My Fiesta has served me well so far. But has developed a strange fault:

First of all it has the push button start feature.

when I press it once (equivalent to one click with a key)

the power comes on as normal - but for some reason it keeps wanting me to press the clutch in (to start the car) it will carry on saying this until I put the clutch in (it prompts me at least 20 times a minute)

but whilst it prompts me it makes a loud click noise from the fuse box - and the red immobiliser light flashes once on the dash.

it does not stop there, when I drive the fuse box 'click' is heard and so does the immobiliser light flash on the dashboard.

has anyone experienced this before? I've not checked the fuses yet.

any help would be great.

thanks

The click may well be a relay that's on its way out. Try touching the relays while the clicking is going on, you should be able to locate the one that's doing it, then replace it. Otherwise it could be a wiring problem, shorting out, or a dry joint. Then again, I could be wrong, but checking a relay should be a fairly simple job to do.

The click may well be a relay that's on its way out. Try touching the relays while the clicking is going on, you should be able to locate the one that's doing it, then replace it. Otherwise it could be a wiring problem, shorting out, or a dry joint. Then again, I could be wrong, but checking a relay should be a fairly simple job to do.

Thanks for the reply!

I've just checked the fuse box and noticed that the large gray relay was really hot (dont think this is normal)

Here's a diagram showing the gray relay:

does anyone know if this relay is linked to the Power start button? (i didnt have a ford manual with my car)

Unfortunately, my fuse and relay diagrams look totally different to yours. If a relay is getting hot though, it's usually a sign of poor contacts inside the unit.

Maybe take the picture to your local Ford dealer and ask the service manager if he can identify it? A quick google search didn't show me anything, although your picture was in there.

Fuse diagrams used to be in the vehicle manuals.

That relay is labelled as 'Ignition' in the handbook (http://www.fordservicecontent.com/pubs/content/~WOBFTA/~MGB~LEN/pdf/11FTAog3e.pdf pages 119-120 of the pdf or 117-118 of the book itself). Certainly does sound like it could be that!

Unfortunately, my fuse and relay diagrams look totally different to yours. If a relay is getting hot though, it's usually a sign of poor contacts inside the unit.

Maybe take the picture to your local Ford dealer and ask the service manager if he can identify it? A quick google search didn't show me anything, although your picture was in there.

sorry that picture was a reference -

here's a pic of my fusebox

edit: does anyone know if i can buy a new ignition relay online ?

I've managed to record the clicking noise: here