2 problems with Mondeo, any advice?

[aargh]

Hi, we are having 2 problems with our relatively recently bought (second hand) Mondeo. It is an '05 diesel estate with just over 80,000 miles on.

Up till now it has been running fine apart from a bit of a squeak from one wheel occasionally, but now 2 problems have appeared:

Firstly, the airbag warning light and brake warning light have been coming on and off intermittently (when the handbrake is off). Sometimes they are both off for a while, but then one or the other (or both) will start coming on and off for a while "disco lights" fashion. Neither stays on for any length of time and we haven't had any obvious brake or airbag problems, which makes me wonder whether it's an electronics problem rather than actual faults.

The second thing is that it's been having intermittent problems starting. Sometimes it starts first time with no problems, but other times it makes a loud whirring noise when the key is turned, but the engine doesn't kick in. The electrical stuff (radio, dash lights etc) all come on as normal. Usually after trying it a few times, putting key in and out etc it will eventually start normally after 3-6 attempts, and then runs quite normally once it has got going.

I can't see any obvious link between the two problems, and they don't necessarily seem to happen at the same time, so not sure whether there is any connection or we are just unlucky to get 2 faults at once.

I think it's going to need a trip to the garage, but would like to be a bit more clued up on possible causes and solutions before taking it! So any advice would be gratefully received.

 

[Burnerman]

Lets start (!) with the starter motor first.
From your description, it sounds like the starter motor is spinning up to speed - but it just isn't engaging with the flywheel to turn the motor over.
This is due to the solenoid - on the top of the starter motor - failing to pull the starter drive gear into mesh with the gear teeth on the flywheel.
It could be a dirty electrical problem but if not, then a recon starter is the way to go.
As for the other lights - they may or may not be connected, but for the airbag, have a look at the wiring beneath the seats (especially the drivers one). The airbag circuit is linked into the seat belt pre tensioners and if the connections come loose (due to the drivers seat continually being adjusted) then the airbag light comes on.
As for the other one, check the brake fluid level in the master cylinder. If thats ok, then the switch below the handbrake lever could be playing up. Failing that, the disc pads themselves may have wear indicators that are telling you that the pads are worn.
Some points to ponder, anyway! Cheers and good morning
John

 

[aargh]

Wow what a fast reply, thanks v much!

Definitely some things to think about there, will have a look at it later on after work. The thing about the airbag light sounds very likely, we have to adjust the seat often due to different-sized drivers so that could well have loosened the wires; and I will check the other things too.

 

[Belle427]

the starting issue could be the dreaded dual mass flywheel problem, im not going to try and scare you with any horror stories but if you google it you will be able to read the info for yourself

 

[aargh]

Just a (belated) update!

We have just had the car in to two different garages, it had to have a new front crash sensor at the Ford garage for the airbag problem, and they reckoned it did indeed have a knackered flywheel too - but they quoted £2k to replace it so we decided to look elsewhere for that! So thanks ch427 for pointing us in the right direction on the flywheel thing, even if it wasn't good news!

So it's now been into another garage where it's had new flywheel, new starter motor, got the clutch and slave cylinder done while we were about it, and it had a dodgy wheel bearing too. But we managed to get all that done for around £1100 by shopping around, which at least was a lot better than what the Ford garage was going to charge... they also fixed a binding brake for free.

Oh and I forgot to mention we found out the cause of the brake light too, it had a leak and was losing brake fluid so that was fixed a while back too.

The good news I suppose is that it's like a whole new car now! Starting sweetly, running nicely and got rid of loads of nasty noises due to the brake and wheel bearing. Just hope nothing else will decide to go wrong now! Next time we replace one I think we might go for something a bit newer though, it seemed fine when we got it but seems to have had a string of problems since.

 

[Belle427]

just be carefull next time, any modern diesel over 5 years old and near 100k miles is when you start to get expensive trouble

 

[Peter.N.]

I would echo that except that my 406 Hdi has just passed 200,000 miles with no major failures - but I think they are an exception to the rule, at least the 8 valve ones are.

Peter