Hi All,

I have a weird problem with my 1996 Escort 1600 LX 16V - it starts and runs fine until I've done two or three miles at which point it starts missing at irregular intervals. Sometimes it will be just a few seconds between these missing 'episodes' (which vary from a little hiccup to a major coughing fit causing the car to jerk and jump quite badly) and sometimes it will go for several minutes between them. It is always fine for the first couple of miles and the weather conditions seem to make no difference to the problem it behaves (or misbehaves!) the same way in the dry, damp, rain, warmth or cold.

A fault with the ignition coil has been suggested but I don't know why it should only happen after the car has been driven for a few miles - I have owned the car for many years and the problem started about six months ago but initially only happened occasionally (about once every few weeks and then there would only be a single episode per journey). Now it is getting worse and happens every time I take the car out for more than a few miles.

Any help from Escort experts (which I, sadly, am not) will be gratefully received!

Thanks for your time,

Nick

Hi

First off i would start with the basics

Change the spark plugs - £12

Change the HT leads - £10

Change the air filter - £10

Change the fuel filter - £3

Now you are at the point that its almost like your car has had a mini service.

If the problem is still there, its then time to start looking at other things.

Coil pack

Lambda sensor

Injectors

MAF

Hi

First off i would start with the basics

Change the spark plugs - £12

Change the HT leads - £10

Change the air filter - £10

Change the fuel filter - £3

Now you are at the point that its almost like your car has had a mini service.

If the problem is still there, its then time to start looking at other things.

Coil pack

Lambda sensor

Injectors

MAF

Hi vinnyvangough,

Thanks for your reply, it's had new plugs and leads and the air filter was changed fairly recently and looks ok so I think it will be the coil next!

Regards,

Nickb

If it were an older car without fuel injection then I would also say it's the coil. When the coil warms up it can start to breakdown, I had this on a Marina van I used to own a long time ago. With modern fuel systems there's lots of sensors that can fail so it's not so easy to say what the problem is but I would try the coil first.

I remember with my Marina that if you were very gentle with the throttle it wasn't so ban but if you tried to drive normally then it did an impression of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Hi lublin,

Thanks for the advice, I've actually just had the coil changed yesterday, and it has solved the problem (touch wood!) so it does seem to have been a similar problem to the one you had with your Marina van.

Thanks to the forum for the useful advice that has now got the old machine running smoothly again!

Nickb

Not a problem buddy. Glad to help