Ford - Contour :: 1999 - Sporadically Refuses To Start / Shaking Happens Only If Turn On AC Or Heat
Oct 18, 2012
I have a 99 Ford Contour that sporadically refuses to start. The engine will turn over (is that the right term?), but it won't "catch," for lack of a better way to put it. It seems to happen more frequently when the gas gauge is at 1/4 of a tank or below. A dealership told me it was the fuel pump need repair (more than the car is worth), but a second opinion from an independent garage says it might not be the fuel pump.
(Though they don't know what is causing the issue because, of course, it never behaves the same when the mechanic drives it). The second issue, which may or may not be related, is the vibration in the car. It happens only if I turn on the AC or heat. And I do mean shake - it's very noticeable and loud. The motor mount has been checked and that's not the issue.
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I have a 1998 Ford Contour se 2.0. The alternator went out in the beginning of January. Had it replaced, got it back it ran for a couple of days and it just died on me and wouldn't start. So back to the shop it went, fuel filter was clogged so they changed it, and I got it back last Friday. It ran until Saturday morning and as I was driving down the road it just died!! Just like that...died. Got it to run for a few seconds...it would die.
Finally got it back home and now it won't start. It will turn over, but won't start. If it does start it won't stay running longer than 2 or 3 seconds. I've had the fuel pump, fuel injectors, and spark plugs checked. Everything is fine. Oh and yes, it has 3/4 of a tank of gas in it. What is wrong with this thing?? It also has around 151,000 miles on it.
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I have a '94 XJS Jaguar that has been having repeated issues starting and has lately been putting out a dramatic plume of grey smoke each time has actually succeeded in starting. Currently, the engine refuses to turnover (or even give the usual "crank"); however, all the electrics in the car - lights, radio etc - seem to work perfectly fine.
Attempts to jump the car have proved futile. Previous trips to the repair shop have included battery replacements, battery cable replacements, tightening of this, that and the other thing as well as a transmission cleaning, all to no avail. What the issue might be?
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10 seconds after turning on the ignition key, all the indicators on the dash will turn off, except that the low engine oil and high anti-freeze temperature light keep flashing. The emergency signal will be on but not flashing. The car refuses to start.
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My car was fine when I left work (in a city) but after 30 or so highway miles (by the time I got home) my power steering had gone out. At home I saw that the belt had come off (but not broken). I had a friend of mine replace the tensioner (which was broken) when everything was put back together the car would no longer start, the engine sounds like it is going to start but then refuses to turn over. Doesn't seem to be a battery issue as it's fairly new and all the lights, etc come on. Checked the spark plugs and they are fine...seems like power coil...but I find it hard to believe that would be effected by the tensioner? Something that we might have missed?
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I have a 1999 f250 7.3 psd. it cranks and will not start, it use to crank for a bit of time and then start and now it refuses to start. If I leave the key in start position for like 30 seconds it use start and now it wont. I am thinking it is something with the glow plugs?
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I've got a 99 dodge ram 1500 sport, with nearly 250k miles logged, and it refused to start up this morning.
It ran fine this past friday, aside from a horrible squealing noise it made. It has power, its getting fuel, and it coughs and sputters like it wants to start, but it refuses. How do I get this thing to come back to life?
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I drive a 98 Ford Contour Sport. When I was driving today, I signaled a left turn, and the signal began working erratically. This also happened with a right turn, and, since I deliver sandwiches, happened when I turned my hazards on. Throughout the day it got worse, and eventually stopped working. I'm willing to bet that it's a wiring issue since all of my fuses are fine.
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Mostly occurs at high speeds and climbing hills. Could it be a transmission problem? Or a fuel pump?
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Car started to jerk when 30mph and up. I changed the fuel filter and oil. Car was ok for a couple of days, however it started to make lound sounds, needing a muffler. i took it to the shop and it needed a flex pipe. All was well for a day, than the car had trouble staying started. It would drive fine, but when you are stationary at a light or stop sign the car wanted to stop. Took it to the shop and the guy said it need a pvc pipe/hose.
The guy told me that the pipe had rotted and it was at the back end of the engine. Car was good for several days, however it now started back jerking at 30mph and up. It will not do it all the time but sometime. It's like the cruise control is going on off. You can step on the gas, but the car will not go any faster, 'just stay the same speed.' When speed is drop it will be ok, but will jerk for a period of time and then stop.
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I have a 99 contour svt and every once in a while the hazard lights will flash even while I'm driving.
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I was driving the car yesterday and was getting on the highway ramp and stepped on the gas and car went crazy. It started to accelerate and decelerate by itself. I had no control of the car whatsoever. When driving at 0 to 40mph no problem so far, but anything over this car will jerk, like it's changing gears by itself, 'going fast and slow.'What is this? Do I need a fuel filter, or plugs or what? I don't know when the last time I changed anything the car mileage is 135,000
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Almost everytime I drive the car for more than 2 consecutive it acts as if it drops a cylinder..running rough. The next day it will run fine until 2 hours go by...and so on. I have changed plugs wires and coil pack.... 4 cylinder .. automatic
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My Taurus has developed a problem where it refuses to start. When I try to start it, it just cranks over and over and over. I keep trying till the battery starts getting weak. I charge up the battery and then try it again with no luck. A neighbor suggested I get a piece of lumber and gently pound on the gas tank suggesting it might be a stuck fuel pump problem [whatever that means!]. Actually it worked once but after I drove the car all day doing errands the next morning was the same problem. That was three weeks ago.
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On Saturday afternoon of Labor Day weekend my dad's 2003 Ford F250 "died" in the parking lot at my work. It had been running fine all morning, but then I stopped by work, and when I went to leave it barely started, ran for a few seconds at a rough idle (presumably on whatever fuel was already in the system), then died and would not restart. Turned over strongly (new battery a few months ago) but no ignition. Checked the fuses and fuel pump interrupt switch, but everything was fine. Had just put 15 gallons of gas in earlier in the week so I "knew" that wasn't the problem.
When I had it towed to my mechanic. He didn't get a chance to look at it until the weekend, and called me Monday to say that it started just fine for him all weekend, but it could use some gas. I knew I should still have 12-15 gallons in there, so we came to the conclusion that someone had siphoned my gas. Monday night I picked it up, feeling dumb for not checking that more carefully, and drove to the gas station. Sure enough, the gauge registered "E" and the low fuel light was illuminated. Put in 8 gallons. Started the truck and the gauge popped up to 3/4 tank.
8 gallons is NOT 3/4 of a 32 gallon tank. It's 1/4. The original fuel was still in there! On the way home from the gas station I stopped by work to load up the lumber I had to leave there the first time it died and--you guessed it--died like before. This time the gauge definitely read 3/4 tank with the key on, so the problem was not low fuel. I didn't want to pay to have it towed again, so my mechanic said he'd come look at it when he got time. I tried to start it a few times throughout the week and on Saturday it started right up and ran strong all the way to his shop, where it continued to start every time we tried it. It could be the crank position sensor, but the confusing part is the low fuel indication.
Could the fuel gauge have gotten stuck when the truck was was pulled up on the rollback? And would it have stayed like that all the way to the gas station? I also don't think it's the fuel pump because it runs so strongly when it does start. The second time it died the gauge still read 3/4 tank so I don't think it's related. The mechanic can't fix a problem he can't reproduce, and I really need the truck to pull my 3,000lb landscape trailer on the weekends. My 2000 Wrangler isn't exactly ideal for the job! Oh yeah, the truck is stock, 5.4L gas, off-road package, tow package, extended cab, long box, auto trans, 85K miles.
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I am the owner of a 1992 ford ranger 4.0 that refuses to start. She turns over, but theres no pressure coming out of the fuel rack/valve. Might be the fuel pump but it started with a little boost about a month ago and now nothing. Head gasket and transmission have been tuned up as well! I've also checked the power distribution box, and spark plugs both seem to be doing thier job! What am i missing?!
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I have a 91 Ranger 4cyl. Tune up about 2 months ago. Mileage about 178,000. When the temperature gets below about 45 degrees, the truck will not start. It cranks like the battery has plenty of juice but refuses to start. Once the temp warms up, the truck will start first crank.
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I have a 2001 f250 5.4 that when you turn the heat on the trucks motor and exhaust bog down for a few seconds then comes right back up...
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I have a 5.0 Explorer 1998 and it has a problem for which I cannot find a definite solution, everyone says a different thing. The problem is that when the weather is hot, sometimes the engine does a strange thing. You ride the car for some time, especially if you do it on a high speed so the engine is really hot (but no overheating symptoms) - and then you kill the engine and leave it for a few minutes - to walk into a store, let's say.
After that you attempt to start the engine... sometimes it starts, but there were several times when it refused to catch, it cranks, at first tries to start, but stalls... then it just cranks without even attempting to start. And I had one occasion when it stopped working right in the middle of the road while crawling in traffic, but it was really HOT outside. Luckily, all other cases were in our town, so I could at least walk home. So, the problem seems to overheating of something, as in normal or cold weather it never happens. And every time, after the car is left to stay in place for some time, an hour or more, cannot say exactly - it starts perfectly!
I am really tried of this and want to eliminate the reason. But I am hearing so many different opinions about this problem. I thought that it could be the overheating of the fuel pump. But then it would stop working while moving, not after you shut the engine off and the pump cannot be still working and overheating. The only place where the heat can build up when you stop and turn the engine off is under the hood, as the fan stops, the coolant pump stops and the air isn't blowing as the car isn't moving. But the pump is in the tank! And I never ride on empty fuel tank, I always keep some level, lately I tried to keep it even higher, but yesterday it refused to start when the tank was almost half-full. Also, if it was just dying - a dying fuel pump gives certain symptoms like slow acceleration, engine shaking and trying to stall when you press the pedal, sudden stalling, uneven idling etc. In this case, nothing like this. The car's behavior is absolutely normal, acceleration good, normal idle. It happens ONLY under certain conditions, involving heat.
Other people say that it can be due to low pressure in the fuel ramp and the gasoline is starting to boil at some moment, when the temperature under the hood rises to a certain point. As a reason they name the pump (but as I said, I doubt it) or the fuel pressure control valve - don't know its exact name, it's a valve which maintains a certain pressure in the fuel ramp and releases excessive pressure by returning some fuel to the tank. However, when this valve gets stuck and doesn't maintain pressure, it mostly influences the cold start, as the fuel pressure drops and you have to crank for a long time while the pump is building the pressure again. But my car has never had any problems with the cold start, it's always instantaneous. Also, when this problem occurs and you start the engine after it cools down, it catches instantly which means THERE IS pressure in the ramp. So I don't believe in low pressure, gasoline boiling and resulting vapor jams.
And finally, I read that it may be caused by defective/dying engine temperature or crankshaft position sensors. As for the temp sensor, I will replace it tomorrow anyway. I am also thinking of having a look at the crankshaft sensor, where it's located on 5.0 V8?
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Recently got a 2003 f 250 6.0 that has had a little work done on it. Absolutely love it with 1 exception. When I turn on the ac or heat It blows a 10 amp fuse that goes to the blower relay. It was occasionally now it's all the time.Blower ok, fan speed resistor ok. What or where to look.
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In the beginning of January I bought a 2004 F-450 6.0 with 186k miles (not sure if its been clocked back).
Since I bought the truck I have had only 2 issues that are odd. One is a hot no start that is very sporadic (its happened 5 or 6 times). I know it needs 500 psi min to crank and when that happens it gets to around 350psi. Because Im afraid of issues I did a oil change the day after I bought it did a road trip of 2500 miles (with no issues) and did a oil change again. All with motorcraft filters, lucas oil stabilizer and I use a little of diesel kleen or lucas injector cleaner every time I fuel up. I was told never go below half a tank so I follow that rule.
The second is a small oil leak from the passenger side. BUT it only happens when the truck sits for 3 or 4 days unused. During my road trip, not one drop. I used it on the weekend not one drop, but since its my 3rd vehicle I park it Sat or Sunday and by Wednesday Ill see the size of silver dollar, I cant seem to find it.
Also it has a egr delete but the heads have not been done, and I want to put a tuner. Would that be ok? I dont drive hard. As a example on my road trip I NEVER went past 70mph(with my wife saying I drive slow) and I averaged around 15mpg. I would like to get more mpg.
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