Just now, Alex164 said:

Hi Tom I’m doing this now these are the results with ignition off : 

volts: 0.04 

continuity: no beeping what so ever I checked this on the footwell bulb line and beeped straight away 

ignition on engine off

continuity : no beeps 

voltage 4.99 

does this sound like a faulty switch then I’m getting voltage but no continuity 

 

Continuity should be done on the switch itself, not the loom.  Not sure if I've misread that though.

The voltage looks good.  Some sensors and switches use 5v instead of 12v and that appears to be fine.

14 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Continuity should be done on the switch itself, not the loom.  Not sure if I've misread that though.

The voltage looks good.  Some sensors and switches use 5v instead of 12v and that appears to be fine.

Ah so would that be the two metal pins on the end of the switch itself the blue part and that is the right setting right to check the beeping sound ?

Done the test again with the switch out beeping when touching the two metal pins then when I push the plunger in it stops making the beeps so I assume the switch is fine @TomsFocus

17 minutes ago, Alex164 said:

Done the test again with the switch out beeping when touching the two metal pins then when I push the plunger in it stops making the beeps so I assume the switch is fine @TomsFocus

Yes, that's correct.  Looks like that fault codes was a red herring after all.

6 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Yes, that's correct.  Looks like that fault codes was a red herring after all.

Well at least I learnt something down to you so thanks for that if the fault code is not relating to that switch there must be one on the transmission or Gearbox but surely that would say sensor not switch on Forscan 

11 minutes ago, Alex164 said:

Well at least I learnt something down to you so thanks for that if the fault code is not relating to that switch there must be one on the transmission or Gearbox but surely that would say sensor not switch on Forscan 

There isn't one on your gearbox.  It probably is a complete red herring.  Happens a lot with generic OBD scanners.  Though it is unusual to happen on Forscan.

4 hours ago, Alex164 said:

Does this look burnt out ? Never seen one before but does look it

No, no signs of it being burnt out at all.

The white grime is just a residue left over from manufacturing, common to older models like this.

The black bits I've also come across a lot on the early Mk2 Focus circuit boards, though never quite as bad as yours. It always occurs in places where there are connections from one side of the board to the other, and as best as I've been able to tell it seems to be corrosion, spreading outwards underneath the solder mask (the green protective coating). I've previously rubbed at it with both a plastic tool and my hot soldering iron, and it clears up significantly when I do that. Several times before I've checked out continuity through such "corroded" locations and never found a problem.

As I've described a few times before, I was once sent a Mk1 Focus unit, and I've had several Transit units of a similar age, and while the Transit units had cracked connector solder joints (a common problem for many models), and as best as I recall I managed to fix most of them, I didn't have any luck with the Mk1 Focus unit. I put a lot of effort into working on it. The connector joints weren't cracked at all. It had a few corrosion spots similar to yours but they all checked out good. I reflowed every solder joints on the entire board; I sprayed it with WD40, scrubbed this in, then cleaned it off; I scrubbed it with IPA; I replaced the four electrolytic capacitors; etc, but in the end it didn't solve the customer's original complaints. Not that I could be certain the IC was even responsible for them.

Yours actually has some significant design differences to that one (a 2003 petrol unit), with yours having a lot more bulbs and different gauge motors (based on how they are connected to the board), and that was just one sample, so you never know, maybe yours will have cracked joints or cleaning it will make a difference.

You'll have to take the board fully out to inspect the other side. Normally taking the board out requires first removing the gauge needles because the motors are soldered to the board. To do this gently turn all of the needles downwards (towards zero) until you feel them hit a stop. Mark the positions with a pencil or something, then force them to turn further while pulling upwards to remove the needles from the motor spindles. In this case though I think the four pins of the motors are just pushed into some clips, so you might be able to remove the board without doing this, leaving the motors in the white case with the needles still attached, thus avoiding the hassle of getting the needles back on and in the right positions again later. Once you've got the board out you can check the wiring connector (white socket) solder joints for cracks. You can also scrub both sides clean. And if you want to check continuity through the "corrosion spots", you'll need to clean them up enough so that you can see which traces they connect to on each side, then either follow the traces to an exposed solder joint, or very carefully scrape away a tiny bit of green solder mask on the traces to expose the copper, then you can check that you've got a good low resistance path through each of those "corroded" through-hold connections.

2 hours ago, rd457 said:

No, no signs of it being burnt out at all.

The white grime is just a residue left over from manufacturing, common to older models like this.

The black bits I've also come across a lot on the early Mk2 Focus circuit boards, though never quite as bad as yours. It always occurs in places where there are connections from one side of the board to the other, and as best as I've been able to tell it seems to be corrosion, spreading outwards underneath the solder mask (the green protective coating). I've previously rubbed at it with both a plastic tool and my hot soldering iron, and it clears up significantly when I do that. Several times before I've checked out continuity through such "corroded" locations and never found a problem.

As I've described a few times before, I was once sent a Mk1 Focus unit, and I've had several Transit units of a similar age, and while the Transit units had cracked connector solder joints (a common problem for many models), and as best as I recall I managed to fix most of them, I didn't have any luck with the Mk1 Focus unit. I put a lot of effort into working on it. The connector joints weren't cracked at all. It had a few corrosion spots similar to yours but they all checked out good. I reflowed every solder joints on the entire board; I sprayed it with WD40, scrubbed this in, then cleaned it off; I scrubbed it with IPA; I replaced the four electrolytic capacitors; etc, but in the end it didn't solve the customer's original complaints. Not that I could be certain the IC was even responsible for them.

Yours actually has some significant design differences to that one (a 2003 petrol unit), with yours having a lot more bulbs and different gauge motors (based on how they are connected to the board), and that was just one sample, so you never know, maybe yours will have cracked joints or cleaning it will make a difference.

You'll have to take the board fully out to inspect the other side. Normally taking the board out requires first removing the gauge needles because the motors are soldered to the board. To do this gently turn all of the needles downwards (towards zero) until you feel them hit a stop. Mark the positions with a pencil or something, then force them to turn further while pulling upwards to remove the needles from the motor spindles. In this case though I think the four pins of the motors are just pushed into some clips, so you might be able to remove the board without doing this, leaving the motors in the white case with the needles still attached, thus avoiding the hassle of getting the needles back on and in the right positions again later. Once you've got the board out you can check the wiring connector (white socket) solder joints for cracks. You can also scrub both sides clean. And if you want to check continuity through the "corrosion spots", you'll need to clean them up enough so that you can see which traces they connect to on each side, then either follow the traces to an exposed solder joint, or very carefully scrape away a tiny bit of green solder mask on the traces to expose the copper, then you can check that you've got a good low resistance path through each of those "corroded" through-hold connections.

Wow thank you for your in depth reply i think it’s something I’ll look at tomorrow as all I done was clean it with contact cleaner wiped down and repeated never solved my issue but I took that white plastic plate off and was going to remove the board but those little white and grey  electrical connectors are stopping it from coming out and don’t want to force it ? Literally done so much on this car now, I got a new o.e vss sensor coming by the end of the week hopefully this one will solve my mileage and speedo issue as every function works on the dash apart from the mph needle Forscan done a ic test and was nothing too, currently the only code I’m getting is the stupid p1709 which i thought its the switch on clutch pedal but the good man @TomsFocus told me how to test and I got the beeping sound and voltage 0.05 with key off and 4.99 volts with key on so I don’t think it’s that, so no idea where else to look for with that code I’ve took all earths off under the bonnet sanded down and the paintwork as I know that was a issue from factory for some cars then tested all continuity and voltage and was getting 12.51 volts, I checked the battery voltage about an hour ago 12.52 ignition off i will check again with car running, checked live data of tps sensor no fault, 1volt, although with just ignition on engine off I got 17% and while driving between 18-40

On 5/23/2025 at 8:23 PM, mjt said:

Regarding your speedometer issues this may be a complete red herring but I think it's worth a mention. We had a 2003 Focus Ghia estate which suffered from problems with the speedometer dropping to zero. The vss was changed and later a new instrument cluster was fitted, all under warranty. The problem continued to appear and eventually became permanent. The speedometer would flick when the key was turned to position II and occasionally when moving off. The cause was subsequently discovered to be a chafed wire where the loom from the vss passes over the gear selector.

Our engine was a 1.8TDCi, not a petrol, so the above may well not be relevant to your issue. It would likely have had a different loom and different gearbox. However it would do no harm to check for something like this.

As for you getting shocks from the door handle that's a bit baffling to me because I wouldn't have thought the normal vehicle voltages would be high enough for that (except for the ignition system, obviously). Usually that kind of experience results from static build-up caused by friction between man-made fabrics in clothing and upholstery.

It’s worth checking thank you for this I got my eyes on the vss then it connects into the loom but I can’t see it going anywhere after apart from battery and under it, where does it pass over the gear selector do you know I’ll have to try and find it, it’s not that black plastic box at the front under the car is it which unclips I remember checking the other day and as I changed gear things moved inside is this the place your talking about ? Sorry I’m on a learning curve so picking quite a lot up due to this car 🥲

42 minutes ago, Alex164 said:

apart from battery and under it

I have known Wiring that passes under Batteries to be damaged because of Battery Acid leaking in the past.

1 hour ago, Tizer said:

I have known Wiring that passes under Batteries to be damaged because of Battery Acid leaking in the past.

Ye true wouldn’t be correct in my case though wish it was simple as that looking at battery tray it’s never had a leak there I’ll be taking wheel arch out to inspect more 

10 hours ago, Tizer said:

I have known Wiring that passes under Batteries to be damaged because of Battery Acid leaking in the past.

I had a burst brake pipe due to that many years ago.  Battery acid had taken the paint off so water got in and started rusting it.  Obviously no way anyone could see it under there before it was too late.  (No damage or injuries fortunately)

14 hours ago, Alex164 said:

where does it pass over the gear selector do you know?

Sorry, I can't help with that. I only know what the garage reported and didn't see it myself.