Ask the Car People.SM


Ford Focus Electrical and Lighting Problems

486 messages,  Last post on Dec 19, 2012 at 7:45 AM

You are in the Ford Focus Forum.

What is this discussion about? Ford Focus SVT, Ford Focus, Lights, Electrical, Coupe, Hatchback, Sedan, Wagon

Messages Page 2 of 50

#2 of 486 Brake Light goes ON & OFF by mod7

Jul 10, 2005 (3:22 pm)

I own a 2004 Ford Focus ZTS. In the last couple of days the Brake Light goes ON & OFF when I am driving. Sometimes it goes on when I am stepping on the brake and sometimes it goes on even when I am not braking. Most of the time it is off.
 
I am taking it to my Ford dealer tommorow. I have the car for just about a yr and have less than 5,000 miles on it. I just hope it has nothing to do with the ELECTRICAL system. The last car that I had was ruined by SQUIRRELS chewing into the electrical wires and I am hoping this light going on has nothing to do with that. The last time the squirrels bothered me it was in the dead of winter so I am hoping it is a different problem this time. Any ideas why the Brake light would be going on? The brakes seem to be working OK. I have ABS. Thanks.

#3 of 486 Re: Brake Light goes ON & OFF [mod7] by lost

Jul 11, 2005 (11:23 am)

Replying to: mod7 (Jul 10, 2005 3:22 pm)
Check the brake fluid level in the master cylinder.If it gets low it will trigger your brake light. If the fluid is low you have a leak someplace and it needs to be checked out. My 05 ZX4 SES developed a leak about a week after picking it up.
  The master cylinder was leaking out of the back right where it is bolted to the brake booster. The dealer replaced the master cylinder and the brake booster.

#4 of 486 Re: Brake Light goes ON & OFF [mod7] by mod7

Jul 11, 2005 (11:23 am)

Replying to: mod7 (Jul 10, 2005 3:22 pm)
Just an Update: My Ford dealer said the brake fluid was low and put some in.
 
I am still a bit confused-- because 3 weeks ago I asked an auto mechanic in our local shop to "top off" ALL my fluids. He said he did. So now I am not sure if he just forgot to check the brake fluid or if I possibly have some kind of leak that has caused the brake fluid to get low in just 3 weeks. I guess I will wait a couple of weeks to see if the light goes on again. Thanks

#5 of 486 Re: Brake Light goes ON & OFF [lost] by mod7

Jul 11, 2005 (11:26 am)

Replying to: lost (Jul 11, 2005 11:23 am)
Thanks LOST, I did not see your post till after I posted. I will keep an eye out to see if the brake light goes on again. Could you actually see the brake fluid on the ground under your car? Thanks

#6 of 486 Re: Brake Light goes ON & OFF [mod7] by lost

Jul 11, 2005 (11:41 am)

Replying to: mod7 (Jul 11, 2005 11:26 am)
The brake fluid was running down the front of the brake booster and down onto the firewall. I did not see any fluid on the ground.

#7 of 486 ZX3 Electrical by maestro52

Oct 05, 2005 (5:36 am)

I have a 2001 ZX3 with 151000 miles and it has been the most reliable car I've owned in my entire 37 years of driving. Having said that, there has been one isolated issue that only happened once, but is so bazaar I have to ask. I was driving with my cruise on at a cool 75 and all of a sudden all of my guages, radio, air went dead, headlights went dim, but the car kept running smooth and quiet like nothing happened. Just as I got to my exit everything came back to normal. As I said it only happened once, I have since changed the battery since it was 4 years old, and it hasn't happened since. I thought that if the power went, so went the engine because the fuel pump is electric, and injectors are electrically run. Has anyone had this happen? Ford has said they have had no such reports even from an isolated occurrance at a dealership.

#8 of 486 Re: What the heck is wrong with my car??? [aengland] by drmbear

Oct 17, 2005 (1:05 pm)

Did replacing the alternator solve the problem? I have already had two alternators put on my car now, with a between trip to the dealership telling me it is a bad alternator creating the problem. The bench tested the removed new alternator and it was fine. The new one just installed is having the same problems. I've got insufficient voltage, which probably means it is something like the voltage regulator or there is a screwed up ground somewhere. I just want to know if anyone has come up with a solution. They want to charge me by the hour to screw around with it to find the problem. Doesn't sound like a good option to me when I have already spent way too much working on this thing with the towing, etc.

#9 of 486 Re: What the heck is wrong with my car??? [drmbear] by showdogs1

Nov 29, 2005 (5:21 pm)

Replying to: drmbear (Oct 17, 2005 1:05 pm)
We have had this problem on a 2002 ZTW Focus. The gauges would act funny and the car would not restart after it was stopped during the spring/summer of 2005 (with just over 60K miles).
 
The first fix (private mechanic) was removing the corrosion from all the connectors for the starter under the car... the problems was fixed for 3 months.
 
When the problem occurred again, we went to the dealer as electrical problem are a real pain. The dealer replaced the alternator at first... $980 CDN. This fix lasted for about 6 miles!
 
After several weeks of getting stranded in random locations and towing the car to the dealer... (All at the dealers cost even though the car was no longer under the manufacturer warranty) they replaced everything behind the dash. Apparently the electronic component were shipped back to Ford because the engineers thought that this was a very weird problem.
 
Cost for the repair was split between Ford 60%, Dealer 20% and us 20% => reasonable deal.
 
This repair lasted 3 months before the entire dash was replaced under the "repair" warranty for a second time.
 
We recently traded the car in when it started acting up again. The dealer did consider our ownership experience and gave us a very good deal on the new car. I hope the 2005 ZX5 does better than the last car.
 
Problems happen, its how you fix them that counts! I can't complain about Ford or the local dealer.

#10 of 486 poor electrical system by focus2

Dec 10, 2005 (8:40 pm)

My focus seems to lose electrical power when I let it idle. I had the battery serviced, as well as my alternator checked. It still continues to do this. Does any one have any ideas why?

#11 of 486 Strong jerk and Multifunction Light When Tap Brakes by tiredofford

Mar 20, 2006 (7:31 pm)

I've got a real strange problem. I have a 2000 W/Zetec 75K. I bought the car new and have had 9 (including fuel pump)recalls. To the best of my knowledge I am up to date. Ok, here are the problems, reciently I have noticed a number of things that look to me to be electrical problems. I notice a buzzing coming from under the dash on the passanger side. While that buzzing is going on IT SEEMS that if I turn on the headlights or step on the brakes I feel a strong jerk and the Multi-function Transaxle/cooling system light turns on. I don't really notice a power loss after the jerk and the light only stays on for a second. A few seconds later the radio will turn off or the guages will bounce irradically. I thought that maybe it was the fail-safe cooling. But, the service engine light doesn't come on?- nor is the car overheating. I can't seem to make it do this, it picks when and where, therefore have $350.00 into trying to fix it. Ford tech found nothing when it was connected to the dig.computer I would really appreciate some help.

Messages Page 2 of 50

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement