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Ford Focus Electrical and Lighting Problems

490 messages,  Last post on Jun 10, 2013 at 9:03 PM

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 26 of 50

#245 of 490 Re: NO CRANK [oldfordmech] by rinse

Jul 13, 2009 (9:22 pm)

Replying to: oldfordmech (Jul 11, 2009 7:17 pm)
LoL! Good point. Its a 2004 Ford Focus ZX3. I tried replacing the ignition switch already. Was actually my first thought. My mechanics took out the starter in order to check the inline fuse easier. That is fine. However, today i noticed that I am not getting a ground to the ground connection that goes to the starter. There is s ground that comes from the ignition coil housing. At the housing there is ground, but after the connector there is no ground. Should I have ground there even though its not connected to the starter? Im grasping at anything at this point.

#246 of 490 headlight replacement on 05. by the_mage

Jul 16, 2009 (9:16 am)

Hey all,
My 05 focus headlight is out. Drivers side.
I can just get my hand in there on an odd angle and can grab the bulb but cant turn the bulb (arthritis strikes again!)
 
Is it normally a hand turn thing? I think it should be, most cars are. Any tricks to get the stubborn thing to turn? , and which way?? the manual is not clear.. When standing in front of the car looking in at the engine does it turn, top to the middle of the car or top the the outside towards the fender?
 
Thanks in advance .. Brian..

#247 of 490 Re: headlight replacement on 05. [the_mage] by pf_flyer HOST

Jul 16, 2009 (1:00 pm)

Replying to: the_mage (Jul 16, 2009 9:16 am)
If you can get your hand on it, you should be able to get it out. On some cars now the procedure to change a headlight bulb involves taking the front clip off of the car!
 
But back to your Focus... take a look in there if you can. Sometimes there's a locking ring or wire retaining clip that needs to be released before you can pull the bulb out. I think the Focus might have a wire clip. Also, since the bulb assembly has an O-ring on it to seal out moisture, it may be a bit tight in the hole as well.

#248 of 490 Other electrical issues... by katbar

Jul 21, 2009 (8:59 am)

Replying to: pf_flyer (Jul 16, 2009 1:00 pm)
My husband was driving our 2006 Focus home from work yesterday and the battery light came on. It went off when he accelerated which to both of us sounded like alternator. Well, we were called this morning and told it was a "bigger electrical" issue. Any advice or wisdom is greatly appreciated.

#249 of 490 red light by oldfordmech

Jul 21, 2009 (5:17 pm)

What were you told it needed ?
1. Check ALL cables to battery and alt. Ground cable also, both ends of cables must be clean & tight.
2. have battery load tested with proper tester.
3. Have alt output tested under load with proper tester.
Let me know what you find out.
Cliff

#250 of 490 Re: ZX3 Electrical [maestro52] by JiltedFordGrrl

Jul 29, 2009 (2:50 pm)

Replying to: maestro52 (Oct 05, 2005 5:36 am)
The car is designed to take power from accessories and leave it for needed components so that you have time to pull over safely I guess. If you had looked at your radio display screen (at least with a stock radio) it should've said "low battery". it happened to me to. And i'm glad it does this, otherwise i would've been stranded unexpectedly when my alternator went out.

#251 of 490 Pemanent bat light, stalling at idle, erratic voltage. by axelv

Jul 29, 2009 (7:07 pm)

2001 Focus ZX3 2L Zetec 120k miles. Hi everyone, I'm new here and "enjoy" reading about the Focus problems. Let me start with a short intro. I like my Focus, drove it for 80k miles within a little more than 4 yrs. No huge issues. Had to replace two front springs because they broke (!). A few more suspension issues. Other than that no bigger issues. Until recently. I noticed the same symptoms others have described quite well. But read on as I can add a new bit to the story and have a link to a picture. At about 120k miles I started to have the red battery warning light come on intermittently. This progressed slowly into flickering instrument lights, and also the fan motor slowing to a level one when set to level 4. Also intermittently. This progressed to appear more often but the car was running fine. Idle was ok, power development, starting in the morning, all no problem. Then I decided to look into the issue and held a volt meter to the battery while engine running. 15.3 to 15.8 and lately 16.3 Volts, varying rapidly within the range. My book says that the voltage regulator is definitely bad if there's a voltage higher than 14 at the battery when the engine is running. Can anyone confirm this? Or does this also depend on the regulator's voltage reference? Anyway. I planned to take the alternator out and put a used one in ($50) myself. So I started to work on that. In the process, I tried to pull the connector in the back of the alt (white/blue/red wires) and noticed, that the red wire was loose. Pulling a little and it came off completely. All full with green deposits (see picture below). So now I also need a new pigtail to the main harness there. I guess. So I started the car back up, and now, here's the new bit of information. Now the battery light is on permanently. Also the car started stalling at idle. So anyone with that symptom (permanently lit battery light, and stalling at idle), please check that red cable on the back of your alt. Let me know what you find. Another thing now is, that the max voltage at the battery when engine on has stabilized at 14.6 to 14.65 Volts. WTH? So experts, what do you think? Do I need a new pigtail only? Or also a new voltage regulator/alternator? Any help greatly appreciated. Link to the picture.

#252 of 490 Re: Pemanent bat light, stalling at idle, erratic voltage. [axelv] by pf_flyer HOST

Jul 30, 2009 (3:48 am)

Replying to: axelv (Jul 29, 2009 7:07 pm)
I hate to seem like Mr. Obvious, but if the voltage is higher than what the book says it should be, it's NOT be regulated correctly. So just changing a wire isn't going to change that. The fact that the voltage at the battery has "stabilized" doesn't really seem to mean much since it has done so at a voltage higher than 14. "Less bad" doesn't mean OK.
 
Sounds like you're looking at replacing the voltage regulator to me.

#253 of 490 Re: Pemanent bat light, stalling at idle, erratic voltage. [pf_flyer] by axelv

Jul 30, 2009 (5:40 am)

Replying to: pf_flyer (Jul 30, 2009 3:48 am)
You certainly have a good point. 14.6 still appears a bit on the high side. But in automotive it's not all black or white, that's why I put so much time into describing the symptoms. I'm looking for the electrical guru who could maybe tell us what the problem is based on the symptoms. I don't think any more that the regulator is bad. After all, it regulates again. Ok, high, but it does. If it wouldn't, the voltage would increase with rpm. I'm thinking the reference voltage that the regulator uses has now stabilized to zero (because the cable came off completely?) and the regulator regulates to peak output. I'm guessing that before, the loose or corroded wire sent all kinds of wrong signals to the regulator, causing it to put out between 15 and 16.x volts. What doesn't make sense to me though, is why the engine is stalling now. I plan on soldering that wire back on and will check if that makes any differnece. I'd hate to replace the alternator/volt reg just because a wire is bad.

#254 of 490 Re: Pemanent bat light, stalling at idle, erratic voltage. [axelv] by pf_flyer HOST

Jul 30, 2009 (1:44 pm)

Replying to: axelv (Jul 30, 2009 5:40 am)
OK, then change the wire (the simplest/cheapest thing to do) and see where you are.
 
My gut is telling me it's the voltage regulator. If you're rationalizing the 14.6 as the regulator functioning again, just that it's getting bad input because of a bad wire, then the regulator was functioning all along.
 
Problem with that line of thought is that that's not how voltage regulators work. They are a device that puts out a steady set voltage, period. When they don't, they have, by definition, stopped working and need to be replaced.
 
My gut is also telling me that your now permanent waring lights are the result of damage done to electronics by the unregulated voltage you were experiencing. I hope I'm wrong.

Messages Page 26 of 50

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