mjt

Lyndon, I don't know if the Mk2/2.5 behaves the same as a Mk3. I've never noticed that with our Mk2.5, perhaps it's never been unused long enough, but when our Mk3 stood unused for more than maybe 3 weeks it would go to sleep and not respond to the remote. Unlocking mechanically would set off the alarm which was cancelled after starting the engine (or at least turning on the ignition). Once this had been done to wake up the car the remote would work normally again. This sounds very similar to your experience. On consulting the User Manual I found this was normal for the Mk3. From the OP's first post I would say his car has definitely gone to sleep and just needs the procedure above to wake it up but that, of course, means getting the mechanical lock to work. Also, to answer his question, the car going to sleep does not disable keyless start and does not require the fob to be placed in the emergency start location on the steering column. I can verify that as our Mk3 was keyless start.

The AVO model 8 was the Rolls-Royce of test meters in it's day. I still have one.

Yes, my bad, I didn't notice that.

I'd love to know how he managed that without being able to unlock the car.

Our Mk3 stood for that amount of time during lockdown and still started after I'd gained access with the mechanical key, which worked albeit being stiff. Of course as the car had gone to sleep the alarm sounded until I started the engine. I wasn't aware of this 'feature' until then and only found it in the manual afterwards. However this goes to show that it's perfectly possible for the battery to retain enough charge to start the car after a significant time standing idle.

How did you manage to get access to measure it? Have you tried a new battery in the remote, or are you saying the remote doesn't work with a new battery?

I've no experience of autos but if it were me I'd definitely try to remove the excess. I've done it when my garage has overfilled the engine after an oil change.

Are you on commission for @StephenFord? 🤣

Well, based on what he was saying maybe it's worth checking the earths. You can certainly get intermittent faults from bad earths.

Hi Stephen, I don't know if this was the YouTube you found. If not it might be helpful. It's suggesting the code 16 error is lost communication with the ECU. Sounds like your classic solder joint fault but you could confirm it with . . . . . . . .Forscan!

This just shows how potentially dangerous these co-called "driver aids" can be. It's like the sign recognition and other "aids" that flash messages up to distract the driver from keeping a good look out. It's technology for the sake of it!

Mine didn't. Having had our Mk3 serviced at a Ford franchise every year since we'd bought it I decided to save a bit of money by putting it into the independent I've used for our Mk2.5. They used Forte flush which they said Forte claim to be compatible with the wetbelt. I didn't believe that and started to worry about the potential damage. As it was ten years old and needed a new belt I got shot of it.

The first thing I would check is the tightness of the battery lead connections then the earth connection from the battery to the chassis. This may be loose and/or suffering from corrosion.

I think you've got that the wrong way round. An incandescent bulb is low resistance, although it increases a bit due to heat once it's illuminated. A blown bulb is open-circuit and therefore infinite resistance. The car measures the current being drawn and LEDs draw much less current so appear high resistance. To overcome this Canbus-friendly LED bulbs have a resistor connected in parallel to increase the current drawn and lower their apparent resistance.

Cue @unofixand his SOC table . . .