Reality Check

Normally there isn't much television on when I'm around, especially during these frightfully few warm summer months here in Ohio. But I happened to have the TV on the night of July 9, 2001, tuned to the local CBS station. The news show 48 Hours was on in the background as I did my daily routine of answering e-mail. I half payed attention to the story, called "Accused": a woman accused of setting her car on fire and killing her mother inside. She was in jail but was granted a new trial to try and uphold her innocence. All a tragic story, no doubt. An expert witness was on the stand testifying to how the fire could have been started.

Then I heard him say the words "1987 Mercury Cougar."

Needless to say, the television now had my full attention. The witness proceeded to show how the woman's car, an '87 Cougar, could have had a fire due to a faulty ignition switch. The fire rapidly spread, burning everything in its path, and reduced most of the interior to molten puddles. Now I'm in no way diminishing the seriousness of this case, and the fact that someone lost their life in this car. But it was a very stark look at how our Cougars, the ones you and I drive every day, die as well. And it's not a pretty picture at all.

I'm used to going to the local salvage yard to get pretty much whatever I need for my cars. And let me tell you, you can see some pretty mangled vehicles there. Sometimes I'll jump on the roof of one and just look out into the acres and acres of twisted carcasses, wondering just how many people died in them. It's a pretty sobering thought. Some of the worst cars in the yard are the ones involved in fires. It doesn't matter if it's an interior or underhood fire, it's just a bad sight, plain and simple. The stench alone is enough to knock you out.

So when this expert on 48 Hours took a simple piece of interior plastic--namely, the steering column cover--and set it ablaze, I was really taken back. Here's a piece that I've removed and replaced on my cars literally dozens of times, now on TV erupt in flame and smoke, and rapidly fusing into a blackened, gooey puddle. He continued to show other interior pieces that resulted in the same fate. He made note from the evidence that there is a break in the door perimeter weatherstripping about halfway down, and that the liquid lava-like plastic flowed under the door in precisely that same location. How many times have I reglued that same break in the weatherstripping?

I guess my point here, as so explicitly detailed on this show, is that no matter how much we like to think that our cars are indestructible, they're not. All it takes is one match, one arced current, one unfused power wire, one dropped cigarette, or one faulty ignition switch...and you won't have that car anymore. This is a reality check, folks.

In an effort to be more responsible to the viewers of this site, I'm taking the initiative to urge everyone to make your Cougar electrically safe. It will take some time, effort and initial expense on your part. It will probably not be much fun either. But it will make you and your passengers safe and hopefully more educated about electrical safety in cars. I've outlined some steps below to help you, a checklist if you will:

- First and foremost, change the ignition switch. The Ford ignition switch recall of 1998 only went back 10 years, which means all 1988 vehicles are covered. All previous years are not, even though they have the same basic switch. A new one is around $15 from any Ford dealer. Aftermarket switches should be about the same price and quality. It takes about 30 minutes to change. Anyone with a Cougar that has over 100,000 miles should consider this mandatory. As a general rule, if your key wiggles quite a bit with the ignition on, you need a new switch, end of story.

- Buy a good fire extinguisher and keep it handy. Make sure that it is A-B-C rated so that you can handle any type of fire. You don't have to buy a refillable extinguisher but it's ecologically sound. It's suggested that you mount the extinguisher (in fact, you have to for NHRA/IHRA racing). That's not an easy task for our cars but you might want to consider it. The trunk is a good location if you don't want to mount it inside the passenger compartment.

- Check the battery terminal connections. Ford automobiles in general are notorious for accumulating that nasty crud on the terminals, which is a hazard by itself. The top-post terminals, though, are in very close proximity to the hood and radiator core support. And frayed or loose wiring can spell disaster. I know that this is basic automotive knowledge but some people still don't get it. or don't think to check their connections often. The battery is something you usually take for granted until it needs replaced. But it can get you back if you're not careful. Secure all fasteners, check for frayed wiring, replace bad terminals, and for gosh sake, don't run around without a battery hold-down.

- All 5.0 owners: check the electrical connections at the alternator. They have been known to cause engine fires; Ford has a TSB on this problem. The wiring becomes brittle back about 12" from the connections on the alternator itself, arcing over to the engine block and creating one nasty engine fire. New or remanufactured alternators usually come with a new harness that you must splice in. You can buy this harness separately at any good auto parts store for just a few dollars. Yes, it's nice to say you have the original wiring in the car....but at what price? Do you really want to risk an engine fire for pride?

- Replace the ignition (TFI/spark) module. Regardless of model year, you have one either on the distributor housing, under the distributor cap, or mounted to the front of the radiator core support. These have recently come under scrutiny in a landmark California class-action lawsuit, and pending lawsuits may go nationwide at some point. Is the design bad? In most cases, probably. That doesn't excuse you from knowing the facts and doing something about it. At the very least a new module will increase the safety and performance of the car. Cost is somewhere between $25-50. California residents will get theirs replaced free; check for availability and timeframe.

- Every 50,000 miles, check and/or change your spark plug wires. Just about everyone takes them for granted, but over 50,000 miles they've each fired literally millions of times. The outer walls can become thin, allowing high electrical current to arc over to the block, and creating the potential for a nasty fire. If you want to check for this, start the car in a totally dark garage and lift the hood. If you see any type of blue arc then you have this problem. Some auto parts stores sell wires with a lifetime warranty---it's a smart investment. If you are buying aftermarket you should know that the new standard is 8mm silicone wires. Anything thinner is not advisable. You can safely use 9mm, but 10mm and up should be reserved strictly for race engines with highly modified ignition systems.

- Change the starter solenoid with your spark plug wires. Any longtime Ford owner can tell you that the starter solenoid has caused them grief on more than one occasion. It is the only point where pure 12v power and ground wires meet to help start the car. A bad solenoid will lead to spotty starting, sometimes no starting, and is near other components that carry high electrical loads. You can bet that there's always potential for disaster with that. It's relatively inexpensive at around $15-20, and it's good, cheap insurance.

- When cleaning or hosing down the engine bay, be sure to cover the distributor. Any excess moisture under the distributor cap will wreak havoc with your car's electrical system. This has also been known to cause engine fires! All 1986-up 5.0 engines originally came with a cool rubber bag that totally surrounds the distributor. This is a great solution for your car, no matter the model year or engine. An old trick is to use a plastic baggie with a rubber band to cover the cap....this isn't the most professional trick but it does work. Still, you cannot allow yourself to forget about covering the distributor anytime there's going to be moisture under the hood.

- Check all radio wiring connections. Probably 75% or more of you have installed an aftermarket radio in your Cougar, and you know that it's very easy to pinch a wire behind the dash. A pinched or shorted wire will cause arcing, or in some cases severe electrical feedback, where there is literally too much current running through the dash circuitry. Anyone that's fried a headlight switch knows this all too well. And I'm not even going to get into the dash light/speedometer light cutout problem associated with the radio installation. The point is, 99% of everyone viewing this page is not a professional car audio installer. If you don't know what you're doing, don't attempt to install anything yourself. Almost all stores will install your new components if you purchase them at their stores, sometimes free of charge. There is no excuse for you not to take advantage of that. And this goes for radios, EQ's, speakers, and especially amplifiers. Of any one particular problem I've seen over the years, it's got to be that people just don't hook up amplifiers correctly. They use the wrong gauge wiring, or bad connectors (sometimes no connectors, just bare wires), or the amp is mounted on or near metal, or they don't have an inline fuse installed. Any one of these things can lead to an electrical fire. I've seen it happen before and probably will again. The great feeling of having a booming audio system can easily be taken away from you forever if you're not careful.

- Last and certainly not least, use common sense. If you have to work on or replace anything involved with electricity, disconnect the battery first. Do not smoke or have open flame around fuel lines or the car's battery. Do not run any kind of power wire without some sort of protection (fuse, fusible link, circuit breaker). Do not attempt to modify any component electrically. And be sure all ground wires are secure throughout the vehicle.

If you cannot do any of the work above yourself, be sure to have a qualified mechanic or experienced friend help you out. I don't ever want to turn on the TV and see you in the same position. Life is full of lessons. If you don't learn them now you never will. And this is your chance to change your habits for the better. Please consider the above and act accordingly and responsibly.

Until next time,

 < Back to SOTC Main

[ top ]