Ford Escape XLT

The fuses are made of either a solder/lead type mixture, or it's a thin wire, the thickness makes the fuses melt at a faster or slower rate when they get hot from a "short" or too much draw for the circuit. When a fuse "blows" is just a saying. But if you put a large enough "short" on a fuse it will seem to "blow" when it melts extremely fast.

Also, to much resistance caused by dirty or loose connections on a standard plastic spade fuse can cause the plastic portion to melt.

This is not very complicated. If you do like I tell you here you will be done in less than tree hours.

1. Remove passenger wheel. Disconnect negative terminal from battery.

2. Remove brake caliper assembly and tie it to the coil spring with steel wire

3. Remove the 2 bolts of the wheel hub to the shock absorber and tie the hub with the coil spring with steel wire. Remove the nut holding outer tie rod end from hub and pull it out.

4. Push the brake caliper and wheel hub backward so you can see the axle. You have two nuts to remove of the bearing holder. Remove those two nuts and you can remove the axle by pulling gently toward the outside and put it in a clean place.

5. Now you can see the alternator.

6. take your 3/8 ratchet and put it in the serpentine belt tensioner. Use a big key to pry easily the tensionner and undo the belt. Be sure to support the vehicule securely so it don't fall on you once you're under.

7. Remove the plastic protector of the alternator by prying gently under it with prybar. It is just plastic push in fastener so be gentle. There is also a retaining hole behind that is on to a bolt. Push it upward and pull it out.

8.Remove the three bolts holding the alternator. Two in front ant one behind.

9.undo the connection. The plastic connector need to be push on the little plastic thing while pulling it out.

10. Remove the bracket that hold the alternator. It have only tree bolts and takes ten minutes to remove. You won't get the alternator easily out unless you do that. You can maybe do it another way but it will take more time than 10 minutes.

11. Remove the alternator and insert the new one in without connecting it.

12. Install the alternator bracket by starting by the easiest bolt.

13. Connect the alternator.

14. Install the alternator, put back the axle by pushing it gently into the transmission and moving it so it insert in the splines correctly. Install the two nuts. Insert it in the wheel hub and put back the big nut with hand for now.

15.Put back the wheel hub with shock absorber. Put everything back and tight everything back and you are done.

So far I have not figured out a way to increase the size or repair the water logged foam float (it must be the thickness it is to fit back thru the hole in the tank so it can't be increased in size easily) but I am going to try a 2" round washer shaped piece of styrofoam with a slit cut in one side and try to slide it over the top of the sensor from the inside of the tank. If you can think of a way to make it float again, by all means do it and have fun! :-)

"Short cheap answer: Use piece of fishing line or wire to hold up the waterlogged 'float' inside your windshield washer tank that is causing the idiot light to come on.

Longer (but still cheap) explanation: I had (have) the same problem with my 95 town car. There is a 'float' inside the windshield washer tank, and it appeared to have lost its buoyancy. When it drops down to the bottom the 'fluid low' light comes on.

Unfortunately Lincoln will not sell the 'float' or the float/switch unit by itself. You have to buy a whole replacement windshield washer fluid tank.

I was too cheap to pay the bucks, yet didn't want to see the idiot light on all the time. So I took a piece of fishing line, looped or tied it to the float, and pulled up on the float to hold it off the bottom of the tank. I then took the other end of the fishing line out the top of the tank and tied it off (either to the neck of the tank or to something else, I don't remember offhand.

Result: The 'low fluid' light no longer comes on. Now true, I am not going to be warned as my fluid really does get low. But I think I can live with that.

You could probably also have fooled it by messing with the wiring, but I took the lower tech easy way out. (I was a telephone installer/repairman for over 15 years and a computer installer/repairman/administrator for another 15...so the electronics probably wouldn't have been much of a challenge if I hadn't had a piece of fishing line nearby at the time. :}) "