AS Communal MK4&5 Mondeo Thread

[Fraz]

Mines due it’s oil change. 
 

£33

delivered for shell fully synth and a oem Mann filter …

 

SOLD

[Cookiesouwest]

Total cluster failure this morning

 

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, Cookiesouwest said:

Total cluster failure this morning

 

Towbar fitted? I had similar issues related to the CANBUS to towbar wiring module. Run it through Forscan before condemning the cluster, penny to a pound there’s codes relating to the BCM causing the fault with the cluster.

Failing that give the dash a bang on the top, usually identifies failed/failing solder joints on the dash. 

[Cookiesouwest]

10 hours ago, sierraman said:

Towbar fitted? I had similar issues related to the CANBUS to towbar wiring module. Run it through Forscan before condemning the cluster, penny to a pound there’s codes relating to the BCM causing the fault with the cluster.

Failing that give the dash a bang on the top, usually identifies failed/failing solder joints on the dash. 

No tow bar. Thanks for the tip. Thumping dashboard brought cluster back to life

 

[sierraman]

32 minutes ago, Cookiesouwest said:

No tow bar. Thanks for the tip. Thumping dashboard brought cluster back to life

 

Ignore it for now, unless it’s doing it all the time, it’s the solder in the contacts on the PCB that fail. You can’t get one from breakers without a lot of fucking about because it’s coded to the car, it doesn’t run the immobiliser through the dash as per Focus Mk2 though. 

[Cookiesouwest]

49 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Ignore it for now, unless it’s doing it all the time, it’s the solder in the contacts on the PCB that fail. You can’t get one from breakers without a lot of fucking about because it’s coded to the car, it doesn’t run the immobiliser through the dash as per Focus Mk2 though. 

I've seen companies offering refurb service of cluster. Once it becomes a regular occurance, I will get it sent off for fix

[sierraman]

44 minutes ago, Cookiesouwest said:

I've seen companies offering refurb service of cluster. Once it becomes a regular occurance, I will get it sent off for fix

£200. Avoid these on eBay fucking about with a soldering iron in their back bedroom. 

[Cord Fourteener]

Quick question: whats with a tiny bit of smoke when coming off power, eg gear change and maneuvering?

In other respects the car appears to be working as it ought to be. 

[sierraman]

Maybe the EGR? These don’t soot up like the Mk3, EGR should rarely if ever need cleaning on these. If it runs smooth and it’s not copious I’d leave well alone.

Im assuming the fuel filter has been swapped in a timely manner? 

[Cookiesouwest]

My mk4 has a small number of annoying electrical faults along with the occasional cluster failure.

A bit of Interneting suggests that most / all faults might be solved by getting the cluster sorted.

Lots of companies offer a refurb service, but I can't find any recommendations, which is surprising.

Can any of you recommend a company to use?

Ta

[Fraz]

A mate who works in the trade swears by BBA reman. 

 

Its who I’d contact should I need that kind of repair carried out. 

[Cord Fourteener]

3 hours ago, sierraman said:

Maybe the EGR? These don’t soot up like the Mk3, EGR should rarely if ever need cleaning on these. If it runs smooth and it’s not copious I’d leave well alone.

Im assuming the fuel filter has been swapped in a timely manner? 

It's performing fine, and after I tailed the Mondeo in my Passat I tailed my Passat in the Mondeo and the Passat leaves a black smoke screen whilst accelerating like a V8 so all is fair and that. 

I'll have read through the comprehensive service history to find out if there's a record of a fuel filter change, I need to change the oil again anyway as its slightly diluted by 627ml of fuel according to Forscan (and the dipstick) so a new fuel filter can't hurt. 

[sierraman]

If it’s constantly diluting the oil it’s possible you have a fuelling problem or DPF regen issues

[Cord Fourteener]

11 minutes ago, sierraman said:

If it’s constantly diluting the oil it’s possible you have a fuelling problem or DPF regen issues

Its not any more, its been stable since I cleaned the MAF sensor and reset the dpf a couple of weeks ago.  I've been checking. 

That 600ml or so was from just before I did all that, so I will change the oil again but I'm in less of a hurry this time as its not massively dilute, but not dilute enough to put the EML on. 

[warren t claim]

On 9/12/2021 at 9:38 PM, Cookiesouwest said:

My mk4 has a small number of annoying electrical faults along with the occasional cluster failure.

A bit of Interneting suggests that most / all faults might be solved by getting the cluster sorted.

Lots of companies offer a refurb service, but I can't find any recommendations, which is surprising.

Can any of you recommend a company to use?

Ta

A used cluster from the scrappy will be cheaper.

A taxi garage I know had major issues with a Mk4 that was only solved when they noticed that the ECU thought that the car was fitted with a tow bar when it wasn't.

[Cookiesouwest]

I take the point that a used cluster would be cheaper.

But I wont know if the used one is any good and it would need coding to car.

A refurb of the existing cluster is plug and play and I get a warranty on it.

[sierraman]

Used one is no good whatsoever unless you can code it to the car. 

Before you take the plunge check for damp/corrosion in the BCM. Though from what you said giving it a whack on the top got it going so it would suggest a dry solder joint or poor connection at the back. You can still drive it without the cluster in on those - while it’s being mended though as I say unless it’s doing it regularly I’d ignore it. 

[AndyIggs]

4 hours ago, Cookiesouwest said:

I take the point that a used cluster would be cheaper.

But I wont know if the used one is any good and it would need coding to car.

A refurb of the existing cluster is plug and play and I get a warranty on it.

I have used these in the past: https://totaltronics.com/cat/ford/

Patryk the owner sorted my Audi cluster out within the hour. You can either post the unit off or book a time in to drive down and he'll do it while you wait. Recommended. 

[Cord Fourteener]

So eml light came on again. 

There's a failed regen attempt logged for the first time in over a thousand miles along with a code that's new to me;   P003A Turbo/SC Boost Control A Exceeded Limit

This comes with the symptom of the feeling of gentle waves of on-and-off boost as you ask for power, before it settles on a steady boost. 

Anyone got any ideas? Dodgy boost control solenoid, sticky turbo vanes? Or wires starting to go in a sensor or something?

[sierraman]

3 minutes ago, Cord Fourteener said:

So eml light came on again. 

There's a failed regen attempt logged for the first time in over a thousand miles along with a code that's new to me;   P003A Turbo/SC Boost Control A Exceeded Limit

This comes with the symptom of the feeling of gentle waves of on-and-off boost as you ask for power, before it settles on a steady boost. 

Anyone got any ideas? Dodgy boost control solenoid, sticky turbo vanes? Or wires starting to go in a sensor or something?

Try the boost solenoid on the right hand side of the engine. Under the fuel pump.

[Cord Fourteener]

1 minute ago, sierraman said:

Try the boost solenoid on the right hand side of the engine. Under the fuel pump.

Try what, hitting with hammer, disconnecting it? Sorry for lack of background knowledge!

Also I've just read off similar issues being down to failing EGR, is this a possibility?

[junkyarddog]

10 minutes ago, Cord Fourteener said:

This comes with the symptom of the feeling of gentle waves of on-and-off boost as you ask for power, before it settles on a steady boost. 

 

Mine does that too,and has done since I've had it,I think it's a trait.

 

It's a simple job to blank off the EGR,the silver pipe that runs from the the egr to the intake is held on with two bolts on the egr,

undo those and slip in a blanking plate(you can make one easily)it does make an improvement.

[sierraman]

8 hours ago, Cord Fourteener said:

Try what, hitting with hammer, disconnecting it? Sorry for lack of background knowledge!

Also I've just read off similar issues being down to failing EGR, is this a possibility?

No, don’t hit it with a hammer it’s only plastic. Swap it with another one. The EGR on these rarely coke up in practice, it’s a bit of a twat to remove completely. You can see if it’s starting to fill by taking off the top metal hose that runs over the cylinder head and looking inside. 

As above though the on/off nature when it’s cold is a trait I think but the code for the turbo solenoid would also suggest there’s an issue there. 

[Cord Fourteener]

5 minutes ago, sierraman said:

No, don’t hit it with a hammer it’s only plastic. Swap it with another one. The EGR on these rarely coke up in practice, it’s a bit of a twat to remove completely. You can see if it’s starting to fill by taking off the top metal hose that runs over the cylinder head and looking inside. 

As above though the on/off nature when it’s cold is a trait I think but the code for the turbo solenoid would also suggest there’s an issue there. 

OK thanks. 

The on off nature was when it was hot anyway. 

OK thanks I'll swap the solenoid 😊looking in the EGR seems sensible as a precaution. 

[junkyarddog]

 

[Cord Fourteener]

2 minutes ago, junkyarddog said:

 

I thought the point of the egr was partly to aid warm up?

The commute the car goes on starts with 15 mins down hill in the cold air so it doesn't get up to temperature on cooler days until its traveled 6 or 7 miles so wouldn’t blocking the system off increase engine wear? I mean it's done 240,000 miles so I don't think increased engine wear is a desirable thing to have. 

[junkyarddog]

They are just an emission reduction device,but in reality they just help gum up the engine at this age and mileage. 

It's a simple job to blank off,if you find it makes a difference to the cars oil dilution problem then leave it in,if not it's simple to remove the blank again.

It's worth a try,it also improves acceleration slightly when taking off from standstill. 

[wuvvum]

The good news with that particular Mondeo is that because it was registered before July 2008, the EML being on is not an MOT fail.

[Cord Fourteener]

6 hours ago, wuvvum said:

The good news with that particular Mondeo is that because it was registered before July 2008, the EML being on is not an MOT fail.

Its in with the garage for boost solenoid as it needs to do weekend nights and of course with a light on its not regenerating so it's got dilute oil, so it needs doing and I'm busy and the family vomiting everywhere currently so there's sfa chance of me doing in time. 

[Cord Fourteener]

Also, she's done several thousand miles, never complained about the car so it's doing well, it will be good to get the boost control sorted if it needs it. 

214,455 it's on, not 240,000 as I said earlier.