Ford Contour (1999 year). Manual — part 50

Maintenance and care

198

Do not make any unauthorized
changes to your vehicle or engine.
By law, vehicle owners and anyone
who manufactures, repairs,
services, sells, leases, trades
vehicles, or supervises a fleet of
vehicles are not permitted to
intentionally remove an emission
control device or prevent it from
working. Information about your
vehicle's emission system is on the
Vehicle Emission Control
Information Decal located under
the hood. This decal identifies
engine displacement and gives
some tune up specifications.

Please consult your “Warranty
Guide“ for complete emission
warranty information.

Readiness for
inspection/maintenance (I/M)
testing

In some localities, it may be a legal
requirement to pass an I/M test of
the on-board diagnostic (OBD-II)
system. If your check engine light
is on, refer to the description in the
Instrument Cluster Lights and
Chimes section of the
Instrumentation chapter. Your
vehicle may not pass the I/M test
with the check engine light on.

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If the vehicle’s powertrain system
or its battery has just been
serviced, the OBD-II system is
reset to a “not ready for I/M test“
condition. To ready the OBD-II
system for I/M testing, a minimum
of 30 minutes of city and highway
driving is necessary as described
below:

• First, at least 10 minutes of
driving on an expressway or
highway.

• Next, at least 20 minutes of
driving in stop and go, city-type
traffic with at least four idle
periods.

Allow the vehicle to sit for at least
eight hours without starting the
engine. Then, start the engine and
complete the above driving cycle.
The engine must warm up to its
normal operating temperature.
Once started, do not turn off the
engine until the above driving cycle
is complete.

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Maintenance and care

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The bulbs for the low beam, high
beam, turn signals and side lamps
are housed in the lamp assembly.
To replace a bulb, the complete
lamp assembly has to be removed
as follows:

1. Switch off the lamps.

2. Open the hood.

3. Remove the lower screw (2)
from the headlamp housing.

4. Remove the two upper screws
(1) from the headlamp housing.

5. Gently pull the headlamp
housing outward.

6. Replace the headlamp bulbs.

BULB REPLACEMENT

Handle a halogen headlamp
bulb carefully and keep out

of children’s reach.Grasp the bulb
only by its plastic base and do not
touch the glass. The oil from your
hand could cause the bulb to
break the next time the
headlamps are operated.

1

1

2

Removing the headlamps
assembly

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Maintenance and care

201

Reinstalling the headlamp
assembly

The gasket lining must be seated
properly around the lamp assembly
when reinstalling.

All bulb connectors must be
correctly connected.

Install in the reverse order.

Headlamps – low beam

Disconnect the electrical connector
and replace the bulb.

Do not touch the glass part of the
bulb and pay attention to the tab
guides when replacing.

Headlamp alignment

Check the headlamp alignment
after each replacement of a bulb.
Refer to Aiming the headlamps.

Headlamps – high beam

Replacement instructions are the
same as for the low beam
headlamp.

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