ESC service required.

[Chris179]

Hi,

I own a 68 plate Ford Focus St Line X. During my warranty period a couple of times I got the ESC service required notification on my dash. All other messages telling me about all the things which were now not functioning, like traction control and hill start/auto hand brake etc. Took it to dealership, who stated as it had reset upon my stop/start engine and turn back on all is ok.

Now out of warranty I have had the same alarm 5 times in the last 6 weeks. A engine stop/start and reset the auto brake hold puts all back to normal. Now the strange thing this happens every time I pass the same point on a road outside a supermarket with air cooling fans next to the road. Thinking back these were the same points as where the problem occurred when in warranty.

Obviously something is getting picked up by my radar panel and switching off my system. Any Idea's, or has anyone had similar.

Chris

[unofix]

Hello Chris, you have a very basic problem which is causing all of the above.

The State Of Charge (SOC) of your battery is very low, less than 70%.

It is a common issue caused by the battery level slowly decreasing over a period of weeks/months. On most models now the car charging system will only charge the battery to a maximum of 80% capacity (allegedly it helps save the dolphins !!).

Get yourself a decent smart battery charger and charge the battery while it is still connected to the car. Make sure the positive lead is connected to the battery terminal, and very importantly make sure the negative lead is connected to the chassis earth point (NOT the battery). Leave it on charge for 12 hours. Then take the car for a short drive and everything will reset.

[Chris179]

I have a CTEK, CT5 stop/start smart charger and leave it connected until it reaches care mode every month. My battery is fully charged.

Also why would this cause problems at the same point on the road.

thanks

Chris

[unofix]

Is your car fitted with the optional Adaptive Cruise Control ?

[Chris179]

no

 

[unofix]

Then your car should not need a Radar. It was only fitted for the adaptive cruise control as far as I know. The forward facing camera is used for most other functions.

[Chris179]

The radar is fitted as standard on this model and is used for things like pre collision warning