Hi, new member here,
I've got a 1.8 mk1 Focus Ghia,'x' reg. It's started misfiring under load. I changed the coil for a known good one(I was told that this is a common fault with the Zetec engined cars), it was O.K. for about 50 miles, now it has returned---not as bad but seems to be getting worse Can anyone enlighten me please, I'm getting to my wits end
Dave.

[quote name='dinnertimedave' post='1926' date='Jun 28 2008, 11:26 AM']Hi, new member here,
I've got a 1.8 mk1 Focus Ghia,'x' reg. It's started misfiring under load. I changed the coil for a known good one(I was told that this is a common fault with the Zetec engined cars), it was O.K. for about 50 miles, now it has returned---not as bad but seems to be getting worse Can anyone enlighten me please, I'm getting to my wits end
Dave.[/quote]

[quote name='dinnertimedave' post='1926' date='Jun 28 2008, 11:26 AM']Hi, new member here,
I've got a 1.8 mk1 Focus Ghia,'x' reg. It's started misfiring under load. I changed the coil for a known good one(I was told that this is a common fault with the Zetec engined cars), it was O.K. for about 50 miles, now it has returned---not as bad but seems to be getting worse Can anyone enlighten me please, I'm getting to my wits end
Dave.[/quote]

the main cause for a coil going is water ingree from thr washer jets,they leak and the water drips in to the plugwells.Assuming the coil is ok then the next point pf call is the plugs and leads....Also be aware that as the engine is mis firing,you are getting petrol going down the exhaust which can damage the down stream hego sensor and worst case,the cat as well....

[quote name='Alfiesred' post='1941' date='Jun 29 2008, 03:23 PM']the main cause for a coil going is water ingree from thr washer jets,they leak and the water drips in to the plugwells.Assuming the coil is ok then the next point pf call is the plugs and leads....Also be aware that as the engine is mis firing,you are getting petrol going down the exhaust which can damage the down stream hego sensor and worst case,the cat as well.... [/quote]

Hello - I have a similar type of problem on a V REG 2000 1.8 petrol ZETEC. (misfile on pullaway - but no ECU or other mgmt light on). The plugs are fairly new, and the leads all meter out fine at around 5K each, with no cracking. All vacuum hoses for emission controls arer OK (No vacuum leaks). It ticks over fine, but on a slight extra load (e.g. switch on AIRCON), you can feel the occasional mis-fire. ON pullaway, there is a distinct loss of power and missing. Is it worth removing the injectors and removing the seals (I have 8 new ones), then dunking them in injector cleaner overnight (The USA forums seem to recommend a strong cleaner that removes all the gunk overnight). Do the FORD ZETEC ones have MICROFILTERS - and can these be cleaned in situ -or will a chemical clener do the trick?? If not injectors - what is the device on the LEFT TOP of the bulkhead that seems to be some sort of injector control - plus a small metal disk like a filter - is this a pressure regulator?? Should I change it to elimate it?? Sorry for so many questions - but this misfire is getting rather frustrating - and I don't want to spend £60 at a dealer for them to just read ECU codes AND pay for several parts on top. Thanks for your understanding - I am new to this forum. Regards, TD.

Hello there im new to this aswell hello to every1.

I work in a garage and i do remember doing a service on a 1.6 x reg focus it was a full service so i did the spark plugs after the service it missfired under load i replaced them with some others still did it, i then spoke t a good friend of mind who use to work at fords ahd he asked me did i put fords contact grease in the ht lead i said no, the garage he worked at did it on every service dont ask me what it does but i asked him for some i put the grease down the lead and you know what it cured the fault, also had the same fault on a 2.0l mondeo and the grease cured it. my be worth asking fords as this is the only place we go it from? i my be talking c%$p but for me that grease did work.

Good luck i hope you get to the bottom of it my friend =:-)

[quote name='mondo80' post='2439' date='Jul 29 2008, 07:27 PM']Hello there im new to this aswell hello to every1.

I work in a garage and i do remember doing a service on a 1.6 x reg focus it was a full service so i did the spark plugs after the service it missfired under load i replaced them with some others still did it, i then spoke t a good friend of mind who use to work at fords ahd he asked me did i put fords contact grease in the ht lead i said no, the garage he worked at did it on every service dont ask me what it does but i asked him for some i put the grease down the lead and you know what it cured the fault, also had the same fault on a 2.0l mondeo and the grease cured it. my be worth asking fords as this is the only place we go it from? i my be talking c%$p but for me that grease did work.

Good luck i hope you get to the bottom of it my friend =:-) [/quote]
Hi mondo80 - very useful input. I remember form another forum that the dwell where the long-reach plug-tops go, tends to gather water from washer or car wash - and then causes flash-over of the HT voltage down to the metal head. I guess the "contact grease" must act as a good insulator and stop the flashover (that would otherwise just stop the spark from happening where it should be). Nice logical fix - and I can probably get a similar compound from an electronics shop (MAPLIN maybe?). Anyway, I will try a GOOGLE of Ford Contact Grease. Many thanks for the useful tip. Cheers, TD.

[quote name='TD1947' post='2446' date='Jul 29 2008, 09:05 PM']Hi mondo80 - very useful input. I remember form another forum that the dwell where the long-reach plug-tops go, tends to gather water from washer or car wash - and then causes flash-over of the HT voltage down to the metal head. I guess the "contact grease" must act as a good insulator and stop the flashover (that would otherwise just stop the spark from happening where it should be). Nice logical fix - and I can probably get a similar compound from an electronics shop (MAPLIN maybe?). Anyway, I will try a GOOGLE of Ford Contact Grease. Many thanks for the useful tip. Cheers, TD.[/quote]


Hiya no problem, my friend said it does help protect it from water and help as a conductor i hope it helps. all i can say is the two we had cured it, as far as im aware the grease you can only get from a ford main agent. Please can you let us know what you find all info on this site is always handy to know about.

Good luck i hope you get it sorted.

[quote name='mondo80' post='2456' date='Jul 30 2008, 06:43 PM']Hiya no problem, my friend said it does help protect it from water and help as a conductor i hope it helps. all i can say is the two we had cured it, as far as im aware the grease you can only get from a ford main agent. Please can you let us know what you find all info on this site is always handy to know about.

Good luck i hope you get it sorted. [/quote]
Hi mondo80 - you are a star - absoluteley spot on!! Many thanks. I got a £4 tube of the High Temp Silicone Grease from MAPLIN (thie part no. is RE90X) - the best 4 squid I ever spent!! I will elaborate a bit, as it is not quite as I thought. I removed all 4 plugs to check (as I had done before -but this time I checked them very carefully). I spotted the middle 2 had BOTH got evidence of flash-over tracking from the top, along the porcelain, to the plug body. This appeared to be a hard, carbonised, almost metallic track, and was quite difficult to remove (needed very fine wet and dry, and a bit of that special white sponge that ladies like to use in the kitchen - I think it is by JML - in Woollies. Just damp it a bit, and rotate the porcelain part in it, then polish off with lint-free cloth or kitchen-roll). Once cleaned, I also vacuumed all the small bits of debris from the top of the rocker cover (where the leads run) - so as not to get bits into the plug dwells. I applied the Silicone Grease sparingly on all pocelain surfaces of each plug, and in the insides of the long plug tops (used a metal rod to work it around the insides), and some around the outsides, to also water-seal the top area sealing ribs - plenty on the flat bit at the bottom, to stop water ingress too). ORIGINAL CAUSES: using a cheap plug spanner, and overgapping. The plug-spanner I use has a rubber gripping grommet in each end, but since it is cheap and nasty, they used an inferior rubber, that leaves a line of rubber on the porcelain. This is probably recycled from old tyres, so has a small metal content - perfect to promote tracking and carbonisation with the 30KV or so pushed out by modern electronic ignition systems. A spark gap that is too great (appeared to be over 1.5mm - about 60 THOU on these middle 2 as well, so I knocked them down to a tight 50 THOU (just under 1.3mm). The HIGH VOLTAGE will try to find its way across any weak point that is a lower dielectic reistance than the air-gap - hence the flash-over and tracking (that then MAKES a semi-permanent pathway to loose your proper spark). Tick-over probably uses less than 30KV, so did NOT show up unless the ECU kicked in to increase the ignition power on pull-away loads. Many thanks, TD.

Hiya many thanks for letting me know if that cured it, im happy it helped.

Just to add to this topic as it helped me to solve my misfire.

I have a Mk1 Focus 1.8 petrol which started to misfire under load. It was completely undrivable.

I spoke to my mechanic (who was about to go to the USA and wouldn't be able to look at the car for a week) who told me what to do to check the Coil Pack. The coil pack seemed absolutely fine on tick over.

After researching, I found this post and the coment about contact grease. I pulled the HT leads off the spark plugs and found that three out of four had water in.

After clearing the water out with a combination of Toilet roll and cotten buds(I had to get the car hot and do this a few times and at first it made it worse) the car now runs perfectly.

The spark plugs had recently been changed and I can see where there's dried up contact grease from a previous change.

It's difinitely worth checking the plugs for water. If they are rusty, you may have to tackle that too.