Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting 95 SE Cranks but doesn't start

I have a 95 SE 2.5L automatic that seems to have a funny electrical problem. When it starts it runs fine, but sometimes it cranks and doesn't start. Here is the odd part...when it won't start it's because the fuel pump isn't running, BUT at the same time the power windows, locks, mirrors and blower motor don't work either. When the fuel pump kicks in everything works as it should. Obviously the fuel pump isn't the source of the electrical problem, but it is the symptom that doesn't allow the car to start. I've checked all of the fuses and relays. I replaced the ignition switch(which I thought fixed it,but the problem returned)& checked for dry rotted wires under the hood and I still have the problem. I own a Factory shop manual and according to it, all signs point to the ignition switch. Anyone else have or have had this problem? Any ideas?
Thanks,
Al

Seeing you have the same car I would suspect the relays that get picked when you turn the key. I've have a few bad ones already. One turned the ignition/fuel circuit on and the other ran the A/C compressor. Get a wiring diagram and a meter and wait for it to break.
Or you could find the ones that do the job and replace them. Most of them cost from $8 to $12 each. I think the owners manual has a diagram of what the under dash and under hood fuse box has in the way of relays.

Perform a KOEO test and see if you get any codes. My car would stall and start for 30 minutes or so....Tests showed secondary fuel pump failure. I finally replaced the fuel pump and all is well.....

Thanks for the suggestions, but I've already checked the relays and fuel pump. It is a problem with the accessory power that seems to only effect part of the components that get power when the key is in the "on" postion(between accessory and start). This is intermitant. All of the fuses and relays check out fine. I'm wondering if there is a wire that I'm over looking in the book that is the cause of this. One other thing that is interesting, if I put a jump start on it it will start! There is a new battery and new battery cables. This leads me to beleive it is a wire that is losing contact or is partially broken and has high resistance that is over come with extra power from a jump start. Any ideas anyone?
Al

In case you have not searched past posts.

Pull the AUX. power box next to the battery out and check the connections underneath. Fix corroded connections.

my 92 Windstar did something similar once, turned out to be a $4.80 relay that controlled the PCM, despite the dealership insisting that it must be the almost $300 fuel pump.

Maybe, if under 100,000 miles, give some thought to getting the 99M03 wiring harness replacement done.

Thanks again for the suggestions! I had the under hood fuse/relay box apart inorder to change the battery cable and at that time I checked all of the wires and connections. They all seemed like new. I'll look into the PCM relay again. I did check the past posts, but I couldn't find anything that resembled my cars problem. What's the story on the harness recall? Does it cover all Contours with less than 100K miles? This particular Contour has 145K miles so it won't be elegible, but I have a few more (4 and 6 cyl)with less than 100K miles with pretty rotten looking wiring. Where can I find specifics on that recall?
Thanks,
Al

take the car to the dealer and they will run the vin. number in the computer and it will come up for them that the car is covered for under hood wiring problems if it has less than 100,000 miles or 10 yrs on it...
hope this helps,.. the only problem with that is that the dealers/mechanics get screwed by ford as ford does not allow much paid time to them for replacing the wiring harness (so you can be that you gonna get a fast, unprofessional job done on the car).. if i had that problem and could see the bare wires i would just use some liquid tape on the wires and hope for the best.. car might run worst after they mess with it....

My stalling/no start problem was caused by a relay that worked most of the time. Had a lot of 543 codes because it would cut the fuel system and ignition circuits. It caused low voltages due to bad contacts. Same with my A/C compressor, bad contacts.