Hi,
I'd really appreciate some wisdom on my Ford Focus TDCi 2009 1.6 starting problem.
The succinct version is that occasionally it fails to start! There is a clicking (ticking?) noise from the engine (about twice per second) when I turn the key but the starter fails to turn. From my research so far I believe this to be the noise of the starter solenoid.
Recently (this has been going on for months and a Ford dealer has failed to reproduce or diagnose the problem but charged me £90 for the labour) I have tried wacking the car into gear and pushing it a couple of inches and then retrying. I've only done this 3 times so far but each time the car has then started instantly. On other occasions when it starts fine I sometimes hear one (starter solenoid) tick and it starts. Other times it just starts as usual.
There seems to be no correlation on whether the car has been standing or driven.
Even more strangely, it was doing it a lot back in Feb. and I called the AA out. They cleaned the earth connection on the body and it ran perfectly through to the end of July. I tried the same tactic once it started doing it more frequently in July but it only lasted a week or so.
Although the history confuses it somewhat, do you think my latest theory - deadspot or similar in the starter motor - is likely to be the explanation? And starter replacement the solution?
(FWIW the Ford dealer updated the instrument cluster software and said if the problem recurred they recommended a replacement instrument cluster. I struggle to understand that diagnosis but to be fair to them the car didn't exhibit the behaviour while it was with them.)
Advice and thoughts most appreciated, thanks!
Pete
I'd really appreciate some wisdom on my Ford Focus TDCi 2009 1.6 starting problem.
The succinct version is that occasionally it fails to start! There is a clicking (ticking?) noise from the engine (about twice per second) when I turn the key but the starter fails to turn. From my research so far I believe this to be the noise of the starter solenoid.
Recently (this has been going on for months and a Ford dealer has failed to reproduce or diagnose the problem but charged me £90 for the labour) I have tried wacking the car into gear and pushing it a couple of inches and then retrying. I've only done this 3 times so far but each time the car has then started instantly. On other occasions when it starts fine I sometimes hear one (starter solenoid) tick and it starts. Other times it just starts as usual.
There seems to be no correlation on whether the car has been standing or driven.
Even more strangely, it was doing it a lot back in Feb. and I called the AA out. They cleaned the earth connection on the body and it ran perfectly through to the end of July. I tried the same tactic once it started doing it more frequently in July but it only lasted a week or so.
Although the history confuses it somewhat, do you think my latest theory - deadspot or similar in the starter motor - is likely to be the explanation? And starter replacement the solution?
(FWIW the Ford dealer updated the instrument cluster software and said if the problem recurred they recommended a replacement instrument cluster. I struggle to understand that diagnosis but to be fair to them the car didn't exhibit the behaviour while it was with them.)
Advice and thoughts most appreciated, thanks!
Pete