bocochoco

My 2003 Ford Focus has recently been stalling and downshifting on the
highway when I hit a bump, occasionally it would die or stall when I
pressed the brakes suddenly.....now just this morning it was fine on
the highway but when I got onto the offramp it started stalling on
me...it would rev and try to die......it dies at every stop light and
when it is stalling my dash lights go crazy odometer dissapears and
all my guages drop to zero

This car has been a money pit since I bought it in 04....since then I
have had the tranny rebuilt at 50K and the alternator replaced at
60K....it was nice...once upon a time

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Dave Gower

"bocochoco" <UseLinkToEmail@AutoForumz.com> wrote
> My 2003 Ford Focus has recently been stalling and downshifting on the
> highway when I hit a bump, occasionally it would die or stall when I
> pressed the brakes suddenly.....now just this morning it was fine on
> the highway but when I got onto the offramp it started stalling on
> me...it would rev and try to die......it dies at every stop light and
> when it is stalling my dash lights go crazy odometer dissapears and
> all my guages drop to zero

Obviously you have a major electrical problem somewhere. The problem itself
is probably as simple as a frayed wire and an intermittent short, but the
trick is to find it. Unfortunately, this kind of thing can happen to any
car, and is particularly common on high-end cars with lots of toys (Mercedes
is having some real nightmares). It's one of the reasons why I like to keep
my cars simple.

Getting back to your Focus, the fact that the transmission is involved
implies that the fault is somewhere in the wiring that involves this
component as well as the ignition system. The first place to start is to get
your computer scanned for codes. Then you need a technician with a really
good knowledge of the electrical system to track down the fault.

Josef Erbs

Dave Gower schrieb:
> "bocochoco" <UseLinkToEmail@AutoForumz.com> wrote
>
>>My 2003 Ford Focus has recently been stalling and downshifting on the
>>highway when I hit a bump, occasionally it would die or stall when I
>>pressed the brakes suddenly.....now just this morning it was fine on
>>the highway but when I got onto the offramp it started stalling on
>>me...it would rev and try to die......it dies at every stop light and
>>when it is stalling my dash lights go crazy odometer dissapears and
>>all my guages drop to zero

> Getting back to your Focus, the fact that the transmission is involved
> implies that the fault is somewhere in the wiring that involves this
> component as well as the ignition system. The first place to start is to get
> your computer scanned for codes. Then you need a technician with a really
> good knowledge of the electrical system to track down the fault.
>
>

Hi
the major key for searching in this NG is vss aka vehicle speed sensor.
The wiring and plug of the vss that is mounted on the gear box is
subject for many problems and discussions here with symptons like this
car shows.
bye
Jupp

Dave Gower

"Josef Erbs" <josef.nospamdeletethis.erbs@t-online.de> wrote

> the major key for searching in this NG is vss aka vehicle speed sensor.
> The wiring and plug of the vss that is mounted on the gear box is subject
> for many problems and discussions here with symptons like this

I would agree except for the instrument panel fluctuations, which are more
indicative of a major short than a sensor malfunction. It's impossible to
diagnose something like this remotely on a newsgroup.

joes1girl

I believe it probably is the VSS. My 2000 SE had very similar problems.
First some circuits were "fixed," then my instrument cluster was replaced.
When the problems kept occurring (speedometer/odometer dying, car
sometimes just turning off) I took the car in for a recheck. They finally
decided to check for codes and found that the speed sensore needed to be
replaced. No problems yet.

v/r
Elizabeth

Dave Gower

"joes1girl" <girltwinkles@yahoo.com> wrote
> First some circuits were "fixed," then my instrument cluster was replaced.
> When the problems kept occurring (speedometer/odometer dying, car
> sometimes just turning off) I took the car in for a recheck. They finally
> decided to check for codes

They did all this BEFORE checking for codes? Boy do you need to find a
better repair shop.

Ron

"bocochoco" wrote:
> My 2003 Ford Focus has recently been stalling and downshifting
> on the highway when I hit a bump, occasionally it would die or
> stall when I pressed the brakes suddenly.....now just this
> morning it was fine on the highway but when I got onto the
> offramp it started stalling on me...it would rev and try to
> die......it dies at every stop light and when it is stalling
> my dash lights go crazy odometer dissapears and all my guages
> drop to zero
>
> This car has been a money pit since I bought it in 04....since
> then I have had the tranny rebuilt at 50K and the alternator
> replaced at 60K....it was nice...once upon a time

I had the same problem when my Focus came back from a battery cable
recall. The dials would fluctuate wildly and sometimes it would not
start. It turned out that the battery cable clamp was not tight. So
I would check that or the other connections to that cable. Likely
there is a bad connection somewhere in this main wire from the
battery.

BTW when your car starts acting like it is out of gasoline going up
hills, it means the filter to your fuel pump is clogged. Just had
mine fixed for free under the 10 year "recall but not a recall"