Focus Dashboard Secret (Trick)

[artscot79]

if you do this or attempt it could it do any damage or cause any problems?

it doesnt cause issues or dfamage it will just reset the miles done on that particular day thats all and it doesnt give all the codes on the ones that are registered like low battery warnings etc youcan have fault codes and they will only show on a diagnostics machine.

also zev its not normal to switch the car off and the needles go to halfway this usually indicates a battery issue or alternator issue the battery fitted must be silver calcium/lead calcium lead acid batteries are no good and start to cause those types of electrical gremlins simple fix put the correct battery in the car it will still start the cat fine but the battery is basically being fried if its a lead acid battery

[zev]

it doesnt cause issues or dfamage it will just reset the miles done on that particular day thats all and it doesnt give all the codes on the ones that are registered like low battery warnings etc youcan have fault codes and they will only show on a diagnostics machine.

also zev its not normal to switch the car off and the needles go to halfway this usually indicates a battery issue or alternator issue the battery fitted must be silver calcium/lead calcium lead acid batteries are no good and start to cause those types of electrical gremlins simple fix put the correct battery in the car it will still start the cat fine but the battery is basically being fried if its a lead acid battery

Hi, I have checked the battery and it is a calcium battery as it has (ca) on the label. so you think it could be the alternator. How would I check that as the car is running well no apparant problems with the battery. Hope its not the alternator as I know they aint cheap.

zev

[artscot79]

Hi, I have checked the battery and it is a calcium battery as it has (ca) on the label. so you think it could be the alternator. How would I check that as the car is running well no apparant problems with the battery. Hope its not the alternator as I know they aint cheap.

zev

well if its a calcium battery then it looks like it needs looked at you can use the dash trick to see if the alternators working but i dont think it will be that do a dash test and see what comes up with dtc codes also that all the dials sweep correctly mines a mk1 but im sure even on the mk2 that the needles when the car is switched off should go to 0 only going to there relevant positions once the engines on. to check alternator go to battery and note the voltage should be around 14.9 ish then switch rear heated screen on and see what happens it should stay around the same it could be a dash cluster fault there were a few reports of the speedo going up with the ignition off

[zev]

well if its a calcium battery then it looks like it needs looked at you can use the dash trick to see if the alternators working but i dont think it will be that do a dash test and see what comes up with dtc codes also that all the dials sweep correctly mines a mk1 but im sure even on the mk2 that the needles when the car is switched off should go to 0 only going to there relevant positions once the engines on. to check alternator go to battery and note the voltage should be around 14.9 ish then switch rear heated screen on and see what happens it should stay around the same it could be a dash cluster fault there were a few reports of the speedo going up with the ignition off

ok thanks, although mine is not the st170 its the standard going off my owners manual.Would the dash trick still work. Will give it a go anyway nothing to lose by trying it.

Thanks

zev

[LiamZetec]

Hi all,

Do you reckon it would help me.My fuel and temp gauge are not reading prperly. When I switch the engine off the needles shoot up to half way. Have just fueled up and the gauge does register the fuel amount.But still stayed half way when the engine is off. I'm new to cars with computers in them as I've always had old bangers this is the newest car I've ever had so I'm natually apprehensive about messing with the computer. I have a 2002 1.6l lx focus.

zev x

Hi there Zev & everyone reading,

I have got the exact same problem as you with my 52 plate Focus 1.6 Zetec which is now on 113K miles. This happens to me roughly once a month and it actually first started when I test drove the car back in May when I got it but I never really thought anything as it disappeared by the time I got the car home, but then it re-appeared again 4 weeks later. Then it disappeared again for another 4 weeks and now it is back again today! The only thing that concerns me about it is incase it uses more battery power. What I have noticed with it today is that after a short drive, come to turn the ignition off and these 2 gauges will go to rest but then spring up again - the temp one will go back down slowly again and then it will act a bit eratic when coming back up to the middle again until the ignition is next turned on and it will read the normal reading. Hopefully tomorrow morning the 2 funny gauges will be back to normal again after the long drive to work... until another 4 weeks time.

In my service history booklet I decided to give the garage a ring who carried out the servicing on the car for the past 5 years by the previous owner and the car had infact had an new alternator fitted at the beginning of last year, so in a way I think the alternator can be safely ruled out with the problem I am having. The battery that is installed on mine doesn't look too old either and it's one of those RAC batteries with a health indicator (which is on green) and I have a feeling this must of been fitted by the RAC breakdown people themselves.

So in my case, do you guys reckon that the problem on mine is down to the instrument cluster finally started to give up the ghost?

Thanks all - Liam

[artscot79]

Hi there Zev & everyone reading,

I have got the exact same problem as you with my 52 plate Focus 1.6 Zetec which is now on 113K miles. This happens to me roughly once a month and it actually first started when I test drove the car back in May when I got it but I never really thought anything as it disappeared by the time I got the car home, but then it re-appeared again 4 weeks later. Then it disappeared again for another 4 weeks and now it is back again today! The only thing that concerns me about it is incase it uses more battery power. What I have noticed with it today is that after a short drive, come to turn the ignition off and these 2 gauges will go to rest but then spring up again - the temp one will go back down slowly again and then it will act a bit eratic when coming back up to the middle again until the ignition is next turned on and it will read the normal reading. Hopefully tomorrow morning the 2 funny gauges will be back to normal again after the long drive to work... until another 4 weeks time.

In my service history booklet I decided to give the garage a ring who carried out the servicing on the car for the past 5 years by the previous owner and the car had infact had an new alternator fitted at the beginning of last year, so in a way I think the alternator can be safely ruled out with the problem I am having. The battery that is installed on mine doesn't look too old either and it's one of those RAC batteries with a health indicator (which is on green) and I have a feeling this must of been fitted by the RAC breakdown people themselves.

So in my case, do you guys reckon that the problem on mine is down to the instrument cluster finally started to give up the ghost?

Thanks all - Liam

its either the cluster or an earthing fault either way a trip to ford is necessary to find out what it is before it starts effecting other things like the centrakl locking

found many topics on it but no fixes complaints that ford say they alkl do that at some point butthats it eventually the fuel gauge stops working or gives false readings

[zev]

it doesnt cause issues or dfamage it will just reset the miles done on that particular day thats all and it doesnt give all the codes on the ones that are registered like low battery warnings etc youcan have fault codes and they will only show on a diagnostics machine.

also zev its not normal to switch the car off and the needles go to halfway this usually indicates a battery issue or alternator issue the battery fitted must be silver calcium/lead calcium lead acid batteries are no good and start to cause those types of electrical gremlins simple fix put the correct battery in the car it will still start the cat fine but the battery is basically being fried if its a lead acid battery

Hi,

I've checked the hoses and one warms up and the other doesnt which I was told was normal and that when the other hose heats up the fan will come on. I,ve sat in the car for 15 mins or so and the needle doesnt move up or the fan turn on. I don't know of any other way of checking it. If it's any indication the heater inside the car heats up faster than any car I've had which is great.

The fuel gauge does the same jumps up to half way when engine is turned off but it does appear to be registering ok with the amount of fuel in the tank.

zev

[LiamZetec]

Thanks for your replies you two,

The 2 gauges have still been doing the same thing everyday now without fail whenever I turn off the engine since my first post but the car has still been running fine all electrics inc. central locking all still work fine. The only thing I have noticed is that say after a long drive i.e. around 50 miles and then turn off the engine, the 2 gauges will go back to their normal resting places and stay there for around 3 minutes before springing up to the half way position again and stay there until the next time the engine is turned on. How would I go about checking the earths myself?

Thanks again - Liam

[quickdrive]

Hi there I have just tryed this on my focus and yes it works. But can anyone tell me what does code r22 and Eoo1 mean. Thanks

[quickdrive]

Hello all ,

I have found some info out a few months ago about my focus i got it off a ST170 SITE so credit does go to them but i will say it here anyways

*******WARNING DO NOT TRY THIS IF YOU LIKE TO KEEP A CHECK ON MILEAGE AFTER EVERY REFILL LIKE ME AS THIS WILL RESET THE TRIP METER******************

1.GET IN FOCUS

2.PUT KEY IN STEERING LOCK OFF

3.HOLD DOWN TRIP RESET BUTTON ON INSTRUMENT PANEL

4.TURN IGNITION ON AND START ENGINE

5.NOW YOUR CAR IS IN SELF DIAGNOSTIC MODE

YOU CAN NOW CHECK IF THE CAR HAS ANY DTC CODES IN THE MEMORY ,CHECK ALL GUAGES ,CHECK ALL INSTRUMENTAL PANEL LAMPS EVEN ONES U DONT USE E.G. ABS GLOW PLUG LIGHT ON PETROL AND AUTO GEARBOX LAMP YOU CAN ALSO SEE YOUR REV METER IN DIGITAL

Give this a go its quite cool and also dtc codes are usefull if you know what to do with them try googling dtc library there used to be a program you could get but i dont know if its avaliable anymore

Thanks

Matt

[zev]

Thanks for your replies you two,

The 2 gauges have still been doing the same thing everyday now without fail whenever I turn off the engine since my first post but the car has still been running fine all electrics inc. central locking all still work fine. The only thing I have noticed is that say after a long drive i.e. around 50 miles and then turn off the engine, the 2 gauges will go back to their normal resting places and stay there for around 3 minutes before springing up to the half way position again and stay there until the next time the engine is turned on. How would I go about checking the earths myself?

Thanks again - Liam

Hi Liaamzetec,

How have you gone on with your gauges as I have the same problem.

zev

[H3lly]

That sounds like a dodge vehicle speed sensor.

[southside focus]

done this on my focus 04 1.8 works perfectly, how do i find out what each figure/value represents?

[LiamZetec]

Hi Liaamzetec,

How have you gone on with your gauges as I have the same problem.

zev

Zev - funny enough the 2 dodgy gauges have seemed to returned to normal again now and have stayed normal for over a week now.

Liam

[zev]

Zev - funny enough the 2 dodgy gauges have seemed to returned to normal again now and have stayed normal for over a week now.

Liam

gemlins lol

[LiamZetec]

gemlins lol

I've spoke to soon... problem returned again 3 days ago ggrrr! I have made a video of this anyway! Sorry about the quality:

Liam

[zev]

I've spoke to soon... problem returned again 3 days ago ggrrr! I have made a video of this anyway! Sorry about the quality:

Liam

That looks exactly the same as mine, the fuel gauge is registering the fuel in and out ok just not sure about the temp gauge although the fan did come on last week even though the needle didnt move over half way. I'm having some work done on the car over the next couple weks so I will have the themostat tested then.

zev

[mintalkin]

this is a common problem and is fixed by a new cluster,so i would just live with it.

[zev]

this is a common problem and is fixed by a new cluster,so i would just live with it.

Yeah think I will do that as long as I know both gauges do what there suppose to especially the temp gauge I will live with it.Dont fancy paying out for an expensive cluster.

zev

[LiamZetec]

That looks exactly the same as mine, the fuel gauge is registering the fuel in and out ok just not sure about the temp gauge although the fan did come on last week even though the needle didnt move over half way. I'm having some work done on the car over the next couple weks so I will have the themostat tested then.

zev

I am convinced that it's purely down to the cluster and that it needs replacing. As you can see at the start of the video the engine is turned off and then I turn it on, both them gauges go back to the normal resting place then go to their normal operating places - the engine was warm anyway at the time so both of the gauges still work fine.

Liam

[zev]

I am convinced that it's purely down to the cluster and that it needs replacing. As you can see at the start of the video the engine is turned off and then I turn it on, both them gauges go back to the normal resting place then go to their normal operating places - the engine was warm anyway at the time so both of the gauges still work fine.

Liam

Mines the same but I'm going to put up with it for now unless the gauges get worse or stop altogether. I know the clusters are expensive .

zev

[LiamZetec]

Mines the same but I'm going to put up with it for now unless the gauges get worse or stop altogether. I know the clusters are expensive .

zev

Yeah same here. You can get used ones anywhere between £20-40 on eBay but the only thing is you will need to take it to a specialist or Ford to get the mileage on the digital dash adjusted to match the actual mileage of your car but it is not a legal requirement (but I recommend you do it lol) or you can get a brand new one off the Ford Parts UK website for just over £60 which isn't too bad actually.

Liam

[thewhiteroom23]

My 1.8 Tdci went into engine management mode whilst booting it up a hill the other night in 3rd gear, a sudden reduction in power - although strangely the light didn't come on until the following day after another 35 miles or so. I've blown the intercooler out with compressed air ( it was full of crap ) and drained the fuel filter. Disconnected the battery several times but the light is still showing and its still in limp mode. Did a dashboard test but NONe were displayed. Is there a delay before the ECU resets?

Would appreciate any thought. Thanks...

[LiamZetec]

My 1.8 Tdci went into engine management mode whilst booting it up a hill the other night in 3rd gear, a sudden reduction in power - although strangely the light didn't come on until the following day after another 35 miles or so. I've blown the intercooler out with compressed air ( it was full of crap ) and drained the fuel filter. Disconnected the battery several times but the light is still showing and its still in limp mode. Did a dashboard test but NONe were displayed. Is there a delay before the ECU resets?

Would appreciate any thought. Thanks...

To reset the ECU using the disconnected battery method, your supposed to leave the battery disconnected for an hour or if it suits you better, leave it disconnected overnight. Therefore the ECU will be fully reset and when you turn the ignition back on for the first time since the reset you will notice that the gauges will do a little test for the first 30 seconds or so.

Liam

[ilanbutler]

tried it on my focus 2.0 zetec works a treat thanks.