ST220 fails to start after oil spill
Discussion
Forgot to put the oil cap back on my car at the weekend - lost about 1/2 litre of oil all over the engine bay - doh 
Anyway, after mopping up the car continued to run fine all day, but then refused to start the next morning. Had it towed to Ford - they then phoned me to say it started first time for them. Then phoned again to say it wouldn't start and the fuel pump is broken - £500.
Seems a bit of a coincidence that the pump should let go the day after the oil spill... I'm wondering if they have bothered diagnosing it properly. I'm thinking some thing more along the lines of oil in a fuel pump relay/immobiliser? The car had an after market immobiliser fitted when I got it, so not sure how this is wired up. There was no oil near the fuse box or battery though, most was down the front of the engine.
Any ideas?
Anyway, after mopping up the car continued to run fine all day, but then refused to start the next morning. Had it towed to Ford - they then phoned me to say it started first time for them. Then phoned again to say it wouldn't start and the fuel pump is broken - £500.
Seems a bit of a coincidence that the pump should let go the day after the oil spill... I'm wondering if they have bothered diagnosing it properly. I'm thinking some thing more along the lines of oil in a fuel pump relay/immobiliser? The car had an after market immobiliser fitted when I got it, so not sure how this is wired up. There was no oil near the fuse box or battery though, most was down the front of the engine.
Any ideas?
I would get another garage to give their opinion. Whats betting they fit the conveniently expensive (hoowwww much!!!!!!????!) fuel pump and discover that something else is wrong too. To me, things like fuel pumps gradually fail, or fail completely. They don't un-fail overnight and then re-fail again. On the other hand electrical problems do just that. Sounds like in the process of cleaning it a connector has got dislodged or cleaning water shorting out some contacts.
Sorry - I don't believe them .. unless the pump is under the bonnet (which I doubt)..
Could be something electrical which is connected to the fule pump relay (multi signal switch) is not getting a feed because of the oil.
Rememer oil in an electrical insulator .. it will eventually break down electrically but it will take a long time.
Could be something electrical which is connected to the fule pump relay (multi signal switch) is not getting a feed because of the oil.
Rememer oil in an electrical insulator .. it will eventually break down electrically but it will take a long time.
Yeah, I was wondering if it has got into a relay for the immobiliser, insulating the contact and isolating the pump. Not sure if immobilisers work like that? But of course I'm sure they have checked for voltage at the pump and ruled out anything like that
Ah well, the fuel pump is covered under warranty, (much to their disappointment), so I'll let them get on with it, especially if they have a reputation for breaking anyway.
The car is 6 years old, 60,000 miles.
Ah well, the fuel pump is covered under warranty, (much to their disappointment), so I'll let them get on with it, especially if they have a reputation for breaking anyway.
The car is 6 years old, 60,000 miles.
Edited by mr_fibuli on Wednesday 4th June 12:57
The garage will love it even more if it is under warranty, they just charge it to Ford, and add their mechanics time at £80/hr or whatever it is. It is in the garage's interest to spend as much time on the vehicle as possible, and it is much easier to get approval for warranty work if the component is already mentioned on a Ford technical information bulletin.
Immobiliser (and other important) relays are either in the cabin, or inside a waterproof fuse/relay box, where high pressure water can't get at them. When my fuel pump "went" it was the inertial cutout switch that was open circuit and wouldn't reset.
Immobiliser (and other important) relays are either in the cabin, or inside a waterproof fuse/relay box, where high pressure water can't get at them. When my fuel pump "went" it was the inertial cutout switch that was open circuit and wouldn't reset.
Yeah that makes sense Zad, they wouldn't put a relay anywhere where it could get wet, so unlikely the oil has affected it - maybe it is just a massive coincidence. We'll soon see... or not as the case may be as they don't know when they can get hold of a new pump.
I've always found Ford dealers strangely adverse to warranty work. This morning they were checking over my warranty like they'd never seen one before, despite it being an official Ford one. On the other hand my Dad works for a Toyota dealer where they will put a fresh set of alloys on for you if they notice any pitting on them after 3 years.
I've always found Ford dealers strangely adverse to warranty work. This morning they were checking over my warranty like they'd never seen one before, despite it being an official Ford one. On the other hand my Dad works for a Toyota dealer where they will put a fresh set of alloys on for you if they notice any pitting on them after 3 years.
Mechanic mate who works for a taxi firm (loads of Mondeos) said usual fault with the fuel pump is one of the bayonet contacts on the top of the pump burning out. Easy fix is to insert a double ended bayonet down the side of the old one - cost about £1 for a bag of 10 from the motor factors.
Zad said:
The garage will love it even more if it is under warranty, they just charge it to Ford, and add their mechanics time at £80/hr or whatever it is. It is in the garage's interest to spend as much time on the vehicle as possible
There will be a fixed time allocated for the job (and quite often an unreasonably short time), they won't be able to claim silly numbers of hours back.Zad said:
The garage will love it even more if it is under warranty, they just charge it to Ford, and add their mechanics time at £80/hr or whatever it is. It is in the garage's interest to spend as much time on the vehicle as possible, and it is much easier to get approval for warranty work if the component is already mentioned on a Ford technical information bulletin.
Immobiliser (and other important) relays are either in the cabin, or inside a waterproof fuse/relay box, where high pressure water can't get at them. When my fuel pump "went" it was the inertial cutout switch that was open circuit and wouldn't reset.
Ford warranty doesn't work like that!Immobiliser (and other important) relays are either in the cabin, or inside a waterproof fuse/relay box, where high pressure water can't get at them. When my fuel pump "went" it was the inertial cutout switch that was open circuit and wouldn't reset.
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