Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 99 1.8 Instrument sweep on cold start

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Mon 18 Jan 2010 13:48
99 1.8 Instrument sweep on cold start - focusowner101
I'm having some issues with my T reg Focus, when starting the engine from cold (i.e. when off to work in the morning) my needles will do a full sweep as if they are calibrating. They only do it when starting from cold and they never drop out when driving. I have tested my battery first thing in the morning and had it read over 10 volts and tested it when running with a result of 13+ volts. I have been living with it for a while with no other (apparent) ill effects but when I went to start it this (Monday) morning after it had sat and not run for a weekend it:
1. Struggled to start (only took 3-4 seconds but normal fires first time)
2. Did the usual needle sweep but they stuttered half way up
3. Beeped as if I had the door open with the lights on (which I didn't)
4. Flashed some lights on the dash but too quickly to see which

Does anyone have any ideas?
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Mon 18 Jan 2010 13:53
99 1.8 Instrument sweep on cold start - Altea Ego
your battery reads over 10 volts? Its should be over 12, preferably 13.
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Mon 18 Jan 2010 14:04
99 1.8 Instrument sweep on cold start - elekie&a/c doctor
Your battery has come to the end of its life.Replace with correct calcium type.
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Mon 18 Jan 2010 14:06
99 1.8 Instrument sweep on cold start - focusowner101
Whoops, seems I replied as you were posting, thanks for the advice.
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Mon 18 Jan 2010 14:52
99 1.8 Instrument sweep on cold start - focusowner101
A quick follow up to this...

The following link claims that: "8.5-10.7 volts, Normal band start"
www.focushacks.com/?modid=37&ht=Instrument%20Clust...e

I'm a bit cautious of buying a new battery and it not fixing the problem.
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Mon 18 Jan 2010 16:07
99 1.8 Instrument sweep on cold start - focusowner101
Any further opinions on this?
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Tue 19 Jan 2010 23:59
99 1.8 Instrument sweep on cold start - mikej
I had very similar problems to you with my old Focus - dials doing a full sweep on start-up are a sign that the battery is on it's way out, as previously mentioned. My dash also clicked like crazy and flashed lights on and off.

Your battery should read around 12V when sat and over 14V when running, so I'm surprised that your car has been starting at all !

If you're still on the original OEM battery then I wouldn't waste any more time mucking about - I tried charging mine back up once or twice, but the problem only reoccurred soon after. Take it down to any auto-electrical place (or Halfords) and they should do a free battery test for you. My battery was around 8 years old (70k+ miles) and had a dead cell.

In my case, replacing it with a suitable calcium battery solved the problem. As elekie doctor said above - make sure your replacement is a calcium and not a standard lead-acid type.

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Thu 21 Jan 2010 10:03
99 1.8 Instrument sweep on cold start - focusowner101
Hi, I have now replaced the battery with a suitable silver calcium type and not had the problem happen since.
Cheers all
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Mon 18 Jan 2010 14:04
99 1.8 Instrument sweep on cold start - focusowner101
Thank you for your reply.
Seems I've been misinformed on what it should read then, would you recommend changing it?
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