I have recently purchased a Ford Focus 1.8tdci ghia estate 2002. The problem is that the glow plug light started flashing then the car went into limp home mode. When i got the car home and restarted it there was a lot of bluey white smoke and it was still in limp home mode. I have had various people look at it with no luck. All 4 injectors were changed as they all had faults, the system was reset and the car ran for a day. The next day i was driving and the glow plug light started flashing again, so this time i stoopped and called the AA.They took the car back to the garage that had replaced the injectors and they tried to find the fault. The fault came up as knock sensor so they replaced that but it hasn't cured it. As it stands the car will only start (just) in limp hoome mode, blows out huge amounts of bluey white smoke(unburnt full apparently) which clers a little when the engine warms up.

Can anyone help?

bandit1200

You can call a mechanic and check your cam-sensor. It can be one of the reason for your problem.

hi bandit, i dont own a diesel however you obviously have a serious over fuelling problem. having read the dear haynes manual for diesel engines they come up with next to zip. now you've had new injectors, ran good for one day then fault re-appeared. then diagnosed faulty knock sensor and replaced it, buy it didnt cure the problem. from what i can see there are a few main things that determine the amount of fuel to be delivered to the pistons.

1.crankshaft position sensor determines the position of the crank to 90 deg btdc by monitoring for the protrusions at the flywheel, there is one protusion missing, this tells the ecu and gives it a reference for crankshaft position, and the time between signal pulses determines engine speed. ie old fashioned timing in my day. i think this sensor is also known as the knock sensor so disconnect and remove the sensor. clean the electrical sensor with electrical contact cleaner to ensure you are getting a good signal. now if possible rotate the flywheel by hand and see if thet there is crap/dust at the edge of the flywheel which may be interupting the signal to the sensor.

2.information on the quantity and temperature of inlet air is picked up by the map sensor and inlet temperature sensors. now i know you have no fault codes to point to a particular sensor, however the map sensor is connected to the manifold by a vacuum hose and measures inlet pressure. ensure you hav no splits in hose and good tight connections. on the two temperature sensors fitted before the turbo and one after the intercooler clean out electrical connection. reasoning being that these items have a direct bearing on the quantity of fuel to be injected.

3.engine temperature sensor clean electrical connection im thinking if the car drove for a day and then showed a fault could the problem just be a dicky electrical connection somewhere.

4. now on the fuel pump side there is a very similar setuo to the crank side with regards sensors however these are fitted internally inthe pump and the pumps internal solenoids determine fuel output via a pump control unit mounted on top of the pump. now the pump control unit recieves its info from the engine ecu and determines the quantity and duration of fuel delivery. i have no idea how to test this however i would clean any elec plugs.

5.the ecu controls idle speed however i think you may have a sensor located near your accelerator pedal now this sensor via the ecu determines throttle position to determine appropriate fuelling requirements.If the sensor thinks it at flat out position it will send a signal to deliver that amount of fuel!

now posted somewhere in the forum today was somebody who had a problem with sensor and removed it and did a clean up of the internals!

sorry for boring you to death but you seem out of options at the moment, i hope this tome gives you a few more things to look for good luck!

Focus 1.8Tdci (57 Reg) Slow Throttle Response was the throttle sensor with pics and car didnt show fault codes'