Focus 2.0 petrol EML P2008 code - Swirl flaps air shut off solenoid fault?

[Palwing]

Hi.

I am new to Fords having just bought a 2nd hand Mk2 2005 Focus, 2.0 petrol auto hatchback with the Duratec engine from a Private seller. I test drove the car with no problems, but soon after getting it home, the orange EML (Engine Management Light) came on indicating a fault with the engine. Don't you just LOVE people who knowingly sell cars like that! However, buyer beware and all that, etc. Grrrr! Anyway, my local garage has checked the code and got P2008, pointing to the Intake Manifold Runner Circuit. ie. The swirl flaps and their control.

After doing some research, I have found that many people have replaced the Engine Air Shut off Control Assy which is basically 2 solenoids on a metal plate. One controls the vacuum pressure to the Swirl flap actuator and the other solenoid controls the Intake manifold switchover flaps, which are lower down on the engine, at approx 4300rpm.

The solenoid assy is easily found on the top right of the engine with 4 vacuum pipes going to the two solenoids as shown in my photos. The 2 pipes on the left of the solenoids provide a vacuum from the Inlet Manifold to one side of the solenoids, which are controlled by the ECM (Electronic Control Module) to open or close, depending on engine conditions. It is the 1st Solenoid (nearest the bulkhead) that feeds the vacuum from the Inlet Manifold through the solenoid and on to the Swirl flap actuating mechanism of the Swirl Flaps.

I have checked that the swirl flaps on my car are not stuck by operating the actuator by hand. (EDIT 8/5/16) The end of the actuator is shown clearly in my first photo. It has a blue coloured end. This is the position of the actuator when the engine is switched OFF, which I have now worked out means they are OPEN. 

After lots of head scratching, swapping connections and pipes, I have worked out that the solenoid on my car, which is nearest the bulkhead (top right) is the one that controls the Swirl Flaps. When the engine is started, vacuum from the inlet manifold should be let through by the solenoid to activate the Swirl Flap actuator...thus closing the flaps. I have also found out that this should happen up to about 3000rpm.  Above 3000rpm the solenoid should close off the vacuum and the swirl flaps should OPEN. Open is the default position should they lose vacuum and is the position shown in the photo. 

So to test if this is the problem with your car, look for the blue end of the actuator with the engine off. Then get someone to start the engine. Watch if the blue end of the swirl flap actuator moves/disappears. If it doesn't move, etc then either the solenoid is not working, or the electrical signal to the solenoid is absent (check plug on solenoid) or the vacuum pipes are disconnected/leaking. 

On my car at the moment, the swirl flap actuator is not moving at all, so I conclude the solenoid is knackered as I have swapped the electrical connection and vacuum pipes to the 2nd solenoid and the swirl flaps moved as advertised. This pretty much confirms my diagnosis that the Solenoid Assy needs replacing, even though only one of the two solenoids is not working. However, as the two solenoids are of the same age, it would be prudent to change both anyway. I have found a supplier on E-bay for only £30, so fingers crossed. I will order them 1st thing Monday morning and fit them when they arrive. Fingers crossed this fixes the problem and puts out the damn pesky light! I will post follow up results and photos.

Hope this helps someone in a similar situation one day.

 

 

 

[JW1982]

The swirl flaps are either open or closed. They basically have just 2 positions and are not meant to be somewhere in between.

You should disassemble the swirl flaps and check for excessive play of the flap mechanism. Many times problems are caused by excessive play of the mechanism. If this is the case the complete intake manifold needs to be replaced or you have to make custom parts to repair the mechanism.

[Palwing]

Thanks JW1982 for your info. Every little helps!

[Palwing]

Since my last post, I have found this snippet of possible useful info:

"The Intake Manifold Runner Control (IMRC) is an electrically actuated system consisting of a motorized actuator with an attaching linkage for each housing on each bank. The linkage attaches to the housing butterfly plate levers. Each IMRC housing is an aluminum casting with two intake air passages for each cylinder. One passage is always open and the other is opened and closed with a butterfly valve plate. The housing uses a return spring to hold the plates closed. The motorized actuator houses internal switches to provide feedback to the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) indicating linkage and plate position. Under about 3000 rpm the vacuum solenoid will be energized. This will allow manifold vacuum to be applied and the butterfly valve plates to stay closed. Above approximately 3000 rpm , the vacuum solenoid will be de-energized. This will allow vacuum to vent from the actuator and the butterfly valve plates to open."

Now to work out what it means!

[Palwing]

Deleted post as more info found and now put in my 1st post.

 

 

[ManicMiner]

Was just about to order an air shut off assembly off ebay for my Mondeo mk4/2007 with the same engine. Been hesitating/stuttering under acceleration when hot, intermittent ODB fault code P2008 which you only see when driving, no EML. Swapping the two solenoids made it better, assumed one of them must be faulty. 

Interested to hear your outcome with new valve assembly if it clears the fault code.

[Palwing]

Hi ManicMiner.

Further to my last post yesterday, I decided to have a "tinker" this morning whilst I wait for the new parts to arrive tomorrow. I removed the assy to check if the two solenoids are the same. As you will see in my photos, they ARE indeed the same solenoids, so I had no problem about swapping them over. They are held in place on the mounting plate by a nut on the underside of the plate. Just a quick undo of the nut, swap them on the plate and re-tighten the nut. Sorted. Slightly fiddly getting the assy out of the car with 4 x T25 Torx screws due to cables being in the way, but nothing a competent DIY'er can't handle in about 20-30 minutes if you have the tools handy.

After I had swapped the solenoids on the mounting plate, I refitted the solenoid assy to the car and re-connected the electrical connections and vacuum pipes. Started the engine and instantly noticed that the Swirl Flap actuator moved whilst the engine is on tick over, as it should do under 3000rpm. I then got my wife to gently (GENTLY!! I SAID!!!!! Grrrr...) rev the engine to just over 3000rpm and sure enough, the Swirl Flap actuator moved into the "open" position".

Then. as soon as the revs dropped back down below 3000rpm, the Swirl flap actuator moved the Swirl flaps to the "closed" position, as shown in my original photos. RESULT! This has confirmed my diagnosis that the solenoid I had just swapped to the other position is unserviceable.

I took the car for a test drive and sure enough, it feels smoother and more responsive at low revs. This makes sense as the swirl flaps are now closed making the fuel/air mixture more easy to burn. With the original solenoid NOT working, the swirl flaps defaulted to the "OPEN" position making the fuel air mixture not so good for low revs (under 3000rpm) and slow running. This might help explain some of your problem too ManicMiner?

IMPORTANT! note the next lot of info about keeping the revs UNDER 4300rpm due to the faulty solenoid now in the other position

So, "what is the effect of now having a knackered solenoid in the other position" you may ask? Well, the solenoid in that position (one the one nearest the front of the car) only comes into play at approx 4300rpm and above. It is used to activate the " Intake manifold switchover flaps" to give more power when you really put your foot down. I am not sure if there is a feedback system to let the ECM know if the Intake manifold switchover flaps are activated. So, my "GUESS" is that as long as you don't thrash your engine over about 4300rpm with a faulty solenoid, your ECM may never know there's a fault with the solenoid you have swapped over. However, even if you do take your revs over 4300rpm, you may only notice a lack of power as the Intake is now not able to switch the Intake to "high power".

DISCLAIMER: However, I am not sure of what damage of taking your revs over 4300rpm with a faulty Intake manifold switchover flap solenoid may cause (if any), so personally I would keep the revs below 4300rpm until you have replaced the faulty solenoid. 

As an interesting side note to this and a bit of a bonus, the EML has gone OFF all on it's own since swapping the solenoids! Please note that it did not go off immediately, but after 2 or 3 runs in the car. I did NOT have to reset it. I am guessing the ECM has seen the swirl flaps are now working as normal and reset the light itself. I have no doubt the code is still in the memory though. Unfortunately I didn't know it would do this and I have already ordered an OBD2 code reader (£10) off of E-bay to reset the light. However, I will clear the code anyway, then put the reader back on E-bay! It will have some use after all.

Just for info, I did contact my local Ford garage when the light came on and they quoted me £49.99 to have the codes read and the fault diagnosed. Since then I have found that they charge £88 for the solenoid assy. No doubt they would also charge at least 1hr labour to replace it at who knows how many pounds per hour. Lets guess at £80?? Anyway, I reckon the total bill to fix this fault at Ford would be approx to £250 including VAT. As you may have guessed, I did NOT take my car to Ford to diagnose this fault as the excellent Internet has done the work for me!

So far it has cost me £29.99 and £10 for a code reader, which I will re-sell on E-bay. Lets say a total of £35-£40 ish? That's a saving of over £200 on Ford garage prices. BARGAIN!!!

By the way, the Ford part number details for the "Engine Air Shut Off Control Valve" (Solenoid Assy) is 1357313/5243591 

As another thought, I might sell the one GOOD remaining solenoid on e-bay. It might save someone else a few quid too?

I will update more again, as and when the spare parts arrive and are fitted. Hopefully tomorrow, Tuesday 10 May 2016.

 

 

 

[Palwing]

Hi.

Update on this fault. I have received and fitted the new solenoids (although it only needed one) and the fault is now cleared. Sorted! 

So, as a summary and how to confirm you have the same problem causing the P2008 code and orange EML (Engine Management Light) to stay on. The clue is looking at the "blue" end of the Swirl Flap actuator as shown in my photos. 

1. With the engine OFF, open the bonnet and identify where the BLUE end of the Swirl Flap actuator is. It should be obvious (with a bit of searching) as the swirl flaps default to the open position making the end of the actuator easy to see.

2. Whilst watching the blue end of the actuator, get someone to start the engine. (keep revs below 3000rpm)

3. If the actuator does NOT move with the engine running from it's default position, you have a problem with either the solenoid, the vacuum pipes or the signal from the ECM/ECU. My bet is it will be the solenoid nearest the base of the windscreen not working and needs replacement. You can confirm this by swapping the two solenoids over and trying again. The solenoids are the same spec. 

4. If the actuator DOES move (ie. closes the swirl flaps), then rev the engine gently to just over 300rpm and check it also moves back. If it does both these things, you do NOT have a problem with the solenoid or signal from the ECM/ECU but the orange EML light and code is caused by something else. Maybe the swirl flap feedback switches in the Inlet manifold are not telling the ECU what position the swirl flaps are in. 

If you are a bit of a techy and have a multimeter handy (I am old school and still call them an AVO). I have measured the resistance (Ohms) between the electrical pins in the socket of each of the solenoids.

The Unserviceable (U/S) solenoid is reading in excess of 500 ohms (high resistance for a coil) and the Serviceable (S) solenoid is reading approx 30 ohms (low resistance), which is more or less what I would expect of a good solenoid coil. My AVO is not a high quality one, so not entirely accurate or calibrated. However, it is good enough for Government work to give a relative reading between U/S and S solenoids. This is another way of confirming if your solenoid is serviceable or not. (Of course, ZERO ohms would indicate a short circuit, which would also mean a duff solenoid.)

Just for the saddos like myself, here is a solenoid, which I opened up. The coil is the 2nd black bit from the left and is NOT repairable.

 

ps. 11/5/2016

I now have ONE spare SERVICEABLE solenoid (tested on my car) and OBD2 code tester for sale. I will be putting them on E-bay for £20 inc P&P. This will fix a P2008 fault where the solenoid is faulty AND will enable you to clear the code, thus turning off the EML!

 

Edited May 11, 2016 by Palwing
More dementia related typos and forgotten info....and typos and forgotten info.....and

[Focus145]

Thanks for the info Palwing, you have been a massive help.

My 2006 Focus 2.0 petrol just developed the same fault and with your help I diagnosed it in minutes.  I had a reading of 34.7 Ohms for one solenoid and 87.4 for the other.

I joined the forum especially to thank you!

[totalcrisis]

Hi I know this is an old topic now but stumbled across this and many similar on these forums (thanks guys) and replaced my ENGINE AIR SHUT OFF VALVE or manifold inlet solenoid or the various other terms I have heard these referred to and in my case solved the issue although the issue was MIL light and not a lot else occasional delay in starting/unnoticeable hesitation on acceleration (until replaced). I paid £26 odd new from eBay seller and this is for my new baby 2004 focus c-max 2.0 petrol. Thank you all for your time and advise it is very much appreciated. Dave 

[mjt]

On 11/05/2016 at 5:46 PM, Palwing said:

If you are a bit of a techy and have a multimeter handy (I am old school and still call them an AVO)

Ah, the AVO, the Rolls-Royce of multimeters in it's day. I still have a model 8.

[Chris182]

Hi

sorry to revive an old post but ive just had the same error code on my 2007 1.8 petrol focus and for the life of me i cant find where to get replacements, could someone help with links please

[Jaga1973]

Hi All,

By Facebook I learned form a member, that this part solved the problem he had. I have the same symptoms on my Mondeo 2008 2.0l.

Ordered a new complete solenoid plate on eBay and getting this from the local postoffice this afternoon.

I checked nothing, just ordered a new one and 99% sure that it solves the problem in my car.

There's no light on the dashboard, but the engine on my car is not stabil, therefore I never have a nice acceleration from zero.

And I have the idea that the engine is slow, missing the power it should have. Probably by a bad mixture of air and petrol.

I had an automatic gear Mondeo before, an MK3, it ran very smootly so I was disappointed about the MK4 I have now for 10 months.

Hopefully this indeed will solve the problem for my car. I will let you all know!

Best Regards from Holland!

 

Jan

[Jaga1973]

UPDATE:

Yesterday I got the new part and I installed it. Engine is running much better now and 'idle' is very nice now.

I runned it IDLE for some minutes and never noticed a 'misfire' anymore.

I'm very pleased with this result.

Only one of the four screws fell down and I couldn't find it, but it's not a problem. The other three will hold the plate into place.

 

Jan

[500comet]

Hi

A couple of weeks ago I had my car MOTd and the tester left it ticking over for around half an hour while he was on the phone before he checked the car.

It passed the test but when I went to drive it away the engine management light was on after he had switched the ignition off and on. They took it to their code reader and reset the light but it came back on in a few yards.

The mechanic said the fault was probably a small relay gone faulty and would not be hard to fix. ( they were in fact solenoid vacuum switches)

The car still ran fine so I said I would take it back for them to fix, but after a couple of days the light went out so I did not take it back.

However It continued to go on and off more or less at random, though I had to use the car and said I would take it back when the fault became harder or a new MOT was needed.

I tried my friends code reader and got p2008 and after a lot of searching I chanced on the above from PALWING whose symptoms were just like mine.

So I ordered a new pair of solenoids (part 4M5G-91559-NB, Item ID 323247904502) for £18.29  which came this morning, fitted them in half an hour, and bingo after a short run and a stop and start, the engine management light is now out and seems fine.

I think one of my solenoids was marginal and was "cooked" when the car was left on idle for along time which is when the solenoid would have been energised for the swirl function.

So thanks PALWING for some excellent advice, though my car always ran fine with the lamp on, though may have used a bit more fuel

Comet 500 is the name of my Vincent motorcycle which I ride regularly and have owned since 1956, but as an 82 year old engineer feel I may have to give up riding in the next 20 years or so !!

[lukepollard]

Joined the forum just to say thank you for sharing your fix!

I lost power in my Focus Zetec 2007 over the last few days and after the searching the internet I thought it was possibly something to do with core plug. I took it to my garage anyway and we took the (i think it's called) rocker cover off to find water in the engine - now thinking this isn't going to be good. After some diagnostic and phoning around apparently the 2007 Zetec had a problem with the screen wash jets leaking into the engine, and thankfully not a core plug! So we drained the fluid around the engine, replaced all 4 sparks as they were rusted and low and behold the engine is back! I just now need to get replacement jets and not use the screen wash until I get that sorted.

I've noticed for some time that idle/low revs haven't been particularly smooth ever since I purchased the car, however after a day of getting it back from the garage the engine management light came back on so I bought a ODB2 device and it has been coming up with error P2008-C. Low and behold it looks like the exact solenoid issue in this forum! I've just ordered a replacement solenoid on eBay for £16.65 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172962581902) and I'm waiting for it to arrive so I can swap it out. 

Thank you for the detailed instructions on here.. and hopefully the information on the washer jets come in useful to someone at some point!

[mjt]

By 'rocker cover' do you mean the overall plastic cover that's missing in your pic? If so that should have prevented any water from leaking jets getting into your plug ports.

[lukepollard]

On 6/14/2018 at 12:03 PM, mjt said:

By 'rocker cover' do you mean the overall plastic cover that's missing in your pic? If so that should have prevented any water from leaking jets getting into your plug ports.

Hi Mike,

No, the plastic cover was over the engine but a friend of my mechanic who use to work for ford as a mechanic said that despite that cover one of the jets would slowly leak into the engine over the course of several years.

When we opened the top of the engine and all of the spark plugs were swimming in liquid. We looked at the liquid and it was crystal clear - wasn't pink coolant, wasn't black oil. Anyway we've drained the fluid and replaced the spark plugs, I've just replaced the solenoids today and everything seems perfect again - and no engine management light!

The car is due for MOT in a month and the garage said they'd take a quick look to make sure no more fluid has seeped into the engine. Either way the car feels like it is back to normal power. 

Luke

[Bolz]

I just created this account to say thank you! The light was on and I went to a mechanic and he said I need to replaced a sensor for 250 AUD and meanwhile he couldn't guarantee to fix it. Today a friend used his reader and got the code P2008. I think it's the problem!

[DriverJosh]

Very happy to have found this post.

Last November the alternator blew on my 2008 Mk2 Focus 2.0L Petrol which I had only bought second hand at the end of August / early September (I forget exactly when).

Since the Alternator was replaced by a local garage I have had an engine check light reading code P2008 Intake Manifold Runner Control Circuit Open Bank 1 a) which the garage seem to know nothing about, deleted the code and sent me on my way. Since then it has been an off and on issues until recently where it stays on pretty much permanently now.

The symptoms have been high sticky revs after a cold start, way more than usual such as coming to a junction at the end of my road and dropping to second gear with high revs, it sounds quite un-nerving. In addition to that I suffer a serious lack of power at the lower gears and I have terrible acceleration right now, once you get to the higher side of the rev dial with third gear and up it gets smoother and some power kicks back in.

Took it to another garage yesterday who checked my air filter, deleted the code, test drove it and sent me on my way again who warned that if it is the solenoid then it could be an expensive fix as it would have to be a Ford Main Dealer Part, but then I see them littered all over amazon or eBay for less than £15 a piece.

Part has been ordered, I'll let you guys know if it is truly the issue.

[adamflynn123]

So, seems like a similar issue i'm experiencing myself @DriverJosh. I will come to a stop at a junction, and the car will shoot up to 3,000 revs and then slowly return to normal, after a few seconds, i've also noticed a lack of power in the engine when driving around, especially during the summer. I ran a check with my OBD scanner to find the code, P2008 error, with 2 entries, after a quick searching on the internet i came accross various threads, including this one. So i'm going to guess that the Vaccum Solenoid valve is the problem. Quick searching around and i can pick one of these up of of eBay for £13. Seems like a cheap fix anyway, and wouldn't get me forking around ££ at the Garage. However, after finding the unit in the engine, it seems to be buried under several pieces of piping, so now i'm just wondering if this is a easy part to replace? 

[DriverJosh]

I can confirm that my car now works flawlessly and I can advantage of my cars 2.0L petrol acceleration again! 

 

I've attached a few photos to help.

 

Disconnec your battery first, take a photo so you know what pipes go where then swap the unit out, it's quite simple.

[snapdigic]

Just to say thanks to everyone who contributed on this thread.  I had a P2008 Intake Manifold Runner Control Circuit/Open Bank 1a code with the engine light permanently on and this sorted it.  Engine light went off on its own after a ten minute drive.  I also cleared the code with a reader after and so far so good.  Cheers all.

[FatHead1979]

17 hours ago, snapdigic said:

Just to say thanks to everyone who contributed on this thread.  I had a P2008 Intake Manifold Runner Control Circuit/Open Bank 1a code with the engine light permanently on and this sorted it.  Engine light went off on its own after a ten minute drive.  I also cleared the code with a reader after and so far so good.  Cheers all.

Good news...and welcome to the forum mate 👍

[Julie25]

On 6/13/2018 at 4:53 PM, lukepollard said:

Joined the forum just to say thank you for sharing your fix!

I lost power in my Focus Zetec 2007 over the last few days and after the searching the internet I thought it was possibly something to do with core plug. I took it to my garage anyway and we took the (i think it's called) rocker cover off to find water in the engine - now thinking this isn't going to be good. After some diagnostic and phoning around apparently the 2007 Zetec had a problem with the screen wash jets leaking into the engine, and thankfully not a core plug! So we drained the fluid around the engine, replaced all 4 sparks as they were rusted and low and behold the engine is back! I just now need to get replacement jets and not use the screen wash until I get that sorted.

I've noticed for some time that idle/low revs haven't been particularly smooth ever since I purchased the car, however after a day of getting it back from the garage the engine management light came back on so I bought a ODB2 device and it has been coming up with error P2008-C. Low and behold it looks like the exact solenoid issue in this forum! I've just ordered a replacement solenoid on ebay for £16.65 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172962581902) and I'm waiting for it to arrive so I can swap it out. 

Thank you for the detailed instructions on here.. and hopefully the information on the washer jets come in useful to someone at some point!

 

On 5/18/2018 at 10:13 PM, 500comet said:

Hi

A couple of weeks ago I had my car MOTd and the tester left it ticking over for around half an hour while he was on the phone before he checked the car.

It passed the test but when I went to drive it away the engine management light was on after he had switched the ignition off and on. They took it to their code reader and reset the light but it came back on in a few yards.

The mechanic said the fault was probably a small relay gone faulty and would not be hard to fix. ( they were in fact solenoid vacuum switches)

The car still ran fine so I said I would take it back for them to fix, but after a couple of days the light went out so I did not take it back.

However It continued to go on and off more or less at random, though I had to use the car and said I would take it back when the fault became harder or a new MOT was needed.

I tried my friends code reader and got p2008 and after a lot of searching I chanced on the above from PALWING whose symptoms were just like mine.

So I ordered a new pair of solenoids (part 4M5G-91559-NB, Item ID 323247904502) for £18.29  which came this morning, fitted them in half an hour, and bingo after a short run and a stop and start, the engine management light is now out and seems fine.

I think one of my solenoids was marginal and was "cooked" when the car was left on idle for along time which is when the solenoid would have been energised for the swirl function.

So thanks PALWING for some excellent advice, though my car always ran fine with the lamp on, though may have used a bit more fuel

Comet 500 is the name of my Vincent motorcycle which I ride regularly and have owned since 1956, but as an 82 year old engineer feel I may have to give up riding in the next 20 years or so !!