Focus MK2.5 1.6Econetic weird issue when driving

[simnether]

Hi Guys,

I'm sorry but I couldn't find a better title.. I really am doing my best do describe what's happening. I'll try.. :)
The model is a Ford Focus MK2.5 from Jan 2009, 1.6 diesel with about 160'000 KM.

So about 10 days ago I was driving to work and when I just started it in the morning (about 10 degrees C outside) and started driving, on first gear, it kinda had an interruption of power (not the actual electric power, but as if the engine was suddendly not getting fuel/air), as soon as I switched to second gear it did the same when accelerating (slowly..) and then it kept going with no issues for about 30km. After that it started doing it again when I was pressing the gas pedal all the way. It was really bouncy. It felt more as if the engine was getting completely shut for a very small period of time (probably less than a quarter of a second). When I arrived at work, I called my mechanic who suggested it could have been the battery which I found weird as when it was happening the stereo was on and there were 0 interruptions. But as I don't understand anything of it, it might be :)

When I drove back 9 hours later, I didn't have any issue. I went to a local mechanic and he also double checked with the computer (no errors on dashboards). No errors found.

I drove back and for about a week it drove just fine. Yesterday, when I was accelerating in second gear to speed up to merge into the motorway it started doing the same story again, this time more often so the car was really really bouncy this time and I stopped immediately on the emergency lane. I then tried to start it and it wasn't able to, it would turn off right away [I have a video about this, please let me know if needed and I will try to share the link]. After a few attempts I gave up and called for help which arrived like 45 minutes later. Guess what? When the guy arrived, the car started and ran ok, so he had me to drive off the highway and we stopped at a safe place where he could have a look. He said that the alternator was making a sound he didn't like (I don't know if that was the alternator, but that sound's been going on for 2 years now and other mechanics never bothered to tell me anything). So his final thoughts after spending some time checking around were all about the alternator being bad.

My question to you is: is it possible that the alternator will cause that sort of issues when the car is driving? Note that the battery seems to be doing really fine, I never changed it since I got the car in 2014 and it starts the car with no issues and right away. If the alternator was the issue with not providing enough electricity to the engine, wouldn't the engine take what's needed off the battery?(this is an ignorant speaking!).

I just left the cart to my mechanic and I'm waiting for him to call me back.

Issues I had in the past:
- Changed EGR valve

 

Sorry for the long post and/or any spelling error (English is not my primary language).

Thanks!

[Tdci-Peter]

On 14/10/2016 at 11:01 AM, simnether said:

If the alternator was the issue with not providing enough electricity to the engine, wouldn't the engine take what's needed off the battery?

Almost always, that would be right. The alternator and battery are directly linked, so power can come from either.

But bad connections in the battery wiring could partially disconnect the battery.    

If there is BMS unit (a little current sensing device) on the battery -ve terminal, then faults in this could also cause the same effect.

The Econectic charging system is a bit of a mystery. The drawing I have for it does not seem right. However, this system is a bit prone to under charging the battery. It tries to maintain a battery charge state less then 100%, and various little faults (not just the alternator) can cause the battery to slowly go flat.

A plug-in voltage monitor (goes in the cigar lighter / power outlet) may help to see if the battery is being charged ok.

There are other causes for random loss of power. The throttle valve (aka anti-shudder valve) can get intermittent faults and shut unexpectedly, for example.

Diagnosing this type of fault can be rather difficult, unfortunately.

[simnether]

Thanks for your reply.

Quote

Diagnosing this type of fault can be rather difficult, unfortunately.

This is not inspiring positivity upon the resolution.. I stil need to wait for my mechanic to call back. I will post back once I know more.

Cheers

[simnether]

Update:
So the mechanic says he found an unknown error and cleared that off. He also replaced the air filter. I got the car back and not even 60km later I have the same issue. He also laughed at the alternator solution.. He seems pretty capable so I'm not too sure what's gonna happen next. All I know is that tonight the car will pay him a visit again..

[simnether]

Update:
At today my mechanic has no clou on what the issue could be. He drove it, he experienced the car chocking and yet he isn't sure, together with his colleagues, of what the issue could be. It keeps doing it, I think I know how not to let the car to stop now but I think I'll have to bring it over to a Ford garage and start a new mortgage :S

[simnether]

I'm keeping this post alive as I hate to see forums when there's no progress after somebody tried something.
So new Update:

I got into some serious issues again 2 days ago and had to call for help as I was stuck on the highway once again. Once we managed to move the car in a safe place, the guy has spent like an hour trying to figure out something until he called his colleagues to try to get some help. At the same time I bothered an old friend of mine (who's a mechanic in another Country) and he told me to get the fuel filter checked (I replaced that about 20000km ago). At the same time the guy from the rescue service (no idea how it's called), disconnected the pipes that went to the filter and tried cleaning it with a spray. I didn't see what exactly he's cleaned but the thing definitely smelled like gasoline. After that, the car turned on and the engine sounded good, so I tested the car. It drove great.
Went to the mechanic the day after (yesterday) and asked him to replace the fuel filter and add an additive. I got the car back the same day and the mechanic told me he's cleared three errors:
P0087
P1180
P0405

I did some research and noticed a few people in other forums with the P0087 and P1180 having this issue that got fixed with the fuel filter. Which makes sense as they're related to fuel pressure. Obviously, it could be something else such as the pump etc.
The P0405 scares me as it's related to the valve I hate the most: EGR.

I've driven about 70km after that (I also refueled) and the car went great (touch wood). Now I'm still running with the additive so I don't know how reliable my feelings are, I guess i'll have to wait for an extra 1200km at least. I'll bring it back to the mechanic to check if these errors came back in a few days.

Extra info:
The mechanic I brought it to, it's not the same one I went the other times. If this was really the issue (that my friend said as first thought) i don't think he's reliable anymore, even thought I think he mentioned a filter during our conversation.
When I had the original issue, I refueled with the high performance diesel and the day after (1.5km later..) I started seeing the issue as described above. So I was suspecting this could have been the issue even though it disappeared for a while. This morning when driving to work I saw that the same gas station was shut and they were performing maintenance. So i'll drive right back to it after work to ask if they had complaints as now the first suspect is stronger.