Cougar

There should be a identification label with a part number on it to use as a reference. I have worked on a couple of these that had fuel pump circuit problems. The same transistor went out in both of them.

THe best place to start is with having a good wiring manual and a test light in hand to help you with this issue. Like Naru stated, the trouble may be due to a problem with the ignition switch. If the warning lights turn on when the key is turned to ON then that may be ok and the trouble is after the ignition switch. Use your test light probe to see is power is getting to the dash fuses after the ignition switch. Most of them are powered after the switch. The burning smell could be due to a loose connection in a connector to the ignition switch also. Other possibilities are the blower motor resistors which ar mounted in the air duct or bad connection to a relay socket. The radio issue is most likely due to a faulty power connection to it. If the radio worked and you could crank the engine then it is a seperate issue. The light of the radio display is a seperate power connection to the dash lights so that is why it worked ok and you had no display.

There is a safety switch used and it depends which type transmission is used. If you think the safety switch is the cause then check the voltage on the small wire running to the starter solenoid. It should have 12 volts on it when the key is in the start mode. You can also bypass the lead with another one and touch it to 12 volts to see if that makes the starter work.

The main battery cable to the starter may have internal corrosion. Try bypassing the wire using a jumper cable to see if that changes things.

Good info by Ruparts. Some difference in voltage readings between the battery and the dash voltmeter are expected due to wire losses between the two areas. From experience about a 1 volt difference is fairly normal. Since you saw over a 1.8 volt difference in readings from you meter and the dash meter it means the dash meter has a problem or the connections to it may be dirty. You may need to replace it but clean the connections to the meter first to see if that helps. Another thing that can affect the reading is the internal impedence of the meter. Whenever the meter is tied to the circuit, current is used from the test circuit which loads down the circuit under test. Your digital meter most likely has a high 10 megohm input impedence which places very little load on the circuit you are testing so very little voltage difference from the actual circuit voltage is seen. The cheap dash meter may only have a 10K ohm input impedence which can cause a error in the voltage reading depending upon the resistance of the circuit it is measuring.

Another possible trouble area is the switch in the door the window is in. Power from the main panel passes through it.

Good deal. Thanks for the update.

The resistance of the one injector most likely isn't bad enough to cause a error code. It may need to be more like 10 times the normal resistance before the ECU would recognize a problem. I would recommend replacing it with another one that matches the others resistance readings. Check the fuel pressure regulator to make sure it is working within specs and not over pressuring the fuel input. Check the plugs to see if they show signs of running too rich. The check valve in the fuel pump may be letting fuel back flow to the tank. See if the engine fires right up when you spray some starter fluid into the intake.

Some models had white connectors instead of black ones, like yours has. The ECU has a hole in the cover so you can look at the LED inside it order to count the flashes.

It's possible that the alternator could be causing the the current drain problem. Here is a link that has some good info on how to do the testing. http://www.aa1car.com/library/battery_runs_down.htm

It is amazing how many people have missed seeing a bad fuse on the first pass. I think the radio problem is just a coincident and not related to the other problem.

Yep! It sounds like we got us another virgin here.

Fuse 5 also supplies power to the ignition area, as you found out.

It sounds like there is a problem if the battery is being drained while the car is parked and some testing will be needed. The charging voltage of the alternator should be between 13.5 and 14.8 volts.

A Fluke 88 is a very good meter. Very nice choice. I have one of those myself. You should have changed your scale to the 2 amp scale once you found out the current draw was under an amp. If the first reading is 196 milliamps and there was nothing turned on that is too much current draw if things are in the sleep mode. You need to leave things connected for a few minutes to see if the current level drops. You did this at the store already I think and things seemed ok there. You should see less than 25 milliamps if things are good.

The green connectors do mate with each other but are only connected when checking operation of things. You can tie them together and see what happens. Just be sure to disconnect them when you are done. The red wire appears to be a modification for something. It may help to disconnect that wire and see if that makes any change with the mirror ground wire. Check out Ebay for manuals at a reasonable price. Even a CD version would help you.

Looking at some data it shows a lite green/black wire ties to the control side of the relay coil. You should be able to tie that point to ground to turn on the pump. If that test works then the ECU isn't providing a ground to turn on the relay. The ECUs sometimes fail in that mode. Make sure the ignition system is firing. If it isn't firing the plugs the ECU will shut the pump circuit down. Pin 1 on the relay socket ties to fused power and should be a yellow wire.

I would guess there still is a bad solder connection on the clock board.

My info shows a grn/red wire supplies power to the mirror light and a black wire ties to ground. I don't see how connecting the black wire to ground can cause the situation you describe unless something is really not wired correctly and wires have crossed possibly. Check to see if there is voltage on the grn/red wire with the ignition ON. Also check the grounds tieing to the engine and make sure they are making good connection. There may be a set of green connectors under the dash with a single wire tieing to them. If you find them and they are connected then disconnect them. They are only connected when testing is needed. To fix your meter you will need to remove the back side to access the fuse and replace it. It may You most likely blew a fuse when you shorted the lead to the lighter.

Check to see if the connection on the back side of the hazard switch is loose or become disconnected. The trouble is with the hazard switch.

I'm not so sure the vanity mirror is causing a short problem. It sounds to me that there may be a missing ground problem though. You stated you can "touch the ground and fans come on, release the ground fans go off.". What exactly are you doing when you do that? The fans may be turning on because the test and diagnostic connectors under the dash are connected together. Have you checked that? As for the current reading problem, if you are setting up the testing correctly using the meter then there is most likely a blown protection fuse inside the meter for the current test mode. The manual will have information about it. There should be some current flow coming from the battery at all times to provide power to memory circuits at least. When the car is parked and things have gone into the sleep mode the current draw should be around 15 to 25 milliamps. When testing in the current mode of the meter you have to be careful and choose a current range that can handle the current load of the circuit you want to test. If you use the small range of 2 amps with the lights turned on it will blow out the meter fuse. Your meter may have two fuses. One for the low current range and one for the high range.

As an added tip to what GD stated, you can check for AC voltage easier across the battery terminals rather than the back of the alternator. When testing, run the engine at around 2,000 RPM. If there is more than .1 volt of AC voltage measured there the alternator needs to be replaced. Another issue the alternator can have that will turn on the warning light but not create excessive AC voltage is a problem with the brushes inside it. Anytime the battery warning light is turning on it usually means the alternator has a problem. It is also important to make sure that the battery warning light is working when checking for a problem with the charging system when the ignition switch is turned to ON. Most charging systems use power provided by the warning light circuit to energize the exciter circuit and build up the field coils inside the alternator. The warning light is in series with the circuit so if it doesn't work for some reason current can't get to the exciter to start the action.

Here is another transportation vehicle the engine is used in.

Right off hand I'm not sure what the readings should be. The factory service manual may have that information.

I suggest you make sure that the wiring to the disty hasn't been changed from original design and use an ohmmeter to find out what lead the excessive load is on. Then follow to where the lead is tied to. Like I stated earlier, it may be the ignitor that is causing the trouble.