Hi all,

I'm after some advice. I have a 2007 Focus 1.8 TDCI, recently purchased in October last year. It's been a workhorse for someone, managing over 180,000 miles and counting!

When we bought the car it was running absolutely fine. It didn't have a lot of power but i expected as much being a car that old with so many miles under its belt. The engine ran really smooth and with no noises etc, but did produce a bit of black sooty smoke and some pretty funky smells when putting the foot down which I'm guessing is pretty standard for diesels anyway so wasn't really a concern. In fact to give it a treat I took the car to the local garage to get a service (air, oil, and fuel filters replaced) in the hope to restore some life and hopefully sort out the smoke and stink, but ever since I got the car back I've been getting the following symptoms:

1: Engine "cough" (intermittent sudden dip in revs - you can physically feel the car jerking or bucking almost, but not severely), mostly between 1500 and 2000 rpm - this happens in all gears. no matter what the temperature outside is and no matter whether the engine is cold or warm. If you gain some speed and let off the throttle you can visibly see the revs dip quicker as it stutters. 

2: What I would call very excessive sooty black smoke coming out from the exhaust whenever i accelerate, regardless of speed/revs/engine temp/etc but more so when it's warmed up a bit. More so than when the car went in for a service.

3: After some time of driving normally, the engine check light comes on. However if i back off the accelerator as soon as i feel the "coughing" and don't hold the revs over 2000rpm i can sometimes complete a journey without it coming on.

At first i thought it might be an air/fuel sensor issue, so i had a poke around to see if anything looked a bit wrong, maybe something wasn't connected properly or something like that. It all looked fine but the sensor on the outside of the air box wasn't clipped in. Jackpot, I thought, so I clipped it in place, but it didn't make a difference. 

So after some internet searching, and many various results, I purchased an ELM327 USB scanner and downloaded the Forscan software and ran a test while stationary and also had it plugged in while driving to get live data (which annoyingly didn't save!). The only error I have is:
Module PCM : Code P0299-61 - Turbocharger/Supercharger Underboost
    Additional Fault Symptom:
   - Signal is above maximum threshold
    Status:
  - DTC Present at Time of Request
  - Malfunction Indicator Lamp is Off for this DTC
    Module: Powertrain Control Module

(Note, i also have B2089-60 for the PDM and DFDM modules, but that is for a Puddle/Approach Lamp Fault, which i'm fairly certain is not related!)

According to https://www.obd-codes.com/p0299:
Symptoms of a P0299 DTC may include:
  MIL (Malfunction indicator lamp) illumination
  Reduced power output from engine, possibly in a "limp" mode
  Unusual sounds from the engine/turbo
There would likely be no other symptoms.

It doesn't feel like a problem with the turbo to be honest - i'm no expert but I wouldn't expect a turbo to affect the revs so abruptly causing the coughing sensation.
I'm not sure what the multifunction indicator lamp is - is that the engine check light on the dashboard or is it something else? According to the DTC output for this error: "Malfunction Indicator Lamp is Off for this DTC".
Can anyone explain what qualifies as "Limp" mode on these cars? There seems to be no restriction on revs or speed, which is what i assume limp mode to be. And it also doesn't seem to have lost any power since after the service either, not noticeably anyway. 
There are also no unusual sounds coming from the engine/turbo either.
Is this error possibly a red herring?

I also loaded the CylBal_1-4 PIDs and watched them on the Oscilloscope - interestingly i did notice some difference in one of outputs where the line wasn't moving as much as the others - im wondering whether that is something to do with it? Like i said the output didn't save so i'm not able to share it unfortunately. Everything else seemed smooth, no spikes or flattening of lines. The MAF and MAP reading were also all fine. (If anyone has any suggestions of anything specific to check here i'd be open to trying it. If I can't save it again i'll take a photo or something).

Other search results also mentioned about checking various air pipes and making sure there are no leaks in the system, and checking actuator arms in the turbo, but as I said there's been no change in the power output from before or after the service. The only difference is the coughing, the engine light, and more smoke. 

Has anyone got enough experience with these engines to know whether sensors could have been missed and can possibly point me in the right direction?

Seeing as it's a coughing/jerking sensation i'm wondering whether it's possibly an injector or fuel sensor issue although i'm not really sure how it would suddenly be an issue after changing the fuel filter. But does that sound feasible?

I know the sensible thing would be to take it back to the garage and get them to check it out, but in all honesty i don't trust them - they are an established garage and I wouldn't expect to start getting problems like this after taking a car in for a simple service.

My next stop is taking it to a ford specialist, but it's an old car and i need to decide whether it's worth spending a fortune on or replacing. I can live with the coughing for now, but obviously if there's something i can have a look at and fix fairly cheaply then i'll give it a go. 

I'd be grateful for any advice/tips/pointers, thanks in advance 🙂 

Happy to answer any questions if there's more info needed!

Dave

 

Hello Dave and welcome to the 'Ford Owners Club'

It gives me great pleasure to be able to award you the 'Golden Keyboard' for probably the longest post this year 🎉

and no, I don't know the answer, can you repeat the question ?

Well, no need to ask for more info here, lol! These symptoms you describe is something similar to what i experienced with my 1.6 tdci. No error codes or warning lights appeared, but it was the diesel pressure regulator or something that was causing it. It went a long time with it coughing now and then, but at the end it just gave up and died.

Edit: maybe not diesel pressure regulator, but more like diesel mass regulator if that exists in your language 😂it controls the amount of diesel sent into the system. 

So i've been doing some more 'net digging and found a youtube video of a mobile mechanic who got called to a job where the car (1.8tdci focus) had the same p0299-61 error code - upon investigation it turned out to be a split intercooler air pipe (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3FEb5oXFdk).

I immediately went out to check my car and sure enough the exact same pipe has a split running along the length of the bend at the back (out of view). So i've ordered a new one off amazon, expecting it to arrive today. I'll post again once it's on - hopefully this will be the cheapest fix (£13) i've ever had to do 🙂 

 

Good news!

So the piece of hose i bought to replace the split one has done the trick! Not only does the car feel better than before the service, it feels better than when we bought it last year! 🙂  It's incredible how a £13 piece of rubber can transform a car. 

So anyway, this is the piece of pipe i bought off amazon :
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01G7XB0KW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 
(I uploaded the image of the product in case the link disappears one day)

The part feeds the intercooler (i think - that would need to be confirmed by someone who knows what they are talking about!) - i have attached another photo of the engine, with the part circled in red.

It was a little bit fiddly getting it off the engine - i had to undo more than I wanted to due to the location of one of the jubilee clips, but it wasn't too much of a hassle in the end. 

The car started like a dream and we took the dog out meaning we could give it a good run, and it was a pleasure to drive, so I think I can safely say the issue is fixed! Not only that, but the Average MPG is now up to around 45-50mpg, rather than the low 30's, so that's a bonus!

One thing i did notice is that when i put my foot down in third, a big - and i mean BIG - thick sooty cloud came out the exhaust, and just hung in the air. I don't know whether that had been stored up somewhere in the exhaust, or whether it was just where the air/fuel mixture hadn't yet been adjusted by the ECU, but it seems it was only temporary as it hasn't happened since. 

 

 

 

Quick update - all good now for a few days, no more black smoke out the back since dumping its load so i presume it was clearing its throat. She now pulls like a train and thanks to my heavy right foot the mpg is back down to a realistic 38 average 😄