Mk1 Ford Focus Cylinder Not Firing
Discussion
I think this is the correct section.
I have a 2002 Ford Focus, I bought it for £800 a year and a half ago as a cheap car to just get around. It has done 89,000 miles. The last time I know for sure it had a service was 2011.
Yesterday while driving one of the cylinders stopped firing, or so I assume because the engine judders baddly, the rev fluctuate slightly, the engine managment light lost its mind a bit and there is a smell of petrol where I assume fuel is going into the dead cylinder, no igniting then coming out the exhaust.
I waddled the car home with the intention to try and fix it tomorrow (Saturday).
I am making this thread to ask if there are any obvious suggestions or common faults to look for. I intend to:
1) Buy a new spark plug (if this is the problem I will repalce the other 3 as well) and try it in each of the cylinders to see if the problem goes away (I obviously cannot tell which one it is that isn't working)
2) Try replacing the coil pack, some Googleing said that this could have given up on life.
After that I am stumped so am open to suggestions. If it is too expensive I will probably scrap it for £130 and get another dirt cheap car.
I have a 2002 Ford Focus, I bought it for £800 a year and a half ago as a cheap car to just get around. It has done 89,000 miles. The last time I know for sure it had a service was 2011.
Yesterday while driving one of the cylinders stopped firing, or so I assume because the engine judders baddly, the rev fluctuate slightly, the engine managment light lost its mind a bit and there is a smell of petrol where I assume fuel is going into the dead cylinder, no igniting then coming out the exhaust.
I waddled the car home with the intention to try and fix it tomorrow (Saturday).
I am making this thread to ask if there are any obvious suggestions or common faults to look for. I intend to:
1) Buy a new spark plug (if this is the problem I will repalce the other 3 as well) and try it in each of the cylinders to see if the problem goes away (I obviously cannot tell which one it is that isn't working)
2) Try replacing the coil pack, some Googleing said that this could have given up on life.
After that I am stumped so am open to suggestions. If it is too expensive I will probably scrap it for £130 and get another dirt cheap car.
Pull the sticks off the spark plugs, you will probably find that the spark plug wells are full of water, either suck it all out with a vacuum pump or just soak it up with the bit of paper towel, spray lots of WD40 over the coil and plug to disperse any remaining water and reconnect, it should run fine and the EML will go out, its a very common problem on MK1 foci.
If its not this try a new plug then get yourself to your local scrapyard and pull a set of plug tops of a scrap focus (there will be one in there!) and fit them, new plugs are £3 each, a coil and sticks will probably be a tenner from the scrappy.
If its not this try a new plug then get yourself to your local scrapyard and pull a set of plug tops of a scrap focus (there will be one in there!) and fit them, new plugs are £3 each, a coil and sticks will probably be a tenner from the scrappy.
Edited by Jazoli on Friday 22 January 18:57
Jazoli said:
Pull the sticks off the spark plugs, you will probably find that the spark plug wells are full of water, either suck it all out with a vacuum pump or just soak it up with the bit of paper towel, spray lots of WD40 over the coil and plug to disperse any remaining water and reconnect, it should run fine and the EML will go out, its a very common problem on MK1 foci.
If its not this try a new plug then get yourself to your local scrapyard and pull a set of plug tops of a scrap focus (there will be one in there!) and fit them, new plugs are £3 each, a coil and sticks will probably be a tenner from the scrappy.
Thanks for the reply. I hadn't thought about getting parts from a breakers, that should keep it cheap.If its not this try a new plug then get yourself to your local scrapyard and pull a set of plug tops of a scrap focus (there will be one in there!) and fit them, new plugs are £3 each, a coil and sticks will probably be a tenner from the scrappy.
Edited by Jazoli on Friday 22 January 18:57
I'm not sure on the water suggestion because it happened after I'd driven about 4 miles, I will deffinetly give it a go though!
Possibly the coilpack. A quick test to see which is the dead cylinder. Spray water on the exhaust manifold when cold. Start the engine, see which of the 3 dry up. The wet one is the dead one.
I have changed a couple of coil packs on zetecs. When they die they get bloody hot!
Water in the plug holes is a possibility. Make sure the cap is clean and the plug top isn't corroded.
Also leads don't last forever, they do break down over time.
I have changed a couple of coil packs on zetecs. When they die they get bloody hot!
Water in the plug holes is a possibility. Make sure the cap is clean and the plug top isn't corroded.
Also leads don't last forever, they do break down over time.
AdamIndy said:
Possibly the coilpack. A quick test to see which is the dead cylinder. Spray water on the exhaust manifold when cold. Start the engine, see which of the 3 dry up. The wet one is the dead one.
I have changed a couple of coil packs on zetecs. When they die they get bloody hot!
Water in the plug holes is a possibility. Make sure the cap is clean and the plug top isn't corroded.
Also leads don't last forever, they do break down over time.
Hadn't thought of that to find the broken cylinder, that should save some time.I have changed a couple of coil packs on zetecs. When they die they get bloody hot!
Water in the plug holes is a possibility. Make sure the cap is clean and the plug top isn't corroded.
Also leads don't last forever, they do break down over time.
Coilpack failure is a common problem on the Focus, but I would zone in to the affected cylinder first by removing each lead in turn and seeing the affect on the engine. First step is to swap the plug from the affected cylinder. If the family moves with the plug, replace it. Try the same with the leads if they will reach, Mark them first so you know the original configuration.
If the misfire stays on one cylinder regardless then do a compression test.
Dave
If the misfire stays on one cylinder regardless then do a compression test.
Dave
If you know somone with a code reader the ECU will have logged which cyl is misfiring ? then do the plug swap and see if it moves, if not it's probably the coil pack, IF that is the plug wells are dry? if they are wet as said empty out and seal the washer jets on the bonnet with some sealant as that's where it get onto the engine from.
It is all fixed now, thanks for the suggestions.
I checked each spark plug by taking them out, attaching them to the pipe, grounding it and seeing if it sparks. The one on the far right wasn't sparking and when I put it in a different plug it was only sparking a little bit. I went and bought a replacment set of plugs from Ford for £12, fitted them and gave it a drive. It half solved the problem, the cylinder wan't completely dead but it kept miss firing.
So I gave Ford a call to get the price of a coil pack and leads, they wanted £180, can't be bothered with that. Drove my dads car to the breakers and found a suitable Ford Focus there and took the coil pack and leads for £20, it seems this car had it replaced as it wasns't a genuine Ford one and was dated on the back of it 2010/11 when it was a 1999 car.
Fitted the coil pack to the car and jobs a gooden it is running smoother than it ever did. So all in £32 and a morning to fix.
I checked each spark plug by taking them out, attaching them to the pipe, grounding it and seeing if it sparks. The one on the far right wasn't sparking and when I put it in a different plug it was only sparking a little bit. I went and bought a replacment set of plugs from Ford for £12, fitted them and gave it a drive. It half solved the problem, the cylinder wan't completely dead but it kept miss firing.
So I gave Ford a call to get the price of a coil pack and leads, they wanted £180, can't be bothered with that. Drove my dads car to the breakers and found a suitable Ford Focus there and took the coil pack and leads for £20, it seems this car had it replaced as it wasns't a genuine Ford one and was dated on the back of it 2010/11 when it was a 1999 car.
Fitted the coil pack to the car and jobs a gooden it is running smoother than it ever did. So all in £32 and a morning to fix.
Good to know it's sorted. They are usually pretty trouble free.
Ford prices are ridiculous. I have an ST170. The gearknob has a scratch on the top so I thought, it's only a gear knob, it can't be that expensive. Went to the local ford garage. I can't remember the exact figure but it was over £200!!! For a f
king gear knob!
Lots of ford specialist on the web though if you ever need anything else.
Ford prices are ridiculous. I have an ST170. The gearknob has a scratch on the top so I thought, it's only a gear knob, it can't be that expensive. Went to the local ford garage. I can't remember the exact figure but it was over £200!!! For a f
king gear knob!Lots of ford specialist on the web though if you ever need anything else.
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