Hello all

I have an 05 plate Focus TDCi which has suddenly developed a worrying fault.

I drove to a friend's last night, all was fine. After 5 hours or so I got back in the car to head home and about a mile into my journey the car seemed to lose power in every gear. It wouldn't go over 60 in either 4th or 5th gear and any small incline in the road caused the speed to drop quite quickly. The best way to describe it would be that the accelerator only seems to be effective for about 1/5 of its travel. For the other 4/5, the car doesn't respond at all.

No warning lights have appeared on the dash, there are no unusual noises coming from the engine and there is no smoke coming from the exhaust (that I have noticed). Perhaps I'm being optimistic, but might all this suggest an electrical fault rather than a mechanical fault?

My local garage was shut today, so I was wondering if there is anything I might be able to try over the weekend to either fix or at least diagnose the problem?

A quick Google search throws up someone with an identical problem, with his solution being "No mechanic needed...just removed the connection from the ECU to the common-rail, sprayed some contact cleaner... and the problem just disappeared!".

I have a little experience with electronics and I have some contact cleaner, but I'm not very confident with car maintenance beyond the basics. Is the fix above something I might be able to try? If so, could someone please advise me on where to locate the connection from the ECU to the common rail?

Thanks

Hello all

I have an 05 plate Focus TDCi which has suddenly developed a worrying fault.

I drove to a friend's last night, all was fine. After 5 hours or so I got back in the car to head home and about a mile into my journey the car seemed to lose power in every gear. It wouldn't go over 60 in either 4th or 5th gear and any small incline in the road caused the speed to drop quite quickly. The best way to describe it would be that the accelerator only seems to be effective for about 1/5 of its travel. For the other 4/5, the car doesn't respond at all.

No warning lights have appeared on the dash, there are no unusual noises coming from the engine and there is no smoke coming from the exhaust (that I have noticed). Perhaps I'm being optimistic, but might all this suggest an electrical fault rather than a mechanical fault?

My local garage was shut today, so I was wondering if there is anything I might be able to try over the weekend to either fix or at least diagnose the problem?

A quick Google search throws up someone with an identical problem, with his solution being "No mechanic needed...just removed the connection from the ECU to the common-rail, sprayed some contact cleaner... and the problem just disappeared!".

I have a little experience with electronics and I have some contact cleaner, but I'm not very confident with car maintenance beyond the basics. Is the fix above something I might be able to try? If so, could someone please advise me on where to locate the connection from the ECU to the common rail?

Thanks

youre in limp mode which restricts the cars speed and pick up to prevent engine damage forget the spray cleaner rubbish you need the fault codes read to find out what kicked it into limp mode without the codes youre looking for a needle in a haystack drive as little as possible or you could cause serious damage depending on whats wrong with it

youre in limp mode which restricts the cars speed and pick up to prevent engine damage forget the spray cleaner rubbish you need the fault codes read to find out what kicked it into limp mode without the codes youre looking for a needle in a haystack drive as little as possible or you could cause serious damage depending on whats wrong with it

OK. Thanks Artscot.

Would I need to go to a Ford garage to get a proper reading on the codes, or might my usual local independent have access to the necessary equipment?