Hello all,

We just bought a 99 Ford Contour (6 cylinder) with about 75k miles. Upon purchase from the private party, the vehicle seemed to be in fine shape. Literally a few hours after the purchase, however, the check engine light came on. We were near AutoZone at the time, so we had them run the ODB and it retrieved the following code: P0174, which indicated some issue with a misfire or sensor.

After we left, thinking worst-case scenario we'd have to replace the o2 sensor or something, the car started to stutter a bit while at a red light. It was intermittent but constant, exactly as if it was out of gas. Sure enough, the gas light came on, yet the gauge was reading it was half-full. We hauled butt to a nearby gas station, and as we did so, the gas gauge shot down to E. Okay, strange. Gauge busted? Possible electrical nightmare?

Then, after filling up, the car wouldn't start. It attempted to turn over a couple times, and then finally wouldn't even do that, as if the battery was dead. We were still near the aforementioned AutoZone, and they came out to test the alternator, but there was no charge in the battery (which was literally just purchased that day). They jump-started the battery, and it fired right up. Drove home, shut it off and started it right back up with no issues a few different times (still shows the check engine light).

Thoughts? Our obvious concern is we just got fleeced by a private party on a car that had some major issues that he was able to bury temporarily.

Thanks for any help!

 

I had some of the same problems. The timing fixed it at first but then later it did it all over again. I had 2 of them, 98 and a 99, I took parts off one to make the other work and then scrapped the 98. This is a hard car to work on and it has too many things that will go wrong.

 

There is a Contour Enthusiast Group (CEG) on the net. They have very good information on this car.
I think you had bad luck with the fuel gauge and you ran the tank empty. Then there was air in the fuel system and you ran the battery dead pushing that air through.
First I would get that CEL cleared either by Autozone using a scanner or by disconnecting the battery negative cable and stepping on the brakes for 5 seconds. Then drive normally. If the CEL comes back you may have further issues.

Running the gas tank empty is generally not a good idea. The fuel pump needs some fuel for cooling purposes. The last gas may carry more dirt and could clog the fuel filter. So, reset your trip meter to "0" when you fill the tank and go for a fill up at about 300 miles, no matter what the fuel gauge says.

Let's hope that's all there is to it.

 

It turned out to be the alternator, but I'm still having trouble with code P0071 (I think that's the code) so I think I'm going to replace the MAF sensor and hopefully that fixes it. If not, I will have to replace the O2 sensors and those are pretty expensive. Thanks for the replies!

 

You will find taht these MAF sensors aren't cheap. Also they are very reliable. But they can get dirty in particular if the airfilter is of low quality, or punctured or it is an oil soaked type like the K&N filter.
This is what happens: Air gets sucked through the MAF sensor. The wires in the sensor are heated by an electric current and kept at a steady temperature. The air rushing by cools the wires so it takes more current to heat them. That increase in current tells the computer how much air is going in. If the wire get coated with stuff, like dirt particles or oil, then the air will not cool the wire enough. So the computer assumes there is not all that much air coming in and it injects relatively little fuel which means it is running lean.
Another reason for running lean would be a vacuum leak "after" the MAF sensor. That would be additional air that has not been accounted for.
So you would do better by cleaning the MAF sensor with a spray can for that purpose and by looking for vacuum leaks at any hose, duct, gasket that enter the intake manifold after the MAF sensor. Otherwise you are running the risk of replacing a sensor only to find out "that wasn't it". Similar with the O2 sensors. Sure they can fail But I give them the benefit of the doubt until I eliminate the cheap to fix problems.

 

I've already cleaned the sensor and sprayed everywhere but was unable to find any leaks and the code still comes back after I reset it. Last time it made it 230 miles but then came back. I'm all for trying cheap fixes first, but I'm all out of ideas. Anything else I'm missing?

 

Could you please post the exact code(s) you have been getting ?