Hi All

car - 2006 1.8tdci 66K miles

I have had my focus over a month now and I am happy with it, apart from one thing which after this evening i feel it is going to cause an accident.

at least once a week, the red exclamation mark with the cog wheel around it located on the RPM gauge comes on, accompanied with a short (like 2 seconds) of power loss. Power loss is mostly at low revs in 1st or second gear cruising around town.

This evening I pulled from a junction and got nothing for these heart stopping 2-3 seconds.

When the engine is turned off and on again, the light goes out as doesn't come on again until the next annoying power loss episode..

I took the vehicle back to the ford garage, who couldn't find anything wrong with it (I don't think they know alot about this car and engine type...). They said these little lights (not the yellow engine light) come on at the slightest thing, and I am the 'worried well'.

A little bit more info, when driving at all times while in gear, there is a very very faint whistle/tinkering sound when accelerating. As I have never owned a diesel, let alone a focus, this might e a standard noise.

What is the EG Valve? can they cause a sudden power loss?

Turbo intercooler pipes, can they cause sudden loss of power?

Cheers for any advice as I am going to the garage again to demand a more thorough inspection before it kills me...! or cause an accident.

That's power train light an wat did they say there was no fault codes in main ford dealership how much they charge u

sound like a turbo issue. either the turbo is finished or hopefully its just a split pipe/hose

If there is a whistling sound and loss of power I'd say for sure the intercooler hose is split somewhere.

It may be an obvious split (mine went right at the top near the firewall) or underneath the pipe/behind the lower pipe.

The intercooler pipe is in three pieces, the first piece is the top rubber hose and metal length past the expansion tank then the second part is the other rubber hose down to the intercooler.

Ford only sell the top part as a kit not just the rubber part, cheaper to buy a silicone section off ebay and change yourself.

Have a look at my signature for a guide on replacing the Turbo Intercooler pipe, it shows where you can get an almost impossible to identify hairline crack in the pipe as Clive mentioned.

Updates;

Yesterday I contacted the garage to have the car more thoroughly looked at on Tuesday.

But this evening as I was driving home it did it again, power loss and red light. Then as I entered a dual carriage way and accelerated up...WOOOOSH sound from under the bonnet.

I knew exactly what it was and I am a little relieved really, rang up the garage and they basically repeated to me what I thought it would be - inter cooler pipe. taking it in on tuesday for the repair and I will keep my eye on it...

Until you get it fixed you can continue to drive the car as long as you don't boot it and keep the revs down to about 3000.

Other than that you can try duct tape wrapped around the split section (if you can get to it) but will still need to keep your acceleration smooth.

I use duct tape before really good if u stuck cause u really don't want dirt getting in there an if u take pipe out an do good job puttin it on it will actually hold boost pressure

There is a guide to replacing the intercooler pipe in my signature. I was driving around for about 6 months with a knackered pipe, its not the end of the world. I got it fixed a darned sight cheaper than Ford wanted for it. If you are handy with a spanner, you might be able to save yourself a few quid!

An update to this situation

I had the garage replace the pipes and all has been ok for just over a month, until recently.

It is doing the exact same thing, however the turbo pulls ok and there are no whistling noises.

The red light came on twice today, and the last time it was on a roundabout, scared the life out of me.

Any suggestions?

have you got any error codes?