hi guys and girls

I have a problem that I hope 1 of you can help with

My brakes lose almost all effectiveness when I am at low speed but are perfect at normal or high speed 

The best way I can explain is when doing a 3 point turn when using the brake more at low speed they lose almost all power but general driving thenare 100% 

2012 ford foucs 1.0L EcoBoost 

Any help would be very much appreciated 

On a 1.0 ECOboost this problem can easily be caused by a defective vacuum pump.

The 1.0 ECOboost has a vacuum pump that is driven by the the camshaft of the engine. The vacuum pump is used to generate vacuum to operate both the brake booster and the wastegate of the turbo. Being a mechanical pump it is subjected to wear. The vacuum pump has an integrated check valve that usually fails (which is not available as a spare part). 

The first symptoms of a defective vacuum pump are usually lack of vacuum at low engine speed. At higher engine speeds the vacuum is usually still adequate. 

At higher speeds while the vacuum is still sufficient the brakes will perform normally. However once the engine speed drops the vacuum also drops. The brake booster however has a check valve so the brake booster will remain its vacuum until the brakes are applied. Once the brakes are applied once the vacuum is gone and at low engine speeds a defective vacuum pump is not capable to deliver enough vacuum. The result is that the brake booster will not work. The brakes are still working but require an excessive amount of force to be operated.
 

The first step will be to check the vacuum system for leaks. If the system is free of leaks the biggest suspect will be the vacuum pump. 

 

Thanks for the info jw1982 

I am not car smart 

How would I find a leak if the was 1 

34 minutes ago, JW1982 said:

On a 1.0 ECOboost this problem can easily be caused by a defective vacuum pump.

The 1.0 ECOboost has a vacuum pump that is driven by the the camshaft of the engine. The vacuum pump is used to generate vacuum to operate both the brake booster and the wastegate of the turbo. Being a mechanical pump it is subjected to wear. The vacuum pump has an integrated check valve that usually fails (which is not available as a spare part). 

The first symptoms of a defective vacuum pump are usually lack of vacuum at low engine speed. At higher engine speeds the vacuum is usually still adequate. 

At higher speeds while the vacuum is still sufficient the brakes will perform normally. However once the engine speed drops the vacuum also drops. The brake booster however has a check valve so the brake booster will remain its vacuum until the brakes are applied. Once the brakes are applied once the vacuum is gone and at low engine speeds a defective vacuum pump is not capable to deliver enough vacuum. The result is that the brake booster will not work. The brakes are still working but require an excessive amount of force to be operated.
 

The first step will be to check the vacuum system for leaks. If the system is free of leaks the biggest suspect will be the vacuum pump. 

 

Thanks for your information jwq982

how would I go about finding the leak if there was 1 is there something I can buy 

Thanks 

3 hours ago, Myfoucs said:

Thanks for the info jw1982 

I am not car smart 

How would I find a leak if the was 1 

I suggest you take your car to a garage 😂. Even if you find a leak you wont have the tools to fix it...

Would love to find a garage thats trustworthy and not just going to guess till the problem is fixed but thanks for your great suggestion luke4efc

On 12/29/2020 at 1:40 AM, Myfoucs said:

Would love to find a garage thats trustworthy and not just going to guess till the problem is fixed but thanks for your great suggestion luke4efc

I found my trusted local indi via www.approvedgarages.co.uk and haven't looked back since.