Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Maintenance YES!!! Wiring harness insulation cracks!!!

WOOT!!! I was under the hood today taking a quick look at my waterpump belt when I noticed cracking and flaking wiring insulation in about four different places. I'm printing off the 99M03 recall information right now and getting this puppy serviced ASAP. I'm at about 98K miles on it, too. No time like the present!

Edited to add: last time I asked about at a Ford dealership, the service writer spent about 30 seconds looking under the hood and said he didn't see any. I need to get my digital camera out there and take some photos for reference.

Jeb -

Please keep us up-to-date with your progress. I'm in a similar situation: My '95 GL V6 (low miles; <70K) hasn't shown signs of harness cracks yet, but I'm concerned and want to know what I'll likely hear from the dealer. Please post pix with examples of the most obvious damage.

I had always figured I either got a good harness, or low mileage has kept me safe so far. However, the Contour has had fewer hot-summer miles than most; I often park the Contour in favor of my Mustang for summertime fun.

Phil

The main site has a FAQ about it that includes the detailed recall, with illustrations and everything.

http://www.contour.org/FAQ/FAQ.php?s=probs&displayid=24

And in my case, to top it off, my cooling fans were cycling on and off at quick intervals, and the shop I took it to for my normal oil change independently referenced the bare wiring on the fan harness as needing repair before they can diagnose the fans (maybe an A/C issue, but I hope not). So that's an extra bit of reference info I will take in with me.

But I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for the info.

I've read through some it before - but note that most of the 'interesting' wiring checks for the V6 are on the back size of the engine - not easy to get to. What I'd really like to know is which wiring location tends to exhibit the problem *first*. I'd like to avoid ripping things apart, or disturbing the harness more than necessary.

I'll be curious to hear your dealer's reaction to this job. As I understand it, the labor allowance for this job (listed in the 99MO3 document linked from the FAQ) isn't reasonable for a job this complex (7.7 hours for my model and options).

Well, I phoned in an appointment, asked specifically for a CEG'r technician who works at that dealership, told them what the recall number was, etc. etc., long story short, they said "bring it in" and I'll be dropping it off on Thursday.

I think probably the easiest to see is the cooling fan wiring up front, and the plugs in the MAF/intake area.

OK, an update...

First off, if you're gonna take it in, have the full recall printed off and know where your own harness is showing failures. The first thing that happened when I was in there was a mechanic talking to the service writer said something to the effect of "if it's not malfunctioning, how are we supposed to fix it" and the service writer was talking about having to inspect it before they could order parts. So I popped the hood and took my sunglasses off and used the earpiece as a pointer to the damage points. More or less walked through the prescribed visual inspection with the service writer right there. Then Chris (CEG'r mechanic at this dealership) came out and basically verified what I was saying.

Second, just count on the place having your car for a week. Once you've shown them the problems at the surface level, they'll still have to dive in and do a deeper inspection. This entails at least the UIM coming off, if not more. I don't know if they're required to replace all the individual harnesses if not all are showing problems. Also, they have electronic tests that they can run on more hidden sections, but the short version is, chances are they'll be ordering parts. You can get a loaner from them for two days while the car's in overnight being serviced, but they'll have it much longer than that. Nice time to check if your car insurance or AAA has a loaner car provision.

Third...I guess it pays to be flexible and nice (if you can swing it). I got frustrated right at the start since I'd called this appt in on Monday and it was now Thursday, and they didn't have parts or loaners available, and rather loudly made the point that when I called in, I told the guy I talked to (oh yeah, be sure to write down names) what year, engine, and tranny I had, and that I'd need a loaner, and there wasn't any problem then. I think that once I pointed out the harness problems and they saw that I at least had some clue about it, I felt a little better, and since my wife was free to come get me, that wasn't that big a problem. By the time we were done, I was back to my pleasant, charming self. But YMMV...

Jeb -

Thanks for the update. Keep us posted.

Which dealership are you dealing with? Good to know places where CEG folks work.

Phil

Jerry's Ford, in Annandale VA. All in all, I've had good experiences there.

I had it done last year. They had my car for a month with several problems popping up. It's not a clean exact replacement, there is some splicing involved... from what I read. It's pretty complex. They had to put in a new ECU when it fried and some other things. But it's run great since then.

I had a fully loaded Taurus for a month as a loaner. Loved it.

I replaced almost every harness in the engine on my 95gl. The process isnt all to hard. time consuming yes but not to hard. only harnes i have not replaced is the harness running the headlight that goes to teh fuse box inside, everythign else i changed. also i got the harnesses off ebay for dirt , i mean dirt cheap. saved me over $1000.