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Electrical issues

joshquade

New CEG'er
Joined
Jan 1, 2014
Messages
10
OK so on my 98 contour I'm having electrical issues the following problems are occurring

Dome light no power
Radio no power
Speedometer works sometimes but the majority of the time it doesn't
oil gauge doesn't work
drivers side reverse light doesn't work
passengers side running light doesn't work

I've checked all fuses in both the fuse box and power distribution box and replaced 2 that were out but didn't fix ANYTHING.

I've checked all bulbs and replaced even though the originals were still good and that didn't fix anything.

I'm not an electrician so any pointers as where to go from here would be awesome.
 
Check for voltage at the bulbs that are out such as the exterior lights. The radio and dome light run off the same circuit and I would check for voltage at the fuse.
 
There's no power to the fuse whatsoever. I visually inspected the fuses and they're all good.
 
That tells me that you must likely have an item circuit going to that fuse. You can verify this by running an auxiliary power wire to that fuse point and seeing if the radio and dome light come back on. If you do this be sure you hook it to the right side of the fuse.
 
But what about the gauges? Are the contour gauges(gas, oil, speedo) all tied to one thing like a fuse? I'll have to hook up the aux power tomorrow I'm dead tired and need to go to sleep before I have to work.
 
I'm not sure how the gauges work exactly. I do know that there are two connectors on the back side of the cluster that should ground through the pcm with shared voltage sources.
 
Well I've figured it out. Underneath the battery the PO must have dripped battery acid on the wiring harness, then fixed it themselves. Its all electrical tape. Don't think they even soldered it -.-

I'm afraid to tear off the tape and check how corroded they are until I get time to get a new harness and wire it all back up, or maybe salvage this one. Looks like my little bit of electrical talents are going to be tested soon!
 
Well I've figured it out. Underneath the battery the PO must have dripped battery acid on the wiring harness, then fixed it themselves. Its all electrical tape. Don't think they even soldered it -.-

I'm afraid to tear off the tape and check how corroded they are until I get time to get a new harness and wire it all back up, or maybe salvage this one. Looks like my little bit of electrical talents are going to be tested soon!

Good find!!! BTW - This is a known area for the infamous "flaking/brittle insulation" problem of the early years 'Tours/Mystiques and a result of a recall/campaign replacement of the underhood harnesses within the first 10 years. There are other areas prone to this "flaking/brittle insulation" as well. Your findings may not be inclusive to battery acid but again, an excellent bit of T/S on your part!!
 
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