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Jim Grant's Tech Tips
96 Mercury
Sable, Automatic Shut Down
Q: I was driving my ‘96 Mercury Sable, and
noticed the temp gauge was fluctuating hot to normal. I stopped to look
under the hood, and noticed a small amount a steam escaping from (what
I thought was) the top radiator hose. Because the leak seemed very small,
and I had a long way to go, I bought a new hose, in case it ruptured on
the way, and continued my trip. While running with cruise control about
70mph, the Check Engine Soon light began flashing, and the RPM was high.
I kicked off the cruise control, and slowed down. At this point, the engine
stopped running. I didn't notice any unusual noises. After stopping, I
raised the hood, and steam was coming from the radiator overflow tank,
AND the air filter box. I opened the air cleaner box to let it dry, thinking
maybe the steam escaping from the radiator hose may have choked the engine.
After the engine cooled off, I replaced the hose (which didn't look bad),
and refilled the radiator. It took almost two gallons to fill. Now, the
engine will turn over, but will not start. Someone said it could be a
safety feature that shuts down the engine before it can be damaged by
excessive heat. If so, how do I reset this switch?
A: The
shut down switch you’re describing would be a great money saving feature
for the average vehicle owner. Unfortunately, there is no such switch
for the condition you’re describing. From you’re description I’d say your
engine may have suffered catastrophic damage from overheating. The result
would be an engine that cranks over but doesn’t start. The indicators
of this damaging failure is the overheating condition, steam coming out
of the coolant reservoir and the air cleaner box, an engine that requires
two gallons of coolant and a blinking computer warning light. You know
three mile island had blinking lights too? By the way a blinking computer
warning light on a ‘96 and newer vehicle is the, "I’m on my last leg pleading
for help you got to save me light". I fear that at the best you have a
bad head gasket. At the worst you’ve damaged a complete engine. Start
with a compression check. This test will likely confirm the failure. Oh
yeah that shut down switch your friend told you about is a fuel safety
switch that in the event of an accident shuts the electrical power off
to the fuel pump to reduce the chance of fire. All you have to do is push
the button on the switch (which is located in the trunk of your vehicle)
to turn the fuel pump back on. Sometimes towing a vehicle will require
resetting this switch.
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