Ford Mondeo SCi Ghia 1.8 - Mondeo 53 plate SCi Pinking?

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Tue 18 Jan 2011 19:22
Ford Mondeo SCi Ghia 1.8 - Mondeo 53 plate SCi Pinking? - jimgsd

In need of help from all the professionals out there, My mondeo SCi has recently started "pinking" between 30 -60mph, that is when it is more noticable, but it does tend to do this at all speeds.

Just took it to ford and they tell me that it is not showing any fault codes, therefore there is nothing wrong with it??!?!?!? I told them to take it for a test drive, and they said they couldn't "find" the problem, thing is It only does this when the engine is warm? Anyone any ideas?

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Tue 18 Jan 2011 22:22
Ford Mondeo SCi Ghia 1.8 - Mondeo 53 plate SCi Pinking? - tdc

What`s the mileage?

Temp gauge doesn`t read higher does it?

Is it sluggish to drive or hard to start?

When were spark plugs last removed/checked/replaced?

Did the pinking start after any maintenance was carried out,eg replacement cam belt or exhaust fitted?

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Wed 19 Jan 2011 01:02
Ford Mondeo SCi Ghia 1.8 - Mondeo 53 plate SCi Pinking? - unthrottled
That's not pinking, I doubt any modern car pinks much (the knock sensor takes care of that, and if it did it wouldn't last long-you'd have a hole in a piston before long. Pinking occurs at high load. Driving at modest speeds isn't going to induce detonation (pinking) and certainly not in winter.

Have a look at your plug tips. If they're undamaged and not ash white, it probably isn't them that's at fault. Rough running at low engine speed (2000-3000RPM) while trying to accelerate is usually a sign of imminent coil pack failure. Don't bother with the multimeter, the readings give false negatives. When coil packs start to fail, it's the insulation breaking down under load.
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Wed 19 Jan 2011 09:45
Ford Mondeo SCi Ghia 1.8 - Mondeo 53 plate SCi Pinking? - jimgsd

I had the car serviced about 2 months ago (plus, fuel filter etc etc), and the milage is about 46k, the tick over is fine and the rev counter doesn't move about. The temperature guage varys between quarter and just below half on the dial when its warm.

When I bought the car about 3 months ago, I had to have the chain cam and tensioner replaced, at a cost of about 500quid, as it sounded like a bag of bolts, since then its been running so smooth, The problem started last weekend, I had a 200 mile journey ahead of me, and the last 10 miles it started missing or pinking.

On acceleration it doesn't "pink" at all, it occurs mostly when Im trying to maintain a constant speed, in this case its more evident between 40 and 60mph. how much are we talking for a set of coil packs?

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Wed 19 Jan 2011 09:45
Ford Mondeo SCi Ghia 1.8 - Mondeo 53 plate SCi Pinking? - jimgsd

Forgot to mention to the previous message, It starts first time everytime, and it isn't sluggish to drive, by the way plus should of read plugs.

Edited by jimgsd on 19/01/2011 at 09:47

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Wed 19 Jan 2011 12:46
Ford Mondeo SCi Ghia 1.8 - Mondeo 53 plate SCi Pinking? - jimgsd

just picked up car from fords, they are informing me it has a dodgy EGR valve? and will need replacing

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Thu 20 Jan 2011 16:15
Ford Mondeo SCi Ghia 1.8 - Mondeo 53 plate SCi Pinking? - bathtub tom

I suppose pinking could occur if the knock sensor's failed (although I've never heard of a failed knock sensor). Has the connection fallen off?

What are the diagnostics?

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