Questions and Answers

Continental Won't Keep It's Cool Q. My name is Terry, about a month and a half ago my Husband purchased a used 1994 Lincoln Continental Executive series for me. It has a 3.8 liter 6 cylinder engine with 128,000 miles on it ( give or take a 100) Power everything, climate control, front wheel drive, anti-lock brakes.

I have two questions one far more a concern then the other.

1) We are having a VERY hot summer here in Maryland, my being an asthmatic makes having a car with A/C very important. So here is the problem: the last couple of weeks the car has over heated when in the middle of the day I turn the A/C on ( not maxed- I keep it at 72 degrees with a med. fan)

I turn the A/C off and the car temperature gauge goes back to normal. This only happens in the "heat of the day" like when I go out in the afternoons. Morning and evenings I have no problems. Also at that time of the day the car makes a loud CLUNKING noise from on the hood when I turn off the A/C.

What the heck is going on? My trusted auto mechanic has not clue. Can you give us a place to start looking at least?

2) The anti-lock brake light on the dash stays lit, all four brakes have just been replaced, rotors and discs. Why won't it go off?

Thank you so much, I love this car, but I'm getting desperate.

A. Well Terry, the first thing I would want to do is make sure the cooling system is operating at peak efficiency. That includes making sure the cooling fan is working properly. There was a recall on this so I would go to the Ford Dealer and find out if it was done. If not it needs to be done.

Make sure the coolant is a 50/50 mix of anti-freeze and water. Check the thermostat and make sure it is opening at the proper temperature and not sticking closed. Make sure there is nothing blocking air flow through the condenser. On that car junk likes to build up between the condenser and radiator. Check the radiator for "cold" spots. Run the engine and bring it up to operating temperature, fan kicking on. Shut it off and feel the face of the radiator. It feel uniformly warm over the whole face. Any "cold" spots indicates a clog and the radiator is not operating at full capacity.

When the temperature goes up with the A/C on like this, it always indicates an inadequacy in the cooling system. And that it does it at the hottest time of day confirms this. As for the clunking noise, I'd have to hear it to even offer an educated guess.

The ABS light is telling you that the ABS Control Module has detected a fault in the ABS system. The anti-lock brake system has self-diagnostic capabilities and will store a DTC. However, you need a scan tool to retrieve it.

Additional Information provided courtesy of ALLDATA