Spark Plugs?

[MightyG]

Hello

I have recently bought a 2003 Focus 1.6 LX petrol. I haven't owned a car
in 7 years! my last car was an 1989 VW Golf, which rusted away living
next to the Irish sea. People suggested that Fords were better now and
VW's aren't as good as they used to be...

Anyway, I have noticed that on acceleration that the car stutters. Which
made me think that it needed a new set of spark plugs fairly soon.

Today, however the engine warning light came on. After a little research
on the internet, there was the suggestion that petrol may be entering
the Cat (Catylitic converter). I don't think I had one of these before.
So, my question is, do I need to sort out new spark plugs/ coils as more of a
matter of urgency that I previously thought?


I think I've a lot of new car things to learn. I'm still wowing over
electric windows, power steering (parking is a lot less fun!) and a
digital odometer etc



Any advice appreciated

[mick85]

Eml light means it's problem relating to emissions u really need check fault code first where u based

Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC

[FOCA]

Although the car is "modern" don't forget its 11 years old now - the secret to running an old car, in my opinion is to spend as little as possible on it , and get the balance right eg a "stich in time" vs spending money you dont need to

a frequent oil/ filter change is good practice, and can prevent wear etc

a regular air filter change can help keep the MPG high and the fuel mixture right

Spark plugs are a consumable on a petrol car, did you know regular plug changes can help protect the coil packs from damage? and running a smaller spark plug gap puts the coil packs under less stress?

You can purchase an OBD fault code reader for your car for as little as £20 - a good investment as it may save you money in the long run

Another useful investement is a Haynes manual - even if you dont intend to do your own work on the car, useful for basic things like data, or to do your own servicing, and invaluable for more complicated things

[MightyG]

Thanks for the replies

I'm not in Aberystwyth/Wales anymore. I've recently moved down South to Guildford, Surrey. With the increased population density I was expecting the public transport to be a lot better, hence deciding to get a runabout, as I don't have the time to spend half the day waiting for buses.

The other thing is, I haven't found a friendly local garage, where they will answer questions and fix things that need fixing for a reasonable fee and establish a relationship with you. Are there any such places in Surrey?

Yes, all the electronics is the big change with 'modern' cars. I have run the dashboard test and the dtc code was FFFF, which I think means no problem. The other thing I did last night was change a headlamp bulb; I was pleased you can still do this, though it was a lot more effort than it was on my old cars! But that shouldn't have messed up the electronics, it was on the drivers side, the passenger side would have involved removing the battery; Brilliant design Ford!

Which still doesn't answer my question. It may be an emissions problem, unspent fuel being sent to the Cat' would do that! Is this seriously damaging the cat or just killing Polar bears? I will get a Haynes manual and am intending to service it, but i don't know whether this needs to be done soonest.

i shall try and find a local garage and see what they say.

[FOCA]

As far as i am aware the dashboard test is very basic and you wold get more codes if you plugged in a reader to the obd11 port

if the engine warning ight came on you are liable to have logged a fault code - you need to find out what that was by aquiring a code reader or getting the codes read

Fault finding is difficult - even main Ford dealers with direct access to the car, trained and "skilled" personel and "sophisticated equipment" often get it wrong (stop sniggering )

Now when you get Ford owners making posts asking what is wrong with their car and they expect a simple answer they can understand and they have not given half the nessesary information (including engine size or often even whether its a petrol or diesel engine! )

The ECU sensors, etc etc puts another layer/ level of complexity onto a car and their are many things that can go wrong and you must be careful not to jump to conclusions and there is little point in speculating without more information

if you get the codes we can take it from there

No idea where you can find a garage/ mechanic you can trust - ive been in the trade for many years/ im very knowledgable and its my home town and all i have is a huge list of ones i don't trust (mabee some, at a pinch) - only person you can really trust is yourself :)

If the cat is contaminated/ burnt out/ damaged its was liable to have failed its last MOT, assuming it passed, perhaps there is someting ese wrong

[MightyG]

Thank you for your help

I will get an obd reader.

The car passed it's last emissions test at MOT (29/1/14)

[justgotast170]

FOCA, Could you recommend a good reader.

Thanks

daz

[MightyG]

Hi

I've been enjoying driving again, until this evening, when I got a disturbing smell, I then realised I had trodden in dog poo.....

Anyway, I did get an obd reader, which I managed to erase the error code before reading it the first time. All was then fine for a couple of weeks. The check engine code came back on at the weekend. This time I got the code: "P0420 - Three way catalytic converter Bank 1 does not operate properly."

Which does suggest the possibility that it may be spark plugs after all. It still misfires, but only at low speeds when I try to pull away in 2nd and am below 10mph, though i'm still getting used to the different gear ratios.

Does this mean anything to anyone?