Ford focus 1.6 TDCI major loss of power

[Veggie123]

Ford Focus 1.6 TDCI 2009

intermitent  loss of power last year no warning lights on the dash but car did sometimes completely  lose the turbo/ go limp home mode, pulling over and restarting the engine would fix it for a bit.

Took it to local indie garage who plugged the car in which indicated EGR fault. The EGR was replaced 3 times in the space of a week as the first 2 did not fix the problem, the EGRs were second hand units from eBay. The 3rd EGR fixed the issue but left the engine management light on, my mechanic tried to clear this but was unable to so as car immediately generated the code and dash light. I lived with it like this as in the end was just glad to have the car back on the road and working.

Fast forward to this year... a few days ago I noticed a slight loss of power nothing major but just felt off, these symptoms got worse over a couple of days to major loss of power as if boost was juddering. This was then followed by serve irratic idle until the car eventually cut out and would not start.

Breakdown cover came out initially unable to start the car and also got no error codes but the EGR from last year's replaced part which was expected. He looked under the bonnet and found the EGR unit was not securely plugged in, the moment he popped it on the car started first time and idled fine.

Drove it home that night and again experienced  the EGR like power loss symptoms, took it back to my local garage who again said it needed a new EGR fitted. Got a brand new Ford EGR fitted this time but was then told by the garage  if this doesn't  solve it the car may need a new ecu as his reader also brought up an immobiliser code which disappeared along with the EGR code once the new EGR was fitted. 

Anyway within a 2 days of getting car back I'm lucky if I can start the car, when it does run I immediately experience major power loss judder at anything above 2500rpm. Car seems to idle fine and no error messages on the dash.

I did a ford dash trick which didn't bring up any codes and seemed to not show any faults...

Some info on the car
Fsh and serviced 3 months ago
165000
Brand new EGR fitted less than week ago 

No smoke or leaks 

Is the ecu the likely colprate? Was told I would be looking at upwards of £1200 for Ford to fit and program a new ECU to the car

Any advise is welcome

David

[Tdci-Peter]

Hi,

First bit of advice, don't take it back to the garage that replaced the valve 3x, and then seems to have left it disconnected!

Power loss above 2500rpm could be EGR stuck open. On my car (1.8 TDCI) it closes above 2500rpm, or on full throttle. EGR stuck open will not give enough oxygen for full power fuel injections. May interfere with the turbo boost, and will confuse the ECU as air flows will be wrong. But problems on idle or starting seem less likely to be EGR. 

You could try blanking it off, an easy, cheap job on my car, not sure about the 1.6, but look for EGR blanking on this forum, you will find lots of stuff. Mine will run fine with the valve fully blanked.

Funny (but not in an amusing way!) how everyone blames the complex electronic modules like the ECU. In my experience (more years that I care to admit as an electronics engineer), it is more often the wiring, connectors, sensors and actuating units that give problems.

A decent garage, or preferably, an auto-electrician, should be able to monitor system operation while running, looking for things like the injection offsets, EGR valve position, and 1001 other readings that can be obtained live, over the CAN bus in the diagnostic connector if you have the right software. Replacing the very expensive ECU without good reason is not a good idea.

Could be injectors, turbo actuator, mass flow or MAP sensors, lots of things can confuse the ECU. And the DTCs are just a guide, they are not always right. The software has to make assumptions. If you are technically savvy, get an ELM 327 and download the Forscan software (free download, ELM 327 from £10 up on Ebay). Then you can view system operation live, and look for DTCs in all modules. Otherwise, try to find a local expert. Ford main dealers are often not to be trusted, they have neither the time nor inclination to do much detailed investigation. But as the Focus is a common, and one of the more straightforward (yes, really!) of modern cars to work on, someone should be able to help.

Peter.

 

 

 

[Veggie123]

Thank you for the reply.

 

I've found a diesel specialist within 12 miles of me. Will limp it there tomorrow  hopefully and report back.

 

 

[Veggie123]

Update

 

Yesterday took the car on the motorway, immediately notices loss of power, just managed to limp it home before it cut out and wouldn't  start.

 

Got the EGR blank plates fitted today. Car started fine with no codes. Took it on the dual carriageway and did about 20 miles trying to see if I could make any of the above issues show but nothing! If anything, the turbo spools up much quicker and the lower rev flat spots are gone.

 

Fingers crossed it lasts!!!

 

Thank you again Peter for the input/advise