Won't Start

focus was put on diagnostic machine, came back that I needed a new ignition coil. I replaced the coil yesterday. Came out this morning to start the car...it started right up but then killed seconds later..I tried this 3-4 more times with the same results...any advice?

live sumwhere cold? my mom used to live in wyoming and her crap would freeze up. shed have to put a heater on her car all night. ill ask her what was wrong, wat frooze up so i could help u more.

I live in California where it's pretty moderate and is only around 50 degrees in the morning. This morning it started right up and didn't kill. I don't know if it's because it's been much warmer in the mornings or if maybe the new coil did the trick. I did however add some HEET to the gas yesterday and maybe that did it. I'll keep my fingers crossed. :D thanks

ya, ive been told to gas line can freezee up. i think you can buy little magnetic heater thingys to help with that tho.

buy the way... SO CAL RULES!!!

daughter was in a very minor accident that set off the airbags. i installed new airbags and reset the inertia switch but car will not start. i can hear fuel pump kick on and it turns over but will not start.

try security system reset if not mistaken crashes do that as well see our link
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-reset-a-security-system

ok I am getting spark and fuel it blew out the top motor mount is it possible it bent a valve

how did it blow out the motor mount? by starting? or do you mean it backfired and the 2.0L engine is a non interference engine so you didn't blow a valve. does it run now? the mount probably got destroyed from accident. does car run now?

it finally did start but has light white smoke out tailpipe not running as smoothly as it did before accident.but it is running.

see if it clears up on it's own for a few minutes then pressure check for a blown head gasket with a pressure checker. it may be just a build up of fuel causing the smoke and running also if any holes in duct work leading to engine from air cleaner as that will cause an engine to run like crap. But you should really have this looked at by a pro.

yes I agree I took it for a drive(I live in the country)and it started to really run like crap a lot more smoke and when I got back it sounded like it was galloping.probably head gasket and head job.

Engine Mechanical problem
2000 Ford Focus 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 94,000 miles
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i was driving my 2000 ford focus to work, stopped at a red light and it stalled on me and hasn't turned on. it cranks but engine will not start. to my understanding, the fuel pump is working. prior to this, i have not had problems with it stalling on me or turning on. the only thing i noticed is that when i drove it in the rain and went over water, the engine would hesitate to go and check engine light would blink but soon after it ran dry, the light went off and car ran well. before this incident, i did replace the oxygen sensor a couple months ago after the check engine light was on and stayed on. what other reasons could there be for it not to start? any help on this is greatly appreciated!

Could be fuel or spark issue-Do below and comeback with the missing one. Both present could mean a broken timing belt

hey thanks a lot for the info. i have since replaced the timing belt. the person who did it says he might've not done it correctly, but won't be able to fix it til saturday morning. it runs ok except for a couple of things...it hesitates to accelerate and when it's idling, it wants to die. what kind of symptoms would the car have it the timing belt is not 'timed' right? would this cause any damage to the engine or any other part of the car? thanks again.

Check the idle air control valve/motor and throttle position sensor-also check the fuel pressure.

Could be that the valve and ignition timing is still off causing this problem. The issue here is: he might've not done it correctly

If its an interference engine-your a done deal if the belt breaks-Redo it.

I have a 2000 Ford focus SE I started it up and put it reverse and it started to spudder I put it in drive and it started to make a loud clanging noise like metal hitting metal and now will not start or turn over

Like engine is siezed? or starter does not operate?

First it made a noise like a knocking noise now it won't start like the batteries dead but all the electronics are still working fine

so what happened?

Engine Mechanical problem
2000 Ford Focus 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 123000 miles

I had just purchased this vehicle from an auction. When I got it the idle seemed rough. After a little investigation I found two of the four plugs missing the electrodes. These were bosch platinum plugs and the guy at the oreillys stated that these are not good for fords. Well I put in 4 new motorcrafts and it started ok. It at least kept idling and didnt die. But still rough. I drove it about 10 miles and when I got home I checked a few more things. I was told to check egr valve because of lots of issues with it. Well I first replaced the egr valve plug. Not sure of the real name but it has a power line to it and a vacuum line going in and one coming out that goes to the actual egr valve. Anyway same results. So I ordered a new egr valve and was just putting things back together and I heard this wierd ping noise and the car died. I then turned it over and wouldnt start. I immediately thought the timing belt had blown. I removed the cover and turned it over and the belt was fine. My mechanic friend stated that it might of "jumped". Why? How? And or is this true? If so can I get it back to where it should be? And the ping noise?

Update- pulled off the valve cover just to see if maybe there was a bad rocker or valve. I also had removed each plug to check their condition and found all but 1 were fine. One of them the ceramic surrounding the electrode was sliding all the way down. Well i left it out of the car port. I turned over the key to see the valves and such and the car started. Well ofcourse oil was flying around. I put back the cover and turned the key. It started. It ran horrible but ran. But as soon as I put back the sparkplug in the hole. Wont start. Pull it out. Runs. I had broke the ceramic on purpose to at least be able to use that plug until I bought another one. Still didnt light. Now mind you this is one of the spots that had orginally when I bought it a broken electrode. What gives?

Hi porthos1. Welcome to the forum. I saw your post a few days ago and have been thinking about it. Have you replaced the broken spark plug yet? I can only offer a guess that with a broken insulator, the spark is jumping between the elctrodes too easily and the Engine Computer is detecting the excessive coil current as a shorted condition and shutting the coil drivers down to protect them. If I'm right, you should be able to prove it to yourself when the engine is running by back-probing one spark plug wire between the wire and boot, with a grounded pick. Shorting the spark plug would cause the same condition as the broken insulator and should cause the engine to shut down. You will likely have to cycle the ignition switch off, then restart the engine to reset the computer.

Sorry, but that's the best I can up with right now. The egr part you mentioned is an amplifier. They can fail if they get moisture inside.

caradiodoc

I did change the plugs and it ran...horribly. For a good 30 seconds then slowly gets worse. Then it dies. I finally gave up and towed it to a mechanic.

Sometimes that's the best thing if you want to keep your sanity. I'd be interested to hear what they find.

caradiodoc

Well the verdict is in....blown engine. Seems 3 of the 4 cylinders has no compression. Well the timing belt jumped and put the valve into the piston. Mechanic says its easier to replace with a used engine. So you live and learn.

Sorry for the delay of my previous reply. My Verizon e-mail system keeps going down, often for a day at a time. Without e-mail, I can't get the automated messages that direct me to your last reply.

I would definitely recommend a second opinion before you go with a different engine. It is common for valves to get bent but not to damage the pistons. Bent valves don't seal so there will be no compression. A valve job will take care of that and is a lot less expensive than another engine. The test that will confirm this is called a cylinder leakage test. This involves forcing regulated compressed air into each cylinder, one at a time, through the spark plug hole and observing where the air comes out. Tail pipe means a bent exhaust valve. Air intake means a bent intake valve. Bubbles in the radiator indicates a leaking head gasket or cracked head. If the piston is damaged, you'll hear a lot of air coming from the oil fill cap or dipstick tube.

caradiodoc

Ok...two quick question then. The mechanic stated that the valves at seated against the piston. I naturally said can we just replace the valves and he said yes but you dont know what condition the bottom is in. My question is that when I started it for the first time it had a looping idle. Well I had figured maybe dirty throttle body something easy, but after further investigation I found those two plugs without electrodes. Lets start there. Why? Second question is if his theory on the timing belt jumping could that be the answer to my why question on the plugs and if so, why is the belt jumping?

I somewhat agree on getting a second opinion but my thoughts are that it ran horrible and I was able to drive it 10 miles home without any power persay, another words when I stepped on the gas it just went slow. Which still makes me think the engine was bad already.

Engine problem
2000 Ford Focus Engine Size unknown Front Wheel Drive Automatic 136000 miles
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My car will not start and shows the battery sign. I replaced the battery less than a month ago which has a 6 year warrenty. The car had problems starting prior to the replacement of the battery. I only replaced the battery because the battery sign was coming up everytime I tried to start the car.

My car will not start and shows the battery sign.

Do you mean it cranks or it cranks and refuses to start?

If engine is in good condition-it leaves fuel or spark problem. Try checking the fuel pressure for a start and comeback with the readings. This is where we start.

Fords have way more than their share of timing belt trouble but I haven't heard anything specific to the Focus. The Contour and Mystique are notorious for chewing up their belts. The belts do wear out over time, and some just snap, but it is common also for the bearings to become sloppy in the idler pulleys and tensioner pulleys. When the belt becomes loose, it can jump a tooth or two. One tooth off will definitely be noticeable as a loss of power and throttle response.

It is real hard for a belt to jump on a Chrysler product because the cover is so close to the crankshaft sprocket that the belt can't lift up off the sprocket teeth far enough to jump. They also have controls built into the Engine Computer that will shut the engine down before the belt can jump enough teeth for the pistons hit the valves. The problem is they have more trouble with the sensors than the belt.

I haven't heard about Ford doing something similar but I would have to guess they don't have that protection because I read a lot about bent valves on their engines. To get back to the engine damage issue, valves are very easy to bend. It takes a lot to bend a connecting rod or punch a hole in a piston. To put it in perspective, if the timing belt is not installed correctly, you can bend valves by turning the engine by hand. To bend a connecting rod will require a hammer significantly heavier than your typical carpenter's hammer. The pistons are pretty tough too. They get pounded with rapidly expanding fuel millions of times every month and come back for more. A sad little weak valve isn't going to phase it. Unless the steel head of the valve breaks off, (very rare except for NASCAR engines), and gets stuck, that valve is going to be nothing more than an irritation to the piston.

To recommend replacing the entire engine, your mechanic is either 1) inexperienced in engine repair, 2) setting you up for the worst case scenario, then hoping to pleasantly surprise you with a much lower bill if it only needs a valve job, 3) doesn't want to be bothered by the care and accuracy that must be taken when reassembling a cylinder head, or 4) justs wants to produce a bigger bill. A used engine could just as likely have a worn timing belt too so you might have the same problem a month from now. Unless you hear about some common "pattern failure" that happens often to your engine, a valve job which includes a new head gasket, and a new timing belt should be all that's needed. If the water pump is one of the idler pulleys, it is customary to replace it too to prevent future trouble. It is just as big a job to replace the water pump as the timing belt, so you might as well do it while you're already there.

caradiodoc

I just wanted to thank you. I told the mechanic about what I thought should be the best course of action. Replace the head, water pump and timing belt. They said fine. My only question to you is...they wanted to do it for 734 dollars and I provide the parts. I got all them for 500. New head and all. I fix 90% of my cars. I am wondering with my experience can I replace the parts myself? I have a chiltons manual also. I have read the install of timing belt section and doesnt seem to difficult. I have replace steering that was more troublesome.

Probably the least desirable course of action would be to have them replace parts you supply. That's like bringing your own food to a restaurant and asking them to cook it. If one of your new parts is defective, you can be expected to pay the labor a second time to replace it. When the shop supplies the parts, they have to cover the cost of getting a replacement and installing it if one is defective. That's part of the purpose of marking up the price from wholesale to retail. The profit on the part doesn't cover all of the possible extra labor but not every job requires doing things a second time. Another part of the parts profit goes to buying expensive specialty tools. If you need to buy any, you might spend more for them than the labor charge you saved. That wouldn't be an issue if you knew you were going to use them again but how often do you plan on replacing a head gasket?

The next best option would be to do the work yourself but I would invest in the service manual right from Ford for your car. You should also discuss your plans with a professional engine rebuilder or the place you got your new head from to find out if there are any unusual things to look out for. The service manual procedures will take you through the steps to get the job done but there are a lot of procedures that are just understood by professionals and not repeated in the manual.

Some people like to use a copper colored spray adhesive made for head gaskets. Surface prep for aluminum heads is critical for the gasket to bite into and seal. A right angle air tool with the proper grit scuff pad removes all traces of old gasket and sealer and produces the correct texture on the head and block as specified for the new gasket, not necessarily the engine. Many engines now use "torque-to-yield" head bolts that stretch as they are tightened. They must be replaced every time they are removed. A tap should be run through all of the head bolt holes to insure no thread locker, sealer, or gasket material is in them. Blow those holes out with compressed air. The head bolt could crush any debris left in there and reduce the clamping force at the proper torque value. The head and block should be checked for flatness. Maximum warpage in any direction is typically .002" in any direction. You'll need a feeler gauge and a precision straightedge for that one-minute test.

If the camshaft is already installed, some of the valves will be open. The mating pistons must be down so the open valves won't be bent when you torque the head down. A problem can arise when you have to turn the crankshaft to line up the timing marks. A simple trick is to put the crank at TDC first with its timing mark set correctly, then turn the camshaft to its mark and check that the valves are closed for the pistons that are up. Do that before the head is installed. When you install the timing belt, the procedure will specify turning the engine two revolutions in the normal direction to get the slack on the back side by the tensioner pulley and to insure no valves are hitting the pistons.

caradiodoc

well they removed the head and showed me two pistons shot. Looks as if someone changed the timing belt and didnt put it at the correct spot and tried to drive it like that so it finally took a dump. The problem I know have is to get a engine it is a sohc which for some reason is triple what a dohc is. I have looked. They say its a rare motor. Cheapest I found is 1200. dohc is 350. crazy. well I might just let it go to the heap.

and is it even worth it to put in a dohc? I know u need to change the computer and harness.

Rats. Sorry to hear about the pistons. I still maintain they don't usually get damaged but seeing is believing. Before you head to the junkyard, there are a few things you might consider. First of all, to me, a 2000 model is not old. My daily driver is an '88 Grand Caravan with 378,000 miles. After three weeks of warning and leaking, the water pump gave out which is run by the timing belt. Found out that even though the belt was real loose, it was designed in such a way as to be almost impossible for it to jump a tooth. It isn't an interference engine so nothing would have been damaged anyhow, and it still got me to where I was going. Bought an '89 Caravan a few years ago because it needed an engine rebuild. Total cost of parts including a remanufactured crankshaft, was only $300.00. Labor was free which brings me to my next suggestion.

Look for a community college with an Automotive program. We were always looking for live cars to work on for the real world experience after we got done experimenting on donated cars. Parts were marked up a little to fund our "breakage fund" and labor was normally a few bucks per hour. If they are willing to repair or rebuild your engine, it will likely take a month or more to get the car back, and they will most likely not give a warranty although we always tried to correct any problems, but the trade-off is the very low cost. Most of these students are very conscientious and they are always well supervised.

There isn't as much learning value in just installing a used engine as there is in removing and rebuilding one, but that is an option that might be available. Rebuilding your engine would be preferable to installing the dual cam version. Besides the computer and harness, there are always a lot of other differences that drive the final cost way up. Different exhaust manifold and pipes, for example, and different air intake system and sensors too. The many other computers on the car are designed to work with your Engine Computer. Unless you know someone who has done this modification before and knows what is involved, I'm pretty sure you're going to run into a pile of unexpected problems.

caradiodoc

Engine Mechanical problem
2000 Ford Focus 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Manual
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The vehicle stalled and will not start. It has spark, cranks strong, and when spraying carb cleaner into throttle body it still won't start so I'm leaning away from it being a fuel issue. I am stumped. How can you test the crankshaft position sensor and camshaft position sensor.

if the sensor is bad you wont have spark, if you would still like to test it post back and i can dig you up the process.

i would try dumping gas in the throttle body and cranking it.

it fire or no? you sure your getting spark on all cylinder? bright blue and well defined

vehicle has been on the diagnostics computer apparently its a bad earth somewhere.could this bad earth have anything too do with my stereo system ,amplifiers and woofers if one of these lost their earth through a loose connection could this effect whether the car starts or not.before the car packed up it was juddering over the road loss of power like a fuel problem it is a diesel (nightmare).and its recently had another fuel pump fitted and fuel filter.2 months ago.please can you help. many thanks

did you have the fuel pressure checked?? what computer?? was there a code?? if there was, what was the code??

bad grounds will cause all kind of issues. get them checked, cleaned and tightened.

Roy

Cranks but no start. getting fire injectors pulse, no codes and the timing belt is not broken. 125 compression, tries to start but wont, but after cranking plugs are black sooty, but not wet with fuel.

if timing belt was replaced make sure it is correctly timed. see picture then try resetting security system. See link.
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-reset-a-security-system