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

#60 of 490 Electrical problems by lizzy07

Apr 02, 2007 (10:02 pm)

I became the owner of a 2001 ZX3 focus last november, my boyfriend bought it for me, we both pay for it, but i didnt drive until a day or so after we bought it. Lately I have noticed a few problems. It isnt a stock focus, a ground effect kit was installed, an alarm system was installed turning the locks from manual to automatic-problem is the driver side door doesnt lock. The alarm system was faulty so, my boyfriend disabled the alarm, my key pad goes off to let me know if something is setting it off. Now, when i go to unlock my door, it shows on my keypad that the driver side door is open(which it isnt) and when i'm driving, the door sensor goes off letting me know that the driver side door is open(which once again it isnt). The car was owned by a 19 year old kid when we bought it(first mistake). I'm so fed up with it. I had a 2002 ZX3 before this one and i'm really regretting selling it. Does anyone know anything about the car??? Please help. If i have to put a bunch of money into it, i'll trade it to a dealership and get another ford(i'm loyal to ford, what can i say), but i'm so irritated with my car right now.
 
Lizzy

#61 of 490 Re: 2002 Ford Focus Electrical Problem? [cascadiaesq] by lizzy07

Apr 03, 2007 (7:34 am)

Replying to: cascadiaesq (Feb 10, 2007 5:03 pm)
I had a 2002 ZX3 and my car wouldnt start once in a while, it would turn over and the dash and radio would come on but no noise from the engine, im not sure what it is, my 2001 is starting to do it too, i think these cars were made poorly. I'm not sure though. Good luck with whatever it is. I'm getting ready to get rid of my car.

#62 of 490 Strange Electrical Problem/s (2002 Focus SE Wagon Door?) by jdantonio

Apr 23, 2007 (7:59 pm)

hello all, first time posting here, i have a 2002 ford focus wagon se (wagon), havent had it all too long, maybe about 20-25,000km (110,000km total, bought it used).
 
got the car in what seemed to be good shape, until one day the electric side mirrors stopped functioning along with the interior lights (front and back sets).
 
i consider myself pretty handy so i decided to take a look into this myself, turns out both items are on the same fuse (the only thing on that fuse, fyi), when i checked the fuse it looked fine, i put a continuity tester on it and i was right (the fuse wasn't blown), changed it anyway and nothing still.
 
so i got the haynes manual for this car and checked out the print for the car and all that, i checked the relay it went through and even swapped it out with the one for the horn to check the relay, nothing still. checked for voltage on the actual socket for the fuse and the relay and thats 12volts. i then went to the light itself and there was no voltage there or on the mirror switch.
 
from there i left it for lack of time and build up of aggravation. then a few days later the darndest thing happened, the door open light (on the instrument panel) stayed on when all doors were closed, then it went out after slamming them all shut a few times, now it wont go out at all.
 
then i realized that the fuse had blown for the rear wiper about 3-4 times randomly over the previous 2 weeks or so.
 
so in reading a post here i saw that someone mentioned that they had the entire wire harness to the wagon back door replaced by ford for about $600 bucks
 
to avoid going to the repair shop i tried to figure it out still and realized that all of the problems in some way were related to (or so i currently think) the back door wiring harness. i took the interior rear door panel off and found the rear liscence plate bulb terminals (and wires) had corroded, i cut and taped them individually and then ran out of time today.
 
thats where i am. oh and i replaced the fuse for the rear wiper and used it for a while today and it worked fine so far.
 
my next step would be to trace the wires back manually. any tips or ideas? sorry for the long winded rant, im just a bit frustrated currently and trying best to convey exactly whats going on.
 
thanks in advance for any help

#63 of 490 First no locks, now no light by sue31

Apr 28, 2007 (7:16 pm)

I have a 2000 ZX3 with about 60,000 miles on it. About a month ago the power locks, including the trunk, stopped working. It is not the inside fuse and I haven't had the other fuse checked yet. Tonight when I tried to turn the lights on, the trunk popped open. Even if I turned the lights on first, the trunk would not latch. Any ideas before I spend a fortune at the dealership? Thanks!

#64 of 490 Re: 2002 Ford Focus Electrical Problem? [cascadiaesq] by spicy1

May 14, 2007 (10:54 am)

Replying to: cascadiaesq (Feb 12, 2007 10:30 am)
Hey my name is Ryan I have a 2002 ford focus se sport. I have had this problem with my lights and guages going all crazy on me, I had the problem before and then it stoped and worked fine know problems. One month later its back now Im not sure what to do any advice for me on where to look?...thank you Ryan.

#65 of 490 Re: First no locks, now no light [sue31] by piglover

May 19, 2007 (6:16 am)

Replying to: sue31 (Apr 28, 2007 7:16 pm)
Hi Sue,
  Sorry that this reply is so late but I only searched this message board on May 18. Please look at my posts 226,229 under Ford Focus maintenance and repair. Whenever I pressed the brake pedal the trunk would unlock. It turned out to be a short. I suspect that you might have the same problem.
 
                  Piglover

#66 of 490 Gauges go crazy by sandrahansen

May 22, 2007 (1:08 am)

Hi, I have a 2000 focus sedan and I love the car. It is auto. A few months back the transmission light started coming on for short periods so I got the auto serviced. Much smoother changes but a few months later I have serious problems with the gauges. For no apparent reason and always at low speed the ABS, hand break engaged, and transmission service lights will come on, radio goes off or fades, transmission light comes on and there is sometimes a rough gear change. All earth connections have been redone, all fuses cleaned and or replaced. The car has been gone over from top to bottom by 2 auto electricians as well as the ford dealer but it still has this annoying intermittent fault. Still runs well but loses power while "performing". Any ideas would be greatfully received.

#67 of 490 20A fuse blows when AC has been on for like 20 minutes by cynick

May 26, 2007 (8:58 am)

I've got a 2001 Focus Zetec engine,
When the AC has been on for like 20 minutes, the 20A fuse is blown.
 
I'm looking at the diagram, and there are 3 relays connected to that fuse.
It's something like that:
 
HOT AT ALL TIMES --> -- fuse 20AMP --->---- (goes through a power hold relay, which is turned on when the ignition is on) -----------> splits into 3:
 
1---> Engine Cooling Fan Relay -----> PCM ground
2---> High Speed Engine Cooling Fan Relay ----> PCM ground
3---> A/C Wide open Throttle (WOT) relay ---> PCM ground
 
So, I guess, when the PCM decides to activate one of those 3 relays, the fuse blows.
 
The fuse has never blown so far when the AC wasn't on (although it hasn't been too hot outside yet, like more than 25C)
 
I suspect the High Speed engine cooling Fan relay, what do you think?
 
I went to the dealer, and they, playing stupid, said that the fuse was connected to a few places, so they didn't know which one it was.. They charged me $200 to clean up the grounds and temporarily install a circuit breaker.. This didn't help though..
 
So, do you think it's a connection problem or a faulty relay?
 
 
 
Should I just try to remove that High Speed Engine Cooling Fan Relay?

#68 of 490 Re: 20A fuse blows when AC has been on for like 20 minutes [cynick] by cynick

May 26, 2007 (2:49 pm)

Replying to: cynick (May 26, 2007 8:58 am)
It turned out.. that the m*** f*** "High Speed Engine Cooling Fan Relay" was not original Ford, but a Bosch one.. And it actually had different specs.. not just different specs, but completely different wiring..hahah
 
i.e. the 20amp fuse wire was supposed to just control the relay (on/off), but instead, the relay fed it into driving the FAN..
 
The fan was supposed to be driven by wire with 50 AMP fuse.., but instead this wire was the one driving the relay......
 
gee, I wonder why a mechanic would put the wrong relay, without even looking whether the diagram on the relay matches on what's expected..
it was all on the relay, written very clearly, which wire does what... and the relay he/she put in was obvious some old one since it was all dirty and oily..
 
then I wonder.. for 2 hours, the ford mechanics couldn't figure this out? All they know is - connect to the computer, see if any codes and that's all.. no thinking at all..
 
cross your finger I'm right.. we'll see on Monday if this works out...
 
even if I'm right, I wonder why the relay had to be replaced in the first place? Any ideas?

#69 of 490 ZX3 won't start--sometimes! by ouradman

May 30, 2007 (10:21 am)

I have a 2000 ZX3 that sometimes won't start immediately. Every 1 or 2 days it will act as though the battery is dead, but then after a couple trys or sometimes after a couple of minutes the engine turns over, as if nothing was wrong. When I try to start the car no sound whatsoever comes from the engine. The battery is new and I've replaced the $5 starter relay that's under the dash. Could the problem be a neutral safety switch and if so is that difficult to change?
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