I have a 1999 Sable wagon that still runs well, but this year developed several electrical problems. My independent mechanic says there’s a short but he can’t find it and has rewired essential stuff to keep them working. Would a Ford dealer have some snazzy computer system or scanner that would be more likely to find the short? Thanks
The dealer may have snazzier tools, but it will not help find a short. On the there hand he may have more experience with that specific model and might better know where to look. Finding shorts is both a science and an art. The science is having a good wiring diagram and understand it. The Art is . . . it is an art.
Yeah, it’s an art and it takes plenty of patience… and maybe a bit of luck. I once tracked down a short in a Fiat Spyder that I was restoring only by removing the center console (on a hunch) and finding a loose wire dangling down. The mechanics at the dealership can be presumed to be no better, no worse, than an independent mechanic. The dealer does not have a computer that can perform a miracle.
You might reconsider taking it to a dealer. The service manual, and Technical Service Bulletins, usually instruct the mechanic to change a whole wiring harness. And, since that is the usual advised method of repair, they would probably do the same on your car. This can cost several hundred dollars. Best you take it to an independent garage/mechanic.
What kind of electrical problems and what was “wired around”?
There is no snazzy tool I’m aware of that is used to trace shorts.
Blowing fuses or what?
The only advantage a dealer might have is history, that is this car may be prone to a certain wire shorting out and the dealer has dealt with it before.
might be an “open” instead of a short.