I am working on my mother in laws 96 windstar. Its shifting erratically and the codes were scanned and returned VSS signal problem. The VSS was changed (not by me) and there was no change. I have heard discussion about the plug having a problem. (especially after a trannie change or major motor work) So if the VSS itself is good, that leaves the plug and wiring to the computer (or bad computer?) The cruise is out too which could indicate the VSS signal is not intact.
I went to ford and they have a pig tail harness with VSS plug for this application. It has about 6 inches or so of pigtail. Has anyone actually spliced one of these on and done a successful repair? Any hints?
You should measure and see if you have voltage at the plug (when the engine is running). Also try scratching the leads (in case of corrosion), and/or wriggling the wires to see if you get a signal. This will help you find out where the fault is.
The fault may not be at the lower 6 inches. You will need to trace the wires back up till you find out where it is (look for wires that feel brittle and burnt, or that feel very bendable at one point indicating a break). If it's higher up you may be able to just fix the wires there.
If you get a normal signal at the plug (I think 1.5V but I'm not sure) then it's possible that the new VSS is a dud. Jack up the car and let the wheels spin and look for a varying resistance and/or voltage from the VSS.
Most likely though is corrosion at the plug leads which just needs cleaning not replacment.
If you do splice, make sure you do it correctly. Strip a couple of inches of wire, wrap them around each other, in a straight line, not a pigtail. Or strip one wire twice as long as the other, make a pigtail then wrap it around the bare section of the longer stip. Solder it.
For insulation you have to make sure it's waterproof. The best is to put shrink tube on the wire before you start, then once the solder cools coat the wire in rubber or silicone, waterproof, and heat resistant! glue, make sure you connect to the existing insulation. Then put the shrink tube around that and shrink it. The glue alone w/o shrink tube should be OK, just wrap it with waterproof heat resistant electical tape. However tape or tube alone w/o the glue is not enough.
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