All electrics stop working - mondeo

ajstan

ajstan

ajstan

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Was driving along motorway earlier today and for some reason all of a sudden all dials go to 0, the odometer temp readouts blank out and the interior light came on - and the engine is off, after about 10secs of slowing down, I dropped a gear for a bit of engine braking to pull onto hard shoulder and as I lift up clutch the engine immediately restarts and is back to normal.

Now wondering what has just happened I'm doing about 50mph in nearside lane I travel for about another mile and it happens again - this time the engine doesn't restart and I pull into hard shoulder. After swearing for about 30secs I turned key, restarted car and its back to normal again, sat there for 5mins wondering what I should do - fearing getting stranded somewhere very awkward I turned around and headed for home and had no more problems - car ran fine.

What could have caused this?

Thanks for any responses :)
 
That's exactly what happened with my accord. Although it's a common issue on them and I've never heard of it on the mondeo - it was the ignition switch, eg the actual rotary switch the key mechanism bolts to. The interior light coming on ties in with this as the mondeo does that when you turn it off. Worth investigating :)
 
Thanks, that would make perfect sense - seems a very odd thing to go wrong though?

Forgot to mention, as I turned on indicator to move over to hard shoulder it didn't work - had to use hazards - which would also tie in with your response.

Another thing that is possibly worth mentioning is that recently - within the last 2 months its started drinking its way through oil - mileage is roughly 132,000 - about 1L every 1000miles I reckon.
 
On mine, occasionally you could trigger it by jiggling the keys. They can also be tested with a multimeter, but not sure on the pinouts or if they are coded to the ecu. I was lucky on mine that it was a straight forward (if uncomfortable) job but a 75 quid part.
 
Yeh mine did that too, 99% of the time jiggling them wouldnt do anything, but a few times I knocked the keys with my knee and it cut out
 
iaind said:
Yeh mine did that too, 99% of the time jiggling them wouldnt do anything, but a few times I knocked the keys with my knee and it cut out
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Well it really does sound like the ignition switch, but I can't find anything on google about them going on mondeos and it does seem an odd thing to go wrong. I'll have a chat with the mechanic in our local garage see if he's heard of it.
 
Yeh, as I said its really common on the Accord (the were recalled for it) but never heard of it on the Mondeo.

From looking at ebay parts, it appears to be part of the barrel assembly so not replaceable on its own :(

The car definitely thinks its being switched off - you could confirm that by turning it off while driving (on a quiet road, obviously) and see if the symptoms are the same. Could be a relay, loose plug or something too but its definitely part of that system, which isnt that complicated really!

Have you got much on your keyring? Or a second key you could use to see if it helps/stops it?
 
iaind said:
From looking at ebay parts, it appears to be part of the barrel assembly so not replaceable on its own :(

The car definitely thinks its being switched off - you could confirm that by turning it off while driving (on a quiet road, obviously) and see if the symptoms are the same. Could be a relay, loose plug or something too but its definitely part of that system, which isnt that complicated really!

Have you got much on your keyring? Or a second key you could use to see if it helps/stops it?
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Just a few keys on keyring, and yes I do have a spare key so I'll try that tomorrow. Don't fancy doing too much driving though because I assume I lose brake servo (although I didn't actually notice today) and it could be quite hairy if I'm close behind someone :p
 
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This happened to me a few days after passing my test. Only ever happened once in my Dads mondeo, very very scary at the time as I was on a country lane, no lights and couldnt for the life of me see where I was going!

Stop, restart, all fine!
 
ajstan said:
Don't fancy doing too much driving though because I assume I lose brake servo
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You'll still have servo assistance when you next depress the brake pedal. You've built up vacuum (that provides the assistance) when the engine has been running. As you press the pedal you'll begin using up this vacuum, which you're now not replacing so your pedal will start to firm up if you press / release more than once.

Does sound barrel related, probably worn contacts.
 
I'm not sure on the Mondeo immobiliser system, but on my 306 the key fell apart (thanks to a million keys hanging on my keyring) and it did exactly the same thing, turned out when the immobiliser chip fell on the floor the car cut out 2nd stage.

If the spare key solves the problem it could be an issue with the transponder in the key.
 
Wicksta said:
Be VERY careful if you do this, as the steering lock will engage.
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Good point :p


numnutz said:
You'll still have servo assistance when you next depress the brake pedal. You've built up vacuum (that provides the assistance) when the engine has been running. As you press the pedal you'll begin using up this vacuum, which you're now not replacing so your pedal will start to firm up if you press / release more than once.

Does sound barrel related, probably worn contacts.
Click to expand...

That is why the brakes work first time properly after your turn car off and get worse as you pump them...I always wondered why :p
 
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