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My 1987 Mercury Colony Park

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    Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
    either way, whatever you do with it you're going to need to tie into the existing wiring, so the insulation problem needs to be found and fixed.
    I’ll be pulling the wiring out a good bit to make it easier to locate and clean up the wiring going to the relays. I’ll see how bad it is around the relays at the plugs. I’ve seen some insulation that’s pulled back a good bit in some areas elsewhere in the engine bay, so I figure it’s a bit ugly around those.


    My Cars:
    -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
    -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
    -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
    -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

    Comment


      ford wiring from this time period isn't awesome. My Towncar and the Continental both had sections near connectors where it was bare for a couple of inches and crumbling for several more.
      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

      Comment


        The wiring in the Mad Marquis for the fuel pump, horn, and AC cutout relays was pretty bad before I did the aero relay swap. On the horn relay, the insulation from the "hot at all times" wires was shrunk back a full 1.5 inches. On the fuel pump and AC relays is was about 1 inch. I trimmed that back quite a bit.

        Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
        rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
        Originally posted by gadget73
        ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
        Originally posted by dmccaig
        Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

        Comment


          I find Liquid electrical tape helpful in some cases. It comes in colors.
          03 Marauder DPB, HS, 6disk, Organizer Mods> LED's in & Out, M&Z rear control arms, Oil deflector, U-Haul Trans Pan, Blue Fuzzy Dice
          02 SL500 Silver Arrow
          08 TC Signature Limited, HID's Mods>235/55-17 Z rated BFG G-Force Comp-2 A/S Plus, Addco 1" rear Sway, Posi Carrier, Compustar Remote Start, floor liners, trunk organizer, Two part Sun Visors, B&M Trans drain Plug, Winter=05 Mustang GT rims, Nokian Hakkapeliitta R-2 235/55-17
          12 Escape Limited V6 AWD, 225/65R17 Vredestein Quatrac Pro, Winter 235/70-16 Conti Viking Contact7 Mods>Beamtech LED headlight bulbs, Husky floor liners

          Comment


            Originally posted by jaywish View Post
            I find Liquid electrical tape helpful in some cases. It comes in colors.
            "..she comes in cah-lours, she's like a rainbow.. Have you seen her dressed in blue?.."
            1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
            1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

            Comment


              Decided to tackle the relay job today.

              FWIW, the later style vacuum/relay combo pictured here does not really work on a modified early fender liner. The relay holder is too "deep" since the area is flat. No idea if the '90/'91s are any better, but the early side mount vacuum/relay combo is preferred.


              Fuel pump relay wiring was the worst as far as insulation recession went. The yellow lead could be yanked straight out of the block.


              Factory ground splice, IIRC. Whatever fabric based taped that was used crumbled off when I removed the wires from the harness. Re-wrapped with electrical tape.


              All wiring exposed with relays hanging.


              Updated relay holder installed with EEC diode. This was going to be a solder and heatshrink job, but the ancient (and cheap) iron called it quits after I did one lead. Since I had already cut the EEC relay 100% out, I was committed, so butt splices with heatshrink were used instead.


              Stuff "tidied" away. The holder doesn't sit just right since it's a new style holder on an old style vacuum box. I'll see if I can find a side mount holder next time I'm at the yard so it'll sit nicely. At least it's latched into place.


              I had to extend two leads out, one for the EEC connector from a leg on the fuel pump relay, and another for the A/C Diode lead from a leg on the A/C cut-out relay. Beyond that, I was able to shorten up most of the wires by about a foot and adjust the looming to fit.

              Here's a note card of all the pinout/wire colors I used.


              FWIW, the EEC relay wiring did not 100% match my service manual. The 12v+ Constant BK/O wire was just Black and the Ground BK/LG either originally was green and faded, or it was using black with light blue striping. All the other wires matched respectively.


              My Cars:
              -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
              -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
              -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
              -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

              Comment


                your handwriting is entirely too legible for a working note card. My scrawl of notes when I'm putting stuff together may as well be in hieroglyphs.


                Honestly that wiring is in better shape than many are. Nothing there makes me go "aha" though. I wonder if one of the relays was failing mechanically. If the return spring breaks, you'll get stuff randomly engaging if it gets moved around.
                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

                Comment


                  I guess that is why the later harnesses use a similar splice, but embedded in marine type heat shrink. The stuff with the glue in it that oozes out and seals things when its heated. I had to cut a few of those out when I did the cornering lamp retrofit on my '96, I couldn't find in-tact '95-'97 GMQ side marker harnesses that had cornering lights so I modified ones from a '94 instead (basically deleted the extra bulb and wiring for the turn signals, but also integrated the "blinker mod" since it was cut up anyway). I cut one of those factory splices apart out of curiosity and the splice its self looked pretty much the same as that one, but it was in heat shrink rather than wrapped in tape. FWIW, my splices were done similarly, soldered and marine heat shrink, because IMO that is the only way to do splices under the hood if you expect them to last.
                  -Steve

                  2006 Audi A6 S-Line FWD ~132k miles, stock.
                  1998 Mercury Grand Marquis LS HPP ~102k miles, slowly acquiring modifications.
                  1997 Lincoln Town Car Cartier ~145k miles, Ported Plenum, Gutted Airbox, Mechanical Fan Delete, Contour E-fan Retrofit, Dual exhaust, Cats ran away, KYB Gas-A-Justs, P71 front sway bar, air ride reinstalled, Blinker Mod, Projector headlight retrofit, Caddy 4-note horn retrofit, Wood rim steering wheel, rustbelt diet plan..
                  1996 Mercury Grand Marquis GS 117,485mi. R.I.P. 7/14/12

                  Comment


                    the later harnesses were sealed up better. The tape wrapped blob splices were typical through the 80s at least. The connectors are also not sealed other than with whatever terminal grease that may have been packed in there.
                    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

                    Comment


                      Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                      your handwriting is entirely too legible for a working note card. My scrawl of notes when I'm putting stuff together may as well be in hieroglyphs...
                      Came here to say this. Your wiring job is impressive, but that handwriting- just wow haha. I dub mine "cryptic chicken scratch" lol
                      1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                      1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

                      Comment


                        Here's a dumb thing I've never checked for:





                        Tethered gas cap. Saw it on the junkyard '87 and took it. I've had a replacement Stant unit since I got it, and it clearly had been around for a while. Just a bit curious how frequently those pop up, or if anyone else has one and I've just been the sucker dealing with a basic cap.


                        My Cars:
                        -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
                        -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
                        -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
                        -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

                        Comment


                          I think I have a couple of good tethered ones in my spare parts. In some States checking the gas cap is part of the smog inspection. Gas caps fail allot. The tethered ones get in the way of the gas nozzle.
                          I have locking gas caps on everything.

                          Comment


                            The tethers commonly break. The 90s models had a single cord to the top center of the cap rather than the "hinge" thing that the 80s cars got. Those seem to hold up better, and they fit boxes fine. The one on my car is from a mid 90s Escort. The original was broken when I got the car.
                            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

                            Comment


                              The one like you installed is what the Mad Marquis came with. The strap never broke. I did have to replace it though because the cap failed. The single plastic string on the 93 though... that one broke... and then the cap failed. So it's got a new one as well. Though that was several years ago now.

                              Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
                              rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
                              Originally posted by gadget73
                              ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
                              Originally posted by dmccaig
                              Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

                              Comment


                                Interesting, my '89 has the single string type (broken string). I wonder if it's not original if the 80s ones usually came with that strap set up.

                                '78 LTD | '87 Grand Marquis | '89 Crown Vic (RIP) | '91 Grand Marquis (RIP) | '94 Town Car (RIP) | '97 Town Car (RIP)

                                Comment

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