Ford Focus Engine Light

mat01
mat01 Posts: 11 Forumite
When something goes wrong on a Ford Focus, and many other types of car, a light goes on on the dashboard. It stays on until your car is fixed.

Problem is : The light could mean any one of about a hundred problems, some very serious, and some pretty piffling.

Yesterday my light went on. My garage told me that to tell me what was wrong they'd charge me one hour of labour - £60. Add to that the expense of getting back from my garage without the car, the time involved, public transport whilst is was being looked at, and we're looking at close to £70.

However - Ford Focuses can very easily tell you what is wrong with them, so you don't have to take them into the garage. You need a small device which plugs into a laptop and to a little plug under your steering wheel - you can get them from e-ebay. The device will also reset the engine light to off, so that you can see if the problem happens again. You can also get stand-alone versions that don't need a laptop.

Mine cost £65, and told me that my car's oxygen sensor had failed. It cost just over £10 to replace and I did it myself.

Total saving this time round = break even. Next time however, I'll know what is wrong with my car before I take it to the garage, possibly saving me wads of money and time.
Waddle you do eh?
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Comments

  • MiM
    MiM Posts: 658
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    I've got an X Focus, don't know if that's too old to be this sophisticated but if not I'll try to remember this if I get a red liight. Ta!
  • highlighter
    highlighter Posts: 423 Forumite
    Didn't know ypu could get them from ebay. Does it come with software? If you could post a link to one available on ebay that would be great. :beer:
  • mrcow
    mrcow Posts: 15,170
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Thanks for that. I have a Focus, so will remember that one if I get caught!
    "One day I realised that when you are lying in your grave, it's no good saying, "I was too shy, too frightened."
    Because by then you've blown your chances. That's it."
  • mat01
    mat01 Posts: 11 Forumite
    This is the company who make them - you download the software from their website.
    http://www.scantool.net/products/index.htm
    Waddle you do eh?
  • mat01
    mat01 Posts: 11 Forumite
    MiM wrote:
    I've got an X Focus, don't know if that's too old to be this sophisticated but if not I'll try to remember this if I get a red liight. Ta!
    To Mim : All focuses have an on board management system - mine is an X reg. Look behind the little shelf under your steering wheel - there'll be a hatch, and under the hatch a rectangular socket - hey presto!

    Up to now (for me anyway) the kind of information you can get from this socket was the reserve of specialised ford dealers, with their kit probably costing thousands of pounds.

    More advanced software (I don't have it) can do all sorts of performance tests on your car whilst you are driving it - 0-60mph, fuel consumption, braking preformance etc....
    Waddle you do eh?
  • Dunkyboy_2
    Dunkyboy_2 Posts: 326 Forumite
    Our Zafira now displays the letters INSP when the ignition is switched on, this means it needs a service, but a different dealership says there is something wrong with the engine management system and needs to be zapped with a computer for the tidy sum of £28.00, a network Q dealer wants £47.00 for the same thing, seems like a rip off to me, forcing you to go to a main dealer to get rid of this.
    Not ashamed to say ABBA are Great :j
  • Have you tried disconnecting the negative battery terminal, wait about an hour, then reconnecting, normally gets rid of all this silly unreliable and unnecessary electrical rubbish from the ecu.

    so much for modern 'reliable' cars
  • mat01
    mat01 Posts: 11 Forumite
    Yes I guess that's one way - problem is, if it re-occurs, which it will if it's a real problem then you still don't know what's wrong...
    Waddle you do eh?
  • Skint_Catt
    Skint_Catt Posts: 11,548 Forumite
    My X reg Focus' management light came on intermittently a few months ago. Cost me £40 at a Ford dealership to get the diagnostic test done as I was told it was very dangerous to drive with possibly a major fault. (They didn't find anything!)

    To cut a long story short - it was supermarket petrol that made the light come on! Havent used it since and no further problems!
  • Dunkyboy_2
    Dunkyboy_2 Posts: 326 Forumite
    Paid £28 to get rid of INSP warning (see other post), but they say they downloaded a update for the engine management system, this has made the car smother to drive, but the mechanic said that the INSP would come back again in 12 months or so, and as posted previously you can just disconnect the battery, but you will need to know your radio code.But does anyone know if the remote locking be affected in any way by doing this.
    Not ashamed to say ABBA are Great :j
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