Hi,
I see some of you know what they're talking about. Maybe you can help.
I bought my Tribute in November and 4 days later, it stalled in the middle of traffic and woudln't start for a while. I took it back to the dealer and they kept the car for 2 weeks, then finally told me they 'fixed' it. I drove it 3 more months and it happened again, this time it wouldn't start back. I took it back to the dealer and after keeping the car 3 weeks they announced it was the engine wiring harness and emission harness that needed replacement for a total of $3200 which wasn't covered under the warranty.
The paperwork they gave me shows they had done nothing the first time they took the car back. So my guess is they know exactly what 'happened' to the car, but not necessarily what's wrong with it.

OK, now the diagnostics part. I took the car (still won't start) to a friend mechanic who tried to figure out what was wrong with it. He found the computer had a brown spot toward the back and the fuel pump was running constantly. So we changed the computer to take care of that. But the car still won't start.
From what he says it's definitely electrical but we can't afford someone more experienced to track it down. He thinks it could be the antitheft device. The engine turns over but doesn't fire. There is compression and he says it's not a fuel pump issue.
One more piece of information: a week or so before I bought the car, the warranty shows a claim for an EGI part. I'm thinking that's the Fuel Injector.
All the recalls had been performed on the car long before this dealer got the car, so there was no reason to do this unless something happened to the car.
The Carfax report is clean.

I need opinions from you guys to get a feel on the 'engine wiring harness' diagnosis. Is this more BS from the dealer or could it be the problem.
Also, without an accident, what would cause them to replace the EGI ? Could the car have been flooded ? Would it fry the computer and cause other symptoms ?
If it's not worth tracking down a short in the harness, can a week-end mechanic like me handle changing it ? Is there a walk through somewhere on how to do it ? (I have the Haynes teardown manual)

I'm really desperate and in need of advice. Thanks for your help.
J.D.

 

How many miles are on it? I assume it's out of warranty, because a failure like this would DEFINITELY be covered under warranty. Is it tripping any codes?

Changing out a harness is no small feat, but if you have the proper manuals & the determination, anything is possible. I don't think a Haynes manual is going to cover it. I've never heard of an "emissions" harness before.

I'd ask the service department at your local dealership if you can make copies of a few of the pages from the dealer service manual if you are going to attempt this yourself. You need to make sure you have identified all of the connections on each harness. Once you disconnect all of these, it should be pretty easy to pull the harness out. The biggest problem you'll run into in having the clearance necessary to disconnect the harness junctions. (it can be tough to get your hand in the tight places that some of these connections end up.)