Hi all. I have recently purchased a 2008 Focus 1.8 TDCi with 84k on the clock. Car is great but I have a strange issue that may be nothing but thought I would see if anyone else has this issue. 

Basically, I parked up near work yesterday and turned the ignition off but left the key in the ignition whilst I was sitting there browsing on my phone. The radio display was still illuminated with the clock and dash display was still on which I believe to be normal. After about 5 minutes the radio display and dash display turned off. When I turned the ignition back on to close the window, I got an error saying Engine Malfuntion. I removed the key, reinserted it and it was OK, started up fine with no warning lights etc. Tried to replicate it again and after 5 mins the same thing happened but again disappeared when I took the key out and reinserted it. 

The car drives fine, no lights or warnings etc so a bit baffled. Any ideas?

I'm not too worried as it seems like a gremlin as supposed to a major fault.

Could this be caused by a low battery? 

Any help appreciated.

Thanks 

13 minutes ago, mrizzo1uk said:

Could this be caused by a low battery? 

Yes the battery needs charged. Put it on charge for 24 hours and all should be well.

On newer cars you now get a message telling you to "switch off or start the engine" to save the battery.

Thanks for your help. I don't know how long the current battery has been in there so will just buy a new one and also change both key fob batteries etc and hope that cures it. Other than that, car is great, drives excellent and gives me good mpg compared to my old Audi. Thanks again

The key fob batteries only relate to the lock buttons on the key. They do not relate to the immobiliser chip in the key . The key fob batteries can not be related to what happened. If they lock and unlock the doors correctly then don’t bother replacing them.   The main car battery is a large hefty expensive one. I wouldn’t replace it unless I am sure it absolutely needs it,  you might feel the same when you find out the cost.  It’s actually quite difficult to remove compared to a lot of cars. My experience is based on a 1.8tdci mk2.5