Ford Focus Mk2 - Just cut out

JonnyT

JonnyT

JonnyT

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Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
2,149
Location
Cambridge
Well I had a pretty scary experience this evening, thanks to my old '55' Mk.2 Focus and the so-called 'smart' new A14...

I was driving down to stay at my folks' in Cambridge this eve, prior to a hospital appointment tomorrow (which I'm required to be escorted home from, hence the stay-over) when without warning my Focus (Mk.2 1.6 Petrol) just lost all power, as in nothing. Cue me coasting to a stop in lane 1 (well, it was the beginnings of an off-lane where the A14 turns left to continue, and the M11 continues straight on), hazards on the works. You feel pretty vulnerable on one of these new 'smart' roads with ho hard-shoulder, especially with the number of HGVs thundering towards you.

After a 999 call, the traffic 'wombles' came and towed me to a layby. AA came and couldn't fix it, so towed me to a garage near my folks' place. Thankful to be unscathed tbh.

Any ideas what it could be? It was right as rain on Sunday, when I did 50+ miles without issue. The power went with no warning, no error messages or unusual lights on the dash. It turns over, and almost 'catches' but doesn't quite. The engine also vibrates (rumbles?) a fair bit when turning it over for more than a few seconds. I did a cursory check of all the plugs, leads, belts and connectors and they all appeared ok. The AA man disconnected a hose, sprayed into it (Brake Cleaner for a fuel feed test?) and then tried it, then commented that he thought it could be the fuel pump. I last felt the 'rumbling' when I had a dodgy plug a few years ago (washer jets leaking right over the rocker cover d'oh!)

Thoughts?
 
I heard something click a couple of times when the AA man disconnected the hose and sprayed into it, but not sure about the 'whirr' when I usually turn to position II prior to that.
 
If you can't hear it at position 2 i'd be inclined to start checking the fuel pump, i don't know much about the MK2 Focus so can't advise you how but on my ST220 for example there is a schrader valve on the fuel rail you can connect a pressure tester to, i got one for £30.
 
Funnily enough a guy I watched on YouTube had exactly the same thing happen to his MK2 focus. The problem was very strange but apparently a common problem among them. Watch from 9 minutes onwards:

https://youtu.be/ycvrCd6PDho

He did say that his friend managed to get it started by banging the top of the dashboard above the speedo and then turning the key so give that a try to see if this is your problem.
 
Thanks for the comments guys. Finally got an update from the garage I got the car towed to, almost a week later(!).

A bit frustrating really, they said they couldn't find fault with it; it started first time and drove 'beautifully' for the few(ish) miles that they tested it. As there were no error messages or lights thrown, there are no fault codes for them to read. Bear in mind this is a Ford main dealer, so they should have all the right tools to hand(!) @mccarf they specifically mentioned the dashboard, given the frequency with which they are known to fail. They said you could hear the fuel pump turn on with an audible 'whirr' as soon as you turn the ignition on, so that's behaving normally.

No fuel filter to clog, as it's a petrol, but could be dodgy fuel or something in the tank? I've said they can keep it for longer and drive it more to try and reproduce the issue. All a bit odd really!
 
The instrument cluster absolutely does cause this, it will not throw up a mil light either but will show a lost connection to canbus if viewing live data.
 
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