2002 Mercury Villager

[psafux]

2002 Mercury Villager Estate

Hello,

My wife and I purchased a 2002 Villager over the weekend and I have a few concerns I am hoping someone can help me clear up.

The vehicle is equipped with the digital dash & electronic automatic temperature control (I have attached pictures)

1) On the EATC, the only buttons that are illuminated are the ones circled in the picture. If I hit any of the buttons, the small light on the respective button activate but the actual button is not lit up making it impossible to see them at night without turning the dome light on. 1a)Are they supposed to be? 1b)Is this a simple repair?

2) There is no light illuminating the "PRND21" shifter area so, again, at night we have to leave the dome light on to verify we are driving in D and not 2. My wife already had it on the highway for 10 miles or so in '2' as a result of not being able to tell the gear she was in. I am hoping no major damage was done. I assume this is supposed to be lit up, what is the process to get that replaced? I don't have the skill or patience to tear apart the entire dash to get the cluster out but if its relatively simple I will do it.

3)The check engine light came on this morning while I was driving. The vehicle is running fine, I checked and tightened the gas cap. I read the owners manual and am curious if there is a way I can pull the codes without having to hook it up to a scanner. Some vehicles you can push a series of buttons to flash codes.

4) The front wipers seem to operate normally except for the fact that they do not return to the 'stop' position when they are turned off. They stop in the middle of the windshield with no intention of returning to where they belong. If I turn them back on they do a full sweep without issue.

I appreciate any input on any or all of these issues, thank you!

[tempfixit]

On top of the villager main page there is a link for Online Factory Service manual, follow the directions and download the manual for your vehicle.

1) I do not know for sure I would have to look at my 94 at night, been a while since I drove it at night.

2) You will need to remove the bazel and screws so you can remove the cluster to replace the bulbs. I would change all as long as you have it apart. Not a hard job, I am not sure which bulbs they take.

3) There is a way on the earlier years ( up to 2000 anyway) seems to me that they connector in this link was illiminated at some time but not sure what year.

http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/gAo3TXP.../PCMcodes1.jpg

You need a jumper wire;
WIth igntion off disconnect connector
Turn ingnition on (engine not running)
use jumper wire to bridge the correct terminals for 2 seconds
connect diagnostic connector
start engine
count the flashes of the check engine light (five long flashes and 5 short flashes means code 55)

4) Check for good ground on the wiper motor.

hope this helps and sending PM

[psafux]

Thank you for the reply and helpful information. Today something in the engine compartment is squealing when I start the van.. My wife is regretting purchasing this vehicle and I am starting to wonder if we purchased a money pit.

I did pull the guides from the sticky link at the top of the forum and looked at some of the information. I found out what part is responsible for the 'outside temp' displaying 140 degrees all the time so that will be a project for the summer as it isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

I will look at the guides further probably on Thursday but one quick question: do I need to disassemble the entire dash to get the cluster out to change out the light bulb? I hope not. I see a couple screws in the top part of the cluster so I am hoping just the cluster comes out without much else coming off!

Planning on bringing the van in to the mechanic tomorrow to give us a diagnosis on the check engine light & the squealing. I don't feel comfortable enough to be sticking wires in places where I am not 100% confident of the purpose.

I found a used heat control unit on Ebay for $60 + shipping (same auction I pulled the picture in my first post from actually) but I want to verify those lights are supposed to be on & there is no way to fix it before I order the unit. I am not having much luck discovering one way or another. I would be shocked if those other buttons do NOT light up though - that would be bizarre. It looks like that unit is relatively easy to pull from the vehicle though so maybe I will take it out and take a peek when it warms up a bit.

[psafux]

Went out to start the van this morning, put it in reverse to back out of the garage and it flat out died. Started it up again, put it in drive and RPM's dropped real low and it almost died. Put it in R again and it immediately died.

[tempfixit]

Originally Posted by psafux

Went out to start the van this morning, put it in reverse to back out of the garage and it flat out died. Started it up again, put it in drive and RPM's dropped real low and it almost died. Put it in R again and it immediately died.

CHeck the IAC ( Idle Air Control Valve) located on the plenium, it control cold start air mixture.

Have you gotten the codes checked yet?? Autozone, Oreilys, etc should be able to check the codes free of charge, just get a print out of the codes and post them and we'll go from there.

Did you get my private message from the other day?? sending another PM

[psafux]

Thanks for the reply. I did get your PM but I have been so busy I haven't had a chance to respond. I am running some errands this afternoon & will try to run by Advance or Autozone to see if they will pull the code(s) for me.

[tempfixit]

Have you gotten the codes read ?

[psafux]

Originally Posted by tempfixit

Have you gotten the codes read ?

Yes indeedy, got the vehicle back this afternoon from its post-purchase 'check-up'.

I wrote all the info in a post in the other forum you suggested I try & I will be posting there in the future since nobody except you seems to be here anyway.