Gary McClean

This post is for the benefit of anyone else experiencing a problem whereby
their TDCi will crank but not fire, but fire up OK the second time. Lots of
other people seem to be having the problem over the last few years, myself
included.

Anyone doing research on Google may be interested to know that I had the
starter motor and crank shaft position sensor replaced, but this did not
cure the problem. However last week they finally found two fault codes in
the system. One was relating to the Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor, and the other
to the Injectors. They cleaned the connections on the sensor, as they
reckoned it was a connection problem rather than failure of the sensor. For
the injectors, they reprogrammed the injector ID codes back into the system,
as it seemed to have lost them.

Having driven the car for a week now it does seem to start more confidently
and is certainly a lot more perky than it's been for a while. Won't know if
this has definitely cured it for another month or so, but thought this info
might be of use to someone.



Gary.

Gary McClean

"Gary McClean" <GaryNOMcCleanSPAM@PLEASE.yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:42643c0b$0$94516$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader01.plus.net...
<snip>
>
> Having driven the car for a week now it does seem to start more
> confidently and is certainly a lot more perky than it's been for a while.
> Won't know if this has definitely cured it for another month or so, but
> thought this info might be of use to someone.

Unfortunately I must report that the starting problem has reoccured again.
And now the increase in performance seen after the injector code
reprogramming, is most definitely gone. The dealer ran a full diagnostic on
the car and found no problems. They also think it's driving fine, but I'm
certain that it's not. There was a very noticable torque increase after the
original work they done, which suddenly disappeared after the latest failed
start. I'm 100% certain of this. I can't convince them of this however,
unless a fault code shows up to point them in some direction. It seems
therefore that the suspected FRP sensor connection wasn't the problem. I did
hear an arching/buzzing type noise coming from a central location behind the
dashboard on several occassions, but this didn't seem to mean anything to
them either, and of course it only happens once in a while too...

If anyone reading this has any suggestions, I'd be mighty grateful, because
I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that I'd be better off trading it in and
getting something other than a Ford!


Cheers,


Gary.

Tim..

"Gary McClean" <GaryNOMcCleanSPAM@PLEASE.yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4272a0fb$0$567$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader03.plus.net...
> "Gary McClean" <GaryNOMcCleanSPAM@PLEASE.yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:42643c0b$0$94516$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader01.plus.net...
> <snip>
> >
> > Having driven the car for a week now it does seem to start more
> > confidently and is certainly a lot more perky than it's been for a
while.
> > Won't know if this has definitely cured it for another month or so, but
> > thought this info might be of use to someone.
>
> Unfortunately I must report that the starting problem has reoccured again.
> And now the increase in performance seen after the injector code
> reprogramming, is most definitely gone. The dealer ran a full diagnostic
on
> the car and found no problems. They also think it's driving fine, but I'm
> certain that it's not. There was a very noticable torque increase after
the
> original work they done, which suddenly disappeared after the latest
failed
> start. I'm 100% certain of this. I can't convince them of this however,
> unless a fault code shows up to point them in some direction. It seems
> therefore that the suspected FRP sensor connection wasn't the problem. I
did
> hear an arching/buzzing type noise coming from a central location behind
the
> dashboard on several occassions, but this didn't seem to mean anything to
> them either, and of course it only happens once in a while too...
>
> If anyone reading this has any suggestions, I'd be mighty grateful,
because
> I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that I'd be better off trading it in
and
> getting something other than a Ford!
>

I would definately insist they change the FRPS and also check the EGR valve.
Whilst the later will not cause a no-start it will hamper performance.

All TDCi EGR valves are well known to be leaky and faulty at an early age.
Blanking it off is the best solution but your dealer may not want to do
that.

Tim..

Gary McClean

"Tim.." <the.farm.hates.spam@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:d4vlhl$l11$1@nwrdmz03.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com...
> I would definately insist they change the FRPS and also check the EGR
> valve.
> Whilst the later will not cause a no-start it will hamper performance.
>
> All TDCi EGR valves are well known to be leaky and faulty at an early age.
> Blanking it off is the best solution but your dealer may not want to do
> that.

Hi Tim.

Thanks for the advice. Again! My dealer won't do anything more unless they
get diagnostic codes. They don't seem to be very flexible that way, and I've
already had to write to their head office to get this far, so I'll do that
again and suggest they change the FRPS and check the EGR valve. The
performance was spot on after the injector code reprogramming, but they
wouldn't even check that when I was in unless a fault code told them to! Had
consistently sloppy service from them over the past three years, but
unfortunately they've bought up almost all the independant Ford Dealers in
Northern Ireland, so I'm a bit stuck. This is a Ford Chairmans Award winning
company too...

Is there anything I could do myself with this? i.e. buy the sensor and fit
it myself? I wouldn't start any major dismantling work, but if it's a plug
in and go job, or some relatively simple mechanics, I'm compentent enough to
handle that. Also, do you know if you need a Ford WDS2000 to do things like
reprogram injector codes, or would a local independant mechanic be likely to
have similar equipment? Cos I'm guessing the parts can't be that expensive,
and that the problem has to be something simple to do with the engine
electronics, and if I can pay a guy a modest amount to get it all sorted I'd
be happy to do that, and get stuck into Lindsay Ford about it all later!

Thanks again for your advice here and in previous posts. Certainly strikes
me that yourself is a lot more helpful than my dealer, and they're being
paid to be helpful!



Gary.

Tim..

"Gary McClean" <GaryNOMcCleanSPAM@PLEASE.yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:42737480$0$571$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader03.plus.net...
> "Tim.." <the.farm.hates.spam@btinternet.com> wrote in message
> news:d4vlhl$l11$1@nwrdmz03.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com...
> > I would definately insist they change the FRPS and also check the EGR
> > valve.
> > Whilst the later will not cause a no-start it will hamper performance.
> >
> > All TDCi EGR valves are well known to be leaky and faulty at an early
age.
> > Blanking it off is the best solution but your dealer may not want to do
> > that.
>
> Hi Tim.
>
> Thanks for the advice. Again! My dealer won't do anything more unless they
> get diagnostic codes. They don't seem to be very flexible that way, and
I've
> already had to write to their head office to get this far, so I'll do that
> again and suggest they change the FRPS and check the EGR valve. The
> performance was spot on after the injector code reprogramming, but they
> wouldn't even check that when I was in unless a fault code told them to!

Fault codes are not there for diagnosing problems- they are for pointing you
in the right direction. Many many drivability problems will not set any
fault codes, because the ECU does not see a signal that is erroneous or out
of range.

Find yourself another dealer who will work on the car without being
dependant on his FCR!

> Is there anything I could do myself with this? i.e. buy the sensor and fit
> it myself? I wouldn't start any major dismantling work, but if it's a plug
> in and go job, or some relatively simple mechanics, I'm compentent enough
to
> handle that. Also, do you know if you need a Ford WDS2000 to do things
like
> reprogram injector codes, or would a local independant mechanic be likely
to
> have similar equipment? Cos I'm guessing the parts can't be that
expensive,
> and that the problem has to be something simple to do with the engine
> electronics, and if I can pay a guy a modest amount to get it all sorted
I'd
> be happy to do that, and get stuck into Lindsay Ford about it all later!

You cannot do anything without the FDS unit alas, recalibrating the
injectors is certainly a no no!You can read any codes through the instrument
panel though.

You can replace the FRPS if you are fairly skilled. As you know the common
rail runs at a blindingly high pressure and the fuel mist from a leak is
both invisble and will penetrate human skin even from a distance such is the
pressure. Beware. Work only on the system after the engine has been
stationary for 6+hrs and after carefully depressurizing the rail. Otherwise
the FRPS is a remove and replace operation. The engine will require quite
abit of cranking to re-start after the work- do not touch the thorttle pedal
and crank it in long bursts.

Tim..

mouse

Here is copy of final post on this topic by Gary:

Focus TDCi cutting out - solution.

Hope this helps