Took my car in today yet again for the continuing misfire saga- its also been very sluggish below 2000 rpm and then taking off like a rocket leaving a thick cloud of black smoke. The fault codes indicated that the EGR valve was sticking open - this was replaced. My dealer then told me that a design defect has been identified with the EGR valve which is now being redesigned and he will call me back to fit new style valve as soon as they are available. He says the valves have a tendancy to stick open just as they should be closing and so this upsets the calibration causing misfiring, flat spots and poor response.
Has anybody seen a TSB on this or heard anything about it?
By the way Ive had the fuel filter upgrade, the fuel pressure sensor wiring upgrade and the last software/ recalibration was on 4 November- there is now an even more recent version available.
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Please keep us posted on this, kurnal. My Nov 2002 (now 20K) TDCi has always had the misfire, but so slight as to be not really a problem. But recently it has been getting worse...
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Kurnal,
Read this post and your latest on MEG. I think, as you say this looks a good bet for a persistant problem. I have thought for a long time that the s/w upgrades were only masking the true problem with this engine. (Kind of an industry thing this the h/w and s/w engineers trying to blame one another!)
I've been holding out buying one of these in the hope a cure is found - in fact I'm almost about to sign up for the petrol version of this car as I don't want to "buy into problems".
Keep us posted regarding the progress of the new EGR valve!
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What about disabling the EGR valve?
Not that I would do such a thing......
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn/problems.msnw?Page=1 - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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The latest news is that she is still running like a dream and has never missed a beat since the egr valve was replaced. Seems to have more pull at low revs as well. My advice in any case linac eng would be to go for the tdci- I have driven the 1.8 petrol versions and they seem pretty boring in comparison, tho I guess the V6 will be something else.
I have put the following theory on the meg website and would be grateful for any comments in support or otherwise ( but please be gentle with me- I don't pretend to have any mechanical knowledge)
Fact- many tdcis suffer from a persistent misfire at light throttle settings between 1800-2000 rpm
Fact-There is a known design fault with the EGR valve which I am told is prone to stick and be sluggish to respond to commands from the ecu.
Fact- after software upgrades and recalibration the misfire tends to disappear for a few days and about 350 miles before returning
Fact- many TDCi mondeos put out smoke on hard acceleration before the turbo kicks in, some a small amount , some large volumes, and this is one of the symptoms of a sticking egr valve.
The other symptoms of a faulty valve can be poor starting, erratic tickover, and flat spots or misfires at partial throttle settings ( source my friendly main dealer)
Theory- many tdcis have problems with the sticking egr valve upsetting calibrations but until it suffers terminal failure and sticks wide open no fault codes are recorded. So the ecu, detecting erratic running but not receiving specific fault codes from the egr valves, makes adjustments to the calibration to compensate. But it makes these adjustments assuming that the egr valve and everything else is functioning normally- which it isn't. So the adjustments don't help and, even when the learning function of the ECU has been wiped clean by a recalibration, the misfire soon returns.
Does this make any sense at all or should I have another beer?
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It makes perfect sense to me, Kurnal. Mine, as you know, does not suffer from this problem so I count myself fortunate. The question, however, is: where can Kurnal take this theory so that it can get a proper (and I mean a proper) response from Ford? Is it not time for a recall, given the number of cars which have been affected by this problem.
To respond to Linac Eng's dilemma, I have to say that, hand on heart, my tdci is absolutely fantastic: a joy to drive every time. Every time I read someone slam this car, I just chuckle to myself and think about what they're missing.
Well done Kurnal, and I hope this is the final solution to your tdci problem! An early Xmas present for you, I should imagine.
Splodgeface
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Most if not all cars have problems that the manufacturer doesn't recognise or have problems that are kept under wraps, for commercial reasons..
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn/problems.msnw?Page=1 - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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