Hi everyone,

My workmate who I car-share with has had a re-occuring problem with his '54 plate 1.8 (petrol) Focus since getting it over a year ago. Basically when braking the car will stall, but there appears to be no 'pattern' to it happening:-

• Doesn't matter if engine is hot or cold,
  
• Doesn't matter if braking to stop (i.e. a junction), or just to slow down (i.e. approaching a roundabout, slow-moving traffic etc)
  
• Happens even if clutch is fully depressed at the time,
  
• Only 'constant' is that it seems to be at lower speeds (highest having been about 25-30 mph)
  
• Doesn't appear related to weather conditions (i.e. if its cold, hot, snowing or raining it doesn't matter)
  

The only warning he gets is the battery light on the dash illuminating, then everythings dead & he has to re-start it manually. It can go ages without happening, then can occur a few times in a short period (i.e. just done it this morning going to work & twice on the way home, but the previous time was weeks and weeks ago).

Can anyone shed any light on this? It can be a bit scary to be coasting onto a roundabout only to find the steering has gone heavy and something is closing fast from the right!! (although thankfully I'm on the passenger side, so my mate should cushion any impact

Cheers, Vas

Hi everyone,

My workmate who I car-share with has had a re-occuring problem with his '54 plate 1.8 (petrol) Focus since getting it over a year ago. Basically when braking the car will stall, but there appears to be no 'pattern' to it happening:-

• Doesn't matter if engine is hot or cold,
• Doesn't matter if braking to stop (i.e. a junction), or just to slow down (i.e. approaching a roundabout, slow-moving traffic etc)
• Happens even if clutch is fully depressed at the time,
• Only 'constant' is that it seems to be at lower speeds (highest having been about 25-30 mph)
• Doesn't appear related to weather conditions (i.e. if its cold, hot, snowing or raining it doesn't matter)

The only warning he gets is the battery light on the dash illuminating, then everythings dead & he has to re-start it manually. It can go ages without happening, then can occur a few times in a short period (i.e. just done it this morning going to work & twice on the way home, but the previous time was weeks and weeks ago).

Can anyone shed any light on this? It can be a bit scary to be coasting onto a roundabout only to find the steering has gone heavy and something is closing fast from the right!! (although thankfully I'm on the passenger side, so my mate should cushion any impact

Cheers, Vas

he needs the dash cluster checked by ford for faults firstly as faulty clusters can cause this to happen secondly it could be the vss vehicle speed sensor which can cause this also ide advise he gets a diagnostic done if the cluster is at fault they have to fit a new one for no more than 99 quid if its the vss then having it changed will fix the issue as it will only get worse

he needs the dash cluster checked by ford for faults firstly as faulty clusters can cause this to happen secondly it could be the vss vehicle speed sensor which can cause this also ide advise he gets a diagnostic done if the cluster is at fault they have to fit a new one for no more than 99 quid if its the vss then having it changed will fix the issue as it will only get worse

idle control valve?

he needs the dash cluster checked by ford for faults firstly as faulty clusters can cause this to happen secondly it could be the vss vehicle speed sensor which can cause this also ide advise he gets a diagnostic done if the cluster is at fault they have to fit a new one for no more than 99 quid if its the vss then having it changed will fix the issue as it will only get worse

Hi Does the £99 quid new cluster apply to all Focus's or just certain age ones as my 2002 1.6cc one has started to develope similar problems

Thanks

Neil C