Cougar

It sounds like the battery charge may be slightly low. The alternator needs to be running with the engine RPMs above 900 for it to put out a fair amount of charging current. You are not going to be able keep a good charge rate going at 500 RPM.

You're welcome. Thanks for the feedback.

I recommend you check the continuity of the wiring using a ohmmeter. There may be a problem with it or, the sensor itself may be bad. I'm not sure what the resistance of the sensor should be. You should see something though I would think. If the sensor leads show 'open' then it is most likely the problem.

That is good, especially if it is at idle. At idle with a good load you could see around 12 volts but it should be between 13.0 to 14.8 volts with the engine running around 1200 RPM.

Using NGK plugs is the best way to go in my book. Other plugs can work but they can cause trouble like this also. Some other things that can cause this kind of trouble is the knock sensor being too sensitive and carbon buildup in the cylinders. To get at the hard to reach plugs you may have to remove some accessories or come at it from below the engine.

There may be a problem with the inhibit switch for the shifter. Since this is a parts car the simplist thing to do would be to make a remote starter switch. Mount a momentary type switch in the cab and tie one end of the switch wires to the small lead going to the starter solenoid. Tie the other end to the positive battery post. To be safe it would be good to install a in-line fuse on the end of the wire near the battery . Then turn the key to run and push the new starter switch. Voroom.

By removing the panel on the other door maybe you can figure out how to open the door by using the other side as a guide and a coat hanger as a tool going down the window slot.

That fluid you mentioned is tranny fluid to be cooled down by the heat exchanger in the radiator. After looking at the condition of the timing belt parts, from the pictures you posted earlier, I think you would be wise to replace all the items with bearings in them. It may save you another failure item later on.

I suspect you didn't put the plug wires back on the disty correctly when you reconnected them. When doing this process it is best to work on one plugwire at a time to avoid error. The firing order is 1-3-4-2 if I remember correctly. Number 1 is at the front of the engine on the passenger side. Number 3 is next to it. 2 and 4 are on the other side with 2 in front. I think the rotor turns counter clockwise but I'm not sure on that. I also seem to think that #1 wire needs to go in the disty position that is towards the front passenger side. Then #3 would be next to it on the front driver's side.

You're welcome for the help. I think the 1 watt light will be ok. You could use your LED idea if you want and that would work also.

If the problem comes back you might look into fuel system for a problem. Repllace the filter if that hasn't been done. Then look at the fuel pump. It may be intermittent.

I'm not sure what you are saying here. I think the original bulb is a 12 volt bulb and I would guess the current for it would be around 80 milliamps (.08 amp) but I'm not sure. I guess you have a good reason why you just don't get a normal replacement bulb for this. You may have damaged the circuit by using something else in place of the original bulb but maybe not. I have replaced the IC that runs that circuit and it had the normal bulb in place.

There isn't anything the ECU will tell you about the problem other than if it senses something wrong with the sensor circuits. It takes good trouble shooting skills to determine the real causes of a problem. Some error codes can help point you in the right direction of where to look for a problem. I am not a good emissions tech but the high CO2 readings may be due to a intake air leak. This would prompt me to check the manifold gaskets for a leak.

Cars that go to auction are there sometimes as a means for dealers to dump, for one reason or another, a less desirable vehicle. One they don't want to sell on their lot. So I guess you could say this is sort of a red flag. Going from previous experience I have had doing this same kind of thing, be sure the title has been transfered correctly. I would demand a copy of the title so you can see it and how it is registered. I purchased a vehicle once from a person that never registered it into his own name after he bought it. He tried to act as a dealer. I had to get a sureity bond from a insurance company in order to transfer the title. You can save some money purchasing a vehicle this way but let the buyer beware of pitfalls that can happen doing so.

That sounds like a good spot to me. Did you find the wire for the right side light?

My info shows the red wire of the MAF sensor goes to pin 17 of the ECU. The other wires are white and black. They also go to the ECU on pins 8 and 9 respectively. The info states that the voltage at pin 17 should be between 10-12 volts. Pin 8 should be between 0.1-0.5 volts.

To see what the condition is of the engine do a compression test. If all the readings are within 15 pounds of each other and between 140-180 pounds (turbo models will be about 30 to 40 pounds less) then you should be good. A air leak in the intake or exhaust will affect the emission readings though it sounds like your problem is a rich mixture which could be due to a bad plugwire, coolant temp sensor for the ECU (not the gauge sensor), or O2 sensor. You can also look at your plugs and see how well they are firing by checking there condition.

It would be good to know why the tech thought the engine was bad. Did he do a compression test on it? Get one done if you don't know what the readings are for each cylinder. If the fuel isn't burning correctly and compression is ok it could be just a matter of putting in new plugs (NGKs) and installing new wires and a disty cap. Having those replaced can make a dramatic change in emissions if there is a problem in that area. If the loudness is due to a exhaust leak then than needs to be fixed.

That should be good, especially if you had a good current load on it while testing.

It sounds like one or two of the output diodes may be bad in the alternator. The best thing to do is have it load tested at a shop and see what the results are. The test will let you know if it is ok or not. They can do the test without removing the alternator.

The switch that I refered to in my post #5 of this thread is shown in the picture that is linked to in the thread Eagleb refered to in post #8. This is the switch that makes the electrical connection for the locks when turning the key in the lock. Turning one way opens the locks, turning the other way locks them. If the switch is ok then the trouble may be in the wiring to it.

I'm not sure where the box is for your model. The later models mounted the box on the coolant reservoir.

You're welcome for the help. Glad you got it going.

Thanks for the update. That is the same exact thing that happened to mine though I had a different model ECU. Glad you got it corrected. This will help some others that have the same problem. Can you tell us what the Q number is of the transistor? You can't see what the number is in the pictures.

Very good pictures Bill but that is pretty ugly looking in there. You made a good decision in getting inside and checking things. It certainly needs attention. It is hard see the tabs on the crank sprocket in the picture. I can make out two of them. It almost looks like there is a broken section just to the right side of the sensor. Please get us a good picture of the spocket tabs when you get it off.