Ford Focus2007 1.8 Zetec - Sudden bombardment of problems

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Sat 31 Mar 2018 20:29
Ford Focus2007 1.8 Zetec - Sudden bombardment of problems - alexpdjdj

Hello everyone, hoping someone might be able to help me please.

Earlier today my car suddenly had the 'engine temperature warning' and the temperature gauge suddenly went up to 120 and well into the red. I managed to get home and put it on my drive, when I switched the engine off and got out the engine fan was very loud and took a minute or two to slow down and stop.

I checked coolant etc and there was no problems.

I took it for another spin just now and noticed that the battery light did not go off. The temp gauge quickly went up to just below 90 but nothing concerning as it usually sits around this temperature. I thought I would take it one junction of the motorway just to see how it coped and as soon as I got to 50mph the gauge rocketed up again and displayed the warning light. I came off the motorway and got back to my house, literally as I went to pull onto the drive the 'steering assist failure' warning message came on instead and the steering went very heavy to the point where I couldn't get it on the driveway and its unfortunately kind of abandoned on the pavement.

Very strange to get such a wide range of problems all of a sudden, would anybody care to hazard a guess? I've had a quick search and read of some of the topics themselves but nothing seems to go into multiple problems like this.

Thanks in advance.

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Sat 31 Mar 2018 21:28
Ford Focus2007 1.8 Zetec - Sudden bombardment of problems - JONATHAN_11_80

Hi,

From my experience with my 2010 focus 1.8 I would say your problem is low battery voltage. The focus runs a canbus system which is very sensitive to battery voltage and this can cause lots of issues. I would either replace your battery or get it checked.

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Sat 31 Mar 2018 21:33
Ford Focus2007 1.8 Zetec - Sudden bombardment of problems - alexpdjdj

Thanks Jonathan, could low battery voltage really cause all of those issues?

I had thought that perhaps all those problems didn't actually exist and that the car was just thinking that they did, but I wouldn't understand how that could happen?

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Sat 31 Mar 2018 21:46
Ford Focus2007 1.8 Zetec - Sudden bombardment of problems - JONATHAN_11_80

My focus showed power steering malfunction and the abs light came on aswell. On checking the codes and I had quite a few canbus communication faults aswell. Since replacing the battery I haven't had any further issues so far. You can check your actual engine temp and charging rate in diagnostic mode. Hold the trip reset button and turn the ignition on, continue holding until test is shown in the mileage display. You can toggle the menu using the trip reset button.

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Sat 31 Mar 2018 21:53
Ford Focus2007 1.8 Zetec - Sudden bombardment of problems - alexpdjdj

Thanks Jonathan, the battery was replaced in December so I'm hoping its not a dud.

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Sat 31 Mar 2018 21:34
Ford Focus2007 1.8 Zetec - Sudden bombardment of problems - elekie&a/c doctor
The common link to these problems is the poly vee drive belt.Water pump and alternator are driven from this.The power steering is probably electric,so no alternator charge will cause it to malfunction.
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Sat 31 Mar 2018 21:37
Ford Focus2007 1.8 Zetec - Sudden bombardment of problems - alexpdjdj

Thanks for the reply aswell. Yes this would make sense. The battery was only replaced in December, but do you think the alternator could be the cause of all of these issues?

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Sat 31 Mar 2018 21:43
Ford Focus2007 1.8 Zetec - Sudden bombardment of problems - galileo

Thanks for the reply aswell. Yes this would make sense. The battery was only replaced in December, but do you think the alternator could be the cause of all of these issues?

If the drive belt that turns the alternatoe is slipping this will cause the electrical problem but this probably also drives the water pump which is why it overheats - have you checked this belt, it will be a poly-vee one round the alternator and other pulleys

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Sat 31 Mar 2018 21:49
Ford Focus2007 1.8 Zetec - Sudden bombardment of problems - alexpdjdj

Thanks to yourself for replying aswell. I haven't checked it, to be honest I'm not the best when it comes to cars and I'm not sure what I'd be looking for, but I will have a nosey under the bonnet tomorrow when its daylight again.

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Sat 31 Mar 2018 21:50
Ford Focus2007 1.8 Zetec - Sudden bombardment of problems - elekie&a/c doctor
Perhaps the belt is not there ,broken or shredded.This will give all these symptoms.
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Sat 31 Mar 2018 21:55
Ford Focus2007 1.8 Zetec - Sudden bombardment of problems - alexpdjdj

Thanks I will have a good look at it tomorrow and see what I can see.

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Sun 8 Apr 2018 21:11
Ford Focus2007 1.8 Zetec - Sudden bombardment of problems - alexpdjdj

Hi guys, late update sorry. The belt is completely missing, it took me a while to find out where it was meant to be. Now i come to think of it, shortly before the initial problem maybe ten minutes, I heard a noise that I thoguht was going over gravel quite loudly but I guess this could've been the belt rattling and then coming loose?

Thanks for help so far, reckon this is safe to drive maybe one mile to the garage tomorrow please?

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Sat 31 Mar 2018 21:51
Ford Focus2007 1.8 Zetec - Sudden bombardment of problems - JONATHAN_11_80

As per my previous post you can check the charging rate in diagnostic mode should be 14 volts +/-. The focus runs a smart charging alternator so the charging could be higher. Mine shows 14.4 volts idling with no accessories on. It shouldn't drop below 14v with everything on.

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Sat 31 Mar 2018 21:55
Ford Focus2007 1.8 Zetec - Sudden bombardment of problems - alexpdjdj

OK thanks Jonathan, another thing for me to have a look at tomorrow, cheers.

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