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Ford Aerostar: Electrical Issues

37 messages,  Last post on Dec 14, 2008 at 1:39 AM

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#11 of 37 No horn by yoshiq85 Sep 04, 2006 (10:45 am)
I have recently acquired a 1993 ford aerostar 3.0L, and the horn doesn't work. I was wondering if anybody could tell me where the horn is physically located so that I might be able to either repair or replace it. The horn relay is getting power, but the horn itself will not operate. Replies to this message: mongox (Oct 09, 2006 3:35 am) mongox (Oct 09, 2006 4:10 am)
#12 of 37 Re: No horn [yoshiq85] by mongox Oct 09, 2006 (3:35 am)
Replying to: yoshiq85 (Sep 04, 2006 10:45 am) yoshiq, When I had the engine pulled about ten yrs ago, I seem to remember that the horns are bolted to the radiator frame behind the grill. (on 90 model) I believe that puts them in front of the radiator but behind the plastic/chrome grill. You can get there by, I think, removing the screws around the grill top and elsewhere. Any guidebook should locate them for you also. Most cars I've owned have two horns and the Aerostar does too - least my memory says so since I seem to remember adjusting one of them to create a more noxious effect. Also, when the Spurs last won the playoffs, I burned out one of the horns by honking too much driving across town and when the van finally died this summer it had a very weak horn. Replies to this message: mongox (Oct 09, 2006 4:10 am)
#13 of 37 Re: No horn [mongox] by mongox Oct 09, 2006 (4:10 am)
Replying to: mongox (Oct 09, 2006 3:35 am) I'm visiting forum because considering buying a used 4WD Aerostar but thought my experience with previous Aerostar might be of interest to those asking about reliability and such.   I purchased a 1990 XL 3.0 Aerostar in June of 1990 and have retained it since. It now sits, forlorn and dead, after giving great service for 16 years and 230,000 miles.   Clearly, over this time span and mileage the van has been thru a lot! Overall, I was very very satisfied with it. When you decide to keep a vechicle for this long, a certain amount of service and repair is part of the deal. Consider that even though I refinanced my van's orginal 3 yr note to 4 1/2 years (to get down payment for house long since gone) that I haven't had to make a payment on it for over 11 years. This pays for a bit of maintanence.   The fall after purchase, I received some offers from out-of-state dealers for an extended warranty - this was/is? a program by Ford to help low-volume dealers. I increased my warranty to 5 yrs?/100K by spending $700. This paid off when my van hit 97,000 and I had to have very major work done on the transmission. The van was shifting sluggishly at first and over-shifting on hills in cruise control. My dealer first did pulling and replacing, twice, and the problems ceased. Not long after this, on a trip to New Mexico for skiing, I had noticed that when fully loaded (4 adults with significant luggage in back and on top) that again I was getting poor performance while on cruise and too much down-shifting. When I returned, I went again to dealer and even though van now had 102K on it, they considered it a continuation of the warranty and fully replaced the transmission.   The tune-up I had done this trip was first one. I also had same friend replace the shocks or struts, whatever, with heavy-duty ones which lasted life of the van. I never had ANY front end work done on the van and despite curbs and being hit broadside (see later) it ran straight and true for its life.   At about 140K I failed to notice the temp guage was totally in the red and ran the engine dry. The problem came from a broken heater hose which drained the coolant. I had my friend above pull the engine and he replaced some rings and the main gasket and I was back on the road. (Great to have a friend like this - cost me I believe about $360) However, this was my fault, not the van's.   Around 170K my van was hit broadside when I avoided a freeway accident! Sounds funny, eh? I noticed a complete stopage up ahead on freeway - love the view from the Aerostar, love a mini-van that drives like a truck rather than a car - and pulled quickly onto the shoulder and on about 20 ft into the large grass verge. I knew the car behind wasn't watching well and was driven by kids so didn't want to be read-ended. Indeed, the kids behind me hit the car formerly in front of me, then veered into middle lane and sideswiped a brand-new car... then careened off the freeway, incredibly finding my van out in the grass and hitting me right on the sliding door.   My insurance paid under Uninsured Motorist - paid off completely. I chose to keep the van and didn't have it repaired. The frame post behind passenger seat was bent, the frame line under doors was bent. However, the passenger door still operated despite damage and the side door could be carefully opened and forcefully closed. So... it was now very ugly. I hadn't upgraded the AC to the new system so the small opening at top of side door didn't bother me nor did the small amt of rain which dripped in - it drained right out again anyway!   Well, the next 60K saw the van last but become a bit ragged. Since it had no resale value, I didn't keep up the maint. as I should, allowing the front end to become very loose - worn tie rods and bushings. A fair bit of noise and loose steering was evident but since I didn't drive it a lot, I let it go.   The final day came when returning from the lake, after serving me again by carrying an immense load of stuff on the trip up. I accelerated to about 75 to pass on the freeway and lost all power - the trans seal broke sending all the fluid out. I was able to get off the freeway and into a Denny's to await my tow.   I consider the Aerostar to be the perfect minivan. My experience consisted of dependable performance and low maint. cost. The transmission on the 89-91 models seems to have been poorly chosen, one mechanic told me it was too small, designed for a 4 cyl engine rather than a 3.0 V6. Outside of that, I found no problems with it. Design is great - the rear wheel drive making it a much better towing machine than other minivans.   I once pulled a old Ford F-150, fully loaded with furniture, with my van also loaded, from Phoenix to San Antonio - 1000 miles. Wasn't a fun trip, especially New Mexico where the round-top roads let the truck steer me - but the van did as well as could be expected. I didn't have the towing package, but added a trans cooler before trying it.   So, I'm stuck on Aerostars. Would be happy with any low-milage model but am intrigued by the 4WD I found locally. I'll post my experiences with it if I make the jump. Hope all have enjoyed my story!
#14 of 37 Brake light problems by sfren Dec 13, 2006 (6:25 am)
1993 Aerostar has no brake lights. I have checked the fuse and it is good, checked the bulbs and they are good. I even removed the switch and jumped the connector and they still do not work. Anyone have any other ideas of what to do?
#16 of 37 1993 aerostar no horn or speedometer by oort33 Dec 31, 2006 (12:03 pm)
the horn doesnt work and the speedometer sometimes works but not the right speed i changed the abs sensor but it dosent work right. if any one knows how to fix this please let me know. thank you
#17 of 37 87 FORD AEROSTAR by denis5 Mar 26, 2007 (10:31 pm)
Hi Guys  My problem is that I can't get the dash lights to work again.Have checked the fuse's and all are ok.The dimmer switch will turn on the dome light but nothing else.Makes driving at night hard to do.So someone please tell me my next step.
#18 of 37 Dead Electrical system by jadedgeek Feb 19, 2007 (3:33 pm)
After replacing the starter on my 92 Aerostar I can not even turn it on. The electrical system is dead. No interior light, guages, anything. Its exactly as if the battery was completely removed from the van.   Any solutions? Replies to this message: loosenut (Dec 16, 2007 1:00 am)
#19 of 37 Turn signals by daniel1956 Jun 24, 2007 (2:17 pm)
The turn signals and emergency flashers quit all of a sudden, any input? Replies to this message: jfromm (Feb 29, 2008 9:26 am) jimmj43 (Mar 26, 2008 2:41 pm)
#20 of 37 Re: Weird noise [vicki120] by tdgoo Jul 07, 2007 (9:01 am)
Replying to: vicki120 (May 26, 2006 6:07 am) VICKI; I HAVE A 93' AEROSTAR THAT HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. BUT TO THE EXTREME. I CAN'T START IT .ON OCCASION,IN THE PAST, THE ENGINE WOULD NOT START WITH THE DRIVERS DOOR OPEN(WHAT?)NOW IT CRANKS GREAT WITH NO POPS OR NO STARTS. IT STIL DOESN'T START. ITS NOT THE STARTER, BATTERY, FUEL FILTER,VOLTAGE REGULATOR, IGNITION MODULE, DISTRIBUTOR,CAP,OR ROTOR. A FRIEND OF MINE WORKS AT THE LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP, SAYS IT MIGHT BE THE COMPUTER CONTROL MODULE, OR SOME CALL IT ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE.I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS THE PROBLEM. THIS MODULE(IN USED CONDITION) WOULD SELL FOR $50.00 AND HAS TO BE RE-PROGRAMMED AT THE LOCAL FORD DEALER(WOW!! MORE EXPENSE).

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