Hi,

Im hoping you guys can give me some idea of what maybe up with my car 1999 2.0 ghia estate.

I only bought the car on saturday and all seemed well on the test drive etc, however it seems to have a bit of an problem, i'll try and explain as best i can.

Some of the time the car drives fine other times when pulling away the car seem hesitant or lacking in power as if its almost holding back, then pushing the accelerator harder it will suddenly jerk and accelerate hard.

The other thing that im sure is related is when crusing at pretty much any speed and holding the same speed it will sort of loose power and then come back again. Almost as if ive let off the throttle for a second then gone back on it again but my foot hasnt moved.

From what ive read im thinking it could be a coil pack but really unsure, i know nothing about fords.

Hoping someone can help! Ive only just bought it

Thanks in advance.

Greg

 

i've lived with focus's for a number of years.

sounds to me like it prob throttle possition sensor.

is there anything else up with the car at all?

 

I have exactly the same problem - symptoms just as you describe.

Funnily enough, mine is also on a 1999 2.0 Ghia (not estate though).
I'm going to change the coil pack this week, will let you know if that cures it.

Good luck !!

 

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated

Phil, no everything else seems fine, runs perfect and drives nice except when its playing up. Are the throttle possition sensors expensive? Or can the be cleaned or something?

Pampy, it'd be great if you could let me know how you get on!

 

just to check. does it sound like a miss fire being all stuttery or is it more like the engine is being labourd way too much? if the latter then throttle possition sensor is a likely cause especially ifshe runs sweet the rest of the time.

the sensors themselves arent expensive from what i can remember. easy to fit too although may be worth disconecting the battery for 1/2 hour to reset the ecu to its base settings. actually might be worth trying that first anyway just in case its got itself in a knott so to speak.

 

I dont know really, i would say its not so much a misfire. Just feels as if ive let off the throttle when i havent and then as if ive put my foot back to where it was before. If that makes sense. Just feels like engine breaking for a sec.

With the pulling away side of things it just feels like the accelerator is a switch sometimes, i.e hardly any power between nothing and halfway down the just over halfway all the power kicks in if that makes sense.

If i disconnect the battery will this course any problems with radio codes and alarm etc?

 

Coil pack seems most likely culprit doesn't sound like a complete failure I'd wager that it may be cracked thus causing the intermittent misfiring.

 

does sound as if its throttle type problem, hard to tell without seing the car though.

disconecting the battery will lose your radio code so you need that handy, alarm is fine though.

 

Ok the throttle possition sensor and the coil pack seem to be the first points to looks at. I will disconnect the battery tomorrow and see if that helps first though.

Thanks again for the help! And if anyone else has any thoughts or has had the same problem then the more help the merrier!!

 

as those 2 are the easiest things to change in the world it would be worth using some used parts of a mate whostill uses their focus...if you know anyone close to you with a 1.8 or 2l focus. wouldnt even take long as can wip both out in 5 min !!!

 

Unfortunately i dont know anyone with a focus so looks like i'll have to buy them to find out

Any news yet pampy?

 

darn it.

if you werent so far away from me i'd come over and you could try mine

 

I would say coil pack as on the early models which yours is they were notorious for causing misfires as were some of the later ones.

You will probably find that one fault is the cause to both of your problems. If not then TPS seems a likely suspect.

Don't think ECU reset will do anything, the EML would illuminate if a sensor was out of range, but if you do you can just remove the purple fuse it's 1A this protects the KAM so once this is removed the memory will be cleared without removing battery which sometimes in itself causes problems if you don't have radio code etc.

Martin

 

I had the exactly same symptoms on my 1999 2.0 Focus Wagon and it was the throttle position sensor.

 

Thanks again for the advice everyone!

Whats the going rate for a coil pack and a TPS?

 

Hey Greg,

Still waiting for my coilpack to arrive - should be here by the weekend. As soon as I know anything I'll post and let you know. Mine was £35 from Ebay - no idea about the cost of TPS though (or where to find it on the car at the moment !!!)

 

Nice one thanks chap! I believe the TPS is on the right hand side of the throttle body, i maybe wrong though. Fingers crossed the coil pack will solve your problems!!

 

Just changed out the coil pack and it's still the same - ideas for where to look next anyone ? (Sorry Greg, we're not there yet !!)

Where do I find the KAM fuse to reset the ECU ? Car is 1999 2.0 Ghia Hatch. Fuse number would be great - is it under the bonnet or behind the glove box ?
Sorry to appear dim - have no manuals at all at present.

Thanks

 

Ah gutted mate, sounds like the TPS maybe the next thing to look at then. Anyone know how much we're looking at?

 

I'm repeating myself, but it must be the TPS. Thise symptoms were the exact same symptoms I had for some time. Couldn't have described it better myself. I had it easy to troubleshoot as I have two pretty much identical Foci, so it's easy to swap parts over.

 

UPDATE !!!!

I might have been a bit premature in saying that the coil pack didn't make a difference as things are now noticably better !!

However, I did remove the TPS and just make sure it moved freely etc. which, I guess, could have effected a temporary fix.

I certainly haven't experienced the harsh hesitation I was getting since I fiddled with the TPS though. I also should say that I've only just bought my Focus too and so I can't vouch for condition of things like HT leads, plugs etc which could all contribute to the problem.

More news soon though as the guy who's just bought my aging Mondeo works for the RAC and has promised to hook up the Focus and run a diagnostic check when he picks up the Mondy (he suggested the crank sensor )

Should know by Thursday night if that shows up anything and I'll keep you posted as soon as I have any news.

BTW - Greg, I think you can get a TPS for around £35

 

not really related, but might help. My zetec turbo is based on a Focus 2.0 (black top)and the engine builder changed the coil pack to that from a Mondeo (silver top) as apparantly the focus coil packs are a nightmare. Stuffing one on from a mondeo will cure the problem in most cases he reckons

 

you are correct, the early silvertop zetec e coil packs are a lot stronger and hardly ever fail so it is a worth while reliability mod.