Major wiring issues please help

Originally posted by 1998tred3.0:
Why not jus tfollow the bare wire farther up the harness until u find good wire, replaced the bad part with some butt connectors, solder and some wire and tie it into the factory connector?

I would and should prob do that but that is alot of cutting soldering and connecting and then i'll end up with a bundle of wire so big i won't get it back where it goes

Actually, it isnt that big a deal.. How many wires are u talking? Plus itll avoid future headaches. Do it right the 1st time, or youll be doing it right the second time.

Originally posted by 1998tred3.0:
... Do it right the 1st time, or youll be doing it right the second time.

LOL. I like this statement.

Tell me about it, like everyone telling you to upgrade your trans when u build a 3.0 and not listening. Sux taking all tht crap out again. lol

Seriously, just follow your pigtail up, replace the wire, use some but connectors and tape it up, itll save you a ton of hassle, trust me.

tony do you know if the harness in that how to is just one harness

Originally posted by 1998tred3.0:
Actually, it isnt that big a deal.. How many wires are u talking? Plus itll avoid future headaches. Do it right the 1st time, or youll be doing it right the second time.

There are alot of wires in that harness i might just replace it

Originally posted by icysvt:
tony do you know if the harness in that how to is just one harness

CSVT#49's how to is one harness. The recall has 4 harnesses. The $600 is for all 4 harness. Check with Bill Jenkins if you can purchase just the one that you need. Read the posted links.

Originally posted by Tony2005:

Originally posted by icysvt:
tony do you know if the harness in that how to is just one harness

CSVT#49's how to is one harness. The recall has 4 harnesses. The $600 is for all 4 harness. Check with Bill Jenkins if you can purchase just the one that you need. Read the posted links.

ok if that is just one harness then that is the fix i need and it won't be that expensive either i don't guess i'll contact bill

Do you think Ford will replace my wiring harness? My cooling fan isn't working until you wiggle the harness. My mechanic(used to work for Ford) said the harness was a recall, but my car is over ten years old and has less than 100k miles.

I hope I don't have to buy the harness.

Originally posted by KerryKool:
Do you think Ford will replace my wiring harness? My cooling fan isn't working until you wiggle the harness. My mechanic(used to work for Ford) said the harness was a recall, but my car is over ten years old and has less than 100k miles.
I hope I don't have to buy the harness.

Well technically if you read the recall it covers an additional 10yr 100,000 so i would think you might be able to get them to but with that year i dont know. worth a try though

KerryKool,
I don't think they will replace it free as it is 10 years old. But you could try asking and see what they say.

As for the fan harness, that can be purchased individually for about $200. Some CEGers have replaced just that.

However, you should check the connectors first. Then, I would also suggest opening the outer cover (of the fan harness) to see if any of the wiresis flaking off.

Edit. I thought you were going to do the moderndino zetec fan fix, or did that not help.
Zetec cooling

I definitely have bare wires. Even some of the injector wires are flaking off. But the strange thing is that I took my car in for a diagnostic on my two times before the 10 year mark, once before I even bought the car and another w/ a timing belt problem. Hopefully I'll find the receipt and show them whats what.

I thought I fixed my fan w/o out the sensor right after the post, and it worked but only for a few days. But that is just the fan, there are other problem areas.

Check out the connectors that are part of the fuel injector harness. This harness is subject to high heat. the wires under the UIM are usually the wires with the most dammaged insulation. I just so happen to have a brand new harness I can sell you. Part # F6RZ-9D930-S6A. There are at least ten connectors that are part of this harness, TPS, IMRC, Coil Pack, all 6 injectors, front upper HEGO, IAC, CAM, and crank position sensor, water temp etc. The price for just the fuel / charging harness is approx. $ 370 thats Bills price all four are about $2000.

Originally posted by KerryKool:
.... But the strange thing is that I took my car in for a diagnostic on my two times before the 10 year mark, once before I even bought the car and another w/ a timing belt problem. ..

I know what the answer to that will be. "Sorry, can't help you. It was fine when you brought it in. The wiring harness started flaking after the 10 year mark".

Originally posted by icysvt:

Originally posted by Tony2005:

Originally posted by icysvt:
tony do you know if the harness in that how to is just one harness

CSVT#49's how to is one harness. The recall has 4 harnesses. The $600 is for all 4 harness. Check with Bill Jenkins if you can purchase just the one that you need. Read the posted links.

ok if that is just one harness then that is the fix i need and it won't be that expensive either i don't guess i'll contact bill

Yea sorry I didn't chime in on this earlier.

First of all you need to ask yourself if you have less then 100,000 miles on your car. If you do, then your saved, Ford will replace your harnesses under the recall 99M03 because of your cars production date. You may need to call Ford Customer service and speak to a representative. However you will first have to call a dealership and speak with someone there. Tell them the problems, and give them that recall number. Make sure you speak to a service manager tell him/her who you are, your VIN number and explain the recall. Chances are he/she will know about it and explain to you that it is only for 95-97 Contours and that your VIN number does not come up under the recall. This is fine tell him/her you are going to call Ford Customer Service because you know that it is covered and tell them about your situation. When speaking to customer serivce make reference to the dealership and the service manager so that when Ford Customer Service authorizes the dealership to make the repair under that recall they will have a contact to that dealer and have a person to speak to, in this case the service manager you spoke with. Everything after that will be fine and dandy. You will just have to get your car to the dealership for the repairs.

If you do decide to do it yourself because you have over 100,000miles then you just need to rewire the main engine harness and check the other harnesses for problems. Refer to the recall for part numbers and harnesses to check. If you have issues with the wiring for the cam and crank sensors that will be where you spend most of your time rewiring, but everything else is pretty quick and painless. The crank and cam sensor have a copper wire wrapped around the signal wires to prevent signal interference to the ECM. I had to strip insulation off of the wires I bought to wrap it around the new signal wires. I have pictures of the process from when I did this HERE. If you have any questions PM me or post here and I will try my best to answer them.

Good luck.

Originally posted by CSVT#49:

First of all you need to ask yourself if you have less then 100,000 miles on your car. If you do, then your saved, Ford will replace your harnesses under the recall 99M03

He has a 98 model. 95-97 models only.

Originally posted by CSVT#49:
..Yea sorry I didn't chime in on this earlier.

First of all you need to ask yourself if you have less then 100,000 miles on your car. If you do, then your saved, Ford will replace your harnesses under the recall 99M03

You just need to rewire the main engine harness and check the other harnesses for problems. Refer to the recall for part numbers and harnesses to check. If you have issues with the wiring for the cam and crank sensors that will be where you spend most of your time rewiring, but everything else is pretty quick and painless. The crank and cam sensor have a copper wire wrapped around the signal wires to prevent signal interference to the ECM. I had to strip insulation off of the wires I bought to wrap it around the new signal wires. I have pictures of the process from when I did this HERE. If you have any questions PM me or post here and I will try my best to answer them.

Good luck.

Hey! We don't need your links. Need just your advice, expertise and experience. I've already posted those two links.

Originally posted by eepals:

Originally posted by CSVT#49:

First of all you need to ask yourself if you have less then 100,000 miles on your car. If you do, then your saved, Ford will replace your harnesses under the recall 99M03

He has a 98 model. 95-97 models only.

Not so fast! That doesn't matter... his production number and date from his SIG is "#844 Born May 9,1997" So as far as Ford is concerned it falls under the recall because of this oh so fine sentence: "Certain 1995 - 1997 Contour and Mystique vehicles built from Job #1 1995 through Model Year End 1997 "

1997 is the key there. I have already been through this with Ford customer service and our cars if the production date is within 1997 are covered under this recall because 1997 parts were being used on these cars.

Didn't you have a early model 98? Did you get any refund from Ford for the work you did? I see you have # 49 never mind the first question.

Originally posted by Tony2005:
Hey! We don't need your links, just your advice, expertise and experience. I've already posted those two links.

LOL! I see how it is. Yea sorry I didn't bother reading all of your links or clicking on them otherwise I wouldn't have bothered posting them. My bad. Good advice and quick to the punch man!

So as far as expertise and experience...

Heres what you'll have to do:

-Remove the air intake and all of it's vaccumm tubing and put to the side
-Disconnect the EGR valve vaccuum tubing, unbolt the EGR valve
-disconnect the idler air valve wire plug (mark it with label)
-disconnect the EGR vaccumm valve wire plug(black cylinder looking thing on the back of the UIM, mark it with label) and then disconnect all of the vaccuum lines going to it.
-Unplug all of the plug wires and make note of which ones go where.
-unplug the coil pack from the harness and unbolt it from the valve cover.
-Unbolt the UIM, remove it from the engine and set it aside.
-Unplug harness from the alternator and unbolt wiring to it
-Unplug HEGO or O2 sensors from harness (mark with labels)
-Unplug cam sensor and crank sensors (marking wire plugs with labels)
-Unplug the oil pressure sensor behind the A/C compressor (mark with label)
-Unplug the injectors from the harness and mark ends.
-Unplug the speed sensor on top of the transmission
-Unplug knock sensor on back side of engine towards driver side (mark with label)
-behind the powersteering resoivor is the ECU plug. There is a allen screw holding the plug on. Unscrew it and it comes off.
-Unbolt starter connections and remove plug from starter.
-On the drivers side over by where the air intake sits is the connection which goes to the power distribution box and the interior cabin. There is another allen screw here which holds the connection together. Unscrew it and disconnect it.

At this point assuming I haven't forgotten something you should be ready to remove the harness from the engine bay.

Now remove all of the plastic wire covering and inspect all of the wiring for broken insulation and bare wires. Cut the sections off one at a time. Doing it this way will elimate the chance of wires getting mixed up.

Once you are finished replace the plastic wire covering and use electrical tape to afix it to the harness so it will not come loose and fall off. You should be good to go after this. Remember to wrap the cam and crank sensors with copper wire and soder them to the corresponding ground wire. I believe I have this outlined in my previous How-To that I linked in one of my recent posts.

Good luck and again if you need anything don't hesitate to PM me with questions!

Originally posted by eepals:
Didn't you have a early model 98? Did you get any refund from Ford for the work you did? I see you have # 49 never mind the first question.

Unforuantly no as my car at the time had 122k on it (even though the engine had 43k). So I was SOL, which is why I was stuck doing the work myself.

Mike(CSVT#49),
Thanks for posting the step by step how to.

I know what to do if and when the time comes.

Originally posted by CSVT#49:

Originally posted by icysvt:

Originally posted by Tony2005:

Originally posted by icysvt:
tony do you know if the harness in that how to is just one harness

CSVT#49's how to is one harness. The recall has 4 harnesses. The $600 is for all 4 harness. Check with Bill Jenkins if you can purchase just the one that you need. Read the posted links.

ok if that is just one harness then that is the fix i need and it won't be that expensive either i don't guess i'll contact bill

Yea sorry I didn't chime in on this earlier.

First of all you need to ask yourself if you have less then 100,000 miles on your car. If you do, then your saved, Ford will replace your harnesses under the recall 99M03 because of your cars production date. You may need to call Ford Customer service and speak to a representative. However you will first have to call a dealership and speak with someone there. Tell them the problems, and give them that recall number. Make sure you speak to a service manager tell him/her who you are, your VIN number and explain the recall. Chances are he/she will know about it and explain to you that it is only for 95-97 Contours and that your VIN number does not come up under the recall. This is fine tell him/her you are going to call Ford Customer Service because you know that it is covered and tell them about your situation. When speaking to customer serivce make reference to the dealership and the service manager so that when Ford Customer Service authorizes the dealership to make the repair under that recall they will have a contact to that dealer and have a person to speak to, in this case the service manager you spoke with. Everything after that will be fine and dandy. You will just have to get your car to the dealership for the repairs.

If you do decide to do it yourself because you have over 100,000miles then you just need to rewire the main engine harness and check the other harnesses for problems. Refer to the recall for part numbers and harnesses to check. If you have issues with the wiring for the cam and crank sensors that will be where you spend most of your time rewiring, but everything else is pretty quick and painless. The crank and cam sensor have a copper wire wrapped around the signal wires to prevent signal interference to the ECM. I had to strip insulation off of the wires I bought to wrap it around the new signal wires. I have pictures of the process from when I did this HERE. If you have any questions PM me or post here and I will try my best to answer them.

Good luck.

that is awesome!!!!!!! my car has 95000 on it so i guess i'm saved but my car is in pieces right now alt out pass caliper and wheel bearing. do i just get it all together and just then set it up to take in or what? i kinda butchered the covering on the wires on the harness chasing wires and found the bad ones. i hope this doesn't cause an issue??

Originally posted by icysvt:
... do i just get it all together and just then set it up to take in or what?..

Yes.

Originally posted by icysvt:
... .. i kinda butchered the covering on the wires on the harness chasing wires and found the bad ones. i hope this doesn't cause an issue??

"Oh my God, I did not know it was that bad. Am I glad it is covered by the recall and I brought it in on time. It would have caused a fire one of these days with me driving", said icysvt with a shocked look in his face when told of the wires being butchered.

Originally posted by Tony2005:

Originally posted by icysvt:
... do i just get it all together and just then set it up to take in or what?..

Yes.

Originally posted by icysvt:
... .. i kinda butchered the covering on the wires on the harness chasing wires and found the bad ones. i hope this doesn't cause an issue??

"Oh my God, I did not know it was that bad. Am I glad it is covered by the recall and I brought it in on time. It would have caused a fire one of these days with me driving", said icysvt with a shocked look in his face when told of the wires being butchered.

LMFAO thats great. I'll just throw some new loom over the wires and tow it in after i get them to tell me they will fix the problem. this is all a big weight off my shoulders now

Originally posted by icysvt:

Originally posted by Tony2005:

Originally posted by icysvt:
... do i just get it all together and just then set it up to take in or what?..

Yes.

Originally posted by icysvt:
... .. i kinda butchered the covering on the wires on the harness chasing wires and found the bad ones. i hope this doesn't cause an issue??

"Oh my God, I did not know it was that bad. Am I glad it is covered by the recall and I brought it in on time. It would have caused a fire one of these days with me driving", said icysvt with a shocked look in his face when told of the wires being butchered.

LMFAO thats great. I'll just throw some new loom over the wires and tow it in after i get them to tell me they will fix the problem. this is all a big weight off my shoulders now

Oh my you are so fricking lucky!!

Just make sure you follow the instructions I gave you. You need to contact the dealer first getting the appropriate people involved and then contacting Ford Customer Service. As they will ask you for the dealer information that is going to be doing the work as well as a contact person there. Good luck you lucky bastard!

Originally posted by CSVT#49:

Originally posted by icysvt:

Originally posted by Tony2005:

Originally posted by icysvt:
... do i just get it all together and just then set it up to take in or what?..

Yes.

Originally posted by icysvt:
... .. i kinda butchered the covering on the wires on the harness chasing wires and found the bad ones. i hope this doesn't cause an issue??

"Oh my God, I did not know it was that bad. Am I glad it is covered by the recall and I brought it in on time. It would have caused a fire one of these days with me driving", said icysvt with a shocked look in his face when told of the wires being butchered.

LMFAO thats great. I'll just throw some new loom over the wires and tow it in after i get them to tell me they will fix the problem. this is all a big weight off my shoulders now

Oh my you are so fricking lucky!!

Just make sure you follow the instructions I gave you. You need to contact the dealer first getting the appropriate people involved and then contacting Ford Customer Service. As they will ask you for the dealer information that is going to be doing the work as well as a contact person there. Good luck you lucky bastard!

ya good luck my ass! I hate FORD I went thru the dealer with my vin not showing a recall then called ford customer service only to have them look at the vin and show nothing for it i try to explain and they won't have it. Try to get a supervisor on the phone twice neither time with any luck. I need to find someone that ford has done this for or get in touch with somone that know this issue they basically all told me it isn't for my car cause my vin doesn't bring it up. i ordered the harness from bill overnight for 325 and some change but if i can get them to do it i will and can send it back to him or get reimbursed at least

Originally posted by icysvt:

...i ordered the harness from bill ...

Which harness did you order?

Originally posted by eepals:

Originally posted by icysvt:

...i ordered the harness from bill ...

Which harness did you order?

the harness i ordered is the same one CSVT#49 removed in his how to it goes from near the battery across under the coil pack and over to the front of the engine it has the mega fuse under it and goes to the alt also and near the firewall there is a plug under the power steering fluid tank

Originally posted by icysvt:

Originally posted by CSVT#49:

Originally posted by icysvt:

Originally posted by Tony2005:

Originally posted by icysvt:
... do i just get it all together and just then set it up to take in or what?..

Yes.

Originally posted by icysvt:
... .. i kinda butchered the covering on the wires on the harness chasing wires and found the bad ones. i hope this doesn't cause an issue??

"Oh my God, I did not know it was that bad. Am I glad it is covered by the recall and I brought it in on time. It would have caused a fire one of these days with me driving", said icysvt with a shocked look in his face when told of the wires being butchered.

LMFAO thats great. I'll just throw some new loom over the wires and tow it in after i get them to tell me they will fix the problem. this is all a big weight off my shoulders now

Oh my you are so fricking lucky!!

Just make sure you follow the instructions I gave you. You need to contact the dealer first getting the appropriate people involved and then contacting Ford Customer Service. As they will ask you for the dealer information that is going to be doing the work as well as a contact person there. Good luck you lucky bastard!

ya good luck my ass! I hate FORD I went thru the dealer with my vin not showing a recall then called ford customer service only to have them look at the vin and show nothing for it i try to explain and they won't have it. Try to get a supervisor on the phone twice neither time with any luck. I need to find someone that ford has done this for or get in touch with somone that know this issue they basically all told me it isn't for my car cause my vin doesn't bring it up. i ordered the harness from bill overnight for 325 and some change but if i can get them to do it i will and can send it back to him or get reimbursed at least

Like I said in my PM you MUST MENTION AND EMPHASIZE THE 99M03 RECALL you will get no where with out it. The Ford dealership will not fix your car under that recall unless they have permission from Ford Motor Company, aka Ford pays for the repairs. Also you need to read them the line in the recall letter stating: Certain 1995 - 1997 Contour and Mystique vehicles built from Job #1 1995 through Model Year End 1997. Then again state how your car was built in 1997 and falls underneath the jobs completed from 1995-1997.

Originally posted by CSVT#49:

Originally posted by icysvt:

Originally posted by CSVT#49:

Originally posted by icysvt:

Originally posted by Tony2005:

Originally posted by icysvt:
... do i just get it all together and just then set it up to take in or what?..

Yes.

Originally posted by icysvt:
... .. i kinda butchered the covering on the wires on the harness chasing wires and found the bad ones. i hope this doesn't cause an issue??

"Oh my God, I did not know it was that bad. Am I glad it is covered by the recall and I brought it in on time. It would have caused a fire one of these days with me driving", said icysvt with a shocked look in his face when told of the wires being butchered.

LMFAO thats great. I'll just throw some new loom over the wires and tow it in after i get them to tell me they will fix the problem. this is all a big weight off my shoulders now

Oh my you are so fricking lucky!!

Just make sure you follow the instructions I gave you. You need to contact the dealer first getting the appropriate people involved and then contacting Ford Customer Service. As they will ask you for the dealer information that is going to be doing the work as well as a contact person there. Good luck you lucky bastard!

ya good luck my ass! I hate FORD I went thru the dealer with my vin not showing a recall then called ford customer service only to have them look at the vin and show nothing for it i try to explain and they won't have it. Try to get a supervisor on the phone twice neither time with any luck. I need to find someone that ford has done this for or get in touch with somone that know this issue they basically all told me it isn't for my car cause my vin doesn't bring it up. i ordered the harness from bill overnight for 325 and some change but if i can get them to do it i will and can send it back to him or get reimbursed at least

Like I said in my PM you MUST MENTION AND EMPHASIZE THE 99M03 RECALL you will get no where with out it. The Ford dealership will not fix your car under that recall unless they have permission from Ford Motor Company, aka Ford pays for the repairs. Also you need to read them the line in the recall letter stating: Certain 1995 - 1997 Contour and Mystique vehicles built from Job #1 1995 through Model Year End 1997. Then again state how your car was built in 1997 and falls underneath the jobs completed from 1995-1997.

i could not get anywhere with their customer service people because my vin does not come up with anything they said that because i did not recieve a letter stating that my car was covered it won't be covered they said it goes by vin. They even tried to tell me that they could not find that recall so i guess i'll just have to wait and see if a supervisor ever calls me back cause i can't get anywhere with the peons that answer the phone

why me

It says model year 1997... a svt wouldn't fall under that.

Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
It says model year 1997... a svt wouldn't fall under that.

look at the build date of my car. they could have released it as a 97 cause of how early it was built and more than likely it has alot of 97 parts

so i got the car back together and the battery is dead so i'll wait till in the morning to finish up. Will post pics of the wiring harness I removed

oh and one more thing if anyone can please explain in stupid language lol

the plug wires like which cyl is which just so i can make sure i have them right i would appreciate it i have where they go on the coil but want to make sure i have the right corresponding ones from the motor if that makes any sense

Flipping Ford Service Manual CD didn't have it would you believe that! I had to go to the Haynes

Anyway here ya go:

Originally posted by CSVT#49:
Flipping Ford Service Manual CD didn't have it would you believe that! I had to go to the Haynes

Anyway here ya go:

Mike you are the man. i took that pic went outside had almost all the wires wrong fixed them and the SVT is alive once again. I wish that wiring harness replacement on no one. or well all my little problems added up and that but after i bleed the brakes and change an axle i'll be back on the road. Thanks for all your help.

Originally posted by icysvt:

Originally posted by CSVT#49:
Flipping Ford Service Manual CD didn't have it would you believe that! I had to go to the Haynes

Anyway here ya go:

Mike you are the man. i took that pic went outside had almost all the wires wrong fixed them and the SVT is alive once again. I wish that wiring harness replacement on no one. or well all my little problems added up and that but after i bleed the brakes and change an axle i'll be back on the road. Thanks for all your help.

For future search purposes, the above diagram is for the engine position.

The Ignition Coil is 4-6-5 firewall side
. .3 2 1

Thread with wiring order

Yea I was going to put that in there too, but that is actually shown on top of the coil pack, or should be there atleast (it's on both of the ones I've had).

i stated i could find the order for the coil pack but needed to know the engine cyl#'s and you guys got it. the car is up and running but of course not everything works. i have a rattle now over on the side corner where the idler pulley is but can't tell if it is the pulley or internal like the rockers maybe. and i can't figure out why my speedometer won't work tach works and every thing else but no speedo??? WTF I don't get it. This car is about to have a new owner if it don't start acting right. I hate to trade it but i'm to that point right now

Oh and the stupid radiator fluid tank decides to spring a leak too!!!!!!!!!

Check VSS, connector and wiring from connector to PCM.
From Autozone

Originally posted by Tony2005:
Check VSS, connector and wiring from connector to PCM.
From Autozone

Ah ha is that in the top of the tranny if it is. that is the one plug on my new harness thatdid not match up and i had to splice my old plug in to my new harness and i bet i crossed the wires

Originally posted by icysvt:

Originally posted by Tony2005:
Check VSS, connector and wiring from connector to PCM.
From Autozone

Ah ha is that in the top of the tranny .......

Correct.

Originally posted by Tony2005:

Originally posted by icysvt:

Originally posted by Tony2005:
Check VSS, connector and wiring from connector to PCM.
From Autozone

Ah ha is that in the top of the tranny .......

Correct.

ok if i did cross those I didn't possibly hurt that did I

Originally posted by icysvt:
..
ok if i did cross those I didn't possibly hurt that did I

Only one way to know. Put it back correctly.

Edit.
For the 1998/1999 SVT, VSS signal is Pin 58 on the PCM connector. And that wire should be White/Violet.

Originally posted by Tony2005:

Originally posted by icysvt:
..
ok if i did cross those I didn't possibly hurt that did I

Only one way to know. Put it back but wait while I look through the PCM wiring.

ok the old harness had that plug cut and spliced in on it also but the wires weren't the same colors on the new harness so i kinda guessed. I wasn't sure what that was for til now

If the old VSS has a tell tale sign of Green/Red wire, then it was from an early 1995 and won't work for you. You will need a new VSS and connector (if you threw away the connector from your SVT when you spliced it) .

Note that the signal should be 0 mph:0 hertz, and 55 mph:125 hertz

well the car had one spliced on the old harness also. the wires on it are red and white but the wires on the harnesses are all purple with a colored stripe

oh and the plug i took off the harness was a wide 4 wire plug with the metal clip that locks it on but with only 2 wires in it. the one to the vss was small and curved on one side i think but looked nothing like the one that hooks to it

ok i took and changed the wires and still nothing. is there a fuse for the vss or do i just need to get a new one?? worked fine before. the wires i have are violet and yellow and violet and black. So IDK???

No fuse. Replace the VSS or check wiring from VSS to PCM (just in case, circuit is broken).

if it's not getting power with the brand new harness i just bought and installed i'll be pissed. i guess a reg test light won't work will it? how can i test it at speed??

You can use the test light to test for a break in the circuit. One end close to VSS and the other close to the PCM. As for "at speed", that would require a break out box (about $700) or a "fabricated" tester which will measure the frequency. You will still have to put it in the passenger compartment while driving unless you have access to a chassis dynamometer (the types used for smoke emissions or your regular dynos at the speed shops).

Edit. The other thing would be to "ohm" the VSS as suggested in an earlier post from Autozone. You do need a DVOM for that.

Did you ever compare the old harness with the new one you got before you installed it I hope they gave you the right one

You might also want to check the wires on your VSS. Mine had wires stripped on it at the base:

You could also use that picture to determine the colors as well. Not sure if they match up with what you have though.

either i'm messing with the wrong thing all together or mine is totally different. mine has wires that plug directly into the top of it not like the pic here or the pic from autozone with the wires then the plug. the part i'm looking at is kinda up under the intake and goes in to the tranny right??

Your looking at the reverse light switch.

Which is shown below on the left hand side of the shift tower.

The VSS sensor is on the back of the transaxle towards the bottom. It sits to the right of the diff housing where the axles go in (looking from underneath the car with the you feet hanging out in front of the car). The sensor looks like a little black box and has wires coming up to a plug. Here is the best pic I have at the moment. If you are looking under the car this is what you would see the speed sensor is on the top of the diff where I have indicated. You can see the VSS sensor just hanging out a little bit in the pic.

oops

it's raining here so i'll look when it dries up a bit did you get a new sensor or just patch up the wires on yours

I got a new sensor. It wasn't much... as a matter of fact... I keep all of my receipts.. list it's $51.20 I bought it through Steve at Tousley Ford for $25.34 + tax.

Part number is F5RZ-9E731-AC

1-800-328-9552 ask for Steve or Mike M.

is that plug part of the harness i replaced?