Hi, I’ve recently bought a 2.0 TDCI S-Max which had been stood for awhile ‘apparently’. Driving it back home I noticed there was little umph and no surge in power, leading me to believe the turbo had either gone or some electrical gremlin had stopped it from spooling up. There is a bit of smoke from the back end but nothing like you’d expect from a faulty turbo. Anyway, I was on my way and I kept putting my foot down to check for smoke and test power etc when I came to a slight incline, the car struggled to get power and the temp shot right up and into the red, then the engine management ‘i’ indicator came on. I tried to find somewhere safe to pull over but before I could the temp shot down as though someone had thrown ice in the radiator! Figuring it might have been a glitch I kept driving and drove over 6 mile without any more heating problems, the turbo wasn’t as smokey ‘I think’ but it was dark. If I keep my foot about a 3rd of the way down it feels as thought the turbo is kicking in but by no means as powerful as it should.

I’d like to add that the car does seem to take a little persuasion and patience to start as well .

So my question is this. Do you think it is a turbo fault or a possible head gasket? Or something else?

 

Thanks in advance.

Could the turbo still be capoot and not throw out much black smoke? 

On 3/13/2018 at 10:39 PM, Flubbabelly said:

temp shot right up and into the red, then the engine management ‘i’ indicator came on. I tried to find somewhere safe to pull over but before I could the temp shot down as though someone had thrown ice in the radiator!

Putting this together with your other post, I would suspect the temperature sensor, or its connector or wiring.

If it reads very low (cold engine), then it is possible the turbo will not be actuated, as full boost with cold oil is not a great idea. If the turbo had failed, I would expect an error message & warning light.

If the thermostat is working, then sudden real changes in water temperature as you describe are practically impossible. The only way to get a drop like that is to suddenly dump a load of stone cold water from the rad into the engine.

Thanks Peter.

I can’t find the engine temp sensor to check wiring etc but it’s likely why it’s overheating and the fan isn’t coming on. 

I’ve added another post since with regards to overheating and the two might be linked.

2 hours ago, Flubbabelly said:

I can’t find the engine temp sensor to check wiring etc

Take a look at:

https://www.justanswer.com/uk-ford/5805y-ford-tdci-temperature-gauge-loses-power-it-feels-turbo.html

That is a 55 reg Mondeo, I guess it is the same engine.

The CHT is number 2 on the diagram here:

Different engine mate, mine is an 06 2.0tdci 140bhp 

The belts are on the left side of the engine.

Just ran the Car again and the overheating is happening again and fan not starting.

If the top hose is red hot and barely squeezable but the bottom hose is only luke warm and very malleable, would that be a thermostat issue? There looks to be a load of crud in the system so I’m going to flush it, so could it be a radiator problem also? 

The s-max thermostat looks to be a complete plastic part with hose connectors etc, so not a normal thermostat replacement. There’s an electrical connection on the back, does anyone know what this is for?

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Flubbabelly said:

There’s an electrical connection on the back, does anyone know what this is for?

On the PSA DW10 engine, the temperature sensor (ECT) is mounted in the thermostat housing. So that is probably the connection.

Yeah, the previous drawing was the older Puma Ford 2l engine. I was misled by the S-Max getting the DW10 some years before the Mondeo.

There is also a shut-off valve and a by-pass valve in the coolant circuit, so it is more complex than some!

Does the fan run with the a/c on (assuming this will come on.) The fan should run on a slow setting regardless of cold coolant when the a/c is on. This is one test of the fan.

A big temperature drop across the radiator top to bottom hose, could be thermostat closed, or radiator blockage. The harder hose at the top may be the rubber has stiffened more with use, as it is hotter normally. A pressure drop over the radiator big enough to clearly feel through the hose would indicate severe blockages. There are several routes linking top and bottom hoses, via engine and pump, via radiator, and via vent hoses to the reservoir. All would have to be blocked or closed off to create a big pressure difference.

With the black or dirty coolant you describe, the starting point is to drain and clean out the system, I would say.

The green connector in the photo below is the ECT, it matches the drawing in Haynes for the DW10 (2TDCI) Focus engine. The silver wire clip around the ECT is the retaining clip for it.

 

 

Great! I thought ‘hoped’ the ECT was also in with the thermostat,mwhich would make sense considering the fan isn’t working regardless of AC on or not and turbo isn’t spooling up properly, I’ve read that the turbo won’t if it thinks the engine is still cool.

I’ll change the thermo and flush at the same time then report back.

 

Thanks again Peter 👍