1988 Town Car Electric Woes

[waselvis]

My '88 TC has developed some maddening electrical problems that I've been unable to diagnose/repair. Hoping there are brighter minds than mine here who can figure out what the h*ll is going on. Here's what I'm dealing with:

Problem 1: Power window switch on driver's door works intermittently. When not working, the door marker lights come on when I hit the switch. If I open the door, I can raise/lower the window. Have replaced all 4 window motors, and master switch appears to be in good condition. No rhyme/reason as to when this happens, but it does seem to be worse when it's warmer outside (I live in St. Louis, so "warmer" is relative).

Problem 2: Horn kept blowing fuses, and discovered that a penny had found it's way into the lighter receptacle in the ashtray (I use it for change). Removed the penny, replaced the horn relay...and the horn wouldn't turn off. Purchased a NOS horn pad switch on eBay, hooked it up...and the damn horn is still stuck. Bought another relay--and the damn horn is STILL stuck. Disconnected the horns and gave up.

I've owned the car for six years, and haven't messed with anything that could have caused these issues. Not a clue as to what I should do next, so any/all advice is appreciated!

[johnunit]

First one sounds like the door switch or wiring to it. It's a little white plastic push thing near the door hinge. Push it in enough to turn off the interior lights. If that affects power windows then you know it's related.

[gadget73]

sounds like a ground problem within the door. I don't remember where that mess all grounds to, but its either above the speaker on the door itself, or inside the kick panel area somewhere around the parking brake most likely. At least thats what floats to the top. Its in the EVTM, but mine isn't handy right now. If the ground were open, but still connected to the light circuit (they should share a ground), trying to operate the window would pull current through the bulbs, causing them to light. Opening the door probably disturbs the connection to make it work for a while. I'd bet that pulling it, wire brushing the connection and the spot it goes to, and putting it back together will fix this.

The horn thing sounds unrelated to the penny. Most likely there is a damaged wire in the column that happens to be the one that operates the horn relay. Pull the shrouds off the column and have a look.

[87gtVIC]

I chime in about the horn deal.....If you just remove the horn pad does the horn stop horning? if so.....The horn pad is basically a switch completing a circuit to keep things in its crudest form. You push the horn pad and the metal contacts each other allowing your relay to be triggered. I'd first check your horn pad, new nos and old, by removing the vinyl covering and inspecting the contents inside. If it is smashed down your horn will always go off like you are experiencing.

[nfldfordltd]

Also check the wiring harness going through the black rubber boot from the door post out to the door itself. I had wires break off inside there from years of opening/closing the door (obviously the driver's door is the most used door). Could be loose/broken wiring there causing stuff to go wonky. Might not be, but worth a look anyway.

[waselvis]

The window thing seems to be temperature-related. When it's cold, it almost never happens. I replaced the front door panels with some from an '89 TC, and swapped in the switches as well. Not sure where the wires could be grounding, but guess it's time to pull the door panel again. It's a good thing I love this car, because I now have two PITA jobs to do when Spring finally arrives; drop the dash for the dreaded heater core replacement, and now it looks like I'll be doing a steering column exploration for that freakin' horn wire.

Thanks to everyone for the tips--appreciate your help!