Hello All

I have had a problem with my Ford Focus Automatic where without any reason the alert lights would pop up on the  dashboard display and from time to time the car would not start. By not start, the lights and everything would work as normal, the car just wouldn't crank to start.      Took it to two mechanics who both ran diagnostics and results showed comms error.  (The first mechanic gave up after that.)  The second mechanic who is more engineering oriented, after a period diagnostics and testing,  felt strongly that the problem was with  the Inhibitor Switch.  He had seen it on other Focuses (rarely) from time to time and replacing it resulted in the problem to recurring.    Problem is Ford no longer carries them and says the part was obsolete now.  Bit of a strange thing for Ford to say about a 2008 car.   I appreciate it is an older car but otherwise it runs great. So I am  expected to dump a perfectly good car for a £30 part? 

I am  trying spare and  reconditioned parts suppliers but it seems to be  a difficult part to source.   I would appreciate any guidance on where to get the part.   Would Ford USA possibly have the part?  Appreciate this question may be a bit absurd, but,  Is there any suitable comparable part for another car that would do the job?  

Again thanks for any assistance / guidance any one can offer.   

Jim

Get the codes read correctly.

If you have lots of "lost communications with........." and "Theft Detected" then it's the common instrument cluster fault.

Look for Focus/Cmax instrument cluster repair on Ebay and send it off to get re-soldered

Dry solder joints in the cluster have you?

quick check by a hard slap on the dash above the cluster can sometimes bring the car to life . Cluster refurb is about £100.

look for u1900 or similar in the dtcs.

1 hour ago, JamesJL77 said:

the problem was with  the Inhibitor Switch. 

Not sure what is meant by 'Inhibitor Switch' but in any case the problem is almost certainly dry solder joints on the instrument cluster. Easily repaired for £90 or less. @rd457 will be happy to advise on a repair.

This may help...

 

3 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

This may help...

It should be of big help to him. 👍

All he needs now is a battery State Of Charge table and someone to recommend a good low cost Smart battery charger 🤣

19 minutes ago, unofix said:

It should be of big help to him. 👍

All he needs now is a battery State Of Charge table and someone to recommend a good low cost Smart battery charger 🤣

I had to 'google' inhibitor switch, and with him having an automatic, at least my education has been expanded! If he asks, I'll let him know about the charger 🤣

16 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

I had to 'google' inhibitor switch, and with him having an automatic,

I can not believe that a garage was (a) unable to test the operation of the switch. (b) was unable just to link out the switch for confirmation of the fault.

It makes you wonder just what level of thought process do these professional garages have !!

@JamesJL77 As mentioned above I'm providing a repair service for the common instrument cluster cracked solder joint problem, which could alternatively be the actual cause of your problem. Here's a link: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314393033915

Thank you, I'll check it out.  

Did Ford give you a part number for the switch?  I think it'll be this one. 

Genuine Ford Gear Lever Position Sensor 4826701 | eBay

 

To add to the confusion.  Ford also call one of the clutch pedal switches a 'starter inhibitor' on manuals.

Ford MANUAL TRANSMISSION CLUTCH PEDAL STARTER INHIBITOR SWITCH - 1439868