Fiesta Mk6 - Water In Spark Plug Wells

[greggp]

Had problem with fiesta mk6 1.4 16v (53-Reg) today. Basically was just going out for my lunch break and started it car up and engine was very shuddery so left it running for a little bit to warm up but still seemed a little hesitant – took it out around the block and loss of power and engine light kept flashing – Pulled over turned off and restarted and drove back to work - Car seemed to be misfiring!

Phone AA – who came very promptly diagnosed as a coil pack (£80 quote) agreed for work to be done. I went back into work office whilst AA man fitted new coil pack – 45 mins later got a call from AA man - turned out this wasn’t the problem – he had fitted coil pack but this hadn’t sorted the problem. He asked me if I had driven through large amounts of water? I said no...although it has rained quite considerably this last few days but wouldn’t think this was the cause. However he explained he had found water inside the spark plug wells but didn’t think it was an internal engine problem and he had dried them all out and it now seems to run okay – driven 5 or 6 miles in it since – got 15 miles to drive home tonight so hopefully it will be okay now.

I have read that this model fiesta experienced problems with the washer jets leaking water into the spark plug wells. I will check tonight but don’t think I have any leaks in these?

Although the AA man said he didn’t think it was an internal problem maybe it may be worth me getting a 2nd opinion – Not sure how easy this would be to diagnose or how costly? I will keep an eye on the coolant level over the coming days/weeks? I have used the Aircon quite a bit in the last few weeks – could this maybe related in anyway?

[fiesta_lad]

Have you tryed the ht leads i am haveing this problem at the moment on my 51 plate fiesta the car is miss fireing and running rough called out the rac because my engine light come on so for a temp fix i spayed the ht leads and around that area with some wd40 run fine for about a week when we had that hot weather now it been raining the problem has come back so i am thinking water is getting through the washer jets because few weeks ago i found water in the second spark plug at first i thought it was oil but come to think about it now it was propbaily ruste water so i've dryed the plug of and up to now touch wood it's been dry but then that when i start to get the rough idleing etc and the sputering.

[greggp]

drove fine home last night - don't think its the HT leads and I'm pretty sure its not the washer jets. Poured with rain last night and so I popped the bonnet this morning to check and found their was rain water settling in the suspension mount on the corner of the engine bay (drivers side just in front of the windscreen). There was also build up of condensation underneath the bonnet hood - my initial thoughts are maybe its a build up of moisture that has caused it. Going to take the cover off at the weekend to check if any more water has got into the spark plugs. I started it up and left it running and all seemed okay - will keep an eye on it.

[fiestaben5]

hi there gregp, my misses experianced the same problem you have had. if i may ask you summit, when the car is driven and the eml flashes does the car seem like its high revving but no guts, if soo you have the typical mk6 problem which ford rectified with the 6.5 facelift. i have a piece of advise you may want to take head on.

right so for starters with the bonnet closed use your front washer for around 5 secs. then lift the bonnet, if you see traces of water on the airbox then you definantly have the same problem as my misses fiesta. (thats depending on if you have the airbox as some like to remove it for the typical induction kit.

so as i was saying water on the airbox not a good thing and a rather shameless fault by the motor giant.if you happen to find water in the s-p-c you need to remove it somehow. i found a george hoover does the trick or if u posses a haynes manual you can look to see how that cover comes off . so after you have removed the water remove the spark plugs and give them a clean or new ones for instannce...

now here comes ford flawless act of rushing production for a newer model. with the bonnet of your car up in the air. remove the piping from the drivers washer jet, and remove the jet aswell. it literally justs pop out. now what you need to do, is using some rubber silicone smear it around the washer jets base annd put back into the hole bearing in the mind this is only the drivers side as that is where the water sources from.

now once its back in let it set for about 5 minutes,

now put all the piping back on and smear the silicone around the join on the jet and on the t-piece in the centre of the bonnet.

hope this helps as it worked for us and no faults or problems since

regards

ben

[greggp]

Hi Ben,

Thanks for the post.

It did in fact turn out to be my washer jets which were leaking rain water – this was causing water to drip down into the channel above the spark plug well and onto my HT leads (causing the miss-fire).

I got some bathroom sealant and sealed the lot – had some downpours since and all dry and no more miss-fires!

Cheers

All the best