Mercury Cougar Engine Questions

blackhand

My daughters 1999 COURGAR 4 days ago while driving started to just shut down...1) all the idiot lights come on like a bad alt. or battery...2) power steering gets very hard of course 3) car goes dead or shuts down...4) she waits only a few minutes turns the key car starts right up, does it again down the road ( about 4 times in 3 days)...
local mechanic CAN not fine anything wrong cars been working perfect for him ( of course)...ANY HELP OR INFO IS NEEDED THK YOU

Z'S

shannyz

Sorry - I don't have an answer for you....However, our 2000 Cougar has been doing the same thing that you describe. Our mechanic can't seem to find the problem either! Did you have any luck getting this resolved? I'm curious to find out what is going on.....
Thanks!
Shannon

thundercat

I have a 1995 cougar, v8 4.6L. I have replaced the EGR valve twice and the other 2 components that work in tandum with it and I still get the egr error code pop up. I have made sure the exhaust tube is clear of build-up and it makes no difference. Is there a control module that is responsible for the operation of the egr and it's components? Anybody have a fix??

99cougarowner

This was awhile ago i dont even know if ya'll are still there but i will tell you that some cougars were brought in for a recall on the alternator wiring the Red Jumper wire in the three prong plug needed to be spliced and connected to the "output" on the alternator this helps with the wiring thats running through the engine itself already i did mine like that and its running great

supercat1

Mine has been doing it. My cat is old over 250K on her. Been tring to fix this problem for the last 3 months. Will try alternator wiring suggestion and let you all know. I am not ready to retire her yet!

cl3350

I am having the same problem recently, I had to get the battery recharged and it held a charge for only a few minutes and when I started to drive it shut off repeatedly and my dash board gauges went out. i had the alternator replaced last year and it seems to me that the alternator is draining the battery down. if this is the same problem you experienced please reply back. If so how much did it cost to fix or was it covered under warranty or recall status? THanks.

lmoreno3

I am a newbie to this site, have a couple of questions. My son has a 2000 Cat, he has been getting the following trouble codes, 0420 and 0430. We cannot find a service manual for this year model car. Are these the codes for the 02 sensors, banks 1 and 2? Where can I get a Haynes or Chiltons manual for this car.

Thanx,

Lmoreno3

conroe1

installed new coil new command module and new computer box. car isn't getting spark or fuel to injector. fuel pump is working. Also new battery. Car has been sitting for about 6 months. only has 78,000 actual miles also checked all fuses one 5 amp fuse has now power at all. All the rest are fine. Car would start and ran rough then shut down. Let it set for a few min. and restarted. would die out on acceleration Now won't start at all

vtraudt1

I just come back from AutoZone. They not only give you the codes, but now (my local one at least) give a print out with description and probable causes.

On my 1999 Cougar, the error referring to lean banks (from PCM) are P0171 (bank 1), P0174 (bank 2).

Also, P1131 indicates that the ECM detected lean limit on bank 1

vtraudt1

1999 Mercury Cougar, V6, Auto:

We found a disconnected rubber hose (ca. 1/3 in = 8 mm diameter). It has a 90 degree plastic elbow and plastic mounting slot on the loose end. The fixed end ends up in the transmission housing on the top, right under the battery bracket.

When blowing into the hose, trans fluid comes out of the trans dip stick.

We already spent hours trying to find where that hose connects.

Can someone help?

I have a few pics (will try to upload if possible) of the hose.

Need urgent answer (intake, battery, carb, etc are currently all off - can't use the car).

Thanks.

Volker

http://www.traudts.com//Picture/Cougar/IMG_2317.JPG
http://www.traudts.com/Picture/Cougar/IMG_2311.JPG
Hose on top of transmission case: where is it going?
« on: June 09, 2008, 02:36:23 PM »

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1999 Mercury Cougar, V6, Auto:

We found a disconnected rubber hose (ca. 1/3 in = 8 mm diameter). It has a 90 degree plastic elbow and plastic mounting slot on the loose end. The fixed end ends up in the transmission housing on the top, right under the battery bracket.

When blowing into the hose, trans fluid comes out of the trans dip stick.

We already spent hours trying to find where that hose connects.

Can someone help?

I have a few pics (will try to upload if possible) of the hose.

Need urgent answer (intake, battery, carb, etc are currently all off - can't use the car).

Thanks.

Volker

http://www.traudts.com/Picture/Cougar/IMG_2317.JPG

http://www.traudts.com/Picture/Cougar/IMG_2311.JPG

http://www.traudts.com/Picture/Cougar/IMG_2314.JPG

67cougar

i have a 67 cougar that wont start,it turns over if you jump the solinoid it has a new ignition switch and a new solinoid but wont turn over with the key.

PF_Flyer

Since it turns over when you bypass the solenoid, either the new solenoid is bad or there's something with the wiring to or from the solenoid.

You might want to post in the general "No Start" Problems discussion over on the Maintenance & Repair board as well

tcastillo

my car has no get up and go it just bogs down when you give it gas I have had the exhast, transmission and almost everything you can check checked on it its now in the shop and they say its a engine performance problem but they cant find it any suggestions Please Help I love this little car and just want it to run good

lmoreno3

Hello all, sn5bah here, maybe one of you can help me with this one. My 2000 Mercury Cougar gauge shows that it is overheating, the thermostat has been removed and the whole system flushed. New water pump installed. Water pump belt broke off yesterday. Is this hard to replace, payed a mechanic to replace the water pump, but this time I want to do it myself. Need a quick response, this is my only vehicle.

spyceman

V6?Could be IMRC control unit faulty.This device controls the opening of the valves at approx. 4000rpm to allow max power!

padre4

tcastillo
did you ever get a proper diagnosis for your problem?
Was it in fact the IMRC???

advocatus

Hello CSG,

Long time no chat. So it seems recently my gauges started going the full distance from 0 to 160 upon startup. Is this new? Has the cougar always done that? I don't think it has. All of my gauges go the full distance. Does your cougar do this? Is it possible that it has always done this, and I haven't noticed in 7 years?

That and tonight the cougar didn't start. It just clicks. I'm thinking the battery is low, though the highlights are bright and the internal stereo, lights and etc are fine. I've been warned a couple of times that the battery is low. I think that will be the first thing I change.

What do you guys think about my gauges.. am I just stupid?
Thanks!

lmoreno3

Need help with my cougar. Temp guage shows hot. I have replaced the coolant temp sensor three times Bought two new ones and tried one from a junk yard. One of the new ones did not mark at all on the gauge. The one from the junk yard and the other new one mark hot. I have installed a new water pump, replaced all of the belts, replaced the radiator. Put a new radiator cap, had the whole system pressure tested. All checks out to be good. Pressure holds up, no leaks anywhere. What can I check to fix this problem? Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

sn5bah

vtraudt

Have you measured the actual temp of the coolant (to determine if the gauges/sensors are wrong)? An IR temp sensor is useful. Even the temp of the readiator metal or coolant hoses will give a good approximation.

How soon do the gauges show "hot"? If soon after startup, your coolant thermostat is stuck and won't open. In this case, one of the rubber hoses is hot, while the radiator is still cold.

lmoreno3

If I am on the highway doing 70 mph, it takes about 10 mins. for the gauge to start marking hot. Have had it checked with an IR temp sensor, have checked the hoses to see if any are collapsed and none are. Water in the bottle, does not boil out. Thermostat is brand new.

sn5bah

vtraudt

I'd say: if not done already, change the coolant termostat ($6.99 at Autozone), install a lower temp than factory (180 deg F or less). Its not that much work and costs nothing.

Are your fans kicking in?

yankabilly

E-bay our buy it at the dealers.

jjb009

I have a 2000 Mercury Cougar and about 2 months ago the check engine light came on – the OBD-II code was P0128 - Coolant Thermostat (Coolant Temperature below Thermostat Regulating Temperature). All seems to be well with the car.

I live in WI so it is very cold now (Jan/09) and overheating should not be an issue; the car is producing heat in a timely fashion and it isn’t running hot. I disconnected the battery to see if I could get it to kick out the trouble code again. The check engine light went away – but came back about 2 weeks later; I ran through all of the same steps and got the light to go off again.

On my way to work this morning as I switched the heat from defrost to deforest/floor and the check engine light came on again and as it came on I remembered that this was the same thing that I was doing (switching the heat) when the light came on a few weeks ago.

Could there possibly be any connection between the heater and the check engine light?

tc8ball

im sure u already have this answer, but it doesnt go anywhere, its a vent.

vtraudt

I learned back then from the posts that this is going no where, just an open vent hose.

yankabilly

The check engine light is it the one on the dash our the one in the head liner?
If it is the one in the head liner ( the shape of a wrench) it is telling you that it is time for an oil change, there is a spot in owners manual to reset it. If it is the one on the left side of dash is the you need to pull the heater controls out and clean them and see if that takes care of it

86Cougar

HELP!!! My baby, an 86 Cougar, has developed a problem and you don't know when it will occur; but seems to happen after getting warmed up. For instance, drove to work, everything fine; on way home stopped by store. Waiting @ red light, engine idle fine...light turns green & I press the gas and she bogs & dies. Started back up OK, but then had to keep foot on brake & gas when slowing or stopping or car would die. I'm not ready to give up on the old girl---she's been too good to me for over 20 yrs. Up until now, she ran when all the others would break down!!

Thanks,
86 Cougar

BillyOH

Where is outside sensor located on my newer Mercury Cougar that registers the outside air temperature on the inside of my car? Ive always wondered where this is located on a car.

89cougar

My son car will shut off when driving down the road it will do it only sometimes and he can only get heat or air through the defrost vent will not come out the vents in dash. If anyone can help I would be very thankful he is very upset it's his first car thanks for any help :cry

vtraudt

We had the same problems:
- shutoff when driving: it starts with the lights going dimmer, then the instruments go all wacky, then the engine cuts out. Daily recharging of the battery helped to get by for 1 or 2 days. At the end, we changed the alternator, which fixed it in our case
- no heat/air coming from vents (except defrost): this was going on for more than a year. This week we had to take the engine apart (white smoke, fouled up spark plug: looked like head gasket. It is now back together; we'll see). In the process, we found a small plasctic vaccuum line broken. I patched it up by using a small (just to fit over the plastic line) and a larger (that fits over the first) shrink tube to connect the 2 broken lines. If/when the engine is running again, we will report if that solved the problem (VERY likely).
Let me know if you need pics to identify the tube which caused the problem in our case (could be any vaccum line though; vents are moved by actuators powered by the engine vaccuum; if you have a leak, the vent stays in its default position, which is "all air to the defrost").

Volker

89cougar

We found a line vaccum line off but do not know were it belongs and the diagram under the hood does not help and the book only shows the line for a supercharger and we have a 3.8L with out charger my son never said the dash went crazy it just shut off the started thanks for the help I will keep tring to get it.

johnnie632000

I have a 1997 Mercury Cougar 4.6 engine. I am getting 2 trouble codes. (1) P0171 and (2)P0174. From what it tells me is that bank 1 and bank 2 are to lean. Can you tell me what cause's that and what I can do to fix it. Also I would like to know if these 2 codes will keep my car from passing an emissions test. Thank You for your time. John

johnnie632000

Hi There, Was wondering if you ever found out the cause of your trouble codes P0171 (bank 1), P0174 (bank 2. I have the same codes on mine stating that both banks are running lean. Thank You John johnnie632000@yahoo.com

vtraudt

Johnnie,
mine is a 1999 Cougar (2.5l V6 auto). We had tons of error codes, and recently had "white smoke" and fouled spark plug, a strong sign for head gasket problems.

We finally took everything aport, had both heads flow tested and planed, did a valve job. We also removed the "internals" of the pre-cat and installed the electronic dummy parts to fool the oxygen sensor.

After everything is back together, it is working fine.

Regarding the lean running: It was likely caused by a vacuum leak, possibly from not installing the seal of the upper intake manifold correctly when we had it off a long time ago.

We also found a broken vac line which caused the vents to not operate (air only coming out of defrost nozzles). Shrink tube and electrical tape to connect the broken line fixed that, too.

The only real problem left is now: the starter "grinds", it does not slip into the flywheel. We replaced starter about a year ago, but the problem soon came back.
The only way to get it going is to switch gear into drive, then wiggle the car back and forth (in the hope to move the flywheel a bit to let the teeth of the starter engage).

We are looking for a rigged solution to move the flywheel to allow the starter to engage. I don't think changing the starter will do any good. And changing the flywheel sound like a major job.

Volker

89cougar

On my 89 I had no check engine light on and it passed smog with no problem

thundercat

It sounds like your EGR valve is malfunctioning. It may be stuck. Do you know any one with a code reader capable of OBDI diagnostics?

Johny

jaybirdjr

Have the sparkplugs been changed? If so make sure they are platinum plugs and not regular resistor plugs

jaybirdjr

battery or alternator problem. check the battery because the same thing happens when the battery is disconnected

jaybirdjr

I have a 2002 cougar and the engine light is on. The code says egr. have replaced the egr valve, egr solenoid, egr pressure sensor, and the fuel cap. It still comes on after the code has been cleared. any suggestions? Thankyou in advance

PF_Flyer

I had a code indicated egr valve malfunction but it turned out not to be the valve itself but a leak in one of the lines connected to the valve.

lmoreno3

Hey fellas, lmoreno3 here. I am still having the same problems with my sons cougar, As last posted. New radiator, new cap, new belts, new temperature sensor, put in a 160 degree thermostat(aftermarket). New water pump. Had it retested for any leaks. Holds pressure, no leaks. Had radiator and hoses checked with IR. All shows good. Seems water is flowing as it should. Temp gauge still shows hot after driving it for about 10 minutes at 70 mph or for 30 minutes driving at 35-40 mph, city driving. I have just bought a new aftermarket electrical water temp gauge, Exxus brand at O'Reilly's for 17.00 bucks. I am going to hook that one up and deaden the factory one. I want to see what the real water temp is. When I find out if it is overheating or not, I will post my results. Again, water does not boil in the resevoir, or boil out.

Post results soon.

lmoreno3

joevee1

OK...I don't know a thing about cars, but I am attempting to change the oil in a 2002 cougar. Where is the best place to put the jack ? ANd can anyone describe the oil pan and drain plug to me. I am seriouc, I really need help !!

lmoreno3

lmoreno3 here, finally installed the aftermarket water temperature gauge, here are my unfortunate results. The car still marked hot, but only after driving it for 25 miles. The first 12 miles, it did not mark hot, only went up to about 190 degrees, with the AC off. The last 13 miles, the AC was on Max, that is when the gauge went up to the Hot mark. Stopped and looked under the hood at the resevoir bottle, and the water was not boiling. No steam coming from anywhere under the hood, and no leaks. HELP!!! what else can I check and look for, I am at my wits end.

avp0713

lmoreno, sounds like your gauge is bad, OR you need to replace the resistor that is built into the fan assembly. It's a 50 dollar part. The dealership will charge 150 to replace it, but if you have simple tools, a good Jack, a blanket, you can do it yourself in 2 hours.

I did it, I got under the car, pulled down the fan assembly just enought to remove and replace this resistor. Don't know the part number offhand, but I have it listed on the NECO Cougar forums.

lmoreno3

Am going to try that, had one of the three catalytic converters changed and that helped out, can go farther now, before it starts to show hot. Where did Ford/Mercury get the idea that three catalytic converters would be better?

mynameisjoe

Hi Imoreno3, Just getting to this site and don't know if you fixed your problem yet. I have experienced this problem in different vehicles and it turned out to be fan cooling problem. Cars with electric fans usually have 2 fans. When the temp reaches 200 degrees or there bouts the second fan should cut on. When you turn on your A/C it should also cut on. Cars with mechanical fans it usually turn out to be the fan clutch that is bad. Don't know if this helps but I know it can be a pain in the butt and usually the fix is a simple one. Sounds like you have already exhausted the difficult ones. Joe

lmoreno3

Thanx, for the info Joe, I will check on those pesky, have already checked the resistors and relays, and they are fine. But it can't hurt to get a second opinion from a good reliable mechanic that also does electrical work on cars, my sons cougar has the electric fans.

cougargirl1

My mom and I have both owned cougars, hers a 99, mine a 2000.

We have both experienced this problem. When she replaced the rear Catalytic Converter's this problem went away and she had more power than we could handle.

however now as my car is doing the same thing, I got the rear converter replaced as well and the problem is NOT fixed yet. Unfortunately I am going to have to try getting the other ones out and see if that helps :S very expensive shop bill.

Get this checked out on your car! It's a very common problem on cougars according to my mechanic.

benceturtle2

I had to replace the engine block on my 99 Cougar. after getting it all back together, I am getting no spark. I replaced the ignition coil. Still no spark. The fuel pump is working, and I have checked all the fuses and sensors and modules, all appear ok. What could be causing this and how do I fix it so that my car will run.

ap2

This morning i got in my car and was a bit cold so turned on my heater for a few min...turned it off when i warmed up...but noticed shortly later my car was not having that smooth engine flow but rather a chugging without the physical jerking of the car. Anyway shortly later check engine light comes on...drove it home no problem other then the fact that ocassionally that check engine light was now blinking . Turned car off and back on started no problem. LIght was not on till i turned around the corner and came back on...same issue...has anyone had this problem and can tell me what it is and how to fix it?

protech1

I have a 2000 Cougar with a V-6 that I have been having a problem with the head lights flickering, a/c blower motor surging and alternator light flickering. I ordered a new alt. and replaced my old one. I'm having the same problem although its a little better. With no load, it shows 14V. As soon as I load it up, the voltage jumps from 12 to 14 to even 16 or 18. I load tested the battery prior to replacing the alt. and it was fine. So, I removed and replaced the main wire off the alt. that feeds the batt. and still have the problem. I then, completely disconnected the wires at the alt. and I have no issues, problem fixed, but of course I cannot operate this car without an alternator. I think I may have a "bad" new alternator. Can someone confirm my suspicions or give any input to something I may have missed or not thought of. Thanks!