focus 1.6 petrol stalls with a/c on

[steveo3002]

ive had posts about this before but its got worse now and stalls at junctions /clutch down 

 

1.6 mk1 focus idles perfect until you turn the a/c on , its had all new breather hoses that are a common fail on these and a new pcv valve , tried new isv too , and resetting the ecu by disconnection the battery for 10 mins

 

any ideas ?   i have a scan tool that goes on the laptop...being old i dont really know what to do with it lol

[skattrd]

The obvious solution is to not use the a/c - simples, cost £0

[steveo3002]

yeah hadnt thought of that , id been using routes where i didnt have to stop ever

[Dirk Diggler]

I'd be thinking is something seized; take the belt off and see if the compressor spins freely

[SiC]

Does these have a sense wire or a signal to the ECU to increase the idle when the A/C is engaged? Most cars do this as the compressor loads down the engine.

[skattrd]

I'd be thinking is something seized; take the belt off and see if the compressor spins freely

 

I'd have said the same as well, compressor sticking possibly dying.

Anyway it's winter, nowt to worry about until next year

[bigfella2]

Doesn't the air con pump have a clutch on it, so as said above when you turn on air con the clutch releases and engages the pump which may be seized as mentioned above. So works fine when switched off.

[steveo3002]

the pump does have a clutch ...you can watch it free wheel then engage with the a/c  , not really sure how you would diag a tight compressor sinse it has the clutch

[steveo3002]

anyone handy with forscan diag...i have it but dont know what to look for

[MikeR]

Idle control valve . on front of engine by the throttle unit . 2 bolts to take off and clean it

[steveo3002]

tried 3 isv 

[Pillock]

Can you observe the clutch on the AC when someone turns it on with the engine running?

 

You may see the belt wobble as the clutch engages and slows the engine to a stop, assuming the AC compressor is stiff or seized.

[steveo3002]

seems to work as you would expect...if the a/c is turned on when idling it just about carries on running , but driving it stalls near everytime sinse the weekend

 

im thinking if the pump was stiff then it might make the belt chirp /make noises which it doesnt 

[sierraman]

Off subject but the PAS has an anti stall device to raise revs slightly I’d imagine there’s something similar for the air con.

 

Could be a problem relating to the smart charge element of the charging system.

[MikeR]

worth checking  , is your battery a 100% ?    , mine died last Friday , completely dead when I came to the car  , now I have fitted another battery the charge voltage is very steady at 14.5 V and 12.8 at rest  , but before that I did notice it varied a bit from  13,8 V 15 V , with a resting voltage of 12,4 V  , but with a few engine misses and surges when running , especially when warming up ....could it be worth checking your battery in case the clutch power draw is upsetting things ?

[steveo3002]

yeah will do that , although both heated screens on doenst effect the idle so slim chance its that

 

will also disconect the rad fan and see what happens incase its a stiff fan causing too much load, but id imagine a fuse would pop

[MikeR]

it might not be load related , I sometimes think a battery that's going duff will allow noise into the system which will upset  things like sensors ???

[steveo3002]

yeah god knows its beat me , its a recent top o the range battery so should be good 

 

will see what mr multimeter says

[MikeR]

I have plug in meter from Amazon for the cigie socket , about £2 , its great for checking whats going on !

 

with having a 1.6 Focus , I have just been out in it and putting the AC on and off made sweet FA change to  the tickover !!

[The Moog]

I think these are smart charge so you will see big V's to charge the battery and then die off once warm. 

[steveo3002]

ive seen good info that relates to my bad idle suggesting someone else had just the same and the cam belt wasnt on 100%

 

question 1

 

if i get a locking kit can i check the timing is good bad without having the dreaded super tight crank bolt off?

 

 

question2

if i then decided to replace the belt im struggling to understand at what point you loosen the crank bolt....im thinking you dont lean on it with the locking kit fitted , but if i roar it off with no locking kit then the timing goes to hell - anyone able to run through what order its done ?  and same again for tightening it ?  pinch it up with the locking kit on then what?   

 

edit -- oh and any special size /random sockets or tools required  

[Guest Hooli]

I'd be very surprised if you couldn't check the timing with the crank bolt in place, I've never heard of an engine where you couldn't.

[twosmoke300]

Deffo need a timing kit , pretty sure these have fully floating crank and cam pulleys. Tread carefully if you do the belt . You should be able to check the timing fairly easily but will still need the tools . Lock the crank and then remove cam cover and the long flat tool should fit in the end of the cam .

The timing tool IS NOT to be used to undo pulleys!

[steveo3002]

yeah so if the timing tool wont fit the cams = timing is out

 

so lock crank ,then loosen cams until bar fits and re tighten?? ...turn with spanner and re check the kit fits???

[dome]

Definitely floating cam pulley on these, can't remember about the crank but I'm not sure if it was. Crank pulley was REALLY hard to get off when I did one many years ago. 

[Guest Hooli]

I suspect the crank is floating, it was on 2008 Fiesta 1.25 I did.

 

Setting the timing is easy as said above you lock the crank tool & if the bar fits the cams then it's ok. If not, slacken the cams, lock the crank, twiddle cams till the tool fits & tighten.

[steveo3002]

mentions new crank bolt....does the cam bolts go again ?

 

and after i think its set ...twirl it around with a spanner and refit the tool to confirm yeah?

[Guest Hooli]

I didn't change either, but it was sold shortly afterwards. Not sure if they should be changed or not.

 

Aye, spin it with a spanner or summink to recheck.

[Burnside]

This may or maybe not be useful, but noticed yesterday that this Months Car Mechanics Mag had a feature on the Zetec 1600 Cambelt change? 

[steveo3002]

will have a look thanks for mentioning it