Hi all,

 

I bought my 2003 Ford Focus 1.6 auto when it was 3 years old and it has been my favourite car as on the whole it has been reliable.

In summer 2017 I parked in a car park and came back about 30 minutes later and it would not start.

I tried many times .

I called out breakdown recovery who took about 2 hours to arrive. He got in and it started straight away, how embarrassing. 

The same thing happened July 2021, I did not have my phone with me so I got a taxi home and got a lift back by a friend, on the way I was arranging for breakdown to come out, my friend suggested I try the car again and it started.

It did the same thing 6 weeks ago, I left it for 3 hours but it still would not start. Breakdown came out and he plugged in the diagnostics and said it is a fuel pump problem, he said he checked the fuse and relay. He did say that I should hear a whirring when the ignition is turned on which is the fuel pump. I got towed to a garage, they were closed over the bank holiday weekend,  but he called Tuesday to say it was fixed and told me he changed the fuse and showed me which one it was. He did say that it could happen again.

 

I bought some spare 15 amp fuses, but all was fine until 3 days ago.

I use my car for work and stop and start maybe 10 times on a Monday. After the 7th job the fault occurred again. No fuel pump whirring when turning the ignition on. So I popped the bonnet and took out the fuse, it had not blown but I replaced it anyway.

It still would not start, I tried a few more times and was going to call breakdown.

I tried once more turning the ignition on and could hear the fuel pump, and it started as normal.

It was fine for the rest of the day and the next day.

I had a read in the manual and see that there are 4 relays, all the same values, so I swapped the high beam one with the fuel pump relay just in case that is the problem.

But I have a feeling that it is just a matter of time before it happens again.

It is strange because when it goes wrong it seems to reset itself.

Have any of you heard of this fault before?

Next time it happens while attempting to start the car see if you notice the red immobiliser light flashing continuously ... If so, it is likely to be an instrument cluster fault. (It may need s relatively easy to obtain repair of re soldering) The cluster is central to many operations of the car, and preventing it starting is one of the symptoms.

I don’t know if modern fuel pumps work same way as old. My old mgb gt sometimes fuel pump did not work.  I the tapped it sharply with something like a spanner and the fuel pump then worked for that journey.  It had some mechanical contacts in which was a pressure switch.  I think the contacts were dirty.  I do not know if more modern pumps are same inside

It's probably a duff fuel pump. But you really need to determine if the fuel pump is getting voltage when it plays up to confirm that. 

Tank out job to replace a Focus fuel pump unfortunately 

11 hours ago, isetta said:

I the tapped it sharply with something like a spanner and the fuel pump then worked for that journey

Ah, the good old SU pump! It was a common "fix" to tap them with the handle of a screwdriver. On the mini they were fitted to the rear subframe which, with the low ground clearance, made it quite difficult. Ours stopped working a few minutes into our journey on honeymoon and I had to lay on the ground in my good suit and kick it.

As you say, they had a diaphragm operated by a solenoid with over-centre contacts and would tick rapidly until the carb filled up.

I gues modern pumps are something like rotary centrifugal types controlled by the ECU via a pressure sensor.

Probably the fuel pump is going down or the wiring to the fuel pump had deteriorated and is breaking down.

 

15 hours ago, StephenFord said:

 

Thank-you for the replies.

Stephen, I will take note of the warning lights next time it happens, I know the orange engine light and red battery light were on until the fault cleared.

isetta, interesting. Unfortunately as Focus_ mentioned there is no access to the fuel pump under the rear seat.

DaveT70, when/if it happens again I will ask the garage to replace the fuel pump and sender and fuel filter while they are there.

I had, many years ago, a SAAB 900 with a fuel tank layout as described above.

There was no inspection cover on the floor to aid changing the fuel pump.

I purchased a sheet metal nibbler similar to this one, worked out where I should cut and where the electric cables were, then drilled a hole in the floor VERY CAREFULLY to get the nibbler started and easily cut a big circle out. It made a difficult pump change a doddle.

Now, I will admit that I have not assessed the tank/floor layout on my Focus, but I'll bet it's not much different.

If you have to do this job, give cutting a hole in the floor a go.

ScaniaPBman.

 

 

3 minutes ago, ScaniaPBman said:

then drilled a hole in the floor VERY CAREFULLY to get the nibbler started and easily cut a big circle out. It made a difficult pump change a doddle.

Did you use oxy acetylene or a stick welder to put the plate back over the petrol tank ? 🤣🤣

No, no hot work in that area. In any case I don't have any of that sort of kit available to me.

First off the area above the tank is fairly stagnant, that is there is no direct spray in wet weather and no rapid  through air flow so a perfect seal by welding is not really necessary. Second the loss of body strength by cutting a hole is, in my view, trivial.

My actions may not satisfy a perfectionist but it worked well for me.

When cutting the hole I stopped short of 360 degrees leaving a tag of a couple of centimetres or so to act as a crude hinge. It was easy to fold back the centre bit.

To finish off, the centre circle was bent back so that it was flush with the floor and the area sealed up with good old fashioned duct tape. If you are worried about the centre circle pushing through then a couple of strips of metal across the gap and held in by self tappers would suffice.

As as final tip if the pump assembly is held in by a great big threaded ring, it can be tight and difficult to unscrew. Just pour a kettle of boiling water over it to make removal easier.

ScaniaPBman.

13 hours ago, ScaniaPBman said:

No, no hot work in that area.

oh dear !!!!

It was a joke 😧

I didn't actually expect that you would weld just above the petrol tank.

On 5/27/2022 at 10:54 AM, Treycus said:

I know the orange engine light and red battery light

That's a sure sign of cluster failure on the MK2. Coupled with the oil pressure, ABS and handbrake lights

However the symptoms are usually different on the MK1 🤔