I have several electical problems on my 99 Explorer.

Digital radio/clock display - Display never works in regular temps. In cold temps (we'll say 40 and below), the display will sometimes come up when the car is first started. It lasts about 15 seconds before it fades out again and never comes back.

CD player - Generally doesn't work at all. I usually can't feed a disc in, but when it does accept one, that's the one time it'll play that disc...won't spit it back out and won't play it. I have to catch the player on a good day to either play the disc again or get it to eject. Needless to say, I've resorted to a tape deck adapter for a walkman.

Rear wiper - Not very often but occassionally will not operate when I turn the switch. Problem is rare enough that I think it could just be a sticking relay...if there is a relay for the rear wiper.

Air conditioning - It's either full blast air or no air. Can't moderate air flow from the steering wheel or the fan switch itself (which is the wheel type switch). Temp control is fine. Rear air fan control is fine. On extremely rare occassions if the switch is left at a setting other than 'high', the air will kick on at the selected setting, and I will have control over the fan again. Very rare so typically high or off are my options.

Cold start - When the temp dips below 50 degrees or so, the engine will sputter and sometimes die unless I'm pushing in the gas a fair amount. Even then, it'll take a second for the engine to react to the pedal being pushed. So basically my option to avoid that for now is to back into parking spaces and pull out immediately after starting the car. heh

Last one...

I wonder if I have a possible brake problem as the front brakes sometimes rumble and vibrate the entire car when slowing.


Nice first post, huh? If anyone would like to tackle any or all of these annoying issues, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

As far as the radio/cd problems go, it's not going to be worth the trouble to fix them in my opinion. The cheapest and best option is put in an aftermarket system. It will perform much better, and cheaper than sending the radio back to the authorized Ford repair place.

With the AC fan problems, does it do it when the heat is on? If so, you might have a loose connection on your resistor assembly. They are usually mounted in the air duct somewhere, but to find it on your vehicle, you could try looking in the Haynes manual for your model.

With your engine problems, I think you first need to do a tune-up. New sparkplugs, check the wires, etc. Then take it to an auto store and see if they will read the computer for you, to see if you have any error codes.

It sounds like your front rotors may be warped making the vibration. If you don't do your own brake work, I would take it to somebody to get them checked. A little bit of warpage in the rotor won't hurt anything, but if you don't know the condition of the brake pads, they could get low and ruin your rotors.

 

Air conditioning - It's either full blast air or no air. Can't moderate air flow from the steering wheel or the fan switch itself (which is the wheel type switch). Temp control is fine. Rear air fan control is fine. On extremely rare occassions if the switch is left at a setting other than 'high', the air will kick on at the selected setting, and I will have control over the fan again. Very rare so typically high or off are my options.

If it is a wheel type it is probably equipped with EATC, and the blower speed controller is likely the cause. Its similar in operation to a blower resister but with infinite speed control and is non serviceable semiconductor device. There is an updated version with a whole new pigtail wiring that you replace along with it.