter 1999 - 2002, or a 2.5 liter 1995 - 2000, both of which I believe had the dual fans. Mine has the single fan, with two speeds, but maybe the resistor will still work. It's worth a shot.

Thanks.

Resistance value of dropping resistor could be different with single fan, best you check at dealer for part # for your specific configuration.

BTW, I thought recall for early 'tours was to install an inline current limiter (fusible link) for fan motors, not an inline dropping resistor to reduce fan speed.

Hmmmmmmm...maybe it was a current limiter. I know the Ford service manager called it a resistor, but maybe it was nothing more than a fuse. It was a little gizmo, about 4-5 inches long, maybe an inch or so wide, that plugged inline right at the fan connector. I believe three wires went in to it. Ford finally took it out, since it kept melting. I guess that would make sense, if it really was a fusible link. As far as I can tell, they never replaced the original resistor, that was mounted inside the fan housing. That original resistor is the one that I am now trying to replace.