Hi all, new to this forum malarkey!!! But have an issue with our Ford Fiesta 1.6 TDCI 2009 and don’t know where to get further help.

she has developed an issue when starting.  She has never run smoothly when starting and has always smoked a little with some hunting, but on a whole once she got over the first minute or two she ran fine.  The other weekend she started moved a meter and stopped, she wouldn’t restart.  Had to call out breakdown to get her started again, he said he thought it was the fuel injector pump, as the diesel had run back in the system, but he did manage to get her started again, with snuff (easistart)!!!! 
She went to our usual mechanic who said he really didn’t suspect the fuel injector pump. Since then she has been back and forth to the mechanic, first he changed the diesel filter and brought her back, no better, then a leaky pipe, still no better…..in the meantime my other half said the glow plug light stayed on until starting, so mechanic has changed the glow plugs…..got her back today and really resistant at starting to the point that the battery feels like it will die before she does, though once she has started she idles fine…….

As she is an old girl, we really don’t want to throw more good money after bad diagnosing issues!!!  
Can anyone let me know their thoughts on if it is the injector pump or if not, what else we should be looking at it being, please?

I have searched the internet but can’t find any definitive answers and only references to the pump in the tank, not the injector pump.

thank u all in anticipation…..
 

forgot to say, she isn’t showing any error codes…….thanks again!!

Hi, interesting that you have a female Fiesta, I can't say I've come across one of them before. The heading says she is a 1.4 TDCI but then you start your story saying 

48 minutes ago, Hford said:

Ford Fiesta 1.6 TDCI 2009

The first thing you need to do is get a laptop and download the software FORScan (it's free). You will need to buy a lead to connect to the OBDII port and then you will be able to check for any DTC's that are probably stored. Also you can use live data to monitor the fuel pressure 'before - during - after' starting. You will also be able to check the the glow plugs are operating correctly.

Your garage mechanic should of course have already done all this but it sounds like they prefer to guess and just fire the parts cannon at it (her). You are probably better to find a specialist diesel mechanic who will be able to investigate and diagnose the issue.

Download FORScan: https://forscan.org/download.html

Connecting lead 'vLinker FS' : https://www.bmdiag.co.uk/forscan-diagnostic-cable-for-ford-vgate-vlinker-fs

Unofix, Ahhhh…..sorry typo, she is indeed 1.6 TDCI……need to go back to specsavers!!!!

The mechanic did check for codes when she first went, but not since…..he said that none were showing 🤷🏼‍♀️.  I will have a look at the software you suggested and purchase the lead asap to see if it brings any codes up.  Useful to know that we can also check the fuel pressure via the software too…..unfortunately we are limited on a Sunday, shops wise, so may be an Amazon job!!!!!  so I fear this may be a next weekend job…..or at least till I can get the OBDII lead.

not sure where our nearest diesel specialist would be, so will have to investigate that via good old google.

thanks again for your suggestions and advice……hopefully will have something to report soon 🙂

There's no tank pump on these, they rely on the syphon effect to keep pulling fuel up to the high pressure pump.  So it only takes a tiny pinhole leak for the fuel to run back to the tank, and then the HP pump won't be able to pull it back up again.  I'd strongly suspect there's still a small leak somewhere in the low pressure side of the system.  

Also just to check...was it a 'leaky' pipe, or leak-off pipe that was replaced?  If the leak off pipes aren't tight they can allow air back into the system.

TomFocus…….thanks for ur advice, not sure about the pipe…all he said was that the diesel pipe…..I think he said at the back of the engine, looked quite wet and that they do ‘rub through’ so he was pretty sure it had a hole in it…where would the ‘leak off’ pipes be located?  Maybe I can check those to see if they’re tight 🤷🏼‍♀️……

thanks again 👍🏻

Leak off pipes are the ones across the top of the injectors.

Great thanks…….will have a look n see if they’re tight….. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

In the UK presently you can only buy the lead needed (vLinker FS £38) online from:

https://www.bmdiag.co.uk/forscan-diagnostic-cable-for-ford-vgate-vlinker-fs

In the past most people used a 'modified ELM327' lead from TunnelRat Electronics, but this not recommended for use with the latest version of FORScan, although it does still work it just throws up a couple of error messages.

 

 

 

Hi all…..just a quick update while I’m waiting for the lead to arrive!!!

spoke to our mechanic and he checked the pressure coming from the injector pump so is pretty confident that is ok……., as she is still a bit iffy starting, he suspects the injectors 🙄 at least a couple……my question is, given her age, would we be wise to change just the ‘bad’ injectors or do all of them as they will be the same age?…….…has anyone else changed just the ones that needed them gone on to have problems with the others?

….looks like it’s gonna be expensive 😬😬

TIA 😊

37 minutes ago, Hford said:

spoke to our mechanic and he checked the pressure coming from the injector pump so is pretty confident that is ok……., as she is still a bit iffy starting, he suspects the injectors 🙄

Sounds like he's just playing car parts roulette tbh.  I assume he's not refunding you for the work that doesn't cure the fault...

If just one injector appears to be faulty (confirmed by codes at the very least) then just changing one is standard practice.  If 2 or more appear to be faulty, you may prefer to replace all of them in one go considering the age of the car.

TomsFocus……I may be being really dim!!!! So, there should be a fault code showing (when I get the lead and use FORscan) for faulty injectors? The reason I ask, is the mechanic said there was definitely no faults showing when he hooked her up 🤷🏼‍♀️
 

All advice is gratefully received 😊

Thanks again 

10 minutes ago, Hford said:

TomsFocus……I may be being really dim!!!! So, there should be a fault code showing (when I get the lead and use FORscan) for faulty injectors? The reason I ask, is the mechanic said there was definitely no faults showing when he hooked her up 🤷🏼‍♀️
 

All advice is gratefully received 😊

Thanks again 

There are two different diagnostic systems within the engine ECU.  One is OBD2 codes which are standard across all makes & models and are legally required to be readable by any garage.  These tend to be pretty basic and often don't show up at all in many cases, but it's these that independent garages will be reading with generic equipment.

The other system is Ford's specific system which has many more codes, far more accurate and can pinpoint specific faults for individual items.  These can only be read by a Ford garage - or conveniently for us - free Forscan software!

There are some injector codes on the OBD platform but they may not show until the injector is totally knackered.  I would be expecting injector codes to show on Forscan if they are worn enough to cause problems.

TomsFocus…….great, we’ll I have the cable on order so 🤞🏻 when it comes I will be able to get my head round the software and hopefully find something……meanwhile the mechanic is pricing injectors and reconned injectors up so we have an idea how much 🙄😱……oh for my old mk2 Escort 1.3 pop plus…..life was much simpler back in the 80/90’s 😂😂😂😂

thanks again and sorry for all the q’s……thank god ur all out there with advice 👍🏻😊

On 3/13/2022 at 11:03 AM, unofix said:

it sounds like they prefer to guess and just fire the parts cannon at it (her).

 

57 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Sounds like he's just playing car parts roulette tbh.  I assume he's not refunding you for the work that doesn't cure the fault...

There's a common consensus of opinion here !!

It gets very expensive playing the guessing game.

unofix …….very true indeed, and I am always concerned that this is a factor….we really don’t want to be going down the change everything to eliminate the issue and hope that he will stumble across what it is before it costs us an arm and a leg route…..unfortunately these electronic dependant engines and computerised systems are a bit beyond us…..hence the wish u were here ode to the old MK2 Escort……now that was something we could get our heads round!!!! 😂😂😂😂😂

2 hours ago, Hford said:

MK2 Escort

I loved my many Mk2 Escorts 👍 😀

I still remember the registration numbers of all 5

I’m not the only one then!!!……can recite all my previous vehicle reg numbers lol 😂 👍🏻

Hi all……me again!!! 
I have my lead and software all set up, I can’t for the life of me find where the injector faults may be….I saw something on the forum somewhere last week but can’t find the info now !!!!!

any help really gratefully received!!! 
 

TIA 😊😊😊

Guy who makes lots of Ford videos and how to use FORScan to fault find is "SY Diagnostics"

 

Hi Unofix

thanks, been looking through a good few of his vids lol!!!  There seems to be a module which I need to get into to run the tests, which isn’t there, the ICU module 🤷🏼‍♀️ Which is why I’m a bit stuck…….

thanks 👍🏻😊

2 minutes ago, Hford said:

Hi Unofix

thanks, been looking through a good few of his vids lol!!!  There seems to be a module which I need to get into to run the tests, which isn’t there, the ICU module 🤷🏼‍♀️ Which is why I’m a bit stuck…….

thanks 👍🏻😊

Does your lead have the switch for HI and Mid speed CANBUS?

Hi TomaFocus……no it doesn’t have any switches…..I got the lead from

https://www.bmdiag.co.uk/forscan-diagnostic-cable-for-ford-vgate-vlinker-fs

as Unofix pointed me to kindly……it is specifically made for the FORscan software 🤷🏼‍♀️

1 minute ago, Hford said:

Hi TomaFocus……no it doesn’t have any switches…..I got the lead from

https://www.bmdiag.co.uk/forscan-diagnostic-cable-for-ford-vgate-vlinker-fs

as Unofix pointed me to kindly……it is specifically made for the FORscan software 🤷🏼‍♀️

Ah, one of the modern, posh leads!    It has automatic switching without a physical switch. 

Can you see two different lists of modules, one for MSCAN and one for HSCAN?  I think there's a tab at the very top of the module list to swap between them but must confess it's been over a year since I last used Forscan myself now.

Hi,

Yes I have the list…..