Multiple 93 Sable problems
 

:confused:
I'm having a few problems with my '93 Sable 3.0. I purchased the car in May from a private owner. It has 115 K miles on it now. I have several minor issues and some larger very annoying issues which I believe are related to each other in some fashion. I would like your opinions on whether or not they are related and what would be the best way to resolve some of them. FYI, it is my intention to keep this car for a long time, so I would prefer a long term solution over a quick fix. I will relate the issues in chronological order as they became apparent to me. That doesn't necessarily mean that they weren't there earlier, just that this is the order in which I became aware of them.


The ignition switch isn't quite right. It will allow you to remove the key before you turn the switch all the way OFF. I noticed that the ignition key and the door lock keys are not the same. The door keys are stamped FORD and appear to be the original keys. The ignition key is a generic. They two keys will not interchange although the door key will go into the ignition and turn, it will not turn enough to start the car.


The first time I used the windshield wipers I thought the motor was pretty noisy, but the wipers worked OK. As time went on the wiper motor seemed to get quieter, or maybe I just got used to it. Lately, the wipers work but they don't “depress park”. They stop at the bottom of the windshield but don't full park. If it is raining and I turn them off they will usually fully park, but if I just use the washers or run the wipers enough to clear the morning dew they will not fully park.


The digital clock sometimes flickers but it is not related to road bumps or tapping on the dash. Often it is fine, but it normally flickers and dims on its own almost every day.


In June I filled the car up and headed home from work. I went about five miles and the car just quit running. It would fire and sometimes momentarily run but then immediately die again. I had it towed in to my mechanic who reset the inertia switch. Egg on my face and dollars out of my pocket! I guess the mechanic needed a reason to charge me for something so he replaced the fuel filter (which probably didn't need it). I drove the car across town and parked it for a few minutes. When I started out again I could barely keep it running. It stalled and died several times before I could get back across town to the mechanic. Guess what? He said he didn't have any idea why it was happening, but it definitely didn't have anything to do with the repairs he made! This problem continues to this day. It always starts in the morning without fail and stalls at the first stop light. Then it may or may not stall every time I stop. It is idling at about 500 RPM, which seems very low to me. Sometimes it idles at about 750 RPM and doesn't stall at stop lights. I think it used to idle at about 1000 RPM, but I can't be absolutely certain of that. Ever since that day, the fuel gauge has not worked. It always is way over FULL although the needle does drop when the car is shut off.


Last week I started the car and the brake light came on and the blower and radio quit working. It happened again yesterday, but I think that the ignition switch didn't release all the from START. I turned off the car and started it back up and everything that worked before worked right again.


I crawled under the rear of the car to see if I could jiggle the wires at the top of the fuel tank to get the fuel gauge to work. No luck. I did notice that there are unmistakable signs that the fuel tank had been removed or at least lowered off the straps. Someone maybe replaced a fuel pump?


That's the end of my saga. I'm open to suggestions on what to try. I have purchased the Taurus/Sable service manual and the electrical and vacuum troubleshooting manual. I'm still lost. A little help?

For one I would replace that ignition switch. Sounds like it has been replaced with an el-cheapo one that isn't working the way it is suppose to.

When an inertia switch trips, it prevents the engine from starting by shutting the fuel pump off, so that never was your problem since you could get the engine to start and run briefly.

Sounds like some one has replaced the fuel pump. Its possible he damaged the fuel gauge sending unit in the tank. Have you checked for any blown fuses?

On your idle, I haven't much experience on the Fords EEC-IV systems, but you do have an idle controller, but other things can cause problems like a stuck EGR valve etc.

I would look for a mechanic who is knowledgeable about Fords.

I think the person who sold you the car knew of the problems, tried to fix them, gave up and sold yo the car. Hope you got a good deal and the car is otherwise in good condition.

The bottom line is there are too many things that could be causing the problem without seeing the car. But before you put to much money in it, I would look for a mechanic who is knowledgeable about Fords EEC-V systems which I think you have. I think he would be able to diagnosis the problem in short order.

I have checked the idle control valve. It is OK. Another new problem: I started it up this morning and the air bag light is blinking a code 51...intermittent short to ground. It was fine when I parked it, but now the code is flashing. I'm going to start with the ignition switch first and go from there. Thanks for your reply.

I used to have a '93 Taurus - biggest money pit I've ever owned! It nickled and dimed me to death. If I were you, I'd get out while you're still ahead.:eek:

I took the car in and had the ignition switch replaced. I "rebooted the computer" by disconnecting the battery for 10 minutes and driving it normally for about 15 miles. The idle is now working properly. The new ignition switch works fine. I'm going to drop the fuel tank when I have time and check out the wiring and probably replace the fuel pump/sending unit. The clock I can live with. The windshield wipers are annoying, but I can live with that for now. The blinking air bag light is driving me nuts! Any suggestion on a way to disable it. I'm really not concerned about the air bags not working.

Pulling the hamonic balancer and water pump.