AnnoyingPentium's Adventures - Fabia Fettling and Other Nonsense

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

I went via Largs to meet a lassie as well, just to kill some time really

I've not heard it called that before 😃

[Flat4]

1 hour ago, RoverFolkUs said:

What year Focus is it? 

Mk1 S reg. 1998 I think? White estate, 1.8 Ghia.

[AnnoyingPentium]

16 minutes ago, Flat4 said:

Mk1 S reg. 1998 I think? White estate, 1.8 Ghia.

Feck if I'd known it was a Ghia then I'd have been just as well leaving my debit card. 😂

[RoverFolkUs]

1 hour ago, Flat4 said:

Mk1 S reg. 1998 I think? White estate, 1.8 Ghia.

Oh right! If it was a MK2 I'd have said instrument cluster.

Is it a petrol or diesel? (Only out of interest)

S reg ones have got to be worth saving, there's hardly any left being so early. 

Is it cranking but not starting or no crank at all?

 

@AnnoyingPentium apologies for hijacking your thread yet again thanks to my Focus fetish 😂 

[AnnoyingPentium]

Just now, RoverFolkUs said:

@AnnoyingPentium apologies for hijacking your thread yet again thanks to my Focus fetish 😂

No worries! I love the Mk1 and Mk2 Focii, so I'll let it slide. 😆

[AnnoyingPentium]

Also, if it's an immobiliser issue, then it could be like what some Fabias have done, where the solder joints in the cluster just give up. Might jist need a wee reflow of the joints.

[RoverFolkUs]

38 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Also, if it's an immobiliser issue, then it could be like what some Fabias have done, where the solder joints in the cluster just give up. Might jist need a wee reflow of the joints.

Do Fabias suffer from the cluster issue too then? I thought that was a 2004 onwards Ford thing when they tried saving the dolphins with lead free solder! I've never seen anything other than a Ford with a faulty cluster causing immobilizer or CANbus issues

It's why I said if it was a MK2 I'd have said its probably the cluster but I dont think the MK1 suffers from bad solder joints. Although of course anything is possible and there's a first for everything! I know its common for MK1 Focuses to have faulty clusters and thats why you used to see so many with mileage discrepancies. Just like the Scenic II

[AnnoyingPentium]

Just now, RoverFolkUs said:

Do Fabias suffer from the cluster issue too then?

Some do, think it's due to the same issue. Mine is alright (touch wood), but it's been a death sentence for quite a few owned by folk who couldny care less.

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/369663-yet-another-fabia-immobilizer-thread-solution-included/

[RoverFolkUs]

16 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Some do, think it's due to the same issue. Mine is alright (touch wood), but it's been a death sentence for quite a few owned by folk who couldny care less.

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/369663-yet-another-fabia-immobilizer-thread-solution-included/

Thats a brilliant bit of info to know, also that it affects 9N polos too. As I say, never come across it before but its really useful for me to remember if/when I do come across one with an immobilizer issue

[AnnoyingPentium]

Just now, RoverFolkUs said:

Thats a brilliant bit of info to know, also that it affects 9N polos too. As I say, never come across it before but its really useful for me to remember if/when I do come across one with an immobilizer issue

They've got similar clusters AFAIK, the 9N Polo and the 6Y Fabia, being the same platform. It should affect the same generation (new shape, but not too new shape) Ibiza as well.

[RoverFolkUs]

3 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

They've got similar clusters AFAIK, the 9N Polo and the 6Y Fabia, being the same platform. It should affect the same generation (new shape, but not too new shape) Ibiza as well.

Yeah I know what you mean, that generation of smoll VAG appliances basically

[Flat4]

1 hour ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Oh right! If it was a MK2 I'd have said instrument cluster.

Is it a petrol or diesel? (Only out of interest)

S reg ones have got to be worth saving, there's hardly any left being so early. 

Is it cranking but not starting or no crank at all?

 

@AnnoyingPentium apologies for hijacking your thread yet again thanks to my Focus fetish 😂 

Any advice is welcome! Last time I checked there were only 60 Mk1 1.8 Ghia estates left and we reckon this was one of the earliest, so I do want to save it if I can. It's a petrol and was cranking but not firing. I did wonder if the immobilizer had disabled the fuel pump but we stopped trying to start it when it starting stinking of petrol.

Wondering if starter motor maybe?

[AnnoyingPentium]

1 minute ago, Flat4 said:

Any advice is welcome! Last time I check there were only 60 Mk1 1.8 Ghia estates left so I do want to save it if I can. It's a petrol and was cranking but not firing. I did wonder if the immobilizer had disabled the fuel pump but we stop trying to start it when it starting stinking of petrol.

Wondering if starter motor maybe?

I reckon it's worth saving, from what I saw today at least. If I've got some time off at some point then I can pop up if yous are needing an extra pair of hands to work on it.

[RoverFolkUs]

1 minute ago, Flat4 said:

Any advice is welcome! Last time I checked there were only 60 Mk1 1.8 Ghia estates left and we reckon this was one of the earliest, so I do want to save it if I can. It's a petrol and was cranking but not firing. I did wonder if the immobilizer had disabled the fuel pump but we stopped trying to start it when it starting stinking of petrol.

Wondering if starter motor maybe?

Yes they're certainly very rare, I haven't seen an S reg for years. There's a T reg and a  V reg that I regularly see local to me which is nice to see, but anyway I digress as that isn't going to solve your issue

If the immobilizer light isn't flashing I'd assume its fine and not causing an issue. I believe on the older Fords they simply wont crank if there's no immobilizer signal. 

Fuel pump would be my first suspect, they're pretty common on petrol MK1 Focuses and its a tank out job. Can you hear it prime on position 2 on the ignition?

The smell of fuel is a concern though, is it combustion fumes or actual raw petrol fumes?

[RoverFolkUs]

If I was local I'd gladly make that a trio to try and get it running too, alas I'm in Sussex so a little* bit far to travel 

[Flat4]

Immobilizer light was flashing....Smell more likely to be raw petrol but very difficult to tell.

[RoverFolkUs]

1 minute ago, Flat4 said:

Immobilizer light was flashing....Smell more likely to be raw petrol but very difficult to tell.

Ah right I see. So it likely will be an immobilizer issue. Do the other lights on the dash come on as normal and mileage display etc all ok?

I'd be tempted to try a bit of easy start to see if its fuel or spark its cutting out (or maybe both)

The smell could just be the engine flooding from repeated attempts, but it is a bit of concern if its leaking somewhere 

[Flat4]

Yep dash lights up as normal but it did have a problem with the speedo. Would work for maybe the first 5 minutes of every journey then stop and sit at 0. Don't think they're connected but maybe?

[AnnoyingPentium]

8 hours ago, Flat4 said:

Don't think they're connected but maybe?

It does sound like bad solder joints in the cluster to me, as if making a bad connection. Don't know what kind of job it is to replace a cluster or if it would need coded to the cat like the Fabias do.

[Yoss]

I can't add anything useful to this except bloody hell, an S reg Focus! That has to be worth some perseverance. 

[RoverFolkUs]

12 hours ago, Flat4 said:

Yep dash lights up as normal but it did have a problem with the speedo. Would work for maybe the first 5 minutes of every journey then stop and sit at 0. Don't think they're connected but maybe?

Sounds like the cluster is faulty, probably is connected. 

Back in the day there was a scandal about MK1 Focus clusters which prompted Ford to offer a replacement service for £99. I dont think they're doing that deal anymore though. 

Can you get a list of fault codes from it? MK1 Focuses are OBDII compliant but I'm not certain if one of the first ones will be, should be worth a try though. 

4 hours ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

It does sound like bad solder joints in the cluster to me, as if making a bad connection. Don't know what kind of job it is to replace a cluster or if it would need coded to the cat like the Fabias do.

Not sure what the fault is that the MK1 Focuses suffer from, I know it's dry joints in the MK2 but think it used to be condensation in the MK1 causing it to short out. Best course of action is to repair the existing unit, the Ford ones have the PATS system built into the cluster so a replacement would either need to be coded in or have the entire ECU and key kit changed as well.

2 hours ago, Yoss said:

I can't add anything useful to this except bloody hell, an S reg Focus! That has to be worth some perseverance. 

My thoughts exactly!

[RoverFolkUs]

I'll add, try whacking the top of the dash while trying to start it. If that gets it running then you know it's probably the cluster. 

The old fix used to be disassemble the cluster, spray WD40 over the connections and allow it to dry out fully. Don't think it's a fix for longevity but it should help confirm or rule out the problem

[RoverFolkUs]

Another thing to try is to see if you can get it running on easy start. 

Immobiliser will usually cut both spark and fuel, so if it runs on easy start you know you're missing fuel and not spark. 

If it won't run on easy start, you know its cutting both or there's a fault causing no spark

[Flat4]

I love this place  Thanks for all the suggestions! I shall work through them all, eventually, and report back.

[RoverFolkUs]

4 minutes ago, Flat4 said:

I love this place  Thanks for all the suggestions! I shall work through them all, eventually, and report back.

You're welcome, look forward to hearing how you get on

[Missy Charm]

11 hours ago, Yoss said:

I can't add anything useful to this except bloody hell, an S reg Focus! That has to be worth some perseverance. 

Strangely enough I had an S reg Focus too, a 2.0 Ghia saloon in that dark navy colour they used to come in.  It was in dreadful condition all round and ended up being scrapped, worse luck; it was seven or eight years ago, in my defence, when nobody gave a monkeys about Mk1 Focuses.  You should keep yours @Flat4, they're probably rare or something now.  

[AnnoyingPentium]

14 minutes ago, Missy Charm said:

they're probably rare or something now.  

Earlier ones are getting quite rare in our area, I'm just down the road from Flat4 and we have similar weather conditions as a result. It's harsh on cars, usually it's rot that gets them I've found... usually in at the sills as a result of salt etc.

[RoverFolkUs]

I don't see anywhere near as many MK1 Focuses than I used to about 2-3 years ago, they are starting to disappear. A prefacelift is pretty hard to find now if you wanted to buy one, especially an S - reg! 

As I said earlier, I frequently see a T and a V reg about but that's about it, the rest are all facelift ones, and even they're getting few and far between

[AnnoyingPentium]

This week has been quieter and as such, I've given the car a wash.

Eagle eyed among you may see a bottle of the cheapest Kurust clone that my meagre finances can purchase. There's a reason for that.

This has all stemmed mostly from the broken arch liner and the repeated clattering from stones and salt it received during the winter there.

I've slapped a dod of Kurust oan and noo it's a matter of letting that set in before going out with the touch up pen later and filling aw that shite in. Won't stop it, but it'll slow it enough I reckon. It willny be pretty either, but I don't care.

As of what I'll do with it afterwards? I don't think it'll get that much worse, and mibbie if this wee heap keeps going for another few years then I'll dae something aboot it professionally*. Until then, it's fineeeeeee.

[AnnoyingPentium]

Job's a good 'un.

 

Edited April 20, 2022 by AnnoyingPentium
Better pic.