Grim

I've recently had some problems with my mk2 focus immobiliser, which i've fixed, so i thought i'd document it for others / random googlers in the future! I first noticed it taking longer to start, cranking fine but just taking time to fire. On cold/frosty mornings it would longer still to start and then the red immobiliser LED on the dash would flash an error code. It flashed quickly for 30s, then flashed once, paused, flashed twice. This related to fault code 12, which is an immobiliser transceiver fault. Ford wanted £120+vat for a new transceiver, so i thought I'd take a look at it myself. The transceiver is located around the ignition barrel, and reads the code from the chip stored in the key. Access is by removing the top and bottom steering column shroud, and the transceiver can be unclipped from position. Once removed, the cover can be removed, revealing the circuit board and coil. The pins that the wiring connector and coil were fixed to the circuit board appeared to be pressed into place, and not soldered, which struck me as a potential dirty contact to cause intermittent faults. I soldered these 6 pins (pictured), reassembled, and the fault has not recurred. no problems on the few frosty mornings this week, and cranking time before starting has halved. Fingers crossed that is problem solved! Andy

My tip would be to use as fine as abrasive as you can, to acheive the finish you want. Deep scratches in stainless can begin to corrode. I have had to refinish my silencer which had been brushed wih scotchbrite, although it has seen lots of road salt in its time. Very careful examination of my bonnet shows lots of tiny corrosion pits, just from the scratches that come with a decade of daily use (and salt).

Cheers, genuine ford belt kit with tool ordered off ebay for £32. Andy

There is no tensioner. The belts are elastic and require a tool on the water pump pulley to stretch the belt over, and a second tool on the crank pulley to stop the belt sliding across at thr same time. Took me an hour to get the belt on last time with a home made tool, which caused minor damage to the belt. Looking to do it properly this time Here is a tool:http://www.lasertools.co.uk/product/5919

Hi, i wondered if anyone has a Ford focus 1.6 TI-VCT alternator belt fitting tool that i could borrow or buy, before i shell out £40+ for one? Andy

youngster?!

The south yorksish meet for February will be at: Red Lion Inn, Todwick, South Yorkshire Usual time of 7:30 on weds the 3rd Andy

The critical point is the rubber doughnuts can only cope with small misalignments. If you're confident your engine/box is mounted near perfectly straight with respect to your propshaft, then they are fine. Personally i wouldn't use them, with the manufacturing tolerances of the average robin hood.

Might mate well with a 3.14 or a 3.38 diff, but this will increase the cost significantly

The bumper bar below the nosecone was something produced by robin hood to satisfy the SVA requirement that there must be a chassis member forward of the steering rack to reduce injuries in accidents. Pre-SVA cars wont have this.

castrol do a synthetic GL4: http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-739-castrol-syntrans-multivehicle-75w-90-fully-synthetic-mtf-replaces-smx-s-75w-85.aspx Bought something similar a while ago, haven't got around to trying it yet

My understanding is that gl5 oils are not to be used in boxes containing brass components. I'd recommend comma, who make a specific gl4 oil.

the varta battery you have is one of the better conventional batteries (high CCA). Deep discharging batteries ie leisure batteries wont cope with the high currents needed to start a car. Without connecting anything to maintain charge, I suspect you're best fitting the biggest battery you can (rather than a lightweight race style one) and a geared / high power starter.

why do you need deep cycling? would it not be easier / cheaper to use a trickle charger or solar charger to maintain its charge?

40A at max capacity. If you find yourself in the dark in traffic, you may find that at idle you car cannot produce the power you need to run the headlights, rad fan, ecu etc. I have a voltmeter fitted, and even with a 80A alternator, it barely maintains 12.7v with all those running. But if you're only going to use the car on bright sunny days, you're fine.

The south yorksish meet for january will be at: Red Lion Inn, Todwick, South Yorkshire Usual time of 7:30 on weds the 6th Andy

the gauge will have a +10v in (from regulator) and an output to the sender in the block. Voltage regulators are around a tenner on ebay.

sierra sender and smiths or aftermarket 10v voltage regulator works fine.

these months are flying past! The south yorksish meet for December will be at: Red Lion Inn, Todwick, South Yorkshire Usual time of 7:30 on weds the 2nd Andy

i've had trapped air in my system a few times You probably have air in the top of the engine, trapped behind the stat To clear it, i fill as well as i can, refit rad cap, start and let it warm up, park it facing downhill to allow water to hit the thermostat. As soon as the temp gauge drops (stat opening), i turn it around, facing uphill and let it cool. This usually lets out a huge gob of air. Refill coolant, repeat if necessary. I also have a bleed location in my heater hose, which helps get more water in.

Would it not be better to cut sparks rather than fuel for traction control? Cutting fuel would lead to a partial fuel load injected, and a more dangerous lean condition. Perhaps cut both is better, no fuel igniting in the exhaust then.

washing up liquid contains a lot of salt, so would lead to corrosion of the inner part of the bush. Silicone grease would be my first choice of lubricant as it doesn't seem to react with anything. Moly grease or even a lithium grease would probably be ok, as i doubt the polyurethane of the bush would be badly affected. Copper grease would worry me, as adding a 3rd particle between two surfaces vastly increases wear (3rd body abrasion). Andy

Congratulations! Are you changing your name to John now driving?

That might well be the wiring to the air flow meter, check its earth (it has one of its own) and the rest of the wiring from ecu to it, using the haynes manual or the injection troubleshooter on nw.rhocar.org. Also check the pins in the air flow meter plug, they can become dislodged.

typical failure of an air flow meter is a worn track, and will cause a big stutter at certain air flows (rpm/throttle combinations). The air flow flap moves a finger across a resistive track on the circuit board. If you take off the black plastic cover (which is stuck down well) undo the screws on the circuit board, and elongate the holes on the board, you can move it to one side, so that the finger runs across a section of the track that is not worn. Andy