Focus 1.6 TDCI Fault Codes

[dans34]

Hello All

 

Purchased a 2012 1.6 DCI Focus , sometimes when driving it would appear to judder almost like it has a cough and eventually the eml would come on , acceleration  would be really slow

First few times I took it into the dealership they coldnt find any issues eventually they "found" a code  P02E9 ,  they replaced the MAF sensor but it still judders but no eml comes on

Phoned Ford Assist and the AA guy found the following two codes  P0234 & P02E09 , he also mentioned that it was probably the turbo wastegate actuator #

Have it booked into the dealership for next week , is there anything that I should be checking in the meantime ?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

[Tdci-Peter]

4 hours ago, dans34 said:

the AA guy found the following two codes  P0234 & P02E09

Looking at those codes:

P02E9 - Diesel Intake Air Flow Position Sensor Circuit High

This seems to usually relate to a flap or valve on the Intake side of the engine. The turbo actuator (VNT probably, or wastegate) is on the exhaust side of the engine.

One part that might match this on the Focus is the throttle valve (or anti-shudder valve) that is in the pipe from the intercooler to inlet manifold.

P0234: Boost Pressure Regulation: Limit Exceeded (Overboost Condition)

Since the throttle valve is between the turbo & the inlet manifold, it will affect the boost pressure. It looks like P02E9 is the primary error (the garage only saw that one) & P0234 is a result.

Why the garage changed the MAF, I can only assume they did not read the word "position" in the DTC description. All the references to P02E9 I have seen relate to a valve or flap (and to the Position sensor on that valve), not to an air flow sensor (MAF).

Suspect no1 has to be the throttle valve.

 

[dans34]

thanks Tdci-Peter , took it in today and all they did was reset the codes and asked me to keep an eye on it , have booked it in again for Friday because I know it will do it again

[Tdci-Peter]

3 hours ago, dans34 said:

all they did was reset the codes and asked me to keep an eye on it , have booked it in again for Friday because I know it will do it again

I am assuming this car is still under warranty from your purchase. (If not, I would advise to not take it in until the fault occurs again, and you have been able to confirm the codes yourself, and they are still there when it went to the garage. At up to £100 just to read codes that may have self cleared, it is an expensive business.)

Even if it is under warranty, I would recommend you get a diagnostic scanner. You may get information that is lost by the time it gets to a garage. Reading the codes does no harm, and makes no difference. Just do not clear them, unless you really need to for some reason, like you are 100s of miles away from the dealership.

Basic generic OBD2 scanners start from £10, and they usually work fine. I got a simple U480.

For deeper diagnosis, and more technical information, Forscan is the best system available for Fords. If you have a windows laptop you can get it for £15 for the adapter, bit more for iOS or android versions.

I do not have a lot of faith in the dealership, they may have already mis-diagnosed a valve position sensor DTC with a flow sensor error. So the more information you can get, the better. They will hate it, of course!

 

 

[dans34]

regarding the diagnostic scanner , I have a modified elm232 ? and have got the codes using forscan

they have had "issues" with the car crashing the IDS yet they are quick to recommend an oil change / brake fluid change at £39 a pop

luckily ive not had to pay a penny for the work they have done so far (except the initial cost of the car of course) 

at this stage I would be better off taking to a local garage & getting them to replace the throttle valve as stoneacre's position seams to be "suck it and see"

 

thanks again

[Tdci-Peter]

1 hour ago, dans34 said:

I would be better off taking to a local garage & getting them to replace the throttle valve

Sadly, that could be the case.

I am guessing that the codes have re-occurred after being cleared, at least the P02E9 one, and that you have done some research on the net to back up my opinion that it is throttle valve.

I have found that when a garage that does not know what it is doing, or is not interested, does a job, it usually causes more problems in the long run. The valve may not need replacing, I would remove it and test it on the bench, it is just a motor and a simple feedback pot. But it may not be worth a garage doing that. Have a chat with a couple of local garages you feel you can trust.

Forscan is a really great system, but it needs using with care, the results are only as good as the software in the car, and that is sometimes far from perfect. Always try to confirm DTCs with logic, tests & real symptoms before making expensive decisions. For example, the car's systems can not easily tell the difference between a MAF error & a MAP error, as one is used to check the other. It usually blames the MAF, the more expensive one!

In this instance, Intake Air Flow Valve could be the throttle valve, or the adjacent by-pass valve (if your engine has this). I think the by-pass valve is only used during DPF regeneration, so throttle valve is more likely.

 

[dans34]

bit of an update to this

 

stoneacre have finally "found" an issue with , yep you guessed it , the throttle body/valve , interestingly it took a Vauxhall Tech to figure this one as everyone else was stuck on the MAF as being the problem

 

TCDI Peter , thank you for pointing me in the right direction and bringing back the enjoyment I once had while driving that car , you don't know how much stress this has taken away from me   , if your ever in my area or heck I'm in yours the next half a dozen pints are on me

[Robban509]

Hi Dans34. I am having the same issue as you Haden my  2011 Ford Focus tdci 1.6. Do you remember what the garage did to your throttle body valve to fix the problem? Was it just a clean or a replacement? Hope you are able to shed some light on the repair before I start taking things apart myself haha

[Ash2910]

We are having the same error on our 09 Ford Mondeo, mechanics seem to be completely stumped by it!