Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Wiring Harness Question

I was just looking under the hook of my Tour and seen something that concerns me. I have the 1995 Ford Contour LX V6 Duratec automatic.
There is a plug in connector in front of the upperintake manifold. It is located on the side in the front of the upperintake manifold, to the right of the black case that you place over the front spark plug wires. In that location there are 3 wires that plug into the connector. These wires look bad. The plastic is wearing off and you can see the bronze twisted wires. Can anyone identify what wiring harness this is? If so, do you have any idea how much one of these costs? Maybe even a part # so I can contact Bill Jenkins. I am not really sure and thought I'd run it by you guys.
Thanks for any information.

Man! there's sure been a run on wiring harness problems today!

It sounds like the connector on the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) on the side of the throttle body. You've fallen prey to the "wiring harness cracked insulation gremlin". Unfortunately, you've got too many miles on your car to be eligible for warranty replacement of the wiring harnesses (>100K). And, also unfortunately, you'll find that the individual replacement harnesses are quite expensive (prolly several hundred $$ each, even from Bill Jenkins).

See a very recently previous post today in this forum:

Harness Problem

That connector is part of the "Fuel Shutoff" harness (sorry don't have a P/N), since those wires come out of the group that feeds the fuel injectors (per the EVTM).

If you get a price from him, it'd be of interest if you posted it here. Sorry for your problem, hope you can find a relatively inexpensive solution (maybe an unaffected harness from a salvage yard?).

Kurt

Yes, I actually was 1 out of many to perform a search, checked the FAQ's and so one. I did check out the Under the Hood Wire harness post, and Ford's additional coverage. I will have to investigate a little more to see if more wires are cracked and such. I was just curious if this wire would be the only 1 cracked. And if it is I may stop up in Blaine MN at the junkyard I usually search to see if any vehicles would have that harness on it, and possibly be a good harness.
I assume with my troubles I may end up buying the whole she bang and replace all the wires anyway. With that many miles I should probably replace any hose that I haven't replaced as well. I know up until now non have been replaced, and with that many miles, I probably should replace all wires and hoses. Easily said then done. But I have good mechanics that can help me out for a good price.
Also, if anyone would know, how long will my engine last? I know that'd be the next major thing to go, anyone have any ideas? I have done regular maintenance, and kept everything up to date. Can my engine last as long as parked cars 'Ironman'?
Thanks!

Just for the heck of it, check the connectors that are attached to the top of the radiator cooling fan shroud right behind the hood latch. There should be 2 sets there, one will have 2 heavy gauge green/white & green/blue wires in it. That's the one that usually gets cooked & cracked. The one with the thinner wires seems to be OK on mine. I've got a few messed up inside my fuel injector raceways under the UIM as well.

Kurt

My thoughts exactly. We need a pool going. How long will the Duratec go for? Miles and date of death!

until you can get the wires replaced, you can coat the bare spots with some hi-temp silicon caulk.

ContourGirl,
The '95 Contour Duratec's next thing to go (my personal prediction), is the timing chain guides and tensioners (unless you've already fixed them with the updated parts). My '95's got 120k on the clock and mine are shot (planning to fix mine soon), along with a string of other issues in the car (clutch, noisey transaxle, rod and main bearings, fix front cover and oil pan leak). Should I just do a 3.0L instead of fixing mine?