NomadPaul

1999 w reg Ford Focus 1.8 zetec petrol

Hi all , i'm hoping that someone can give me some advice on my focus thats having starting probs.
The car refused to start on new years day - It will turn over nicely but just doesn't start. I was recovered by GreenFlag after he spent an hour trying to start it unsuccessfully. We narrowed it down to lack of fuel coming into the engine. He checked fuses , sparking and relays and they all seemed ok.
Anyways , on getting it home , we tried it again and the bloomin' thing fired up and ran for about 5mins. 'Oh Happy days' i thought. The GF mech thought there might have been some crap either in the fuel pump or on the Crank Positioning sensor that prob got dislodged during recovery.
Unfortunately , when i went out the next day , it wouldn't start again . The symptons were the same , turns over but not firing up. I have ordered a crankshaft positioning sensor , which arrived today but i have yet to fit. Of course , we've had the bad weather since NY day so my batteries dead too now but that i can deal with.


Am i on the right path with the Crankshaft pos sensor ? If this doesn't work , i guess i'll be looking at the fuel pump which i believe is built into the fuel tank itself .

....my only other worry is that the sensor i ordered looks a little 'fatter' than the ones i've seen elsewhere and it came labelled as Cam/crankshaft positioning sensor. Are they the same beast ?

Many thanks with your help in advance

Paul

tabetha

Ford could well use the same sensor for the cam and crank, but still uses BOTH a cam and crank one, they just happen to be the same type(saves for making 2 that way!!) so I wouldn't worry, just check it is the same LENGTH as the one that comes out, as if too long it will break, too short and it won't pick up, but don't think there are many variations on zetec.
The crank sensor is just abbrevaited from crankshaft sensor, this relates the position of the crank, the cam or camshaft sensor relates the position of the cam/s, both are fitted and needed on your car.
It could be a knackered pump, but DON'T keep spinning the engine over, if it is not starting due to lack of spark the fuel could kill the cat.
Charge the battery and then turning engine at the same time look for a spark, remove a lead, and use a old plug of take one out, if you have spark you know it's a fuel problem, if it doesn't have spark you know it's spark problem.
Normally if the ecu doesnt detect a crank signal through the crank sensor fuelling won't start, but of course you have no spark either.
Fitting is dead simple, but DON'T overtighten the bolt holding it, it doesn't need mega tightening.
Just a thought but did the GF mech push the fuel cut out, to make sure that hadn't popped ?, this will be situated in one of the footwell kick panels, a small hole that you simply insert your finger into and push back down the button if it has popped up.
This should be the first thing to do if a fuel problem.
tabetha

mec2325

Hi,

i have a Ford Focus 1999 1.8 petrol Zetec and was out shopping in this excellent heatwave when car wouldnt start. Engine turns over but doesn't start. Had recovery truck mech out and he opened up the carb inlet pipe (the other end of the airfilter pipe) and filled it with Power start (fuel in a can) - engine started up for a few secs and then stopped. checked the underneath of the fuel tank and bashed it with rubber hammer to jolt the fuel sender/pump. still car wouldnt start. concluded that fuel sender unit/pump could be an issue.he advised that the fuel tank needs to be dropped and taken out to get to the pump. i've looked at Haynes manual and it looks quite complex ie separate the exhaust and support it, then take out the fuel tank. cant see myself doing this with just one scissor jack on the floor outside the house??
any other idea's??

RichieST

iTrader: (2)

Yes you do need to drop the tank to access the pump, right pig of a job, will be almost impossible on the ground. If you lift the back seats up and turn the ignition on you should hear the pump whirr for about a second. If it doesn't, then it'll be the pump knackered. Happened on my old mk1 focus.

mec2325

Hi Rich,
thanks for that. have tried starting again with the back seats up-cant hear a thing.so i suspect it could be a fuel pump issue.shame i dont have access to a proper lift otherwise i'd give it a go.

James998

Or a fuse, or a relay, or wiring problems...dont dive into replacing the pump straight away!

Trist

Another 1.8 Zetec focus problem.
It's a mates car. It stopped while driving. Tried to start and cut out a few times then won't start. Won't spark. Took a plug out put a lead on held against an earth point and no spark. Had the crank sensor checked and it gave a 400ohm reading.
?