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Sudden Drop in MPG


TomsFocus
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13 hours ago, James said:

Tom don't know what your doing wrong with your tdci currently getting over 67 mpg on the trip and around 60 real life mpg with mine ha! Currently freezing out aswell! Mpg has dropped a bit since the summer and expect to fall a little bit further during the cold months.  

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And you've nearly double my mileage... :rolleyes:  I assume you do a lot more driving than I do lol.  Still on the original cDPF out of interest?

I'm surprised you've got such a large discrepancy between the trip computer and real life though, mines not far off, on my spreadsheet, 'TC MPG' is trip computer, it's only ever 1 or 2mpg out really, I reset it every fill.

13 hours ago, iantt said:

my petrol focus is getting better mpg than toms diesel. lol

That's hardly a major achievement atm... :laugh:  But does give me some reassurance that EcoBoost is the way to go next... :wink: 

 

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1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

And you've nearly double my mileage... :rolleyes:  I assume you do a lot more driving than I do lol.  Still on the original cDPF out of interest?

I'm surprised you've got such a large discrepancy between the trip computer and real life though, mines not far off, on my spreadsheet, 'TC MPG' is trip computer, it's only ever 1 or 2mpg out really, I reset it every fill.

That's hardly a major achievement atm... :laugh:  But does give me some reassurance that EcoBoost is the way to go next... :wink: 

 

Yep still on original cdpf. I do a fair bit of driving alright. No bother on the car though, it still runs well. I have to get the car serviced soon, nearly 7000 miles since last service

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jeez i wish i could get 60+ MPG im jelous lol

hehehe whats your secret

 

Jamie

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2 hours ago, james_60 said:

jeez i wish i could get 60+ MPG im jelous lol

hehehe whats your secret

 

Jamie

In this thread we all have measly 1.6s with considerably less power than your 2.0... :wink: :tongue:

Big part of it is mileage though, the major difference between mine and the decent MPG ones is the amount of miles they're covering each day.

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Sometimes i wish i could press an economy button. especially when motorway cruising which i do a lot of lately

 

Jamie

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Turns out that for whatever reason, that alternator was ***** my MPG, now hitting 61 from 54.  

edit: wow, that's a new one, since when was the action of using a screwdriver a naughty word!?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, that's almost a personal worst for MPG I think, just glad it didn't quite drop into the 40s!  Just filled up with BP so we'll see if there's any difference there but I doubt it.  It was only a penny more expensive than Sainsburys today BUT I had a BP triple nectar points voucher so it's actually half a penny cheaper with that lol.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

So, the fuel doesn't seem to have made a difference.  I did expect it to be worse though as it's obviously been extra cold this week!

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BUT, I scanned today for the first time in a couple of months and found this smart charge fault...  Maybe @Dee_82 has a point about the alternator... 

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Now the fault code didn't immediately return, but the voltage sat a steady 14.44v at 2k rpm, regardless of the load put on it.  That sounds fine for a normal alternator but is that right for smart charge?  I was expecting some extra voltage once I put on both heated screens, both heated seats, cabin heater to max, lights, wipers, etc all on together. 

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correct me if I'm wrong but, the smart charge system only really makes a difference when it gets warm, a battery charges better when cold so when hot the system is designed to scale back a bit, to prolong the life of the battery and give it a good charge at the appropriate times.  it doesn't make any difference when the load increases, at least that's what I thought anyway!

pop the smart charge connector off and the system will just charge as normal so shouldn't be effecting the alternator, maybe just pop it off and attack it with some contact cleaner?

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Not good at all at the moment, this is drinking more than me lol. I know that the older cars use more but this is stupid. I'm using many short journeys which hurts I know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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12 hours ago, Dee_82 said:

correct me if I'm wrong but, the smart charge system only really makes a difference when it gets warm, a battery charges better when cold so when hot the system is designed to scale back a bit, to prolong the life of the battery and give it a good charge at the appropriate times.  it doesn't make any difference when the load increases, at least that's what I thought anyway!

pop the smart charge connector off and the system will just charge as normal so shouldn't be effecting the alternator, maybe just pop it off and attack it with some contact cleaner?

Hmm, not sure really!  I thought it was meant to reduce voltage whenever possible (light load and a charged battery) to save fuel and in turn, emissions...everything is about emissions these days! :laugh:  But also increase the voltage to charge the battery more quickly after a cold start or under heavy load. 

The engine is noticeably struggling in slow, dark, cold traffic atm, rough vibrations can be felt through the car at idle and it's reluctant to move.   It's almost to the point of hunting when I immediately hit rush hour traffic leaving town in an evening which is why I scanned for faults yesterday, quite surprised to see nothing new except the smart charge one.  The FACM and EPS complain of battery over-voltage almost every time I've scanned it in the last 3 years and the door modules seem to have permanent U faults lol. 

Can @iantt or @stef123 give us any better info on the smart charge system? :smile: 

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A bit of research on this seems to show the SmartCharge is far less useful than I thought... :laugh: 

It's not for extra load or lower emissions, just that it can shove a bit more electricity into a cold battery as Darren said...  Seems like they've missed some extra functionality opportunities there!

So, it should only be higher on a cold engine then?  I'll have to check voltage on a cold start next time I use the car and go from there.

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smart charge is a pain in the...  IMO! 
I have a basic understanding of it and basic diagnostic on it. Last time i was tasked with a fault that ford couldn't find I was short of an oscilloscope to go any further. Suspect it was probably a broken wire somewhere but I certainly couldn't find it. 

Iantt would certainly be more knowledgeable. 

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On 16/12/2017 at 9:02 PM, iantt said:

me? i know nothing. lol

That's not exactly true is it mate? :tongue:

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Dont forget, the diesel formula's are changed when its cold weather to prevent waxing. So it could be the difference between summer and winter diesel. Plus heaters, lights 

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1 hour ago, madmole said:

Dont forget, the diesel formula's are changed when its cold weather to prevent waxing. So it could be the difference between summer and winter diesel. Plus heaters, lights 

That's true, but this is the 3rd winter I've owned the Focus, and it's never dropped this badly before...even when the DPF was blocked and it was constantly trying to regen, dumping diesel straight into the sump lol.

I've had a quick poke around today but nothing unusual, no diesel leaks anywhere, injectors aren't leaking yet which I was expecting, and there aren't any boost leaks that I can see.  Smart charge plug is clean and tight.  I know I'm a worrier but its just so much worse than previous years I'm sure something must be wrong somewhere.

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Chuck a bottle of Archoil 6400-D through it, if its dirty injectors (duff spray pattern), etc that will clear it out a lot. Its brill stuff, I've used it for ages and recommended to all my mates that now swear by it. 

Forget Millars, use Archoil and feel what a proper additive does. Used millers for years in the landy, never going back to it

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17 hours ago, madmole said:

Dont forget, the diesel formula's are changed when its cold weather to prevent waxing. So it could be the difference between summer and winter diesel. Plus heaters, lights 

I think you right as I have seen the same thing for years, even on long trips in the winter with the car at running temperature most of the time the mpg is still lower than in summer.  I wonder if some new EU eco regulation came into play this year to make winter diesel even more rubbish than normal, as I have also suddenly got much worse economy from the last couple of tank fulls?  Maybe the conspiracy against diesel cars is extending to making sure they are less efficient and so everyone will buy new electric or 1 litre petrols?

 

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9 hours ago, south_bound said:

I think you right as I have seen the same thing for years, even on long trips in the winter with the car at running temperature most of the time the mpg is still lower than in summer.  I wonder if some new EU eco regulation came into play this year to make winter diesel even more rubbish than normal, as I have also suddenly got much worse economy from the last couple of tank fulls?  Maybe the conspiracy against diesel cars is extending to making sure they are less efficient and so everyone will buy new electric or 1 litre petrols?

 

worse here aswell only seeing 49mpg on a 28 mile round trip to work mines a 1.8tdci thats at 65-70mph

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They up the biodiesel to stop waxing. The %age has gone up every year

Bit of Archoil Cetane booster in and back to normal mpg and power. 

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1 hour ago, madmole said:

They up the biodiesel to stop waxing. The %age has gone up every year

Bit of Archoil Cetane booster in and back to normal mpg and power. 

How does bio stop waxing?  If you run neat veg through the winter you basically end up with Trex in the fuel lines so have to add a fuel heater and a bit of petrol or similar to keep it useable.  Surely they'd reduce bio in the winter mix?

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Bio oil can be very different from Veg oil. and other additives are added. Takes UK winter diesel to -15C before waxing from the -5 Sumer diesel waxes at

 

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I'm averaging 47.5 mpg on my mk6.5 fiesta 1.6 tdci. Do about 70 miles a week and I'd say the refuel light comes on every week and a half. It just I refuel every two weeks as I don't really go out on the weekends. Also may add that one of my injectors might be leaking so it might be wasting some fuel 

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I guess you don't fill the tank?  Should get a lot more than 140 miles from a diesel Fiesta, I used to get over 300 miles from a fiesta ST tank!

That's not bad mpg for London traffic if the trip computer is right.  I've felt like Chris Rea all week so far, top to toe in tailbacks with red lights all around...  So my mpg doesn't show any signs of improvement, I've also got another heavy traffic trip this evening which I'm not looking forward to...won't be surprised if the TC drops to 47mpg or below... 

What's annoying is that my mum's petrol is still doing nearly 55mpg in this weather. :sad:

 

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