im having alot of problems with my contour

96 2.0 16v

it was running good for about 2 months then all of a sudden the battery died to i replaced the battery then it wouldnt hold a charge so i charged the battery and replaced the alternator it starts and is kind of holding a charge but its at 12.25 volts and the engine has JUST sprun a pretty decent knocking noise which ive never heard before the wiring harness looks like it has been probed numerous times in the cars life...apparently the pcm was reprogramed in 99 (before i bought it) sometimes the ac will blow ice cold and some times it will blow hot as hell.. the brakes likes dont work (only the 3rd brake light works) the parking brake like works intermittently and the battery light on the dash flickers on and off.. sometimes its really dim and some times its bright. sometimes the headlights get soo dim i cant see anything. so obviously the battery is getting charged but not enough. but why would the engine all of a sudden start knocking because of an electrical problem? doesnt knocking usually start off faint and as it gets worse it gets louder? not just suddenly boom knocking ?? sometimes it doesnt knock sometimes it does it knocks at idle sometimes and it sometimes doesnt i cant tell if it knocks while driving

please somebody help

is it a light tap? does it go away once the car has warmed up?

that's the lifter, there's nothing wrong. My car has done it forever.. However if it is a loud knock that's somthing else, usually bottom-end related.

is it a light tap? does it go away once the car has warmed up?

that's the lifter, there's nothing wrong. My car has done it forever.. However if it is a loud knock that's somthing else, usually bottom-end related.


id have to hear the car to be sure but if its a loud knock its probally something bottom end related. but if its a light tap that goes away after the car warms up then its probally just a lifter and i wouldnt worry about it too much because you can run along time like that. as far as your brake lights not working thats probally a loose wire that runs along the steering column. I had the same brake light issue on a 98 contour. as far as the rest of your electrical issues id start out by checking all the fuses and if you bought a used altranator id take it to auto zone and have it tested to make sure its working properly, and if it is then id check along all the wiring to make sure everythings in good condition because the contour wiring system is not the best and i wouldnt be suprised if your wiring harness was most if not all the problem your having with your wiring. hope this helps a bit and if you want anymore suggestions just drop me a private message.

how easy are the contour wiring harnesses to replace

the knocking is intermittent sometimes it does it at idle sometimes it does it while driving sometimes its loud sometimes its not sometimes its hot sometimes its cold i think its a rod bearing or something but it didnt start happening until i started to have all the electrical problems

well i havent done a complete change on one but i have done an extensive rewiring to repair a damaged one and that wasnt too bad so i wouldnt think replacing the harness would be to terribly hard i know you can get a new harness for about 280$ although a new one from ford is or last i heard was about 1300. i did just get done rewiring the harness on one though and what i did was replace the damaged wires and leave the old ones. as far as the knock your probally right its probally a rod knock. how many miles does your car have on it?

make that a used harness for about 280$ i just reread my post and idk where my brain was that night sorry for any mix up that may have caused

the car has 132k miles

new battery new alternator battery still isnt holding a charge ive tried to test things with my DMM but if i dont know what im testing then thats a lost cause i know when the car is running it looses about .01 v every 2 seconds so it doesnt hold a charge for very long for example i went outside today to see whats up i started the car up then shut it off before battery died it got to 9.37 volts then i tested battery voltage again a couple minutes later and it was back up to 11.86 volts which is where it was at the first time i started it today only this time it wouldnt start just rapid clicking noise when i try to crank it over i think the wiring in this car is fucked because the second time i tried to start it and it was only clicking the windshield wipers were going off and on and no i wasnt touching the wiper switch..check engine light is now on ...

this sucks this is the 4th car ive had in about 6 months i cant beleive this why do i always buy the peice of s.hit cars?.... i deliver pizza so without a car i have no job without a job i have no money to fix my car hell ive had to get rides to and from school everyday and its starting to wear me out i have no more gas money to offer anyone...bills are coming and shit im screwed if i dont get this car fixed...please someone help

well i would think if its only got 132K on it if the engine was properly taken care of it shouldnt be a rod knock

next time get a honda. I've had 3 in the last 7 years, 2 accord 94 and 93 and a 90 crx. the only reason I've had to get another car was cause I wreck the first 2, and they still ran but they were total lose so insurance bought them from me, my 94 accord has 465,000 miles on it on a stock 2.2 non vtec engine and all I've done is change the oil regualrly and some ignition chip inside the distributor cause it died once 2 years ago, just get a honda:rofl:

next time get a honda. I've had 3 in the last 7 years, 2 accord 94 and 93 and a 90 crx. the only reason I've had to get another car was cause I wreck the first 2, and they still ran but they were total lose so insurance bought them from me, my 94 accord has 465,000 miles on it on a stock 2.2 non vtec engine and all I've done is change the oil regualrly and some ignition chip inside the distributor cause it died once 2 years ago, just get a honda:rofl:cool.. now go way:smokin:

next time get a honda. I've had 3 in the last 7 years, 2 accord 94 and 93 and a 90 crx. the only reason I've had to get another car was cause I wreck the first 2, and they still ran but they were total lose so insurance bought them from me, my 94 accord has 465,000 miles on it on a stock 2.2 non vtec engine and all I've done is change the oil regualrly and some ignition chip inside the distributor cause it died once 2 years ago, just get a honda:rofl:
so youve had 3 in 7 years and your telling him to get 1? ive had the same kia in the family for 8 years and its been a daily driver every single day of those 8 years its never broken down and the only thing thats been replaced was a faulty cam cover gasket that leaked oil into the spark plug holes yet we still drove 2 and a half hours home with it like that and still drove it for another week.

my point being just because you had 3 good cars doesnt mean their all like that our kia has been great for us doesnt mean him gonna tell him to buy one.

I love when newbs revive year old threads. :banghead: