WARNING: check your driver's side harnesses!!!!

[TripleTransAm]

Someone mentioned in another thread something about rather pushing a Ford than driving a Chevy or something similar... well, I basically had to, yesterday.

My MM failed me. Big time. I took wife, 19 month-old kid, sister-in-law and her boyfriend on a day trip (2.5 hour drive each way) to Quebec City. Uneventful drive there, but when I got to the old town (scenic area), I spotted a parking spot, threw the car into reverse and POOF. Engine died. Tried everything to get it started but it just wouldn't crank at all. All vital signs okay (ignition kill OK, voltage OK, etc.).

After a hellish 4.5 hour battle with Ford's Roadside assistance (more on that in another thread), the car was towed back to Montreal (all Quebec City dealerships have been on strike for months!). This morning, one of my dealership's master technicians discovered a big wiring harness on the driver's side of the engine had been sliced through by the edge of a bracket holding up the wiper assembly panel. See below for a post-fix photo, the red arrows showing the problem area. The technician repaired each individual wire and then redid the outside insulation, and went one step further and secured the harness to the bracket, avoiding all future friction problems. He also tended to some other questionable areas where harness damage could occur.

Seems that when I put the car in reverse, the engine torqued just enough to one side to short a hot wire to ground. This blew a PCM-related fuse right then and there. No more MM.

So, that makes for a total of TWO harness-related failures known to the 2003 MM. Looks like a little more engineering $$ should have gone into proper harness design... I've NEVER had this happen to any of my cars or those of my immediate family. Being my first Ford ever, I hope this is not an indication of future problems to be endured. :(

So, pop your hoods and have a good look around the area near the brake booster for possible harness damage. Tug, pull, twist and push whatever you have to, but make sure you're not slicing through that harness in any way.

[Thomas C Potter]

Thanx Steve, I guess you know about the harness at rear of passenger head??

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by Thomas C Potter
Thanx Steve, I guess you know about the harness at rear of passenger head??

Yes, thanks Thomas.
I have read about that (that's the first of the two 2003 MM harness issues I mentioned in my post, the second being my own experience on the driver's side). Of course, this driver's side problem could simply be specific to my own car, maybe the harness was just not properly placed or whatever... I just figured I'd raise the warning flag for others to check their cars out.

My car is a mid Feb 2003 build. According to the tech, no one has complained about this problem of mine yet, but he will be building a 'case' for Ford to keep in records, to aid other potential victims of this problem. I'm unsure if the technician's research included only Canadian trouble reports or complete Ford-wide... perhaps some of the technicians participating in this board may want to check their info systems for references to this problem on the driver's side.

I was also under the impression the passenger's side problem was a pre-January issue. Nonetheless, I will read up on it some more and poke around tomorrow, just to be sure. If anyone else has any other leads on harness problems, I'd appreciate the heads-up.

[Jim]

I posted a related tale of woe:

Read on. (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=54&highlight=harness+transmission )

-Jim

[Logan]

Known issue with some early marauders, mine included. I Zip-tied the harness away from the bracket...

[bchapman]

Originally posted by Logan
Known issue with some early marauders, mine included. I Zip-tied the harness away from the bracket...

When we first got the car, my husband very carefully attached wire ties and secured all the wires so they wouldn't move around.
Everything has been neatly zip-tied and tucked away.

I'm not much of a mechanic, but thank God I had the foresight to marry one. ;)

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by Logan
Known issue with some early marauders, mine included. I Zip-tied the harness away from the bracket...


Judging from another thread I just spotted, it doesn't appear to be an early build related problem. :( Same harness, same area, different symptoms.

As Jim recommended in that other thread, it would be a good idea to check the integrity of that harness, as it seems to affect a great deal of systems in our cars.

[tomd]

thanks TripleTransAm
Looked at mine and there is a nick on the cable.
When I take it into the dealership for a new seat frame replacement I’ll have them fix that too

OH LML or Logan. :bows:

Is there a place were we can post the problems :confused: we our having with the Marauder's? Be kind of nice to go to a “problem form” look up the problem and then click on the link to that thread where it written about. This way we can print out the thread for the dealers service department and show them other are also experiencing the same problems.
Thanks
:beer:

[Logan]

That other thread was from July 2002. That main harness rubs against a sharp edged bracket, resulting in various wires getting severed or shorted out.

Not saying it hasn't happened on later cars, but the 3 or 4 I've seen with the problem were all June - July built cars. Nothing a 2 cent zip tie can't fix. Well, I used two of 'em, so I guess it's a 4 cent fix. IF you catch it before it does any harm... ;)

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by Logan
That other thread was from July 2002. That main harness rubs against a sharp edged bracket, resulting in various wires getting severed or shorted out.


You're right, I spotted the '17' and assumed it was May 17th of this year (today) and not July 17 2002! Please excuse me as I quietly bask in my boneheadedness here in my little corner...

What scares me is that the problem is still happening almost a year later. To put it bluntly, don't they ever learn????

I agree with the suggestion made above regarding a common failure FAQ of some sort. I for one would use this 'list' of common failures and go through each and every one of them to make sure none of them still applied to me (since I can't trust that the factory has addressed all 'old' issues).

If anyone feels we'd be giving the SS boys some ammunition in the SS vs MM debates, just tell them to go get their Optisparks wet... they'll understand what you mean. :uzi:

As for such a list giving the marque a bad reputation, well... I guess that's what happens when a car company doesn't take their problems seriously. :nono:

[TripleTransAm]

... and regarding the 2 cent fix...

... I'm glad some of you were able to spare yourself the hassles of failures related to the chewed harnesses. If I really had the time and resources, I'd love to tear the car completely apart and re-assemble it with careful attention to all these little survival details, leaving no harness, screw or bolt unturned or in harm's way.

But... isn't that what I paid Ford to do? If I have to go through the whole car with a fine tooth comb looking for that hidden harness that is quietly being sliced as we speak, that doesn't show much for my faith in the car's solidity and construction quality.

[Thomas C Potter]

I checked around the subject bracket, mine was fine there, BUT, this same fat harness was rubbing over an aluminum cast corner in the rear center of the 'intake manifold' next to a 1" freeze plug. I inserted a 1/8" thick piece of urethane, should be good to go.

Keep the warnings coming as needed, and use a sensible title of these type threads.

[JLHARVEY1]

If you think we have it bad, try owning a Dodge. I had a Dodge Dakota R/T and every other week they were sending out a new TSB for one problem or another. Oh, and they never gave me a rental while my truck was in the shop. I even asked begged and pleaded with them to get one.

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by JLHARVEY1
Oh, and they never gave me a rental while my truck was in the shop. I even asked begged and pleaded with them to get one.


In that regard, once again my dealer was there for me, offering me a loaner while the MM was off the road. Unfortunately all he had were Focuses, which wouldn't have helped me this weekend... since I still have my Civic EX 4door, I could always default to using that one should we need to haul the family and visitors during the weekend (they're leaving this afternoon).

Thankfully, the MM was repaired in excellent time and we've been able to usher the visitors around in style this weekend.

Now I gotta do some soul searching as to when to sell the Civic (and I DO need to, $$-wise). I keep hoping this kind of failure won't occur and leave me family-car-less once again...

[LincMercLover]

3TA,
Evidentally you haven't been to my Focus thread, have you? :D

[Matt Johnson]

Checked out the area of concern on my MM (build date 9/02) and discovered what looks like an extra wrap of tape, or similar, around the harness where it contacts the metal piece. I put some black tape around the sharp edges of the bracket just in case, but I'm wondering if anyone else has found the wrapping thicker here?

And while I'm on the subject, I checked the harness on my wife's Lexus and found that they case the wires in hard plastic. Would it have really cost Ford that much to do the same to ours?

[jgc61sr2002]

3TA - Thanks for the heads up. Checked mine today and it appears to be OK. John:up:

[gonzo50]

I checked mine and the harness was OK because it was tucked under the brake booster vac-umm line but that line was rubbing against the sharp metal bracket, :( had a small indentation in it but not too bad, I wrapped it in some aluminum tubing left over from an exhaust wrap. Thanks !:baaa:

[RCSignals]

I checked the harness on my wife's Lexus and found that they case the wires in hard plastic. Would it have really cost Ford that much to do the same to ours?

If you mean the corrugated hard plastic, Ford does use it on the wire harness in vulnerable areas

[Matt Johnson]

by the looks of this thread, they don't use enough of it...

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by RCSignals
If you mean the corrugated hard plastic, Ford does use it on the wire harness in vulnerable areas


Well, unless I'm way off base, I believe the sliced-through area consisted of what looked like black tape around MANY MANY little wires with regular thin 'plastic-rubber' insulation. Easily sliced through...