56
votes
Accidentally left car idling for 14 hours. What are possible consequences from this?
There's probably no damage at all, the engine just ran at low revs for a long time. One issue you may have is if it ran out of fuel the line may have sucked sediment from the bottom of the fuel tank ...
- 14.5k
16
votes
What is this? maybe a sensor?
It's one of the Heated Windscreen connectors. They have a reputation for breaking off on the Ford Focus, because the wipers hit them if they're not routed correctly.
It's common for replacement glass ...
- 8,612
14
votes
Accidentally left car idling for 14 hours. What are possible consequences from this?
I have an 08 ford focus that I haven't been driving. I just turn it on and let it run for about 30 minutes every few weeks so that it's not just sitting.
Don't. Idling an engine is the worst way to ...
- 13.5k
10
votes
How bad is it to drive very short distances with little to no coolant
It seems that you are only worried if the car will leave you stranded, not if it is bad for the car to drive around with (possibly) a bad head gasket.
Driving around with a shot head gasket is not ...
- 1,340
9
votes
Accepted
Low voltage at reversing light socket - is it the switch? What else could it be?
As you wrote, it is unlikely that the supply line of the bulb has a short, but not impossible.
Beneath that, it's possible that the return line has a bad connection to the chassis. If an other device ...
- 6,997
8
votes
Accepted
What is this? maybe a sensor?
That looks like a flex connector that has broken off. Perhaps part of a windscreen heater?
Labone Heated Screen Connectors
- 915
8
votes
Accidentally left car idling for 14 hours. What are possible consequences from this?
Short response:
No damage - idling a car does not hurt it.
Long response:
That said, you shouldn't be idling it to warm it up/charge the battery/whatever. What I do with my cars in storage is put the ...
- 555
7
votes
Accepted
Ford Focus engine cuts out at 3000+ RPM
In this case replacing the fuel filter for new seems to have done the trick. I was able to find one for roughly £27 on eBay and fitted it myself in under 45 minutes. Thought I'd leave the information ...
- 371
7
votes
Accepted
Ford Focus 1.6 Petrol Timing Belt
You can have a look at the condition of the belt to gauge its condition. But you'll need to have seen quite a number of timing belts to be able to tell.
The risk is that when a timing belt snaps, it ...
- 8,815
6
votes
Ford Focus won't crank no clicking light on dash come on.
Take a look at the wiring on the starter the S terminal wire may have come off.
Pull the starter relay.
Terminal 30 is fused battery power.
Terminal 87 is output to the starter S terminal.
Terminal ...
- 10.7k
6
votes
Accepted
Safely washing engine bay of Ford Focus
My view on cleaning engines is that they are probably designed to get wet. At least wet in reasonable ways – rain while the hood is open, splashes from puddles, water that makes it through the ...
- 14.3k
5
votes
Installing ISOFix mounting points in Ford Focus
I wanted to fit the brackets on the smaller seat, behind the drivers side (in a UK, right hand drive car).
For my late 2005 model Focus, Mark II I think, UK registration "XX54" there was nothing on ...
5
votes
Ford Focus 1.6 Petrol Timing Belt
The key to your mechanic's response about changing the timing belt and water pump "now" is that you have no real indication of the maintenance history of the car. You don't know if it's been changed ...
- 140k
5
votes
Safe jack / jack stand points for 2002 Ford Focus
Jackstand points on that car should be placed on the pinch welds near the door. underneath the car toward the front.
Where to properly jack up and support a car
In that video he explains how to do ...
- 3,323
5
votes
Accepted
Rough idle + slow acceleration + engine dying after spark plug change
Probably not. Engines are pretty tough. But pull a plug before you drive anymore and check for mechanical damage. Pistons hitting plugs would not be good.
Also double check your plug wires and make ...
- 14.3k
5
votes
Accepted
Cleaning behind the flywheel
Clean it. There's an old saying when working on engines: A clean engine is a happy engine. That goes outside as well as in. The grease and grime isn't good for the engine. By cleaning it up, it allows ...
- 140k
5
votes
Accepted
Jacking up a Mk1 Ford Focus around its pinch welds
Every contemporary vehicle which I have had to elevate had the body style shown in your images. The jack mechanism also matched the pinch weld for each vehicle. Additionally, for an electric vehicle ...
- 3,572
4
votes
Sputtering and jerking while driving
It sounds like the fuel supply is being interrupted. This usually means that either the filter is blocked, one of the lines is blocked, or the breather is blocked, or as zhang says, air is getting ...
- 28.6k
4
votes
Accepted
Mystery wiring harness underneath the gearshift on a 2004 Ford Focus
See if this picture helps you. Keep in mind most manufactures only use one main harness regardless of the accessories. So even if you don't have heated seats, or traction control the connectors and ...
4
votes
Low beams won't work
This post got way longer than I wanted it to be, but you've shown effort and I have some knowledge that could help you. Please read through this fully before starting any of it.
This is information ...
- 1,945
4
votes
Will I damage my car if I don't fix evaporator core leak?
A/C systems that are run low on refrigerant fail faster than those that are kept full. This is because the refrigerant circulates to oil that lubricates the compressor. An un-lubricated compressor ...
- 11.5k
4
votes
Accepted
What is wrong with my Ford Focus? Missfires and more!
My first questions for you? Isn't that a new car, still under factory warranty? What did the dealership tell you? (What year is the car? what is the mileage?)
If not, that sure looks like a wiring ...
- 6,479
4
votes
Rough idle + slow acceleration + engine dying after spark plug change
Don't worry about engine damage. The main difference between these 2 spark plugs is the length, the one you used is shorter. That means 2 things:
the spark was not created in the best place, meaning ...
- 12.1k
4
votes
Ford Focus change ignition pat system chip
It sounds as though you just want to cut out the "black box" and try to make this work. If so, you are sadly out of luck. If it were that easy on any system which uses a security system, a lot more ...
- 140k
4
votes
Brake pedal soft after changing pads
A number of things could have happened:
You let air into the system, either by pushing the piston out too far or by un-doing the bleed nipple.
The system has developed a leak. You could have either ...
- 2,742
4
votes
How bad is it to drive very short distances with little to no coolant
Provided you regularly check the coolant levels (with the engine cold) and top up then you ought to be fine. Running an engine without coolant is not ideal but I suspect there was some residual left ...
- 23.3k
4
votes
Cannot find the paint color on Ford Focus 2003
I can't read the tag very well but I assumed it was K2 which should be this car's color(Smokestone). If thats wrong theres only a few other blue options (Amparo Blue:G, Blue Print:T, Capri Blue:L, ...
- 175
4
votes
New battery dead after 48 hours
Doing a parasitic drain test is quite simple, all you need is your multimeter (DMM).
Remember to place your DMM lead to 'A' and 'COM' , use flat screwdriver to close the latch on your bonnet, shut ...
- 120
4
votes
Car starts after jumped, not again
This sounds very much like the alternator is not charging the battery. A new fully charged battery would start the car quite a few times until flat, as you have experienced. Jump starting would then ...
- 20.6k
3
votes
Hesitant starting when engine is warm - possible vapor lock?
In fuel-injected systems, hot-start problems indicate that the fuel line is unable to maintain pressure.
This could be due to a few things related to the fuel supply line, including:
a leaky fuel ...
- 39k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible