Car help? Thoughts?

[PaigeBoo]

Okay, I currently drive a '99 ford Taurus with 146,000 miles on it. My uncle gave it to me as soon as I got my license, it has some personality to it...
Some things that aren't worth fixing but might as well tell you all - My windshield wiper stalk is attached to the turn signals, therefore, as is very common with all Ford Taurus' I have a short that causes my windshield wipers to randomly go off unless the fuse is pulled. Second, my dome light chooses when it wants to work, because my car randomly decides that doors are open. And decides they are closed when they truly are open. I have a red hood, on my black car, and a busted windshield.

Now for the part maybe someone can help me with.

We think my speed sensor is going bad, I will be driving the car, all of the sudden, it'll shudder, jerk, and my O/D off light begins to flash. About 15 seconds later the speedometer stops working, the car refuses to go over 30-35 miles per hour (that's a guess), and won't shift properly.

Another issue, my coolant censor is busted, it is always on saying I have low coolant, and I just recently refilled my coolant. So if you guys have any ideas, or suggestions please let me know, my step dad is not exactly wanting to help me fix it.

Thank you guys =)

 

[No Mercy]

Like TheDude would do, Pee on it.

 

[PaigeBoo]

Haha Thank you Mercy, much help =D
I mean if the eggs didn't fix it, and the patron bottle being broken against it, I'm afraid peeing won't do much help

 

[UnTamed]

I'm not good at this but I suggest listening to No mercy

 

[Cent0]

thought you were going to buy a bike.

 

[PaigeBoo]

I am buying a bike Cent0, but until I can get the bike and all of my gear, I have to travel to and from school in my car. It's going to be a little while before I can make my down payment and everything on the bike, so I need a reliable car. And my step dad thinks its no big deal because it doesn't do it EVERY time I drive it. However, 30 on a freeway does not cut it, especially here.

 

[MasterCLiP]

Hmm well I don't know much about cars, but I'll give it a shot. For the windshield wipers try pouring ice on the apparatus below the wiper mechanism, this may help due the possibility that your wipes overheated and failure to do this could cause your car to explode. Now for your lights this may be a bit tricky. Due to the fact that car lights are run by fireflies and woodland pixies; your power sources may be going on strike. It is imparitive that you scilence these activists before than can do any real harm to your vehicle, I recommend arrest one of the ringleaders and pinning them to the hood of your vehicle, that should send the appropriate message. Ok what next? Ah the speedometer, this deivce found in cars monitors the speed in which your car is going. It is operated by two hamsters located in your dashboard. One of the hamsters monitors your spee by hanging it's head out the window and the orher one moves the speedometer according to the instructions of the other hamster. One of your hamsters may have died hence the jerky motion and the odd smell. Also about the coolant, im not sure if anyone has told you yet but all Ford brand vehicles are sentiment. Your could be lying to you about being low on coolant just to achieve another ''coolant high'' cars are addicted to the stuff nowadays. It makes them want to suicide or something by freezing their own breaks. Alot of Toyotas died from that a while back, I recccomned a car therapist. Well thats just my imput, hope I could help!!

 

[CiTyCHiLD]

Yeah, I'm not very good at these kind of things either. Sorry wish I could be more helpful. To fix your speedometer you could replace cable. If your car wont shift, then that sounds like a complicated job. It means there is something wrong with the transmission but you can find a lot of stuff online to help find out what is causing it not to shift. type in like "Troubleshooting transmission" and let us know if any of that helps.

 

[TheDude]

Pee on it.

 

[PaigeBoo]

Well, the transmission not shifting, and the speedometer not working are both due to the speed censor having issues. Apparently, when the speed censor doesn't work, the speedometer stops working and the transmission goes into some kind of lame mode

 

[BriAn79]

Well the coolant issue is an easy fix, just replace the broken sensor and you should be good. Now about the speed sensor.. that does sound like it could be a problem. Even in '99 cars are controlled a lot by the computers they have. After doing a little bit of reading, it could be a short in the wiring harness that goes to the transmission. Some have said one thing you can try is to spray the engine off with high pressure water and go drive it while everything is still wet. Others have said it could be a solenoid problem or maybe the torque converter.

Have you checked the fluid to see if it's full and in good shape? I know, it's a simple question but you'd be surprised how many people don't check it. Especially since that's the first thing you need to check! If it drives ok when the harness is wet then most likely it's a short in the harness and probably just need a new one. However if it's not that, it could be some major that would cost out the ass to have fixed.

 

[517Houston]

1st go here::

FORD

check for any recalls that might cover it..

---------- Post added at 09:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:07 AM ----------

http://www.automotive.com/1999/12/ford/taurus/recalls/

 

[PaigeBoo]

Thanks Brian, I will have to try that, I'm up for anything at this point. As for my fluid level checks, yes I have checked them and they are in good shape, I make it a point to check my fluids once a week just to make sure I'm not leaking or burning oil =) I'm hoping it's nothing major, and doesn't cost out the ass, at this point, if it's a relatively cheap fix, my mom is willing to pay for it, if not... Well I'm on my own.
Thank you Houston, I'm looking at that right now

 

[AVC]

OK, the fluid sensor. If you're happy to not have some indicator light to tell you the level, you can bypass it. It'll either ground the wire when the fluid's low or the opposite. First, take the wire off the back, if the low coolant light is on, attach the wire to the negative of the battery or any metal part nearby, the light should go out. Problemo solved!

The speed sensor is a bit tricky. it's either the sender (a little device screwed into, normally, the gearbox) the wiring (unlikely) or the computer (which would be expensive). The wiring, if that was the prob, should be easy to spot, as it would normally happen near the device or if the wiring loom is physically damaged, like rubbing against something. It is extremely rare for a fault to occur within a wrapped wiring loom (but it is possible). My guess would be the sender, as it is in the most extreme environment (a hot vibrating slab of metal). Replace it first. Process of elimination.

The wiper thing DOES sound like wiring fault, mainly because with stalk controls the wires get bent back and forth a lot over the years. If it's wiring, it will be right at the steering column or the switch.

Dome light switches are another common fault. Again, they are a crappy switch that earths the circuit. They will have a single wire on the back of the switch. If the light comes on just play with the switches in turn with the door open (repeated pushes of the switch) which may help to track down which button is faulty.

Buy a can of black spray paint for the hood.

The windshield you'll have to call in the pros.

 

[PaigeBoo]

Thanks AVC, I actually will be going out there tonight or tomorrow to solve that Coolant sensor problem! You're a life saver, I'm going to look at the dome light as well. As for the speed sensor, looks like were going to be buying the sender I'm guessing. We've checked the wiring, and is most definetly not the problem. Non of the cables are loose, and none have any damage to them at all.
As for the wind shield wiper you're right, it's in the steering column, unfortunately, it's a bitch and a half to get to, and will most likely remain in the state it's in, it's not to much of a hassle.
Spray paint, I've seriously thought about it, but not sure how bad or good it would look. I mean I guess it can't get much worse than the red hood....
And the windshield, you're right, the pros do need to be called in, just don't know when that will happen. At the moment it is still "legal" and if I do get pulled over for it, well, that's what a fix it ticket is for.

 

[AVC]

If you can get the plastic shroud off the column, it may all become apparent. Sure beats trying to get to stuff that right at the back of the dash, I spent 8 hours pulling the entire dash apart to pull out a leaking air-con evaporator one time.

Go for matte black paint. Our old ambulances used to have matte black hoods (white cars). With matte you can't go wrong. If you use gloss it will look shit. Long, even strokes (for the painting that is), and let go of the trigger at the end of each stroke. Lights coats are better. Just make sure its really clean first. Enamel paint will stick to anything.

 

[PaigeBoo]

Thank you so much Andy, you're a life saver right now. Yeah I am so not spending 8 hours to try to fix something that isn't that big of a deal hehe.


Matte black, got it, long even strokes, and let go of the trigger. Light coats, clean it well, and get an enamel paint. You've been a tremendous help and I appreciate it greatly :wub:

 

[Pugsport]

ok im confussed alot. the speed sensor has nothing to do with the speedo read out. i guess the car runs an ECU and its petrol?

1 dose the problem happen when the car is cold or warm?
2 how long has the problem been going on and is the ECU/engine management light on
3 dose the car idle ok when cold and warm
4 dose the problem happen more when at a set rpm and gear?

the speedo problem will be the speedo drive thats in the gearbox itself, could be speedo or loom fault.

the coolant sensor could have dirty contacts on the plug, the coolant/header tank is full of rust and needs a coolant flush and change

 

[PaigeBoo]

1) The problem happens both when the car is warm and when it's cold. It can happen 2 minutes after I start the car, or hours into a drive. It's random, and as of now, it hasn't happened since Monday of last week. Knock on wood.
2) Problem has been going on for about a month, and has progressively gotten worse. The engine light is NOT on.
3) The car idles a little rough on start up, but give it a minute and it idles smoothly.
4) No it does not, it sometimes begins when I'm stopped at a light.

As for the coolant sensor, we've checked all contacts and we've checked any wires we can, the Coolant and header tank have been flushed and changed. The sensor itself has gone out we believe, it's not really a big deal since I can easily check my levels, and always have coolant with me.

 

[Pugsport]

ok well a faulty sensor can take quite a while to put the Engine light on on the dash so it dose not rule it out.

1 dose the problem go away when you turn the engine off and then restart it
2 dose the car use more fuel when it plays up or has it started to use more fuel since it started playing up
3 dose the car feel as if its lost some power when it plays up or since its started playing up