Can anyone help i have a mk2 escort it runs a drives spot on but accasionally it wont switch off. the ignition switch is fine anyone got any ideas?

 

Most likely the engine needs "de-carbonating" basically carbon builds up which acts as a "hot spot", so when the engine is turned off it over-run's.

It's a head off job.

There are other reasons but this is the most likely.

In the days when your car was new this was common practice, but fortunately fuels have improved nowadays, so it's not so much of an issue.

Martin

 

Try retarding the timing 2 degrees and also check the fuel shut off solenoid on the carb,

 

Sounds like the fuel shut off valve might be faulty.
when did it start playing up?
All of a sudden or gradually getting worse?

 

when it wont switch off does it run rough or as normal?

 

Thanks for the replies been having a fiddle today and took the black and yellow wire off the top of the solenoide and it turns off fine but if i put it back on it seems to be running a perminate live does anyone know what what the black and yellow wire's for?

 

From memory I think the black and yellow is a 12v feed to operate the solenoid. I personally think your timing is to far advanced making it run on. Is it a crossflow or Pinto?

 

its a fairly tuned crossflow engine what i dont understand i can take the key out but the ignition stays on and the car still running the only way to kill the engine is to stall it. but i removed the black and yellow wire off the solenoid and the car starts and switches off as normal but when i re-connect that wire the ignition comes on by itself without the key in the ignition so i was wondrering if there is a falt in the wiring somewhere?

 

is your coil permanately live

 

Well yes, if the ignition is still live, that will be why, now we know that, I should imagine it's getting a feed via the solenoid somehow.

Martin

 

press the brake or switch head lights on next time it wont turn off and report back

 

If u want to decarbonise the head without taking it off dissconect the fuel pipe before the fuel pump and run it on washer fluid it should leave it nice and shiney

 

ignore this bollocks ^^^^

 

When you say solenoid, you are talking about on the carb right? Not the starter solenoid?

 

ok off the wall idea? I remember my granddad's Mk2 escort 1.3L had a similar problem and there was a recall for it. This stopped it "dieseling" it was a solenoid of some type attached to the carburetor with a vacuum pipe if I remember properly! but I was about 11 then and It was a long time ago!

may be this has stopped working?

 

I have to press the brake pedal every now and then to switch mine off, it's not all the time.
What's the fault??? Alternator???

 

It's the basic idea of water injection as the methanol in the washer fluid acts as a decarboniser what I should of said was that you shoul take the air filter of and lightly squeeze the washer fluid in to the carb not to much or you'll cause internall damage do this when the engines nice and hot it will work better that way as it cools the fuel air mixture giving More power but that's only with a proper setup but for what you doing hold the throttle at around 2.5 thousand rpm and squirt the washer fluid into the top of carb obviously without the air filter hope this clears up anything I said before

 

The live isnt being cut to the coil so its running on is my guess.

 

Yeah needs a diode on the excite wire, some weird current path keeps a relay powered, in my case the ecu relay. If you google megasquirt won't switch off you will find the info, its a cheap fix. The info is i the rs turbo section on here some where, I will see if I can dig it out for you.

https://passionford.com/forum/ford-e...-my-mk4-2.html

 

The alternator has one built in though? If this were the case the ignition warning light would be on when you switch off, which is what happens if you have the rectification side go bad.

Martin

 

iirc it is on.

op has still not given details of how it runs when its been switched off.

 

Not much help but just reminded me of a car I had that did this.

Was a mk1 golf gti I bought when I was 18 (against my father's wishes) it was a really straight clean car and I was shitting it on the drive home thinking he's gonna go mad but also thinking it's so nice and a bargain, how can he! I basically spunked all my student loan and bursary on the car and insurance, hence him going mad.

I pulled up at home, turned the key off... Still running! Fook. Mass pannick to follow. Then followed lots of random wiggling of wiring, popped the bonnet and happened to disconnect an aftermarket fused live direct to the battery and she cut out. The thing is if I left this live disconnected all the time the car would turn off fine but when running the indicators would all be lit up solid and the lights on the dash too.

I never did get to the bottom of it and ran it like that the whole time. Sometimes it'd be fine, then others it'd just run on.

 

that sounded like like a alarm problem