rockofgibraltar Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 Greetings from sunny Gibraltar!聽馃憢 I have an 05 Focus mk2 saloon with the 1.6 petrol and 97,000km (60,000 miles). Highly reliable, hasn't missed a beat - until a couple of days ago when she聽struggled to start and when she did, she ran on 3 cylinders. I checked the spark plug wells and found them full of water. I parked her outside and it had rained quite hard. I pumped out the water, dried out the wells and the HT leads as well as pulling out the spark plugs (they were replaced a couple of months ago) and dried them. I put the spark plugs back in, but made it a point to change them around. However, cylinder 4 still had a misfire. I parked the car indoors to avoid the rain. Now the car won't even start. She cranks, but I can't even get her to fire on 3 cylinders. I'm thinking ignition coil - any suggestions? Update: I've replaced the ignition coil but still have the same problem聽鈽癸笍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unofix Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 Is there any white exhaust smoke when started up ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockofgibraltar Posted April 2 Author Share Posted April 2 2 hours ago, unofix said: Is there any white exhaust smoke when started up ? No smoke. We've tested the spark plugs and the HT leads, all working OK. Car now fires up after spraying brake cleaner into the intake. She runs and idles on 3 cylinders but when revved past to 2,000 rpm or higher, it seems like cylinder 4 comes back to life.聽 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unofix Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 Think you need to do a compression test. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatHead1979 Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 20 hours ago, unofix said: Think you need to do a compression test. Indeed, hopefully there hasn't been internal damage from hydrolocking 1 or more cylinders聽馃 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 7 minutes ago, FatHead1979 said: Indeed, hopefully there hasn't been internal damage from hydrolocking 1 or more cylinders聽馃 Fingers crossed, it ain't pretty! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockofgibraltar Posted April 8 Author Share Posted April 8 On 4/2/2024 at 5:20 PM, unofix said: Think you need to do a compression test. I've got it booked in with a specialist to do just this. It's odd, because it fires up on 3 cylinders but if I rev it to 2,000rpm or higher, cylinder 4 comes in and the misfire stops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT70 Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 Change coil pack, leads and plugs before you start panicking about it being anything else 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockofgibraltar Posted April 8 Author Share Posted April 8 10 minutes ago, DaveT70 said: Change coil pack, leads and plugs before you start panicking about it being anything else Changed the coil pack. The spark plugs are months old, tested them all and the leads, they're all working fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT70 Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 Just now, rockofgibraltar said: Changed the coil pack. The spark plugs are months old, tested them all and the leads, they're all working fine. Change the leads before you start panicking about it being anything else 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troy45 Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 Related to Dave鈥檚 reply above, you could try swapping coil packs and plugs between cylinders to see if the fault stays with the cylinder or moves with the plug/coil pack 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjt Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 On 4/2/2024 at 12:01 PM, rockofgibraltar said: I put the spark plugs back in, but made it a point to change them around. 聽 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M0ndeo Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 How about reading faultcodes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockofgibraltar Posted April 9 Author Share Posted April 9 Just one: P0304 2 hours ago, M0ndeo said: How about reading faultcodes? 聽 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferretfloozy Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 fuel injector - e10 *****? would be my guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M0ndeo Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Maybe you should try to swap #4 injector to some other cylinder. If it wont transfer fault to other cylinder , and compression test is ok. Then i would be suspect wiring loom , since you have already replaced coil and plugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen23 Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Check ht leads for sparks when its dark. Could be dump HT leaads, spark to the ground though damaged insulation and instead of going to spark plug just shoots to nearest ground point.聽 On focus mk1 1.6i, it was recommendation to reduce gup in spark plugs from 1.6mm to about 1.3mm if I remember right,聽 as it was to much stress on HT leads and coil pack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockofgibraltar Posted April 10 Author Share Posted April 10 Update: Strangely enough, she fired up on 3 cylinders but when I started driving her, she smoothed out and ran on 4. She's been running perfectly on 4 ever since, even upon restart. I've left her with a trusted mechanic who will do all tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockofgibraltar Posted April 16 Author Share Posted April 16 Update: car tested fine for compression, head gasket, fuel injection and spark/ignition. Mechanic cleaned the major electronics with contact cleaner and the engine warning light disappeared. Had timing belt and water pump replaced whilst at it. Just picked her up, she's running beautifully! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockofgibraltar Posted April 18 Author Share Posted April 18 The drama ain't over just yet 馃槶 the Gibraltarian weather is beginning to average north of 20掳C, so A/C is vital! It works perfectly when driving, but then on idle stopped cooling. Engine temp rapidly shot up, too 馃槪 narrowed it down to a faulty ventilator control unit. Popped a new one in, and we're back in business. Then I parked her, came back to her 30 mins later and...she refused to start. Same issue: sounds like she's just about so start but nothing happens. She did it twice before starting up on the third try. Now we've ruled out spark/ignition, fuel injection, compression and head gasket. Timing belt is brand new, as is thermostat. Then I got to thinking... This car is 18 years old. Although I hear the fuel pump working when I turn the key, could it be that an 18 year old fuel filter and fuel pump are failing to pass enough fuel/fuel pressure to the injectors? 馃 Thoughts please! 馃挱 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonovAN12 Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 The Mk2 petrols don't have a fuel filter. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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