"MODERN" FORD-LINCOLN FUEL RELAY

[jaxops]

I have had 4 fuel relays installed in my 1997 Lincoln Town Car since Thanksgiving. This last one was epic...I was stranded last week on Route 1 just south of Dover Air Force Base. I couldn't "reset" the relay as it had melted to the module (not a good sign at all). Although it was a fairly common part, it wasn't available in Dover and it was Saturday at 5PM, so I was towed to Philadelphia to my Aunt's mechanic who put a new relay in the next morning. Unfortunately, there is a short or ground problem causing an electric surge that had melted relay #3 near Dover, so the real problem is being investigated. An expensive tow, and a lesson in "modern" electronics. Something to be said for a direct-drive fuel pump! (Blasted "modern" cars:mad:)

So if you have a relay burn out- check for grounds down the wire loom and power sources. A replacement relay may not be the solution!

[Rusty_OToole]

I had a similar problem, also on a Lincoln. A beautiful Mk VIII, it burned out alternator after alternator. I got it cheap because no one could fix it. Once I put on a new ground from the engine to the fuse panel, no more trouble.

Suggest you check your engine ground, body ground, and if necessary add a ground direct from the engine block to the panel, and from the panel to the chassis.

Also a Windstar van had a problem no one could fix, the battery always went dead although the alternator checked out good and there was no unusual current draw. It took me a month, but I finally found out that the alternator worked at idle but failed over 1500 RPM. Turned out, the rotor was faulty but only at certain speeds. This one baffled the smartest mechanics and auto electric men in town.

Ford products are notorious for electronic gremlins and have been for 30 years. I know of problems they had for 10 years or more, that they never did anything about, and were almost impossible to fix because they were intermittent and they fell outside the onboard diagnostic system.