I have a 2002 Focus 1.6 Ghia. Sometimes, but not always, after you turn the ignition right off the fuel gauge moves (normally very rapidly) from zero to about 2 oclock (regardless of the quantity of fuel in the tank). At the same time the temperature gauge moves to a (more realistic) position.
Is this an electrical problem, eg water in the ECU? I'd very much appreciate help. The car is operating normally - so far.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 06/11/2007 at 21:29
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You need a new instrument panel (Complete Unit). I had this problem when my 2003 1.6 Focus reached 2 years old, and had it replaced under warranty before the car was 3 Years old. I thought the problem was a freak, until I looked at the Ford Focus Owners Club website, where there was several owners reporting exactly the same problem.(Apparently it is mainly Facelift 1.6's which are most prone to this problem).
Hope this helps.
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My Mondeo does this, has done for 2 years and the instruments work fine. As long as the instruments read correctly in use, why worry about it?
Cheers
DP
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04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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Fair comment this was the exact reply from my Ford dealer, the first time I reported the fault.
The second time they offered to replace the whole panel, seeing as the car was still under Ford Warranty!
SNIPQUOTE!
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 08/11/2007 at 10:27
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Ah that's different. If it's under warranty then you may as well get it sorted. But it's not something I'd ever considered spending money on to rectify.
I remember noticing it a day or two after I bought the car, and thinking "that's weird!" but then never gave it a second thought. It's still the same 2 years on. With the ignition off, the temp gauge shows just over half and the fuel gauge almost full. As soon as I turn the ignition on they go directly to their "correct" readings and work fine until the ignition is turned off again.
As I said, if the instruments started playing up in use, that would be a different story, but so far so good. The fuel gauge is sometimes erratic below a quarter of tank but I think this is sender related as it's fine at a quarter and above. Certainly everything else works as it should. In any case I still use my biking habit of zeroing the trip when I fill up and working off that. Bike fuel gauges, if fitted at all, are worse than useless so you learn not to trust them.
Cheers
DP
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04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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I've had problems with my Focus fuel gauge in the past, although not the same problem as you're seeing. In my case, it was reading empty when I knew the tank was full.
A new fuel sender is the fix for this but as it involves dropping the fuel tank, it's not a cheap or particularly easy job to do.
Thankfully it only misbehaved for a week or too and this was over 3 years ago, so I've not been forced to do anything about it.
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Thought I would resurrect this thread to say that I have just had exactly the same experience wiht my (mk1) Focus as mikej. Fuel gauge stopped working, seemed to be a sender problem as the rest of the dashboard was fine, three weeks and two fill-ups later, it's suddenly started to work again. Fingers crossed it stays that way, although judging by the miles I've done since I last filled up, it seems to have slightly recalibrated itself from what it usually read. Strange.
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Ever since that happened to me, I've got into the habit of always filling up to a full tank and resetting the trip meter. That way if it ever goes again, I'll have a pretty good indication of how many miles I've got left !
3 & 1/2 years on and the problem still hasn't reoccurred though.
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I've had a new dash cluster fitted, also recently had a new fuel guage as well, but since the nre fuel guage, we've noticed the fuel guage working differently.
I used to be able to fuel up, full tank, and needle would go over the F marker, but now, it can sometimes take in excess of 6-7 miles driving before the needle gets near to how much fuel is in the tank.
I don't want to take the car to a Ford Dealer, but might run it up to a vehicle electrician to have a look at, but is it a case of changing the fuel guage sensor, if so, is this a big job and a costly one?
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