Dean1985 Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Hi all, I have just bought a 2008 Ford Focus 1.8 tdci titanium and I am overall very happy with it.... At least I was until this afternoon! we have been getting intermittent faults on the dash with the esp and abs lights coming on a total of 3 times in 2 days, on 1 occasion there was no fault code and on the other 2 occasions the following fault codes were logged and cleared successfully: U0140 U0155 U0121 U0131 on the last occasion I decided to clear the codes and then monitor live data to see if this helped but the car would not restart and the dash lit up like a sweet shop! See the picture attached, the gearbox is fine and the temperature is most certainly not -59C! The car did run absolutely fine so I am now confused. I first thought it may be the instrument cluster so went over the soldering on the PCB. This did not make a difference to the errors on the display. I also checked the fuse box and cleaned up all the legs on the fuses to make sure. I have even tried to disconnect the battery but it still shows up as in the picture when re connected. The engine will not turn at all so at the moment I am stranded! The only thing I can think of is the ECU. Could this be the problem? My wife did take the car for a wash earlier today, could this be caused by water ingress into the ECU? Many thanks in advance for your help! Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james1089 Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Check all connections on fuse box in passenger foot well, remove all connectors and spray them with contact cleaner, take a photo before removing them as recommended by RAC man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean1985 Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 I did have a look for the fuse box in the footwell but I couldn't seem to find it 😖 Found the one under the bonnet and it was fairly dirty but did give it a clean but no luck! Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james1089 Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Hard to miss really, search 1.8 focus fuse box. (images) kind of behind glove box it drops down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james1089 Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Would only look at the 1 under the bonnet if it wasn't turning the starter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Underneath the glovebox in the footwell, look up towards the back of the dashboard, you will see two plastic screws/clips that go into a piece of material that covers the fusebox, pull those screws/clips out and remove the cover. Turn the two clips you now see and the fusebox will pivot downwards into the footwell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean1985 Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 I will be checking this first thing in the morning thanks. Does anyone think it could be the ECU? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artscot79 Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 sounds like an ecu issue maybe water ingress u0140 lost comms with stability control module u0155 lost comms with dash cluster u0121 list comms with a.b.s could be ecu or abs module u0131 lost power with power steering 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean1985 Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 Does anyone know how to check the ECU for water ingress? Can the casing be opened to examine? Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean1985 Posted February 19, 2016 Author Share Posted February 19, 2016 Just checked the fuse box under the dash and cleaned the fuses that would be applicable to the symptoms I am receiving (ECU and PCM) they were a little dirty (been there possibly since 2008) so I cleaned them up but got no difference in the symptoms! I am running out of ideas so the wife has rang for the AA to come out to it, fingers crossed they may be able to diagnose it! Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artscot79 Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 to be honest I doubt it these issues can require an electrician to test the offending items Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee_82 Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I thought the ECU was extremely well sealed in this, might be worth checking the plugs and wiring, itll need to be a location that is common to all of those modules, ECU, Fuses boxes and looms, which is to say it couldbe be almost anything but check those plugs first or any damaged visible wires Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean1985 Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 I now have my car with the auto electrician so hope they find something to fix that doesn't cost the earth! Not having much luck with Fords as we just returned a C-Max for the abs pump too! The recovery guy seemed to think it was the immobiliser that had cut power to the ECU hence why the car had thrown up he above fault codes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW1982 Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 There is a big chance these problems are caused by a defective instrument cluster. The MK2/MK2.5 instrument clusters are known to have bad quality soldering connections. At the time these instrument clusters were manufactured the factory switched from the old type of solder to a new (more environmental friendly) type of solder which contains less lead. As a result of vibrations the soldering connections can crack which causes a (temporarily) bad connection or even no connection at all. This can cause a lot of (sometimes very strange) symptoms. Communication errors are very common and because the instrument cluster is an integral part of the PATS immobilizer system bad connections can also cause immobilizer problems. If there is no communication between the instrumetn cluster and the PCM the car will be immobilized. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V6 Lover Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Learnt something there...the solder isn't as pliable due to a recipe change...typical in one stroke they have not only achieved a so called "environmentally friendly pat on the back" while making soldered connections with an unacceptable low life span!! So in and out of the dealer it goes... Cachinggg Cachingg££££... This is a serious step back in reliability once the car is a few years old... All this car technology is no good if the means of all communication is undermined by making the solder deliberately sub standard for Environmental reasons???So making things unreliable and costly to repair or replace is Environmently sound?? going to end up costing the car owner more and more once out of the warranty period... Thinking I will be hanging on to my mk3 mondeo with its " old fashioned but reliable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V6 Lover Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Learnt something there...the solder isn't as pliable due to a recipe change...typical in one stroke they have not only achieved a so called "environmentally friendly pat on the back" while making soldered connections with an unacceptable low life span!! So in and out of the dealer it goes... Cachinggg Cachingg££££... This is a serious step back in reliability once the car is a few years old... All this car technology is no good if the means of all communication is undermined by making the solder deliberately sub standard for Environmental reasons???So making things unreliable and costly to repair or replace is Environmently sound?? going to end up costing the car owner more and more once out of the warranty period... Thinking I will be hanging on to my mk3 mondeo with its " old fashioned but reliable wiring... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micro Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 The new lead free solder doesn't seem to have the flex that leaded based solder had, so cracks over time with vibration moreso than it's older counterpart. I tend only to ever use leaded-solder for my small projects now. Every electronic appliance now will be lead-free solder based, not just cars. Losing communication with modules - is there a can bus driven module under the bonnet, and if so, have you checked that connector? also instrument cluster, maybe a complete rework would be in order with proper lead solder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micro Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 On 2/18/2016 at 7:54 PM, Russ said: Underneath the glovebox in the footwell, look up towards the back of the dashboard, you will see two plastic screws/clips that go into a piece of material that covers the fusebox, pull those screws/clips out and remove the cover. Turn the two clips you now see and the fusebox will pivot downwards into the footwell. I don't have a piece of material on my Focus, should I have? I just have a rubbery "net" type thing underneath, I assume to stop people kicking the fusebox! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james1089 Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 On 2/19/2016 at 0:16 PM, Dean1985 said: Just checked the fuse box under the dash and cleaned the fuses that would be applicable to the symptoms I am receiving (ECU and PCM) they were a little dirty (been there possibly since 2008) so I cleaned them up but got no difference in the symptoms! I am running out of ideas so the wife has rang for the AA to come out to it, fingers crossed they may be able to diagnose it! Dean Its not the fuses its the wires and connectors that need cleaning, But yea you been through any deep puddles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean1985 Posted February 27, 2016 Author Share Posted February 27, 2016 Update: the problem was found to be excessive corrosion on the back of the fuse box in the engine bay which resulted in lack of communication and throw up all sorts of errors! The electrician managed to fix this and also replace the battery as it was on its way out. its been 5 days now and touch wood, there has been no error codes and the car is running sweet! Thanks everyone for the help and advice, Dean 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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