My mum is having some grief with her 03 reg StreetKa.
Recently, the engine temperature warning light has been coming on sporadically, but there are no signs of overheating (no hot coolant smells, no steam or puddles, engine running/pulling fine). This has been joined in recent days by the fuel gauge behaving erratically.
I am assuming, maybe incorrectly, that the overheating warning is false. Certainly, there are no signs as mentioned earlier. The car has done 35,000 miles, and has the original coolant in it at the right concentration and the right level in the tank.
My best guess is a good old fashioned earthing fault, but with the unusual places electronics are employed in new cars, who knows? Can anyone suggest a good place to start, or provide any other input on the diagnosis?
It would be useful to have a temperature gauge rather than a light to see what the behaviour is prior to the overheat warning. I have not tested the car, but I have told mum what to look for as a sign that it is genuinely getting hot, and she tells me it has none of the symptoms.
Any advice gratefully received.
Cheers
DP
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04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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Hello
Just a thought.
Does the ECU control the engine warning lights and fuel gauge on this model.
Might be silly but have you driven through any flood water recently the reason for saying this is that it could be a loose or damp connection somewhere under the bonnet.
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(iam not a mechanic)
Martin Winters
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DP
As Martin says;
The warning light is an ECU output fed from the cylinder head temp sensor [I take it that this is a 1.6 Zetec S?] and the gauge could be too.
Maybe getting it plugged in would be a good first step.
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There is a known problem on Ka models of this era with water ingress into the engine control unit multipin connector which can cause erratic running and possible temp gauge/ warning light malfunction.Water has been found to leak thro the engine bay to bulkhead grommet into the Ecu wiring by the passenger door post.hth
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Thanks for the replies guys, and sorry for the lack of responses on my part. I'd kind of forgotten about this as mum hadn't said any more about it.
Until this morning.
Apparently it broke down on her last night on the way home from work. Driving along just fine, and then two "violent" misfires and it quit and won't restart. Haven't had chance to look at it yet - dad towed it in, and is going to have a look this afternoon.
Will check the connector / ECU for signs of water ingress. Thanks for that!
Keep you posted!
Cheers
DP
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04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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Zetec "S" was the Sigma range of engines and was never fitted to KA;the old ohv engine was the Endura-the current 1.3/1.6 are Duratec(also known as Rocam-chain camdrive,hydraulic tappets and roller followers).
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Yup that's the one. "Duratec" badged SOHC 8v 1.6 with chain cam.
Looks something like this:
tinyurl.com/3d7l5g
Parents are 50 miles away, so I won't get chance to look at it until the weekend at least, but I'll see what we can find out by phone tonight.
Cheers
DP
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04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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Spoke to dad this evening. He went to the car this morning and it fired up, but it won't idle at all, and "dies" the second you let go of the throttle pedal. It will run at a steady 2,000 + RPM on throttle and he reckons it sounds fine. He thinks the coolant level is on the low side, but still plenty in the tank, and the oil level is correct. No sign of mixing. No warning lights on - engine management light comes on with the ignition and goes out as soon as the engine starts.
A recommended mobile indie (with a code scanner) is coming out tomorrow to take a look. I mentioned the water ingress to the ECU - he's going to mention it to the guy tomorrow.
And the car HAS been driven through floodwater recently, although they can't remember if the problems started since, or were around at the time.
Just hoping it's nothing too £££, whatever it is.
Cheers
DP
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04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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The mobile mechanic reckons no fuel is getting through. There's pressure in the rail, but nothing getting into the cylinders. Mechanically the engine seems to be OK.
He seems to think it's the cam position sensor that's causing the problem as the injectors don't seem to be being triggered properly (if at all). He's ordered a new one and will come back and fit it on Monday. Oddly, there are no fault codes logged in the ECU, but he reckons they don't always log codes depending on how they've failed.
ECU multiplug was in good nick with no sign of water ingress.
Does this diagnosis sound plausible?
Cheers
DP
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04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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PS - he doesn't think this problem has anything to do with the overheat light and fuel gauge. He reckons this is a sudden sensor failure that's caused a breakdown and is a whole seperate issue.
Cheers
DP
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04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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DP
If the injectors aren't being triggered; how does it run above 2000?
It might be a cam sensor; a few failures about - it's easy to scope the signal against the crank sensor trace and watch it for drop-out, so I take it that's what he saw.
I was almost certain that I added a post to this thread this morning about sucking-in the air-filter if it had got wet - but no sign of it??
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Screwloose,
Thanks for the reply.
Sorry, I forgot to mention, the car won't start at all today! No idea what kit he used on the car to be honest.
I'm not sure what he's checked in terms of water ingress, but I know he looked at the ECU multiplug and there was no sign of water or corrosion on it.
Sorry for the sketchy information, and I appreciate your response.
Cheers
DP
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04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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DP
He'd have loved checking the ECU plug - security plate on that year; all the rivets have to be drilled out.
We'll see.....
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