Ford Focus low idle problem

squirrel6767 · 13-04-2011 10:58AM #1

Ford Focus MK1 - 2001 - 1.4 - 135K miles

Hi

Recently needed to replace water pump which was causing a whaling noise below a certain RPM which got progressivelly worse over a few months (FYI €135 to replace) (I was actually told by another garage that it was the alternator which turned out to be untrue - quoted €400 to fix!!)

Seems that this water pump noise was masking another unerlying issue with a rough low idle.
I had an engine warning light which when checked out pointed to an issue with cylinder 2 and 4 (?) but since the fault cleared it has not come back.

Existing situation is ........

- Pre NCT garage check says I have a rough low idle and would fail upcoming NCT test (would need to give car over for a day for him to diagnose)
- Initially when starting cold engine it goes up to 1200 RPM but settles back down around 700 RPM within a few mins
- Normal idle when warm fluctuates in the 600-700RPM range with an occasional drop to 500's which you can actually see as a dimming of the lights
- Removing the air filter and with engine ticking over it does sound erratic - sort of a gasping for air
- Exhaust has a similar chugging
- Getting roughly 31MPG (1.4 is not ideal for 100-120KM/H driving)
- DTC9318 code in dash diagnostics (low battery)

Previous engine power/stutter issue going through gears was fixed with a coil pack replacement (this current issue seems different) (coil pack and spark plugs (bosch hr8MCV+) replaced at 110K miles i.e. 25K miles ago. did not ever replace HT leads)

Suggestions? Should I start with plugs, leads, coil pack, idle control valve? Would I be better off giving it into a Ford garage to diagnose rather than wasting money replacing these in turn?

Have my Haynes book now so ready to get stuck in !!!

Thanks in advance for your advice
Patrick

pie-man · 13-04-2011 06:03PM

imo, if i were you id get it checked at a good garage. part swaping and guess work can end up being a expensive road to go down. these cars a very straight forward in that they are easy to diagnose with the right equipment etc.

Hal1 · 13-04-2011 07:08PM

I was going to suggest checking the battery indicator to see if it's healty, i.e. red - bad cell, green - good. The next thing to check would be for hissing which would indicate a vaccum leak.

There is the pcv tubing and valve behind the manifold. These have been known to collapse casuing all sorts of erractic idleing. I changed mine myself fairly straight forward. The parts tubing and valve are no more then €20 from ford.

couldntthink · 13-04-2011 09:58PM

Bring it to a ford dealer and get them to re adapt the engine ECU. I used to work in a ford dealer and this was quite common. They will probably charge you quite a bit though. Water pump whining can actually be caused by incorrect coolant in focus of certain build dates. Can't remember which dates though

squirrel6767 · 14-04-2011 04:26PM

Yes, beginning to think that biting the bullet and giving it into a Ford dealer is the way to go. Its a bit defeatist though !!

The Engine Warning Light that I had cleared 2 weeks ago came back again this morning. If its the same code then it previously pointed to cylinder 2 and 4 (that was all I was told by the non-ford garage that cleared the fault)- would that indicate spark plugs, coil pack?

I will check the pcv tubing as described by Hal1 and will at least update the spark plugs before I fork out the €€ to the Ford dealer.

Thanks for the help

couldntthink · 14-04-2011 08:03PM

I dont want to sound like a ford ford ford person here. But get genuine plugs for it. A focus can be tempremental like that. Also, incorrect plugs can cause the coil pack to pack in sooner than usual. Same thing happens to some renaults and peugeots. Doubt you have a coil problem though. Faulty coil in a focus causes a bad misfire under load and is very noticable.

squirrel6767 · 19-04-2011 11:24AM

As an FYI the fix for those that have the problem in the future.

To summarise the problem
- engine warning light, low idle fluctuation, chugging engine (and chugging exhaust), general lack of performance, not ticking over properly, got progressively worse whereby at times turning on ignition initially without touching accelerator the engine was nearly cutting out,

Replaced spark plugs - small improvement

Cleaned what was a very dirty Idle air control (IAC) valve with carb cleaner - simple 5 min job

(also cleaned PCV tube going to valve and into the valve itself)
(also sprayed cleaner into the air intake going to throttle)

Turned on ignition and everything was as new - perfect ticking over.

To clear the engine warning light I disconnected the battery for a few secs (make sure you have your radio security code)

All perfect now.

I dread to think what I would have been charged if I sent this to a garage for what was a 5 min job at the cost of a few euro for a can of carb cleaner.

Plug · 19-04-2011 12:25PM

Faulty battery can cause these symptoms in the Focus, seen it a few times;)

wally1990 · 26-07-2017 08:29PM

squirrel6767 wrote: »

As an FYI the fix for those that have the problem in the future.

To summarise the problem
- engine warning light, low idle fluctuation, chugging engine (and chugging exhaust), general lack of performance, not ticking over properly, got progressively worse whereby at times turning on ignition initially without touching accelerator the engine was nearly cutting out,

Replaced spark plugs - small improvement

Cleaned what was a very dirty Idle air control (IAC) valve with carb cleaner - simple 5 min job

(also cleaned PCV tube going to valve and into the valve itself)
(also sprayed cleaner into the air intake going to throttle)

Turned on ignition and everything was as new - perfect ticking over.

To clear the engine warning light I disconnected the battery for a few secs (make sure you have your radio security code)

All perfect now.

I dread to think what I would have been charged if I sent this to a garage for what was a 5 min job at the cost of a few euro for a can of carb cleaner.

Sorry to bring up an old thread but I've a 09 focus diesel which is chugging/jerking between 1100-1500 RPM in all gears,

what excatly did you do to fix this particular problem? Cheers !

(Pulling my hair out)

Special Circumstances · 26-07-2017 09:32PM

wally1990 wrote: »

Sorry to bring up an old thread but I've a 09 focus diesel which is chugging/jerking between 1100-1500 RPM in all gears,

what excatly did you do to fix this particular problem? Cheers !

(Pulling my hair out)

Well from the list of things tried above you can rule out:
Sparkplugs
And
Iacv (idle air control valve)
And
Cleaning anything throttle related.

Where you start with the rest is up to you!

biko · 27-07-2017 07:41AM

Old thread lock. Wally started a fresh thread.

Ford Focus low idle problem

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