Hi all,

Just wondering, I got stop start on my ego boost.

When I pull up somewhere at traffic lights say or in traffic jam the car will stop all good. If I sit for too long when the car has stopped, just randomly it will start itself up again without me doing anything. Why is this?

Stop start is very reliant on battery condition and detected voltage.

Maybe the car noticed a drop in voltage so restarted as a precaution against failing to get going again.

But the car has only done 71 miles, I'm sure the battery should be tip top.

Just don't know if this is something all stop start cars do or of its a fault somewhere

haha just realised my predictive text ... ego boost haha.

We all need an ego boost :D

It's perfectly normal, based on battery condition and also the interior temperature of the car (if air conditioning needs to cut in).

As above depends on battery , you might have not put enough top up charge in your battery try going on a longish run to top up the battery wouldn't worry about it, it's normal

hahaha :p

so air con was switched off with my window open as i like the sea air :) battery condition should be perfect right? as mentioned its brand new had it for 2 days so the condition should be top.

Obviouly i had the interior light on, radio, lights on and had jsut been for a long drive so im assuming rad fan was on too ... maybe all of that when the engine is off meant the car thought the battery needed help?

I dont know just dont want it to be a fault aready thats all :)

( just to throw this out there, i absolutly love the stop start :) think its a great addition and makes sitting at traffic lights, jams etc so relaxing haha )

All normal mate. It's designed to do what you describe.

All normal mate. It's designed to do what you describe.

thanks mate :)

Mine does the same if I'm sat in traffic not moving for long enough

seems strange! i would have thought there would be a solution. If the point in stop start is to help with the economy of the engine, whats the point if after 5 mins it switches back on again?

Maybe another seperate battery thats smaller to control the electrics when the car is switched off would have been a better way of getting around this? Or if not, a solar panel to power the electrics would be pretty cool :)

But then again the price would rocket

First thing I do when I get in the car is switch it off :) ;) :p

Mine does the same.

If I'm sat somewhere for 5 minutes though I'd be turning the engine off completely anyway.

ive never turned my engine off completely when in traffic! i get scared incase it dont start again lol.

Never done it but never really sit in traffic for too long anyway i suppose ...

O well atleast i know its all good and the car does it for a reason lol

I have an Econetic model and I must admit I've not experienced the engine turning itself back on when the Start/Stop was active before.

My experiences so far have been it turns the engine off whenever i stop after a minimum of 5-10 minute run as long as the outside temp is right and I haven't got too many electronics turned on at the same time. I regularly need to sit around for anywhere upto 15mins while the missus finishes work every other day and the engine has yet to decide it needs to start itself again, I did not realise it did this.

Maybe I should take a second gander at the manual again :p

I don't know about the Ford system, but when my dad got a new Mini a few years ago the dealer told him the start/stop system monitors quite a few different things which could affect when the engine stops and when it starts. Battery condition is just one of them, as someone mentioned there's the interior temperature, probably engine temperature, climate control settings, whether the windows are open, maybe more. Any one of these things could trigger the engine to start at any time, that's just how they design the software.

I bet if it's a hot day, you have climate control on but the windows down, you stop at traffic and the engine stops, then put the windows up the car should think hmm it's going to start getting hot in here, better get that engine running again :)

So I wouldn't worry about it unless there is a genuine problem, like my dad's Mini would sometimes take a few seconds to start again when he pressed the clutch, it was probably to complicated for its own good.

Cold engines use a lot of fuel to start. If the engine temp starts to fall below the efficient line for stop/start it fire the engine up. It also fires up if the batts charge begins to drop as the engine will have to work harder to charge the battery back up, making the start start pointless.

Ill have a look at the manual. I dont think its pointless, when in traffic or around town the engine doesnt cool quick enough to use more fuel with stop start, and i was led to believe these cars have larger batteries to help with the car when its off.

But ive noticed i waited outside my partners work palce the other day for about 15 mins with the radio on and stop start. It didnt switch itself back on ... ive noticed it will only turn back on itself when ive gone for a long drive!

Must be a feature or the car things it needs to be on for some reason after a long drive

Ill have a look at the manual. I dont think its pointless, when in traffic or around town the engine doesnt cool quick enough to use more fuel with stop start, and i was led to believe these cars have larger batteries to help with the car when its off.

But ive noticed i waited outside my partners work palce the other day for about 15 mins with the radio on and stop start. It didnt switch itself back on ... ive noticed it will only turn back on itself when ive gone for a long drive!

Must be a feature or the car things it needs to be on for some reason after a long drive

Yes I think they have a larger battery and an upgraded starter motor to handle the more frequent starting. I wonder if starting after a long drive is to help protect the turbo, the same reason a lot of people say you should leave then engine running for a minute to allow the turbo to cool down.

Yes I think they have a larger battery and an upgraded starter motor to handle the more frequent starting. I wonder if starting after a long drive is to help protect the turbo, the same reason a lot of people say you should leave then engine running for a minute to allow the turbo to cool down.

ah i did not know this! So maybe on long drives turn the stop start off... i probs wont be stopping anyway and as soon as i does it will cut the engine off. Ill probs just use the stop start around town then.

Ive never had a turbo car before and didnt know you should let it cool down slightly. Maybe if ive been for a long drive and it stops, after about 5 mins it will switch back on again because of that?

I've noticed with mine if I've been on a long run and pull up and stop , the stop start won't switch off immediately tis I probably to allow the turbo to run to allow for oil circulation

I've noticed with mine if I've been on a long run and pull up and stop , the stop start won't switch off immediately tis I probably to allow the turbo to run to allow for oil circulation

Yes that's what I was getting at. How long does it keep the engine running for? I always wait about a minute before turning mine off, that's probably overkill to be fair unless it's a long journey, but I do like to push the car whenever I get a clear bit of road :)

30 to 60 seconds is about right.

Some cars have a turbo timer fitted to protect the system but letting everything spool down and settle after a run is always a good idea.

Ford provided a very special button for fixing the auto Stop / Start ;) :p

Ford provided a very special button for fixing the auto Stop / Start ;) :P

haha i cant quite decide if i like it or not to be honest. I like to switch it off when i go for a long drive to my parents or something, but around town i like it on sometimes. Other times in trafficit becomes annoying, starts up stops starts up stops etc