Salt/Pepper Shaker Recall 91E19 (10 pin wiring harness) causing check engine light?

kowalczyk86 · Dec 29, 2010

So I have been having issues with my check engine light coming on and off randomly (seems like it does it when it's cold).

Ran codes, I get all 11's, all is well - cannot find any problems with vacuum lines, sensors, etc..

I have been reading that there was a recall for the salt/pepper shaker wiring harness, however when I search around the net, it is not showing up on..

I have found it in forums, but not on service bulletins. When I call Ford, they tell me that there are no outstanding recalls for my VIN..

Seems like this is what could be causing my check engine problem, but I am not sure how to get Ford to replace it..

Reference: question about recalls... - Ford Mustang Forums

I guess I could fix it myself..?? However when I took off the upper intake cover to release the salt/pepper shaker, I am unable to actually get them opened to look at the pins.

Ford Fuel Injection » 10-pin Connector Fix

Here is a letter that a member posted:

To:
All Dealers

Subject:
Emissions Recall 91E19 - Wiring Harness (12A581 to 9D930) Interconnect Assembly Inspection/Installation on Certain 1989/90/91-Model 5.0L Engine Equipped Mustangs.

Affected Vehicles

1989/90/91-Model 5.0L engine equipped Mustangs built from 3/1/89 through 11/5/90.

Reasons For Recall

The "Check Engine" warning light may be activated because of intermittent contact at the wiring harness (12A581 to 9D930) interconnect assemblies. This may result in unnecessary EVP sensor and EGR valve replacements.

Service Action

Vehicles returned for service will be inspected, and if necessary, have wiring harness interconnect assemblies installed at no charge
__________________
Fred Frederickson
Fleet / Commercial Sales Manger
BPN Area Account Manager
Ford Master Certified Commercial Sales
SVT Certified / Memer SVTOA
Ambassadors Award winner in Sales!

I have no sticker on my fan shroud, so the only thing I can imagine is that my Mustang was not built between 3/1/89 through 11/5/90..?

Any ideas?

Shawn

4rdnut · Dec 29, 2010

I have the recalled salt & pepper shakers fix and sticker on my car. All ford did was put two extensions about three inches long in between each salt & pepper shaker plug. There were rare cases when the plugs would pull apart because the wires to the plug were on the short side. You can tell if you have them if there are 4 plugs to pull apart, instead of two. I had to on my S & P plugs, break the clips to separate them apart. The clips on the plugs work backwards, you have too squeeze them inward, not pry outward to release, but on my plugs it was easier to break every clip off and use plastic tie wraps to keep them together again.

kowalczyk86 · Dec 29, 2010

I believe there are 4 total plugs - 2 attached to the top of the intake and those are connected to another 2. The wires are all pretty short. I have a guy at Ford looking into this. He said the parts may not be available? He said the TSB/Recall (is it a TSB or a recall?? Seems like a recall if they replace parts) may have expired..? I definately think this is my check engine problem though, I just need to SOMEHOW make Ford fix it - I need proof of something!!! Again, when they ran my VIN, nothing is coming up..

4rdnut · Dec 29, 2010

you have the recall extension wire harness if you have 4 plugs to separate. two plugs on each harness

kowalczyk86 · Dec 29, 2010

Hmmm if that's not the problem them I'm lost. I'll try and take a pic to upload

ALMOST STOCK · Dec 29, 2010

This is the 10 pin extension that Ford installed on my 89GT do to the recall.
View attachment 200906

Mustang5L5 · Dec 29, 2010

Do yourself a favor, and remove the extension harness. In my opinion it does more harm than good. Ford only went with the extension harness so that they did not need to unclip the wires from the manifold.

If you simply unclip the wires from the manifold and lay them loose behind the intake, then there is no need for the extension harness.

Simply remove extension and toss, and then apply the 10-pin fix to the remaining connectors and reinstall. Just unclip the harness from the intake, remove the beige clip and lay them in a way that no tension is on the wiring.

The recall harness only applied to 89-93 cars with the check engine light, the 86-88 cars have the same wiring and same prob, but no check engine light, so the problem with phantom CEL's didn't exist.

Every 89+ mustang i've worked on had a non-stock intake anyway...so we always ditched the extension harness and just tucked the connectors.

kowalczyk86 · Dec 29, 2010

Here is what mine looks like. Should this have been fixed or is it good to go?

View attachment 64998

larrym1961 · Dec 29, 2010

I had a post a week ago titled: INTERMITTEN HIGH IDLE check that one out. BLACK89GT posted on there for me the prosses for cleaning and spreading the 10 pin connectors (salt & pepper). Very helpfull. check it out! Hope that helps.

kowalczyk86 · Dec 29, 2010

larrym1961 said:
I had a post a week ago titled: INTERMITTEN HIGH IDLE check that one out. BLACK89GT posted on there for me the prosses for cleaning and spreading the 10 pin connectors (salt & pepper). Very helpfull. check it out! Hope that helps.

Sounds good, will do. For the most part though I am not seeing any idling problems though.. I am idling about 750 after the car runs for a couple mins.

Mustang5L5 · Dec 29, 2010

kowalczyk86 said:
Here is what mine looks like. Should this have been fixed or is it good to go?

View attachment 64998

The recall harness has been installed......ditch it

Mustang5L5 · Dec 29, 2010

kowalczyk86 said:
Sounds good, will do. For the most part though I am not seeing any idling problems though.. I am idling about 750 after the car runs for a couple mins.

Those connects also control the injectors so a high idle is another symptom. Iirc, the injectors are the black harness and the sensors are the white. So a loose black harness would cause a high idle...a loose white would cause intermittent cels

I could have my colors mixed.,,,so clean and fix both.

kowalczyk86 · Dec 29, 2010

An on and off check engine light is the only symptom I am experiencing when I am driving. Seems like when I am accelerating it will come on for about 1.5 seconds then off for a couple, etc.. Seems like it does it more when it is cold.

kowalczyk86 · Dec 29, 2010

Mustang5L5 said:
The recall harness has been installed......ditch it

What do you mean ditch it?

kowalczyk86 · Dec 29, 2010

It is a loose connection SOMEWHERE, but who knows..

Mustang5L5 · Dec 29, 2010

kowalczyk86 said:
What do you mean ditch it?

Unplug all the connections, remove the harness shown in the pic on page 1 and throw it out. Don't put it back on the car.

Clean the 10 pin connectors as shown in this link and reassemble without the extension harness.

http://fordfuelinjection.com/?p=85

This may or may not fox your issue...but it's good maintainence as these connections are temperamental

kowalczyk86 · Dec 30, 2010

OK I am not exactly sure which one needs thrown out. I re-uploaded my picture, but I labeled it with numbers (1-4). What piece needs to get tossed, and which piece do I actually adjust/clean the pins?

kowalczyk86 · Dec 30, 2010

I guess I am just getting confused, because I don't understand the reason that they extended this. I haven't even had a chance to look under the hood again - I have been reading online what to do. So the harness that is attached to the intake needs to go..?

4G-KDMP · Dec 30, 2010

Reasons For Recall

The "Check Engine" warning light may be activated because of intermittent contact at the wiring harness (12A581 to 9D930) interconnect assemblies. This may result in unnecessary EVP sensor and EGR valve replacements.

^^^Look at what Almost Stock posted ... that's what needs to get tossed.

Remove the extension that Almost Stock posted ........... Then reconnect the 2 black connectors together and the 2 white connectors back together.

MFE92 · Dec 30, 2010

They did the recall because they failed to understand the root of the 10-pin connector problem. They thought it was because the harness was too short. The problem is the connectors themselves. What did they do with the recall? Doubled the number of failure-prone connections

See that part pictured above? THROW IT AWAY. Then go in with a sharp pick and tweak each of the 10 metal connections inside each connection so it makes a tighter fit with its mate.

That said, I have never heard of a check engine light coming on without tripping a code, although lots and lots of codes can be set without ever tripping the light.

This may not be the cause of your check engine light, but if it isn't a problem yet, it will be eventually. It's almost always the reason why these cars often get the "hanging idle", 2000 rpm idle until it's shut down and restarted.

Salt/Pepper Shaker Recall 91E19 (10 pin wiring harness) causing check engine light?

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