Is this what they call 'limp home mode'?

aliasojo

Ford Mondeo 1.9 tdi 2005. Driving it along a section of motorway today that had roadworks going on so it was down to one lane @ 30 mph.

Got to the end of the roadworks, pulled back over to the left lane and started to accelerate when the car just died on me. Lost power and cut out. I coasted onto the hard shoulder and restarted the car but there was a yellow light flashing on the left of the dashboard, it looks like a coiled spring (kind of). I don't have the book here so I can't check what this is.

I managed to get home by keeping the car at around 30 - 40 mph but there was no power in it at all and if I tried to accelerate harder or too quickly, it just died on me again.

So is this what's classed as limp home mode?

Any ideas what the problem might be? Rough cost?

Clearly it needs repaired asap but could it be driven locally on 30mph roads in the meantime until garage can fix it? I'm assuming they wont be able to just do it tomorrow when they open.

Notmyrealname

The spring is the heater plug light. Usually when it goes into limp home, a picture of an engine in yellow lights up.

What could it be? Without seeing it and hands on, it could be a multitude of things.

neilmcl

Yes, that does seem like limp home mode. I'm not familier with the engine warning lights on a Ford but a coiled spring on a diesel tends to refer to a glowplug or possible electrical issue. I'd get it down to a garage ASAP.

Delivery_Driver

On Renault diesels the light that looks like a glowplug comes on for limp mode, cuts power and speed a lot.
Check your handbook what the light means to see for sure and if you don't have one google it, it will eb about somewhere.

Twiglet0309

Could just be a dirty EGR valve - might be a good place to start

forgotmyname

I love it you have a diesel and dont know what the glowplug light is. I presume you dont bother waiting for that to go out before starting the car?

You bought a lemon, They dont make a 1.9TDI 2005 mondeo, 2L TDCI maybe? Ok thats the funny bit out of the way..


The glowplug light does flash when in limp mode on this car, It also has an engine light for other faults. EGR valve causes the engine light not glowplug light.

Now this is where you wish it wasnt a TDCI, Hope your sitting down...

Injectors can cause that light £150+ EACH and need programming to the car £80+

Turbo vanes can stick, If its the electronic one thats approx £800. And about 4 or 5 hours work?

1st thing you need is get the fault codes read. Then decide if its worth fixing or not.

Could be a dodgy sensor or a neglected car thats never seen a new fuel filter.

aliasojo

forgotmyname wrote: »

I love it you have a diesel and dont know what the glowplug light is. I presume you dont bother waiting for that to go out before starting the car?

You bought a lemon, They dont make a 1.9TDI 2005 mondeo, 2L TDCI maybe? Ok thats the funny bit out of the way..


The glowplug light does flash when in limp mode on this car, It also has an engine light for other faults. EGR valve causes the engine light not glowplug light.

Now this is where you wish it wasnt a TDCI, Hope your sitting down...

Injectors can cause that light £150+ EACH and need programming to the car £80+

Turbo vanes can stick, If its the electronic one thats approx £800. And about 4 or 5 hours work?

1st thing you need is get the fault codes read. Then decide if its worth fixing or not.

Could be a dodgy sensor or a neglected car thats never seen a new fuel filter.

Oh wow. Bit assuming there. Presume all you want about my driving, it wont make you accurate.

The car is my OH's. He deals with it, I only drive it occasionally. I have my own car. You are correct in that it is a 2l, my mistake.

I couldn't get hold of him today because of work issues so I thought I'd ask on here in the interim.

Thanks for the other advice though. It looks worryingly like it may end up being a very costly issue. We could do without that kind of expense right now tbh.

Might I respectfully suggest that if people ask for help or advice, there really isn't a need to have a bit of a go at the same time. Not too nice. Even if you do use a smilie.

poppasmurf_bewdley

I would suggest you have at look at:

http://www.talkford.com/

It has a Forum very much like this one.

Obukit

aliasojo wrote: »

Might I respectfully suggest that if people ask for help or advice, there really isn't a need to have a bit of a go at the same time. Not too nice. Even if you do use a smilie.

I'm thought it was quite a nice way of saying "You don't know how to drive a diesel and are damaging the engine every time you start it".

For the benefit of anyone reading this and wondering about their "coiled spring light", it lights when you start the car as the glow plugs are prewarming the engine. You MUST wait for the light to go out before starting the engine. Otherwise: -

- You spray diesel onto the cold cylinder walls, washing away the oil and causing premature engine wear.

- You get diesel mixed in with the engine oil which thins the oil and, amongst other things, causes premature turbo failure, especially if the car is mainly used for short journeys.

You won't be the first person to not know what the glow plug light means, and I've known people write off engines because it it. I hope your problem is a bit cheaper to fix.

aliasojo

Obukit wrote: »

I'm thought it was quite a nice way of saying "You don't know how to drive a diesel and are damaging the engine every time you start it".

For the benefit of anyone reading this and wondering about their "coiled spring light", it lights when you start the car as the glow plugs are prewarming the engine. You MUST wait for the light to go out before starting the engine. Otherwise: -

- You spray diesel onto the cold cylinder walls, washing away the oil and causing premature engine wear.

- You get diesel mixed in with the engine oil which thins the oil and, amongst other things, causes premature turbo failure, especially if the car is mainly used for short journeys.

You won't be the first person to not know what the glow plug light means, and I've known people write off engines because it it. I hope your problem is a bit cheaper to fix.

Oh for goodness sake, this is becoming tiresome! Why are you and the previous poster assuming I start the car in this way?! Did I say at any point I did this? I do not! You have both made an incorrect assumption.

I was uncertain of the name which is why I described it. I didn't have the book to check.

I don't need to remember names in order to know how and when to start the engine and drive the thing occasionally!

And for the record, I leave the engine idling for a short while after I stop, before switching the engine off completely as I was taught this too, years ago.

Gloomendoom

If you are worried about cost, buying an OBD code reader from eBay or Amazon might save you a bit of money. If you do an internet search on the codes it should give you an idea of what is wrong.

At this stage, without knowing more, it is impossible to give an indication of likely repair costs.