 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Ford / Ford Focus / June 20052003 zts intermittent start problems
weird situation here: 30,000 miles, car normally runs fine. maybe once in 20-30 starts, it just whines... no engine attempting to turn over, no clicking, just an electrical whirrrr. took it to the dealer and they swear nothing is wrong, and that the only way they can fix it is if they see it. understandable, but when it doesn’t start, it may not start for a while. as far as i can tell, it doesn’t matter if its a cold/warm start, with/without much gas. also, occasionally the remote unlock and the drivers side unlock fail, but very occasionally. obviously seems electrical, but for a 2003, can’t think of what it’d be. i plan to take it to another dealer because this one basically said, wait till it dies and tow it here. this is impossible, since i, as most people do, rely on the car. any ideas? i saw it may be a loose battery cable, but wouldn’t a dealer check this? any other ideas? is it right to take it to another dealer? Mike PS, thanks for the board here, helps out a ton >... maybe once in 20-30 starts, it > just whines... no engine attempting to turn over, no clicking, just an > electrical whirrrr. See if you can borrow another battery (known to be good) and try that out for a while. Sometimes batteries have loose plates or dirt which can cause intermittent random internal shorts and therefore low voltage. battery wouldn't be it. sounds like it's the typical focus fuel pump problem. it was a problem on the 00's and 01's but more 02's + are seeing this too. www.focusfanatics.com and www.focusmotorsports would be able to give you more details on this if needed. >>... maybe once in 20-30 starts, it >> just whines... no engine attempting to turn over, no clicking, just an [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > for a while. Sometimes batteries have loose plates or dirt which can cause > intermittent random internal shorts and therefore low voltage. > battery wouldn't be it. sounds like it's the typical focus fuel pump > problem. Can't be the fuel pump. The original poster said > >>... maybe once in 20-30 starts, it > >> just whines... no engine attempting to turn over, no clicking, just an > >> electrical whirrrr. Ah, good call.. Thanks for clearing that up. :) >> battery wouldn't be it. sounds like it's the typical focus fuel pump >> problem. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >> >> just whines... no engine attempting to turn over, no clicking, just an >> >> electrical whirrrr. > weird situation here: > > 30,000 miles, car normally runs fine. maybe once in 20-30 starts, it > just whines... no engine attempting to turn over, no clicking, just an > electrical whirrrr. Bit of a stretch here, but you have something like a Mobil Speed Pass on your keys? They may interfere with reading the chip in your ignition key. Once in a great while, my 2001 won't start. Turn the key and absolutely nothing. I don't recall any whirrrr. I take the key out, hold the key ring by the ignition key so everything (including the Speed Pass) hangs down, try again, and it works. > Once in a great while, my 2001 won't start. Turn the key and > absolutely nothing. I don't recall any whirrrr. I take the key out, > hold the key ring by the ignition key so everything (including the > Speed Pass) hangs down, try again, and it works. Yes, for me the whirrr is the key piece of data. Chances are it's the fuel pump. There's enough voltage to power it up, but not activate the starter. Try taking the speed pass off the key ring. The speed pass could be screwing up the Passive Anti Theft System causing the starter to be intermittently "locked out". The speed pass could be blocking the signal from the key chip. When you have this problem does the red light on the dash flash or flash rapidly? If it does, the chip in the key is not communicating with the transceiver around the lock cylinder. You should also rotate the use of the second key and remote control about every 3 months. "Tony Wesley" <tonywesley@gmail.com> wrote > Once in a great while, my 2001 won't start. Turn the key and > absolutely nothing. I don't recall any whirrrr. I take the key out, > hold the key ring by the ignition key so everything (including the > Speed Pass) hangs down, try again, and it works. Yes, for me the whirrr is the key piece of data. Chances are it's the fuel pump. There's enough voltage to power it up, but not activate the starter. > > Once in a great while, my 2001 won't start. Turn the key and > > absolutely nothing. I don't recall any whirrrr. I take the key out, [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Yes, for me the whirrr is the key piece of data. Chances are it's the fuel > pump. That is, it's the fuel pump that's whirring? You might be right. > There's enough voltage to power it up, but not activate the starter. I think your suggesting is better than mine. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.