ford focus 1.8tdci sport 56 reg - electrical fault?

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Sat 28 Apr 2012 11:00
ford focus 1.8tdci sport 56 reg - electrical fault? - shy-lass

Hi there, we have a 56 reg ford focus 1.8tdci sport and have problems in the past where the fusebox got water in and in turn made the instrument cluster go costing us a fortune to get fixed! .................recently the car seems to be using more diesel than normal and has some power lag when you try to accelerate at times. Today my husband went to drive it and it started no problem, drove no problem but when he looked at the dials on the dashboard the temperature dial was at the highest point and the fuel gauge was higher than if you had a full tank of fuel! can anyone give us any advice on what could be going wrong and what checks we can do on the car in order to try to find a solution before we end up with another huge bill? many thanks in advance

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Sat 28 Apr 2012 11:10
ford focus 1.8tdci sport 56 reg - electrical fault? - smed706

hi power lag is a common fault with the TDCi and is usually down to the egr valve but as for temp and fuel gauge problems i have no ideas but the power loss and gauge faults could be connected

hope this helps

kind regards Neil

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Sat 28 Apr 2012 11:21
ford focus 1.8tdci sport 56 reg - electrical fault? - shy-lass

Hi Neil,

Thanks for your reply, my husband said that the car is hesitant intermittantly when accelerating , i think it will be another trip to the ford garage :( gutted!

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Sat 28 Apr 2012 11:28
ford focus 1.8tdci sport 56 reg - electrical fault? - smed706

could be an electrical fault then if its intermitent which would explain temp and fuel gauge problems but yeah ford is probably the best thing to get a sure answer

hope you get it sorted at as little cost as poss

kind regards Neil

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Sat 28 Apr 2012 11:35
ford focus 1.8tdci sport 56 reg - electrical fault? - shy-lass

Thanks again Neil :)

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Sat 28 Apr 2012 23:26
ford focus 1.8tdci sport 56 reg - electrical fault? - MikeTorque

Check that water isn't running past the pollen filter seal and getting into the fuse box, it's a known issue.

The dials may be related to the above if that applies, otherwise do you know if the car has a lead acid battery or calcium battery ? It should have a calcium battery otherwise the dials can go crazy (to mention one such problem).

The hesitation could be related to the above if that applies, otherwise it could be a fueling issue (e.g fuel filter needs changing) or air leak somewhere.





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Sun 29 Apr 2012 09:33
ford focus 1.8tdci sport 56 reg - electrical fault? - shy-lass

Hi there, thank you for your reply

Water getting into the fusebox was the problem that we had last time and ended up with our car being in the garage for 8weeks, needing new fuse box and instrument cluster done at a cost of £1400 we thought the water problem had been rectified but if its the same problem all over again then obviously not! can you advise on how to stop the water getting in? is it a simple job or will ford have to do it for us? will we need to have the car put on a computer to clear any fault codes?

Thank you :)

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Sun 29 Apr 2012 18:55
ford focus 1.8tdci sport 56 reg - electrical fault? - shy-lass

Hi there

We looked at the car today and checked to see if the soundproof membrane (or whatever its called) was damp/wet, it felt cold but we thought it was dry, there is a faint water mark around the edge of the pollen filter but we are unsure whether its just the stain from the previous water leak that we had. My husband also checked any earths he could reach under the bonnet and they all seemed fine, he has driven the car today and it ran well and the fuel gauge and temperature gauge appeared normal?! we will check the air filter and see if we can find any air leaks.

Thank you very much for your advice, most appreciated :)

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Sun 29 Apr 2012 22:54
ford focus 1.8tdci sport 56 reg - electrical fault? - MikeTorque

When they changed the pollen filter do you know if they also changed the housing and seal around the housing ? If they didn't then it could still be leaking a little.

It's somewhat concerning that the dials go awol once in a while having had a new cluster fitted. Can you confirm if the battery is a lead acid type or a calcium type ?

Does the steering feel heavier than usual and can you tell a difference between SPORT, STANDARD and COMFORT modes ? If there is a difference that is a good sign, if no difference then it's likely there is a software or electronic issue.

It's possible there is a small leak somewhere in the fuel system, also check the fuel injector seals aren't leaking.

Has the fuel filter been changed recently ? If not it could be clogged and needs replacing, otherwise there could be a slight air leak via a connector hose, either can cause power lag or performance issues.

Other things that can cause power lag are EGR or MAF issues, they would need checking by a technician to confirm if they working ok.

Do you have any DTC fault code(s) via self-diagnostics ? If a code is shown it should be cleared after an issue has been fixed, a computer is required to reset the code(s).
However, not every issue produces a fault code.

Hope this helps. Keeps us posted with how things go.

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Mon 30 Apr 2012 17:11
ford focus 1.8tdci sport 56 reg - electrical fault? - shy-lass

Hi again

When we had the previous water problem fixed the garage replaced the fuse box and instrument cluster but didnt rectify our water leak!?! We did it ourselves after getting advice from the mechanic.

We have just checked and we have a calcium battery and the fuel filter was change 15,000 miles ago. My husband has noticed that when he reverses off our steep drive and the turns the car to drive away that sometimes the steering feels heavier. He also said that the car is only doing on average 35mpg of diesel, he has checked and can't see a fuel leak on the car anywhere. When the car is started up it fires up no problem but puts out some blue smoke, dont know whether this is an issue?

The dials have only peaked once that we have noticed,

Thanks again for all your help

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Mon 30 Apr 2012 21:45
ford focus 1.8tdci sport 56 reg - electrical fault? - MikeTorque

Do you or your husband notice a difference between SPORT and COMFORT mode for the steering setting ?

You say your husband has noticed blue smoke, that's not a good sign, please see the link below for more details :
http://www.uniteddiesel.co.uk/diesel-engine-smoke.php

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Tue 1 May 2012 20:29
ford focus 1.8tdci sport 56 reg - electrical fault? - shy-lass

Hi There,

My husband says we dont have a sport or comfort mode for the steering , ive just looked at the link and this poor car isnt looking very good is it :(

I drove the car today and it ran well , the temp gauge was the only thing that seemed a bit strange, the dial moved steadily up to 1/2 way then when i accelerated it started to go back down! It then reached went back to just below the half way mark and settled there after 3mins or so.

Going try and book it into garage for a diagnostic and see what it shows and will have to take it from there.

Many thanks again for all your help, we are very grateful :)

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