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1988 Town Car Electric Woes

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    1988 Town Car Electric Woes

    My '88 TC has developed some maddening electrical problems that I've been unable to diagnose/repair. Hoping there are brighter minds than mine here who can figure out what the h*ll is going on. Here's what I'm dealing with:

    Problem 1: Power window switch on driver's door works intermittently. When not working, the door marker lights come on when I hit the switch. If I open the door, I can raise/lower the window. Have replaced all 4 window motors, and master switch appears to be in good condition. No rhyme/reason as to when this happens, but it does seem to be worse when it's warmer outside (I live in St. Louis, so "warmer" is relative).

    Problem 2: Horn kept blowing fuses, and discovered that a penny had found it's way into the lighter receptacle in the ashtray (I use it for change). Removed the penny, replaced the horn relay...and the horn wouldn't turn off. Purchased a NOS horn pad switch on eBay, hooked it up...and the damn horn is still stuck. Bought another relay--and the damn horn is STILL stuck. Disconnected the horns and gave up.

    I've owned the car for six years, and haven't messed with anything that could have caused these issues. Not a clue as to what I should do next, so any/all advice is appreciated!

    #2
    First one sounds like the door switch or wiring to it. It's a little white plastic push thing near the door hinge. Push it in enough to turn off the interior lights. If that affects power windows then you know it's related.

    85 4 door 351 Civi Crown Victoria - Summer daily driver, sleeper in the making, and wildly inappropriate autocross machine
    160KMs 600cfm holley, shorty headers, 2.5" catted exhaust, 255/295 tires, cop shocks, cop swaybars, underdrive pulley, 2.73L gears.
    waiting for install: 3.27's, Poly bushings, boxed rear arms, 2500 stall converter, ported e7's, etc

    06 Mazda 3 hatch 2.3L 5AT (winter beater that cost more than my summer car)

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      #3
      sounds like a ground problem within the door. I don't remember where that mess all grounds to, but its either above the speaker on the door itself, or inside the kick panel area somewhere around the parking brake most likely. At least thats what floats to the top. Its in the EVTM, but mine isn't handy right now. If the ground were open, but still connected to the light circuit (they should share a ground), trying to operate the window would pull current through the bulbs, causing them to light. Opening the door probably disturbs the connection to make it work for a while. I'd bet that pulling it, wire brushing the connection and the spot it goes to, and putting it back together will fix this.

      The horn thing sounds unrelated to the penny. Most likely there is a damaged wire in the column that happens to be the one that operates the horn relay. Pull the shrouds off the column and have a look.
      86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
      5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

      91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

      1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

      Originally posted by phayzer5
      I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

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        #4
        I chime in about the horn deal.....If you just remove the horn pad does the horn stop horning? if so.....The horn pad is basically a switch completing a circuit to keep things in its crudest form. You push the horn pad and the metal contacts each other allowing your relay to be triggered. I'd first check your horn pad, new nos and old, by removing the vinyl covering and inspecting the contents inside. If it is smashed down your horn will always go off like you are experiencing.
        ~David~

        My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
        My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

        Originally posted by ootdega
        My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

        Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
        But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

        Originally posted by gadget73
        my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




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          #5
          Also check the wiring harness going through the black rubber boot from the door post out to the door itself. I had wires break off inside there from years of opening/closing the door (obviously the driver's door is the most used door). Could be loose/broken wiring there causing stuff to go wonky. Might not be, but worth a look anyway.
          Summer car-> 1988 Lincoln Town Car, triple blue, 335,xxx km. New HO 5.0 in and running. Bought 2006/08/22. June 2017 PotM!
          Winter vehicle-> 1995 Ford F-250 XLT SuperCab 4x4, 284,xxx+km. AKA "Brutus" 460/E4OD/4.10 axles and 12 MPG. Bought 2019/08/14

          Originally posted by phayzer5
          I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

          Comment


            #6
            The window thing seems to be temperature-related. When it's cold, it almost never happens. I replaced the front door panels with some from an '89 TC, and swapped in the switches as well. Not sure where the wires could be grounding, but guess it's time to pull the door panel again. It's a good thing I love this car, because I now have two PITA jobs to do when Spring finally arrives; drop the dash for the dreaded heater core replacement, and now it looks like I'll be doing a steering column exploration for that freakin' horn wire.

            Thanks to everyone for the tips--appreciate your help!

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