I've just noticed a strange occurence on my wife's 1999 Focus 1.8. A few mornings this week (nice cold,frosty starts!) the speedo and rev counter have both shot round to maximum, then gone back to normal.
The car starts fine, runs fine and instruments work ok. Is this a knonw quirk, a fault, the cold causing problems or a sign of something more sinister developing?
We've had the car 2 years and never seen this before.
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I would suggest that the battery is on its last legs.If voltage drops below a certain level ,the gauges go into a self test mode on start up.
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Ditto the dodgy battery theory.
You'll probably find the time clock dims or goes out as you start up also.
PP
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There are some more ideas in
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=8001&v...f
I think "timps" suggestion of a loose ECU connection looks most likely, because he is the only one to specifically mention both the speedo and the rev counter.
Ian
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Thanks for those ideas.
I'll check the battery although I havent noticed any other side effects apart from the lights going dimmer at idle speeds (normal I know, but this seems a touch worse than I would expect)
I suppose the battery theory would tie in with the colder weather as well, and the battery is around 5 years old now.
I'll also check the ECU connection, although nothing has been done to the car recently apart from a new fanbelt being fitted - and thats nowhere near the ECU.
I can't see the new fanbelt causing any problems?, I only replaced this as the old one whistled & squeaked when it was cold or damp.
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If the battery is five years old it's done well - even so the fanbelt might not be tight enough.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Well the fanbelt is on an automatic tensioner and seemed pretty tight - it was certainly tough enough to get the new belt on! Theres no squeal or noise from the new belt at all.
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I think the dials going up to maximum and back to normal is most likely the battery voltage dropping too low with the starter motor's heavy load on it.
It happens mostly on cold mornings, particularly when I haven't used the car for a few days. After a long journey, when the battery is well charged, this doesn't happen.
My car is also well over 5 years old and still on the first battery. I wouldn't be surprised if it gave up completely soon. I think I'll replace it next service anyway.
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I've just checked the battery and its got a good charge and seems to be charging OK from the alternator. However the indicator on the top has changed colour from green to black which suggests it is on its way out!
I think I'll get a battery now and hopefully miss any problems.
Thanks for your advice on this
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This happened to me a handful of times during my ownership of a '99 Focus 2.0 Ghia from Jun'01 to Feb'04. Certainly don't think it was related to a dying battery, but never did get to the root of the cause, since it happened infrequently and the car didn't seem to suffer any other ill-effects as a result.
I mentioned it to a Ford mechanic at one point but the only thing he could suggest was plugging the car in to check the ECU at a cost, so I said no thanks!
Basically, rather than spend a load of money trying to find the cause, I'd live with it!
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