Engine management light on after stuck wheel

juniper_berry

Hi all

Would really appreciate any advice before I take my car to the garage

I have a 54 Ford focus ghia 1.6 (newer shape)

I haven't used the car much over Christmas and when I went to use it the drivers side rear wheel was locked and took about 5 minutes to start moving.

The next time i went to use the car the wheel stuck again but this time the engine management light came on and now wont go off.

Any ideas what could cause the engine management to light come on, potentially relating to the wheel? The car runs fine and is making no noises or losing any power. I also had no problems with the car prior

Thanks in advance

scotsbob

Not familiar with your make/model but the same happens with some Mazda models after any work on wheels or steering.
The procedure is to switch on, turn steering wheel fully left then fully right and switch off. On switching on warning light extinguishes.
Can't do any harm to try that.

juniper_berry

It worked! Thank you so much really appreciate your help!!!

Richard53

The sticking wheel isn't a mystery. If the car isn't used and the atmosphere is damp, you get a surface coating of rust on the brake discs which sticks to the pads. It happens with my Mondeo every time if it is not used for 2-3 days, although only mildly (a groan and a bit of a bang when moving off). It's normal, and the rust disappears the first time you use the brakes.

But how this could have caused your EML to come on is a mystery. And the method of clearing it is completely new to me. You learn something every day.

Strider590

Richard53 wrote: »

But how this could have caused your EML to come on is a mystery. And the method of clearing it is completely new to me. You learn something every day.

Same, i'd not expect the EML....... But i'd 100% expect the ABS warning lamp to come on.

Richard53

Strider590 wrote: »

Same, i'd not expect the EML....... But i'd 100% expect the ABS warning lamp to come on.

Ah. You may be onto something there, Sherlock.

wongataa

I have a Focus and one morning the brakes were sticking a good bit and the ABS light came on as I was freeing the wheels. Restarting the car after I had everything moving properly for a couple of minutes cleared it.

colino

ABS lights should come on in such situations. The system is getting signals from three wheels that make sense and one improbable signal saying it's not moving while the others are. It will reset when its been off and on again and sees more sensible info.