/Sigh 08 Focus ESP warning light...

Jono · 23 Sep 2011 at 23:27

...just came on and has stayed on after I started it to come home from a friend's house tonight.

Any idea how much it would cost to diagnose a fault/fix? I don't really want to be driving it round without it working, but if it costs £stupid then I may have to. It's out of warranty now of course, as of about May.

Tried turning off ignition / removing key. Light stayed on

/fed up

Firestar_3x · 24 Sep 2011 at 00:07

ABS light on too?

Jono · 24 Sep 2011 at 08:13

No, just the Orange ESP one (car doing a skid type thing). Got it booked in for free diagnostic check next week, so I guess I'll just see what's what. Other than the light being on there's no difference to how the car drives/feels... no loss of power or problem braking etc. I didn't exactly hoon it home, and I've only ever seen the light on in the past during normal operation when putting my foot down on icy roads and it's just stopped the wheels spinning (flashing light).

cuke2u · 24 Sep 2011 at 10:12

Hi, check that the electrical connectors to each wheel are clean, although, as firestar_3x was alluding to, the abs light would normally be on if that was the case as well. It might be a good idea to reset everything by disconnecting the battery for about ten mins. Remember though, you'll need the audio code number and drive the car around on variable roads so all the sensors can calibrate to the ecu.
Chris

Tinders · 24 Sep 2011 at 10:19

Its not been switched off has it, iirc if you turn the ESP off, the light stays on in the instrument cluster. Long shot like!

MikeHiow · 24 Sep 2011 at 10:43

It does, but it resets each time you turn the car off though.

sovietspybob · 24 Sep 2011 at 11:32

Disconnect the battery for a few minutes, then go to an empty car park and do some figure 8's going full lock left to right. If its the same as the Mazda (which is likely) that will reset the sensors.

daveydave · 24 Sep 2011 at 14:15

ABS ring or steering yaw sensor...both fairly cheap.

realscot · 24 Sep 2011 at 19:07

daveydave said:
ABS ring or steering yaw sensor...both fairly cheap.

Yeah this, the focus at that age is really bad for them, we had one in last week and nothing short of replacing the ABS pump would make it behave, and even then it had to go to ford to get on their computer to get the light out.
Google it, theirs lots of things with the focus at that age and abs pumps.

jon.bda · 24 Sep 2011 at 19:10

Yup, abs pump and be prepared for a big bill...

Mucky_Pup · 24 Sep 2011 at 19:11

If it's the same as my focus, pull the KAM fuse for a little while then replace it, and it should disapear, if it keeps coming back then obviously theres a problem, mine throws them up every now and then.

daveydave · 24 Sep 2011 at 20:58

I don't think it will be the pump, like I said I reckon it will be a ABS sensor or a yaw sensor.

You can always test it by finding a quiet road and jumping on the brakes to see if you've got any ABS.

jon.bda · 24 Sep 2011 at 21:57

http://www.ecutesting.com/ford_focus___c-max_abs_pump_mo.html

Jono · 26 Sep 2011 at 08:35

Mucky_Pup said:
If it's the same as my focus, pull the KAM fuse for a little while then replace it, and it should disapear, if it keeps coming back then obviously theres a problem, mine throws them up every now and then.

KAM fuse? Which one's that.

I took the car out yesterday and I most certainly have ABS. As far as I can tell it's as effective as it's ever been, on the damp/greasy roads it was going on, stops from 40/50/60mph and not a hint of it not having ABS....

Jono · 26 Sep 2011 at 15:40

Keep Alive Memory eh? Well I did some internet digging and apparently that's fuse 26, but according to my manual that's the Automatic Transmission fuse, and I don't have auto gearbox.

Maybe I looked at the wrong thing... I'd like to give removing this a try, though. The battery connection looks complicated, so I'd rather not do that.