Focus Mk2 Intermittent won't recognise key

[CassandraC]

So having put a replacement instrument cluster in my 2009 Focus about a year ago I have a problem where turning the key to start the car won't start the car. Instrument lights, etc. come on but car doesn't turn over as if it's not recognising that the key is programmed to the instrument cluster. To get the car started I simply turn it off, thump the top of the dashboard and eventually the car will start as normal.

Any ideas what I can check to see if I can fix the problem as obviously one day the thumping the dash is going to stop working.

I'd test whether it was the key itself, but I stupidly didn't get the 2nd key reprogrammed at the time and from what I've seen I'd need to pay to get this reprogrammed to the new instrument cluster.

Thanks for looking!

[mjt]

Sounds like the classic cracked solder joint problem. Was that why you originally replaced the cluster?

There's plenty of information on the problem if you do a search.

[Jimpster]

check the solder joints, as mjt says plenty of how too's or let someone good at soldering do it. Thumping the dash is the usual solution for a while.

[CassandraC]

Thanks guys. Have just watched a video and think that would be beyond my soldering skills. Am guessing I'd need a specialist car electrician to do this job rather than my normal garage.

[Jimpster]

ask on your local FB groups etc for someone that can solder, or find either Richard Aaron Beetwell or Ollie Jones on FB theyre the cluster guys i can recommend and i think theyre down your way

[CassandraC]

I replaced the original cluster as it was draining the battery and was giving random warnings. This cluster does the same, but I've given up caring so long as it runs. Are all 12 yr old clusters going to have issues? I could buy another off eBay and pay to get it reprogrammed, but will I be facing similar issues?

[CassandraC]

1 minute ago, Jimpster said:

ask on your local FB groups etc for someone that can solder, or find either Richard Aaron Beetwell or Ollie Jones on FB theyre the cluster guys i can recommend and i think theyre down your way

Thanks sir. If the car gets through it's MOT then it's next on my list so I'll look them up or check FB groups. Kind of forget they exist.

[DaveT70]

12 minutes ago, CassandraC said:

I replaced the original cluster as it was draining the battery and was giving random warnings. This cluster does the same, but I've given up caring so long as it runs. Are all 12 yr old clusters going to have issues? I could buy another off eBay and pay to get it reprogrammed, but will I be facing similar issues?

Original cluster had same issues, cracked solders

You can search on eBay for FOCUS/CMAX MK2 INSTRUMENT CLUSTER repairs and send it off, don't pay loads, about £75 is the going rate, quickish turn around about 2 days

If you are still getting warning issues and battery drain after repairing cluster then you need to start looking at the GEM for water damage (fusebox under glovebox)

[CassandraC]

22 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

Original cluster had same issues, cracked solders

You can search on Ebay for FOCUS/CMAX MK2 INSTRUMENT CLUSTER repairs and send it off, don't pay loads, about £75 is the going rate, quickish turn around about 2 days

If you are still getting warning issues and battery drain after repairing cluster then you need to start looking at the GEM for water damage (fusebox under glovebox)

Thanks. These guys look like they do it for £55 + posting it off to them

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185389941302?fits=Car+Make%3AFord%7CPlat_Gen%3AMK+II%7CModel%3AFocus

Might ring and ask if they can program the 2nd key as well, or does that require being done with the car. Have people done this using ForScan and it's worked ok?

[Jimpster]

as long as you have an original you can program yourself, or if you know someone with FORscan, did mine it was a doddle.

 

read the negative and neutral feedback before using anyone

[CassandraC]

1 minute ago, Jimpster said:

as long as you have an original you can program yourself, or if you know someone with FORscan, did mine it was a doddle

Thought you need 2 original working keys to program a new one. I've obviously got 1 working key. I've got the ForScan software but the cables are £40 which would make it cheaper to get someone else to do it if I can't do it with the 1 working key.

[Jimpster]

go with the cheaper modified usb lead, ELM 327 around £20 when i did mine via forscan i wiped ALL keys and set up 2 new masters, you will need the extended licence for forscan tho. If those 2 guys i mentioned are fairly near to you they will do it while you wait.

[CassandraC]

1 minute ago, Jimpster said:

go with the cheaper modified usb lead, when i did mine via forscan i wiped ALL keys and set up 2 new masters, you will need the extended licence for forscan tho. If those 2 guys i mentioned are fairly near to you they will do it while you wait.

So you can't program a key with just the one working original key then? Can't find details of Richard Aaron Beetwell or Ollie Jones, but when I looked through other posts someone said Richard was in Essex and I'm in Nottingham.

[CassandraC]

11 minutes ago, Jimpster said:

go with the cheaper modified usb lead, when i did mine via forscan i wiped ALL keys and set up 2 new masters, you will need the extended licence for forscan tho. If those 2 guys i mentioned are fairly near to you they will do it while you wait.

Sorry and when you said cheaper modified usb lead, am I looking at the wrong thing? https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=FS+OBD2+USB+Adapter&_sacat=0&LH_PrefLoc=2&_sop=15

[Jimpster]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Forscan-Elmconfig-Trouble-Diagnostic-Amenrican/dp/B075WVKL9S/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_w=Wvjd8&content-id=amzn1.sym.2d229339-2f42-4596-a90d-b81a4f52d6d3&pf_rd_p=2d229339-2f42-4596-a90d-b81a4f52d6d3&pf_rd_r=KBF7Q3B6SRYG5C4JMPB7&pd_rd_wg=VDwFX&pd_rd_r=be483b28-5448-469f-adcf-8e1013dce49b&pd_rd_i=B075WVKL9S&psc=1 thats what your after with the HS/MS switch. the guys are via facebook, not sure exactly where Ollie is but both offer a speedy post service. The V-Linker is the updated more expensive one. As i was replacing my cluster i opted to delete everything and start fresh.

[RL123]

My son’s 2008 cluster failed at 12 yrs due to the dry solder issue. Important to have all the joints there soldered as the solder used on these degrades.

My son’s repair/recon had a lifetime warranty but they are now advertising 10 year instead.

Thumping the dash is a prime indicator of where the problem is.

[CassandraC]

12 minutes ago, Jimpster said:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Forscan-Elmconfig-Trouble-Diagnostic-Amenrican/dp/B075WVKL9S/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_w=Wvjd8&content-id=amzn1.sym.2d229339-2f42-4596-a90d-b81a4f52d6d3&pf_rd_p=2d229339-2f42-4596-a90d-b81a4f52d6d3&pf_rd_r=KBF7Q3B6SRYG5C4JMPB7&pd_rd_wg=VDwFX&pd_rd_r=be483b28-5448-469f-adcf-8e1013dce49b&pd_rd_i=B075WVKL9S&psc=1 thats what your after with the HS/MS switch. the guys are via facebook, not sure exactly where Ollie is but both offer a speedy post service. The V-Linker is the updated more expensive one. As i was replacing my cluster i opted to delete everything and start fresh.

Thanks. Have applied for the 2 month free ForScan license and if that comes through then I'll look at getting a cable. Unless anyone in Nottingham feels the desire to lend me one.

[CassandraC]

10 minutes ago, RL123 said:

My son’s 2008 cluster failed at 12 yrs due to the dry solder issue. Important to have all the joints there soldered as the solder used on these degrades.

My son’s repair/recon had a lifetime warranty but they are now advertising 10 year instead.

Thumping the dash is a prime indicator of where the problem is.

I think that due to everyone on heres help I'll get it resoldered by sending the console off.

[rd457]

3 hours ago, CassandraC said:

I think that due to everyone on heres help I'll get it resoldered by sending the console off.

I concur with everyone else that the fact that hitting the dash makes a difference strongly suggests that it's the solder joint issue.

I recently began offering my own affordable repair service, link below, and I'd be happy to do it for you if you like.

[CassandraC]

12 hours ago, rd457 said:

I concur with everyone else that the fact that hitting the dash makes a difference strongly suggests that it's the solder joint issue.

I recently began offering my own affordable repair service, link below, and I'd be happy to do it for you if you like.

Hi. Thanks for that. Very tempted by the "cheaper" option. Double whammy of not having much money and the fact that I'd be surprised if the car lasted more than a year. I take it you test it before sending it back?

[rd457]

43 minutes ago, CassandraC said:

Hi. Thanks for that. Very tempted by the "cheaper" option. Double whammy of not having much money and the fact that I'd be surprised if the car lasted more than a year. I take it you test it before sending it back?

Unfortunately I'm actually currently lacking equipment to test it with, though I hope to get some sometime soon (lacking in funds myself).

However if I were you I wouldn't let that put me off:

• The fact that hitting the dash makes a difference, as already said, is a very strong indicator that it's got the bad solder joint issue, and this is likely the sole cause of all of your problems.
• The cracks always seem be located on the pins of the main wiring connector, and in every case I've looked at so far the cracks have been very obvious to see, so it's immediately obvious where to focus the repair work and to tell if the joints are mended afterwards. (I do have a look for any cracking elsewhere also just in case and will fix them if I happen to see any).
• The work of replacing or re-flowing the solder is a very simple and straight forward task.
• In all of the cases I've worked on so far, the repair work has been a complete success, and considering how straight forward it is, that's generally to be expected (unless the unit were somehow otherwise damaged).

So although unfortunate that I currently have no good means to power it on to check the result (unless I went to the trouble of hooking it up to my own car which I'd really rather not do to be honest), we can feel pretty confident that such repair work will simply be successful.

[mjt]

1 hour ago, rd457 said:

The work of replacing or re-flowing the solder is a very simple and straight forward task.

I would definitely recommend replacing the lead-free solder with conventional tin-lead type rather than just re-flowing. On my cluster I removed the solder on all the connector pins with solder wick before re-soldering with 60-40 resin-cored solder. Being a bit OCD I also cleaned off the resin residue using brake cleaner.

[RL123]

Even the experts can have the odd hiccup, on my son’s cluster on refitting , the needles didn’t return to zero and the fuel gauge reading looked suspect.Took it back the next day and the boss/owner stripped and redid it and double checked it before giving it back within 90 mins.

A good company is how they deal with any issues.

[CassandraC]

Took this to a local guy to get this re-soldered today. Paid more than I wanted to, but didn't trust my soldering skills and didn't want the car unusable for a while whilst I sent the cluster off. Came with a warranty as well and looks good on initial run. Thanks to everyone who replied. Knowing what the problem was helped a lot in making a decision with what to do.

[rd457]

8 hours ago, mjt said:

I would definitely recommend replacing the lead-free solder with conventional tin-lead type rather than just re-flowing. On my cluster I removed the solder on all the connector pins with solder wick before re-soldering with 60-40 resin-cored solder. Being a bit OCD I also cleaned off the resin residue using brake cleaner.

Indeed, that's what I'm offering for my 'standard' service. I only do the reflow on the cheaper service for anyone who just wants a quick and cheaper job. 👍