Mk6 Brain ***** this AM

[hazbaz1984]

Mk6 (2006) suddenly starts labouring at idle at the lights. Sounds like it’s going to stall. 
 

Doesn’t like going into 2nd. No power delivery on throttle, revs drop, really feels like it will stall. Think it had a small backfire as well.
 

Gave it some beans in 1st, seems to clear out whatever clog/electrical fault is causing the issue. Now running fine.

Feels like future trouble to me. I was thinking coil pack or fuel pump. No EML or codes. 
 

Anyone experience similar? Cheers. 

[DaveT70]

Coil pack, plugs and leads first.

Then start investigating further

[hazbaz1984]

21 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

Coil pack, plugs and leads first.

Then start investigating further

I did plugs and leads when I bought the car. I think coil pack is original, so that’s where I’ll start. 
 

My focus went through 4. So it’s a likely fault. Although, I did get a flashing EML on the focus due to unburnt fuel igniting in the exhaust. No such warning on the fiesta. 
 

But thanks for confirming my preliminary suspicions. 

[hazbaz1984]

Starting to think this might have been coolant in one of the cylinders. 

[Bobr]

That particular model had a lot of trouble with the coil packs.   I know; I had one.

 

[hazbaz1984]

2 hours ago, Bobr said:

That particular model had a lot of trouble with the coil packs.   I know; I had one.

 

I might just set the car on fire.

Would be quicker and easier than fixing all its issues tbh.

[DaveT70]

8 hours ago, hazbaz1984 said:

I might just set the car on fire.

Would be quicker and easier than fixing all its issues tbh.

Yes, I agree! The car should just go and get the parts and fix itself

[TomsFocus]

17 year old Ford is unreliable - who'd have guessed that?

[jr795]

My mk7 (1.4 duratec) had a misfire for a while. Coil pack fixed it (common fault). Changing spark plugs did fix it for a time but then it returned

[leederbyshire]

If you have a good reason to believe you are getting coolant in one or more cylinders (due to a 'blown' head gasket), then I believe (although I've never tried it myself) you can stick one of those cheap eBay endoscopes down the plug holes and look for areas of the piston crowns that have had the carbon deposits steam cleaned away by the coolant.  Seems like an odd thing to happen, but I've heard this several times, and have no reason to doubt it.  Of course, you would also notice that you are losing a lot of coolant :-)

[hazbaz1984]

36 minutes ago, leederbyshire said:

If you have a good reason to believe you are getting coolant in one or more cylinders (due to a 'blown' head gasket), then I believe (although I've never tried it myself) you can stick one of those cheap eBay endoscopes down the plug holes and look for areas of the piston crowns that have had the carbon deposits steam cleaned away by the coolant.  Seems like an odd thing to happen, but I've heard this several times, and have no reason to doubt it.  Of course, you would also notice that you are losing a lot of coolant 🙂

I have lost a lot of coolant. 

I also have mayo on the filler cap and in the neck, and at the bottom of the oil pan.

Think I need to do full diagnostics (compression/leak down) and go from there. 

[leederbyshire]

Seems like a reasonable next step.  I already have an endoscope for this exact purpose, so I would also stick that down there; but if you don't, then a compression test is always good.  It can be a little nerve-wracking, because if you get bad readings you are in for a busy weekend.

[hazbaz1984]

9 hours ago, leederbyshire said:

Seems like a reasonable next step.  I already have an endoscope for this exact purpose, so I would also stick that down there; but if you don't, then a compression test is always good.  It can be a little nerve-wracking, because if you get bad readings you are in for a busy weekend.

Yeah. I'll do testing, give it an endoscopy, and go from there.