wase16ll

this is a write up of a common problem with fiesta 1.4 durashift problems.
well worth checking especially if you follow the excellent guide posted elsewhere for the actuator guide bush.

this is a seperate problem that gives very similar symptoms to the actuator bush, such as
non start
various dash display irregularities
rough gear changes
no gears/changes

ideally, if your fiesta is suffering from any of the above symptoms then you need to look at both the gear change actuator bush/shaft, explained elsewhere on this forium....AND the wiring loom which i shall try to go through now.

i have come accross the following problem on 4 different fiesta durashifts, plus i have spoken with a very well respected diagnostic tech for info from his personal experience...this is the interesting part
along with the 4 fiestas ive come accross with this problem, he informed me that he has dealt with far, far more and found exactly the same. guess what, he has yet to come across a durashift that needed actuator motors or the control unit.... I find that suprising when ford themselves seem to diagnose ecu/actuators more often than not..

the following is a very inexpensive, but time consuming operation.
so i shall begin

as most will know, the positioning of the control module and actuators leaves them very vulnerable to all the rain/salt/grit etc of day to day driving, there lies the problem.
the control module has 2 main plug connections, the lower plug carries the wiring from the main engine loom, the upper plug carries the wires to the gear actuators.
first, disconnect the battery. [dont forget to check you have radio code] i find it far easier to remove the battery and battery tray when repairing these, especially if removing the actuator to check/repair the guide and bushing at the same time..just gives more room to play with.
disconnect the 2 plugs from the control module
to make life easier for yourself, disconnect the cooling fan, reverse light switch and actuator connectors too...remove the clips that secure the looms to the gearbox and cooling fan housing [just carefully lever them away]
this gives enough movement to be able to lift the loom and allow you to work from above rather than crawling around underneath.
you now need to carefully remove all the insulation surrounding this section of the loom, a sharp stanley blade is useful for this, but be careful you dont damage the wiring within.
as you strip the loom insulation, it will become apparent that the plugs to the actuators/ upper control unit plug is a seperate loom from the main engine bay loom...its this particular section of loom that is often found damaged/corroded

once insulation is completely removed from this section, carefully inspect all the wires for any signs of corrosion [wire insulation is slightly bulged], cuts in insulation and complete breakages..this is very common, so take your time and check carefully, but more often than not, damage is obvious.
at this point i should add that because this loom is relatively short and seperate from the main loom, it may well be available to buy from Ford, as yet i havent asked as they are quite straight forward to repair for any reasonably confident DIYer.
in order to repair this damage, cut the wire, you now need to peel back the wire insulation untill you find good, clean copper on both sides of the cut, this is important, corrosion needs to be removed, so if the copper is looking black, then keep cutting back...this corrosion can often go right back to close to actuator connectors, try not to cut back too closely to this plug, often find the wire is still not shiny new copper, but can be cleaned with gentle rubbing with emery cloth or similar.
you will now need to solder a jump lead between the cuts, this is far more permanent than using electrical connectors to rejoin the wires, but its your choice. i recommend soldering though...making sure you use same size wire for jump lead
take your time to get it right, when done, you now need to reinsulate the loom, i find it best to use insulation tape to cover the whole loom, then refit the loom casing and cover this too with insulation tape.
go back to the main loom that leads to the lower control unit plug, remove the outer loom insulation, you only need to go back about 12"-18".....once wires are exposed, once again check carefully for any damage on the wires, repeat the repair and reinsulation process...
reassemble the looms, battery etc.
that is it, your done...combine the above with the checking/repair of the gear selector shaft/bush and you will have cured 99% of problems with the durashift...

hope you find this useful and informative, sorry about the spelling etc, but been a hard day ;] and guess what, one of the jobs today, was repairing the loom of a durashift hence the write up.

this afternoon, some kindly gentlemen broke into my van and lifted a snap on solus diagnostic machine, all done in a blink of an eye.
heard the alarm go, was outside in seconds, but they were already gone..
i run a mobile service, been going for years, but think this has just become the preverbial straw.
second time in four years, last time £5k worth of gear went, took about 18mths to recover from that, this time its 3k, not to mention 1k outstanding on finance with the stolen item.....
i work on good rep and relatively small profit, so hits like this really hurt...
even if i could afford to replace, not sure i want to any more...im done with it.


times a healer and all that, but maybe its time to get a 9=5 souless, mind numbingly boring job...hassle free though

sick to death of scumbags, the only thankful side of this is i missed them by seconds, who knows what could of happened if i caught them