Ford Windstar won't start in warm weather

[JL Westenberg]

Our Windstar starts fine all winter but as soon as it gets over 70, it will not start until it cools off. What a pain! Any Ideas? Thanks

[Mustang_Driver]

sounds like my abs module if it's cold i have abs brakes if it gets warm i have normal hydraulic power brakes i have gotten used to it and when i asked the ford dealer about it they told ne the control module is worth more than the van and their mechanic put a piece of tape ove the abs light so it doesn't bother me but i still see the reflection

[tomj76]

@JL_Westenberg: Does it run when it gets hot? If it runs but won't restart, then does the starter motor turn, or does it crank without starting? What diagnosis have you tried? What year/engine are you dealing with?

@Mustang_driver: I don't think it was temperature related, but I had ABS problems that were be fixed by replacing the front sensors. If it is the module, one option is to re-flow the solder joints on the circuit board.. sometimes solder joints can crack and become intermittent with temperature. Also, a lot of generic code readers can now pull ABS codes. You might try that if you don't know what the codes are.

[Mustang_Driver]

C1185
C1198
C1194
C1254
C1246
C1250
C1242
C1214
C1210

This is the Control Module sometimes it works most of the time it doesn't so i need to get the control module repaired or replaced but was told the replacement modules are 800+ the cost to bleed the system

I was told that the module can be removed and sent in for repair for about $60US so that is my viable option but i just need to find the time to have it removed so i can send it in i just don't think the vehicle is drive-able while i have it off and the van brakes fine without abs i just don't drive like a speed demon where i need to jam the brakes on to stop...I have 3 different scanners and all 3 come up with the same code... i just had to buy a new one as my friends car has an airbag/SRS light on on their dash and i couldn't help them so once i hooked up the new scanner it couldn't find any abs warnings in the car computer

[Mustang_Driver]

oh and if it is cold out -2 and lower the light stays off but -1 and higher the light comes on so my thinking id it is a bad solder joint because when it's cold the solder doesn't expand but once it warms up the solder joins break and the problem shows again

[tomj76]

There are DIY tutorials on taking out the circuit board from the ABS module. I never did it myself, so I'm not much help. From what I've seen, if you have decent soldering skills, then you can do the whole job yourself. I don't know if the board can be pulled without breaking the hydraulic connections. If so, then you can avoid the bleeding and maybe still operate the van while the board is getting refurbished.

Finally, regarding cracked solder joints, they can show strange behavior with temperature. As an example, I had a vehicle with a bad solder connection in the PCM/ECM. The symptom was that in cold weather (<30 deg F), the car would start and run for a few miles. After that it would only run at idle and any attempt to apply the accelerator pedal would cause it to stall. It would also re-start with no problem. After idling for about 30 minutes it would run fine again. The reason is that at start when the temperature was low and the connection was good. After it ran for a few minutes the interior would start to heat up (the PCM is located under the dash, near the heater) and the connection would be lost. The bad connection was in the coolant temperature sensing circuit and the bad connection would cause the PCM to read extremely high temperature, so the air/fuel mixture would be completely wrong (probably way too lean). Since it ran at idle, the interior would continue to heat up until the connection was remade, after which it would run OK. So the bad connection was only evident in a range of temperatures and was OK above and below that temperature.

I had the same thing occur in a piece of electronic equipment that had a component lead which wasn't soldered in the through hole on the PCB. The wire lead would contact one side of the hole at low temperature, but as it heated up the lead would move to the center and make no contact. If the equipment was left operating, then the lead would eventually move to the opposite side and make contact again. We added a drop of solder to the lead and the problem vanished.

[phil-l]

My '00 Windstar had the infamous ABS electronic module failure some years ago. A few quick notes:

- I replaced my ABS electronic module with one from Ford. I was able to separate the hydraulic and electronic modules - without breaking into the brake fluid system - *BUT* the underside of my van was then fairly clean and rust-free. Any Windstar is now 15+ years old, and almost certainly has enough corrosion underneath that my separate-the-modules-while-attached-to-the-vehicle trick would be nearly impossible. Case in point: The electronic module is bolted to the aluminum frame of hydraulic module with steel torx-head bolts, a guaranteed source of galvanic corrosion. I was lucky back then: Only one of the bolts broke (and I was very fortunate to have enough access to repair it).

- I've done a fair amount of automotive soldering, including the infamous Windstar bouncing dash needles fix, but I don't recommend trying to repair a Windstar ABS module yourself. The electronics are well-sealed, and need to be that way, given where the module lives. It's difficult to open the assembly's case without damaging the printed circuit board. Then you'd need to create a moisture-proof seal when the repair is complete. Meanwhile, unlike when my ABS failed, there are now services that will repair the board for you. A good place to start is by going to eBay and searching on "Windstar ABS repair." As I write this, repair service costs in the neighborhood of $120-$140 (which is far less than I paid for a module from Ford, now a number of years ago).

Later edit: Below is a link to some pictures from my ABS repair project.

http://s892.photobucket.com/user/e39...?sort=9&page=1

Note on pictures above: Yes, I was able to replace the electronics portion of the ABS module without removing the hydraulic portion. But you'll see in the album another ABS module. The story is that I purchased a used ABS module on eBay, hoping it would supply the parts I needed. No surprise: It had failed, too. But it wasn't a wasted purchase! Disassembling the eBay module gave me the knowledge and confidence to dig further into system - and ultimately solve the problem, with a purchased-online-from-Ford electronics module. I even opened up the eBay module's electronics, just for a view of the PCB (though a close look at the pictures reveals that I managed to muck up the board while opening the case). The date stamp on the pictures shows that I did this repair over 10 years ago. I still have the van (just over 200K now), and the ABS still works fine.