Hi all.

Great site, lots of info, hope someone can give me a few pointers.

I have a couple of problems with a Focus I have had for a couple of months.

It is a 1.8 51 plate.

1. I have a problem with stalling. No spluttering or anything before hand, just put your foot on the clutch at lights etc and the revs drop to zero. The other day my mate needed a jump start, I took the battery cover off and found a rather small battery compared with the size of the battery holder.

Could this cause stalling, if not, what else causes it??

2. The speedo stopped working for a few seconds. It's only happened once. Just wondering if it is likely to give up?

3. The central locking locks when I press the button on the key fob but then opens again. It works fine off the key. I took one of the panels off to have a look about and sprayed all the locks with a silicone spray and it worked for 4 or 5 goes then went back to not working, any clues??

Thanks for any help you can give.

The speedo dropping to zero is usually caused by the vehicle speed sensor (located on rear of gearbox). The solenoid in the drivers door could be kaput.

Stalling will probably be some sort of oxygen / fuel sensor, sounds like its givingtoo much air / not enough fuel and just gives out.

When the engine goes what lights appear? if you have a trip computer have you checked for DTC codes?

My guess is that on stalling you have no unusual warning lights, just the standard EML, Oil Pressure, Battery etc

The speedo dropping to zero is usually caused by the vehicle speed sensor (located on rear of gearbox).

I had this problem with the speedo dropping to zero, no other instruments were affected. The VSS and instrument cluster were both replaced but the fault persisted. It was eventually found that the wiring loom from the VSS had chafed through against the gearchange linkage.