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My parents have a 2001 Ford Focus with a 1.4 petrol zetec-se engine. As a mechanic i am very familiar with the Zetec-se engine as my Ford Fiesta has the very same.
The trouble with the Ford Focus is this; when you go to start the engine (obviously after allowing the pump to prime) the engine takes a few revolutions to start, and usually starts within 3-4 seconds. It also smells extremely bad of petrol once started. When idling, it idles very lumpy however it drives absolutely fine nice and smooth, but does have a blowing exhaust kind of sound.
I have done the following to diagnose the problem;
Tried to pull the code from the engine light, and my scanner says “N/A”
Tried a known working set of HT leads and Coilpack
Tried a known working set of spark plugs
Tried a known working Idle Air Control Valve
Tried a known working Throttle Position sensor
Removed intake manifold and replaced gaskets, same with the throttle body
Cleaned out throttle body
Cleaned Manifold absolute pressure
Tried a brand new battery
Replaced all vacuum lines around the engnieThis vehicle has had a brand new mid and rear section of exhaust fitted less then 2 days before i bought it… incase this may have any impact on the poor idle.
I suspect it to be one or more leaking fuel injectors, as this is all i can think of what would cause a poor idle, poor starting, and smell of fuel. I believe one or more of them to be leaking into the cylinder(s) while the engine is off, thus the smell.
Another point i should maybe make, is after a short 60 mile round journey i rechecked the plugs and 3 out of the four were very black and sooty which tells me its running rich. Also, another tick on the faulty injector list.
Would anyone else be able to advise me here? As i would rather not be thowing money around, that and the fact this has me really puzzled!
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is the eml illuminated? if so get codes and live data.
I would be checking o2 and maf,
what is the 4th plug like dry, wet,normal?
any blockage in exhaust system?The EML does come on occasionally, but it just says “N/A” on my scanner, and unfortunately i dont have a scanner capable of live data.
Also, this vehicle doesnt have a mass air flow sensor fitted.
The 4th plug was normal, if not a slight bit whiter then the rest and as i say the exhuast system cat onwards is brand new so i would have thought not, however it is going back to where the exhaust was fitted next week.It is strange some were built with maf others not. I would look at finding someone who can read the codes, could be o2 or cts although cts probably won’t through a code.
Have you searched for vacuum leaks? Try doing a power
balance test with unplugging an injector at a time.
I would go to an auto part store to have the code read
its free.Unless you want to pick up a decent scanner to
read live data.http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-performance-issues
It really is, i was hoping to clean out the MAF and see an improvement however when i found there wasnt one i was rather puzzled!
I have searched for vacuum leaks, and replaced a few hoses that are common failures on these engines.
This morning I recorded a video of start up and general idle. Hopefully it will be a better basis on which to offer diagnosis?
http://s1296.photobucket.com/user/daveyt-n/media/DSCF3834_zpse784aa21.mp4.html
Somehow you’re gonna have to get something that reads live data. You also could have high fuel pressure causing a rich condition. I’m thinking that maybe the coolant temp sensor is reading that the engine is colder than what it really is. Does the British version of the Fucus have a lifetime air filter? I saw one of those so badly plugged it collapsed the air intake hose on acceleration. Could be low compression causing a problem also.
I doubt there is an Auto Zone in England. :silly:
I have litterally just bought on eBay a scanner which is capable of reading live data, so I can finally dig deeper into this issue. Unfortunatly there is no lifetime warranty on anything vehicle related over here. The vehicle drives nice it just doesnt start or idle nice
as soon as the new scanner arrives, which specific types od data do I want to be watching?
Will do. It looks like it will be arriving sometime next week, Monday hopefully. I have done research on this site – http://www.obd-codes.com/ and have found that my symptoms match that of a over advanced, or over retarded engine pointing towards the inevitable re-timing of the engine.
The OBD code which explains my symptoms down to a tee is P0021/P0022. I hope this new scanner displays either of these codes! The symptoms listed are “hard starting” and “poor idle”.
Of course i’m going to take no action until i can read the code that the car is trying to tell me. I guess my hand scanner just isnt that clever.
You might try a power balance test as suggested to see if you can nail down a problem cylinder. You really haven’t checked anything with engine mechanical yet. There could be a sealing problem in one of the cylinders. It could also be a vacuum leak. Just replacing suspected parts is not enough. You can actually check for vacuum leaks with water or carburetor cleaner. Vacuum leaks are the #1 cause of idle problems. Keep us posted.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-idle-problems
I just want to thank everyone for putting up with me and my vehicle problems, and for offering great advice which has been hugely appreciated.
I bought a new code scanner as mentioned before, it turned up today and i have had nothing but trouble with it communicating with the ECU. I select Ford from the manufacturer list, then ‘new scan’. I then select “read DTCs” and it just reboots itself back to the main manufacturer selection menu. I have another basic 2 line reader, which reads “N/A” … so it’s obviously a car fault not a scanner fault (both scanners work perfectly with my other vehicle, which is a year older!)
I have done some research and it appears on Autodata there is a common fault with all petrol models of this vehicle.
It says under Electrical, Engine management, and Starting/charging:
Ford Focus 98-04
All models with petrol engineProblem
-Failure to start
-burnt odour from electronic control module (ECM)Cause
– Faulty ignition coil causing failure of electronic control module (ECM)Remedy
-carry out mechanical, electrical, and component checks (as required)
-if no faults found replace electronic control module (ECM)
-replace ignition coilI believe I have done all of the checks/repairs known commonly to these engines (1400cc zetec-se 16v)such as oil crankcase breather valve/vacuum hose replacement, Idle Air Control Valve, and vacuum leak checks (i sprayed carb cleaner which found a leaking brake serve hose on the manifold, which i sealed properly and no difference was made other then a slight hissing sound had gone).
Is there anything else i can do before i “throw” a new ECU at it? Like i say i can’t get a communication via either scan tool to read the MIL, and i believe i have carried out any checks i think were relevant to this problem.
Wow that’s a heck of a predicament. I’m with College man, you might want to confirm an ECU issue before you replace it so that you don’t waste your money.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Hi guys, I talked to the seller who i bought the scanner from on eBay and he upgraded me to a much better version and said the original scanner has a very rare bandwidth issue with some vehicles.
New scanner plugged in, it pulled P0141. Not entirely sure that has anything to do with the way it runs, or am i wrong? The MIL was not on when it found the code. I do have a perfectly working spare o2 sensor to try, so i will try this later today.
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