Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting HUGE list of probs for 98 MYS I bought 24 hrs ago!

When my alternator failed last summer, I didn't even get a BATT light (the light does work). What we did get was stumbling, poor idle, and other drivability issues as the charge stored in the battery went down until the engine finally died from lack of electrical power to run the systems. The static from the radio during rear defroster operation is likely due to a low system voltage. BTW, the defroster consumes a very large amount of current. Avoid using it and any other extraneous loads until you are certain the battery and alternator are both up to operating standard. When the battery charge runs out, the car stops. Period.

You really need to slap that voltmeter across the battery terminals and see what's happening. Otherwise, we can only guess.

The horn and cruise are likely the clockspring.

The dome light is yet another issue.

Hope this car was bought really cheap. Souns like a real moneypit going into it, especially if you're having a dealership do the work, even with an expected "discount".

Steve

i don't know how true it is but i've had people tell me that it's common for the wiring harnesess from the fuse box to bad on contours and mystiques.i've never had a problem in the 7 years i've had my contour so i can't say how reliable that is.the only problem i'm tryin to figure out is where and how to fix this TCC SYLINOID.i was raised on old cars so this newer stuff is driving me crazy.if you know anything about this i'd appreciate some help

mike

When the battery runs out of power the fuel pump quits period. Then you will have a fuel delivery issue. Start at the source checking the charge and battery system. The wiring harness from the battery to the power box had cracks in the insulation. The cracks were under the battery. The engine heat was the cause I think. Good Luck Dan

Looks like it's the front O2 sensor according to the guy who just looked at it.

By the way, that how-to for O2 sensors says it is for 2.5l, mine is 2.0 -- would that matter?

You should check the battery terminals, an easy thing, they tend to corrode. Cars are half electronic these days, any big voltage drops stall the engine. Did the 02 sensor help?

Well, I changed one of the O2 sensors (the one in the very front, kind of easy to get to, took 5 minutes... and by "I changed it" I meant someone else, but I watched!) and now I have no CEL and it didn't stall. I only drove it for about 10 minutes though. I hope that was it.

I noticed the tip of the O2 sensor I took out looked different than the one I put in though (Bosch).

The battery was checked at the dealership and it's a bit low - the altrenator seemed to be fine though.

The horn problem was that there's an aftermarket air horn in it, so we are going to just swap it out with a different one and get new wiring rather than try to fix the other one. The fuses etc all seemed to be fine.

The dome light issue was a bad pinswitch I will need to replace.

However, when we were under the car looking at the horn we noticed either a little bit of oil or tranny fluid. He said it's not a bad leak at all and to just keep an eye on it for now.

I need a new tire and I need to get my brakes checked. It's not making any noise, but I am starting to feel the "bent rim" feel when I stop... like one part of the brake is catching more than the other part. I never know the correct way to describe that feeling to other people.

So anyway, if I can walk away from all of these problems for less than $250 bucks I am going to be thrilled.

Thanks again to everyone who has replied.

There is a very good chance that your bent rim is a warped brake rotor. On our 96 se you could not turn the rotor only replace. The new rotor was only $6.00 more than turning the rotor. If you do the work yourself, this is a fairly easy fix. Make sure that you put the keeper wire that holds the brake pad in correctly. Other wise you may screw up the pads. Replace the rotors and pads on both sides when you do the work. Both sides of the car probally have gone the same amount of miles and the other side will most likely fail in the near future. If only one tire needs replaced you may have an alignment issue or loose/ damaged front end part.

Hi,

I don't think I have a bent rim, that's just how I tried to describe the feel of the car when I am stopping. The car does this like pulse like thing. It's not that noticable unless you're really paying attention. Either way I am going to have the brakes looked at.

Luckily the tires on the car are fairly new, so I may be able to get away with only getting one new one without many issues.

Thanks,