Stalling Focus

[Demon Knight]

Hi people

 

Ford Focus 2011 Zetec 16.petrol

About 4 times out of 10 the car tends to stall

there is no set pattern that i can find like hills,declines.hot weather or cold.

if the car is left on idle its fine and has never tried to stall.

however the problem seems to be when i come to a stop the rev counter will fluctuate gently then drop and try to stall, sometimes it will catch its self and shoot back up or if im fast i can apply

revs to make it go back up and then it will settle at the 8 or 9000rpm it usually does.

i have been told to get a diagnostic check as it may be the idle control valve.

what do you people think

 

many thanks

steve

 

[dsayer]

Hi I had a similar problem with my car and it turned out to be cheap fuel I used tescos I had the tank drained and filled up with esso never had the problem again worth trying a different fuel 

[Tdci-Peter]

1 hour ago, Demon Knight said:

8 or 9000rpm (idle speed)

Hi,

I'm guessing the 9000rpm idle is a typo! (9000 would be a mega fault. 800-900 is what you meant!)

It could well be the throttle valve.  But in these electronic cars, there are lots of other possibilities.

I presume the engine warning light or dash message has not shown?

It would be worth investing in a diagnostic scanner yourself, I think. There could be some codes even if the light is not on, occasional minor errors are stored but do not set the MIL. (warning light).

For diagnostics, you have some options:

1) Go to a garage for a diagnostic readout. Free if they know you and are generous(?), up to £100 otherwise.

2) Find a mate with a scanner: Cost you a pint or equivalent maybe!

3) Get a generic OBD2 scanner. From about £10.00. I got a U480 off eBay, worked fine. Very easy to use, self contained, but limited capabilities.

4) Get a powerful Ford specific system. Cost £15.00 for the interface. Needs a computer of some sort. (COM port, USB, bluetooth or WiFi interfaces available). Not as simple as the self contained OBD2 scanner.

You will find a lot about ELM327 & Forscan on this site, which together provide a very comprehensive diagnosis & maintenance tool. Post here if you want more info.

Note: Simply reading the codes can do no harm, and does not change anything. Just do not reset the codes (and you would have to ask the scanner to do this) if you are going to take the car to a garage.

Peter.