My chronicles of the 1991 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park LS wagon

Well, in the week or so since I picked up the '91 GM CP wagon, I've had a few little goofy issues arise with the blue beast.

First, the airbag light comes on, then goes out, at which time the airbag chime rings five times, stops, then cycles through four more times of five chime each. It stops for a while, then the insane chime cycle starts anew.

Second is the wipers that park at the full "up" position. Fine, if I lived in the neighborhood where that look is actually desired, but another "wtf" moment raises its head...

Third is the damn odometer, which stopped working three days after I got the wagon. Come on, really?

Last is the radio display (factory Ford Premium Sound) where the numbers are invisible. The other lights work fine. The tuner indicator...not so much.

Along with that, the woodgrain that's on the car was installed directly over the old, so that is peeling and looks...crappy in places. It's a great 20-footer, so far. The ride is terrific. It looks great going down the road. Girls do NOT wave at me (damn!) while I am driving it. So, I'm happy with the car overall. Except for the no-chick-magnet thing, but hey, the price of cool is high, right?

This little thread will document the things I do to fix this car while in my ownership, and to vent occasionally, just 'cuz.

Enjoy. Ignore. Either is cool by me. If you have a Panther-body wagon, feel free to add your experiences, helpful hints, or whatever to this.

I like driving something that the name of it is nearly as long as the car itself!

Have a fine FoMoCo day!

 

Patrick, I could not find the brass odometer gears for you. That was about 8 years ago and even then availability was sketchy.

The radio display should be a bulb inside the radio. You'll have to pull the radio out and take the top cover off and you should be able to access the bulb. You may have to source the bulb at Ford. About 15 years ago it was a $6 bulb. No clue what it costs nowadays.

 

Cool. I've got the link to the guy that has the plastic replacement gears. If they last ten years, I'd be happy

I've got some online help on the wiper issue, as well, off this forum.

Just have to find a nice weekend day to get all this together and fix things. Thanks for the info on the radio fix, too.

 

That annoying buzz-o-matic can probably be disconnected. Plug somewhere's around the driver's seatbelt maybe?

 

Me too...a Sonic...

Just kidding. Good luck with your work on your wagon. I won't be ignoring your thread.

 

Is it safe for someone to unplug something connected to the airbag system??

 

It's a seat belt buzzer. Not connected to the airbag system.

 

OK, he called it an "airbag chime"........I'm scared to touch anything connected with that system.

 

I'm pretty sure it is the air bag chime. When the dash "air bag" light flashes, there is no chime, but when it's out, that is when the chime starts its annoying march towards my insanity.

It very well could BE the belt chime. I'll leave my belt off initially to the end of the street and see what happens. It's goofy.

 

hold it......you got another wagon??????
PAt....im so proud....

hows life treatin ya pal???

 

@the Rev - Good, man, just enjoying the fine ride quality of the GMCPGS wagon! It's my DD until we hot $5.00/gallon gas, then it's gonna get me solely to work and back.

As for the chime, it is definitely the air bag chime, as the seat belt dinger has a different tone to it...quite a bit different, in fact.

 

That sounds like a SWEET wagon, indeed. The factory Premium Sound package was the second from the top system. In 90 and 91, they were a 4 speaker system. The only visible difference between the Premium and High Level systems is the head unit. The speakers are the same for both, and the speaker grills for both say Premium. Either way, they are top of the line JBL speakers, and should still sound better than most speakers you can buy new. If it is the High Level system, there will be a 4 channel JBL amp buried around the back seat. A fantastic system all around. I'm still using the 6 speakers from my 89. They are in car number 4. A bit power hungry, but wonderful sound.

One thing to note with these Fords. The AOD takes Mercon II transmission fluid, as expected. The power steering, however, takes old fashioned Ford Type F transmission fluid. Don't let anyone tell you that Mercon is interchangeable. It is a different viscosity. You might also think about adding the power steering cooler from the Trailer Tow III or Crown Vic police packages. It helps the sector shaft seal on the steering box last longer. The steering boxes normally go about 180,000 miles or 30 years before they leak. I've had to replace them at both intervals.

For the transmission, watch that kick down cable. It has a tendency to stretch, and that is what causes transmission failure. Keep it taut and put on a good transmission cooler, and who knows how long that AOD is good for. I know one person coming up on 1,300,000 kms (800,000 miles) on their original, ever opened AOD.

 

Hey Pat, congrats on the CP. like the color. I have a '90 LS - most comfortable, versatile car I've owned - good on gas too. I plan on being a Merc man for a loooong time

 

Today, the air bag chime mysteriously went away, although the light continues its mad five-flash-per-cycle craziness. Not complaining, just a bt perplexed. Oh, and the trip odometer started working again, all by its lonesome.

 

My memory is starting to come back to me. I think your air bag light is trying to flash an error code at you. Are you sure it is 5 straight flashes or is it possibly 3 then a slight break then 2 or some other combination (i.e. 1-4, 2-3, 3-2, 4-1)? I'll have to dig around to see if I can find out what the air bag codes are. Should hopefully be able to point you in a direction. Could just be a clock spring problem.

Here's something to get you started:
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/docs/codes/f/a.pdf

Pretty crappy video, but it shows you how it displays the codes. This is very similar to when you do a scan on an OBD-I car and the Check Engine light flashes codes at you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLTWMukybZE