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2006 Focus Engine System Fault


Ryman
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Hi Everyone,

After having my car broken into Monday morning, this is really the last thing I need, hopefully it's a small issue.

Went to start my car this morning, nothing came from the engine except a fast paced clicking sound. This was followed up by an 'Engine Systems Fault' message displayed on the digital display.

I'm hoping this might just be a flat battery given that if it were anything else I would've thought the engine would try to tick over. Would the error message I encountered come up for something as fickle as a flat battery?

Also, the car went in for a window replacement after the break in. Worked fine taking the car home and later in the evening, could this be a factor.

Would very much appreciate some help as I'm at my wits end, am lost without a vehicle.

Thanks a lot

Ryan

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The clicking could be the solenoid on the starter motor, this would indicate that you could have a flat battery

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It sounds like a flat battery, but when my battery failed I did not get a system error message on the dash.

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It sounds like a flat battery, but when my battery failed I did not get a system error message on the dash.

What model is your Focus?

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What model is your Focus?

I.8 petrol 2008 58 plate Titanium estate.

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With my focus that sound and light had meant my starter motor went could possibly be Same :-S xx

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i guess the light is coming on because the system has detected a low voltage.

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Hi, yes the flat battery does sometimes cause the error message on the dash. i had a battery on my focus that would just about still start the car but would give that message on the dash when it started. new battery and all was fine.

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engine systems fault is regurly caused by the car failing to start and or low flat battery, if you jump start the car and go for a drive to charge the battery the engine systems fault will display the whole length of the drive then when you swith the car off and restart the car it will cancel the error message and alls good, could have been caused by a light left on or a door left on a latch etc, newer fords need to detect over the 12 volts to to be able to turn the starter and not cause any warnings and if your battery dorps even just a little most systems dont even allow the starter to turn even slowly..

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  • 6 years later...

Advice please, brought 06 focus was told need new battery, we jump start driving home then car cuts out and now won't start could battery cause this problem 

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1 hour ago, Keith Ellis said:

we jump start driving home then car cuts out and now won't start could battery cause this problem 

Could be. But there are plenty of other possibilities. First thing is any warning lights on. And also do all the warning lights come on when the ignition is first turned on? It is sadly quite possible for unscrupulous sellers to tamper with warning lights to sell a car.

While driving, the alternator should provide all the power that is needed, so enabling the engine to keep going. But a working battery provides a vital role in stabilising and smoothing the output from the alternator. Modern electronic cars are rather susceptible to voltage variations, so might unexpectedly grind to a halt. But usually there will be some indication via warning lights and stored error codes (DTCs).

Most garages, or even Halfords, will test a battery for you. I am a bit suspicious of these tests, too often they seem to give the answer the tester wants, ie new battery needed. But they are probably at least 75% accurate.

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  • 2 months later...

I've just replaced a clutch on an 06 focus 1.6 petrol after building it all back up the car won't start, the error message engine system fault is showing on the cluster, I've checked all the jack plugs are back in, but still no joy starting, any help is appreciated

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1 hour ago, Smoggy87 said:

the error message engine system fault is showing on the cluster, I've checked all the jack plugs are back in, but still no joy starting,

There are lots of causes for that message. It needs a diagnostic system like Forscan to narrow it down a bit.

Other things to check for are the immobiliser light, is it flashing oddly? The odometer display, is it normal or just dashes, does the starter solenoid (on the starter motor) or the starter relay (in the engine fuse box) click.

The 2006 Focus cluster is a bit notorious for faulty soldering, but just that message is not enough to confirm it either way.

Double check the heavy earth wire to the bell housing. If loose or broken inside the insulation, then that will prevent starting and may cause odd error messages.

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The cluster is normal, all the lights light up when turn the ignition on, a red light is flashing between the temp guage and fuel guage, cluster display shows black blocks then goes normal then bonnet open and engine system fault is displayed, I think it could have something to do with the earth wire, may have it in the wrong place. Is this where it goes? On top of the box

IMG-20190610-WA0003.jpeg

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10 hours ago, Smoggy87 said:

a red light is flashing between the temp guage and fuel guage, cluster display shows black blocks then goes normal then bonnet open and engine system fault is displayed, I think it could have something to do with the earth wire, may have it in the wrong place

The normal display for the immobiliser LED (between those gauges) is one flash every few seconds while the ignition is off. A problem with the key or immobiliser will make it flash much faster, and it will start to flash out a code. It will disable starting while in that state.

I can't see if that is the normal engine earth wire location, mine is on one of the bellhousing bolts close to the starter motor, but it is a different engine. However if it is bolted to a solid part of the engine or gearbox castings, if the metal under the ring crimp is clean, the bolt tight, and the wire soundly connected to the crimp, then I doubt if the exact location matters much. Certainly not enough to cause error messages and complete starting failure.

I guess you have checked the battery voltage, and that it holds up ok with ignition on, and with headlights on for a minute or so.

If the simple voltage tests and wiring inspections do not give an answer, I think the next stage is to find out what the DTCs (error codes) are that are linked to that light. For engine systems faults, Forscan is the best bet, though a standard OBD reader might read them.

Forscan costs about £16 for the ELM327 adapter, and free download of software for Windows, or small charge for iOS or Android Apps. It is probably the best available DIY system for Fords, only the Ford IDS system can beat it, usually. Some links to Forscan are here:

 

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The red light flashes once pauses then flashes 6 times and repeats, I have a brand new ethos edge I got today but saying no communication 🤔

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4 hours ago, Smoggy87 said:

The red light flashes once pauses then flashes 6 times and repeats, I have a brand new ethos edge I got today but saying no communication

PATS code 16 means communication failure between cluster & ECU. The main functions of the immobiliser are in the ECU, but the codes are read from the key, and partially verified, by the Cluster. They must talk over the HS-CAN bus to do this.

All diagnostic systems also use the HS-CAN bus to communicate with the ECU, and also to communicate with the cluster in most cases. The HS-CAN bus runs from ECU to cluster via other underbonnet modules like the ABS. The bus is basically a pair of wires, with 120ohm terminating resistors at both ends, in the ECU & cluster in this case. So the resistance measured between the pair should be 60 ohms, or very close. That gives one way to test the bus.

With the ignition off, measure the resistance between pins 6 & 14 in the diagnostic connector. Paperclips can be used as probes into the pins if needed. You can try hitting the fascia around the cluster to see if this makes it change. If it is 120 ohms, unplug the big connector in the engine bay fusebox. This breaks the CAN bus there. If it still reads 120 ohms, the fault is in the ECU or between ECU and the fusebox. If it rises to a much higher value, then the fault is in the cluster or between cluster and the fusebox.

The soldering of the can bus pins on the connector to the cluster is a rather common fault on 2006 Foci, I had it in 2016, and many others have too. So that is a prime suspect here. The resistance test above can help confirm it.

A little pdf I did is here: https://www.fordownersclub.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=40491

The diagnostic connector pinout is below.

C200.PNG

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Got 60.6 ohms between pin 6 and 15 same reading when I undone the connector in the fuse box

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Got 60.6 ohms between pin 6 and 14 same reading when I undone the connector in the fuse box

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8 hours ago, Smoggy87 said:

Got 60.6 ohms between pin 6 and 15 same reading when I undone the connector in the fuse box

That is a weird one! Was that the big connector with the blue handle at bottom center in the photo below?

I am sure when I undid mine, the resistance changed from 120 to very high, and all the info I have says that the HS_CAN bus must go through this connector, and that there must definitely be a 120 ohm terminating resistor in the ECU, which is where that connector goes to. So it should go up from 60 ohms to 120 in your case.

The bus also goes through a couple of connectors just in front of the passenger door, behind the plastic trim. (There are three down there, two of which carry the HS-CAN bus), and un-plugging these will separate the cluster and diagnostic connector from all stuff under the bonnet, which may only be ABS & ECU on a 1.6 petrol, it also goes to the EHPAS if fitted.

CAR-EJB3.JPG

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Yeah that's the one I undone, but still showed 60.6, this one has pickled me 😂 not very good with electrics 

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On 6/17/2019 at 6:06 AM, Smoggy87 said:

this one has pickled me 😂 not very good with electrics 

It has pickled me too! And I am supposed to be an electronics engineer with 40+ years of experience, so can't really use your excuse!

I guess my next step would be to check the resistances at the C90 connector (that big one) pins. To see if there was continuity to the ECU mainly. The pins are 1 & 15, the grey/red & blue/red twisted pair of wires. If known good diagnostic systems can not connect, then either there is an electrical fault in the CAN bus, or the ECU is not powered up properly (blown fuse, bad earth, broken wire etc), or the ECU is fried. Better ignore that last one for now though!

C90 pin-out:

C90-1.PNG.d41960bbde668b454c8ed38c374b5b

C90.png

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On 6/17/2019 at 1:48 PM, Tdci-Peter said:

It has pickled me too! And I am supposed to be an electronics engineer with 40+ years of experience, so can't really use your excuse!

I guess my next step would be to check the resistances at the C90 connector (that big one) pins. To see if there was continuity to the ECU mainly. The pins are 1 & 15, the grey/red & blue/red twisted pair of wires. If known good diagnostic systems can not connect, then either there is an electrical fault in the CAN bus, or the ECU is not powered up properly (blown fuse, bad earth, broken wire etc), or the ECU is fried. Better ignore that last one for now though!

C90 pin-out:

C90.png

Tested pins 1 and 15 and got a reading of 121.0 on the multimeter does that indicate a broken wire?

15609502778357569096823869253294.jpg

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Was getting 196 on the same settings when test the pins on the fuse board

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7 hours ago, Smoggy87 said:

Tested pins 1 and 15 and got a reading of 121.0 on the multimeter does that indicate a broken wire?

That is a correct reading, the CAN bus is "broken" where you have pulled the plug out, so you are only measuring one end, which is 120 ohms nom.

196 does not sound right, the corresponding pins on the fusebox socket should also be 120ohm, as you are now measuring the other part of the bus and the other end. Also on a 200ohm multimeter range, the 196 may be wrong (low), change up to a higher range, eg 2k.

I think the plug goes to the ECU, and the socket in the fuse box goes to into the car interior and on the diagnostic connector and cluster. I can have a feel of the wires on my car to check tomorrow, if it isn't raining!

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