Power Windows Quit - 03 Mountaineer

[Frizzle Fry]

As of yesterday none of my power windows work in my 03 Mountaineer - with the headlights on, none of the buttons even light up (on any of the doors). I checked the 60amp fuse (#6) in the box under the hood, and the 15amp fuse (#17) under the dash, and both are fine/tested.

I don't see any obvious signs of corrosion or breakage in any of the wiring... what might this issue be?

 

[Frizzle Fry]

OK, after lots of disassembly I found one of the ground wires inside the boot was broken, very close to body. It almost looked like it had been cut. Patched in an extension, and now everything is working fine. There was a purple wire that was also broken, and a few of the wires were completely missing shielding for 1-2cm sections so I applied a liberal amount of liquid electrical tape to them.

What's the deal with this setup? It looks like someone went crazy with the electrical tape, and there's barely any slack in the harness - more design flaws and assembly problems from Ford? I had to cut the boot to get at this trainwreck and now I've got to repair it...

 

[lincolnshibuya]

Quality #1, hiring the best engineers in the country... so sad at what's been taught in our schools right now..

 

[Frizzle Fry]

I'm an adult. I've owned 2 Rangers, a Bronco 2, and 2 Explorers... I love(d) Ford trucks and SUVs. I've always found my Fords work harder and last longer, at least until I got this Mountaineer. To be honest, after that Firestone incident (I had a 1999 Eddie Bauer Explorer 4x4) it seems like they've never been straight with me as a company - between their line of imported soccermom SUVs and the lack of a small pickup, this is my last Ford.

I've had this Mountaineer for 15 years and it's chock full of problems that Ford denies exist and refuses to support... The stereo head unit died within 2 years. The steering wheel controls and backup sensors work "when they want to". The rear right wheel well rusted out within 5 years (as all of the ones with the Mach/Premium audio system seem to). The plastic applique on the back hatch cracked and broke after 2 years, then fell off two days after Ford reapplied it, then cracked six months after that - I went through 5 of them before buying/painting/installing-"the wrong way" an aftermarket one that's lasted almost half the life of the car. The roof of this perpetually-garaged vehicle looks like it has herpes from all of the rust spots I've had to fix (on the 3 year anniversary of buying it, mind you). It's burned a quart of oil every 2k miles since it drove off the lot. It's had intermittent misfire issues since I drove it off the lot, and it goes through #4 and #8 ignition coils like I go through socks.

I hope you were being sarcastic because I can't help but see EVERY Explorer around me have the same issues (including family members with an 02 and an 05) and then have Ford deny it's an issue to my face and say it "must just be me". With stuff like the rust and cracks, it's more obvious - every.single.gen4 explorer I see on the road has the same spots gone to hell as mine did. When I open up a door panel and find the sheer cluster**** of balled up electrical tape that I did today, it makes me really doubt the company.

I'm lucky, I grew up wrenching on everything in sight and learned how to do bodywork from probably the best Corvette guy in the country. If I didn't address these issues myself, and relied on Motocraft parts, and shops at their rates, this thing would have lasted 4 years tops before it became too expensive/stupid to maintain.

 

[Number Twelve]

If I didn't address these issues myself, and relied on Motorcraft parts, and shops at their rates, this thing would have lasted 4 years tops before it became too expensive/stupid to maintain.

That's what I'm afraid of. I got mine for 1/4 the Used Car Lot price, but I'm not sure it was a bargain.
I spent the first winter (in Florida) getting it to run, eliminating unnecessary and malfunctioning computerized options (like air conditioner flaps and lights that never turn off), and cleaning out the doggy odor. Here comes the second winter, and I have a list of things you only find when you drive it, like the sticky gas level sensor, a growling in the rear, and a posh sound system that is so wonky I wouldn't risk losing a CD by feeding it to the stereo.

I'm keeping the old Aerostar for a spare because that's how much I trust the Explorer.

 

[Frizzle Fry]

I've found that this SUV has been "Expensive part, 1 hour job" or "Cheap part, 8 hour job" the whole way through. The blend door actuator has to be the best waste of time for a small part that costs practically nothing... The dumbest thing I've found, though, is after you replace a bearing or hub (on the AWD) WITHOUT FAIL the cruise control sensor on the brake master cylinder will die within a month. Do yourself a favor, too - grease the crap out of the top bolts on your rear struts and do it often; they rust and will take you forever to get off safely (the fuel tank is right there).

The growling in the rear might be something you can address. There's a friction modifier additive that many forget to add or don't know to add. I believe it's called XL3; without it you get whining at higher speeds and growling at lower speeds. It smells like death and you DON'T want it on your hands, but it gets the job done and can be found at your local dealer parts counter (but not O'Reilly/NAPA/Autozone).