Ford - Focus :: 2003 Runs Rough At Random Times
Apr 6, 2013
My son drives a 2003 Ford Focus with 183,000 miles on it. At random times when he starts the car, the engine runs very rough at idle speed but when he drives away, it runs fine until he slows for a stop sign/turn, etc. and the engine is at idle speed again. When this happens, the engine runs so roughly, that he loses vacuum to the brakes and his brakes stiffen dangerously. The car may not do this at all for a couple of weeks of driving, and when it doesn't do it, it runs beautifully.
Also, it only runs like this if it does it from start-up; it never idles roughly in the middle of a drive in which the car started normally. I have changed the spark plugs and wires, PCV valve, fuel filter, and air filter, but it still goes through this about once a week. I bought the car used just a few months ago and it had just had the valve cover gasket changed because the valve cover was leaking.
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The engine problem I am having is with a 96 corolla with about 198000 miles on it it runs rough and has lifter noise as if there was no oil in engine it only happens when cold and when the vehicle has sat for more then 3 days since last use.....
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'91 buick, 3 spd. 0 acceleration in 3rd, trouble code says TCC curcuit. Lopes @ idle when warm, runs rough @ times. many new sensors, timing chain & sprockets, still, the loping.
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It started sputtering at random times a few days ago and the check engine light came on. The two codes are p0401 (blocked egr system) and p0402 (egr valve stuck open). It seems to do it most when it's cold but some days it'll do it non stop.
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I have a 2003 Passat and it won't start at random times. The battery would loose all it's charge but has the battery tested and it was fine. Hooked a voltmeter to the battery and with engine off got 12.4v. Right when I start it it would drop to about 10.6-11.1v. While running it would show 14.1v and with all accessories on and running at about 2000rpm it would read 13.6v.
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IAC issues? 2003 Ford Focus LX 2.0 ... Over the last week or so, my car has occasionally started very roughly. It stumbles and is very rough. After about 20 or so seconds, it smooths and drives fine.
Also, I've noticed in the last few weeks that there is a noticeable drop in power when I turn on the blower, even with the AC off. Not a loss as where it stalls, but still very noticeable. Then I've also noticed that when I'm at a long light, or other times I start it and it doesn't stumble/start rough, that it will sort of feel as if someone is slowly pushing down on the accelerator and releasing, and this can go on for a while. Not dramatically, but definitely noticeable.
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I have a 2001 F350 7.3 the truck will at random times loose power and almost shut down. A while back I had an issue with the uvch plugs and changed that out. Truck ran fine till I got some dirty fuel from a diesel tank at my friends farm. I did the hutch mod cleaned the tank and now have a frame mounted screw on filter before the pump. I cleaned the fuel bowl and changed the filter. Fuel pressure stays at 59psi and drops to 56psi wot. The truck is tuned with an edge programmer. After these mods the truck ran awesome for over 2000 miles. Now it has the above stated problem. I have fuel and hpop guages along with egt and boost. During the problem egts will increase rapidly and it seems like it is starving for fuel.
Hpop gauge reads 3300psi or above during wot and shows good pressure during these mishaps. I have auto Enginuity and I get a different reading at wot of only 2600 psi. The hpop gauge is tapped into the icp sensor per instructions and has been installed this way for a while with no issues. The tune has been on the truck for over 40000 miles. The only thing that I can come up with is it will occasionally throw a p1211 under wot or pulling my Gooseneck Dump Trailer when loaded. However it acts up sometimes and doesn't throw the code. Sometimes you can shut it off and start it back up and it's fine other times it will last for the whole day. My only guess is low pressure from the hpop but I don't reflect this from my gauge only on AE at wot. Wouldn't a bad pump act up all the time? Am I correct to think it is just the ipr?
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My truck runs rough/bad when it rains or is damp out. It stutters and had no acceleration. I just had a new fuel pump put in January. It improves after a while on the road. If it's wet, my travel sucks.
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my 2000 focus se, 2.0L SPI, with 82k began to recently run rough at idle then progressed to stalling at longer lengths of idle. The condition starts once the engine warms after 2-5 minutes. I 1st tried gas treatment. I replaced the ignition coil as suggested in the other threads, but it has not improved the problem. I had the fuel pump recall-replaced 2 years ago. I would guess that a bad fuel pump would exhibit loss of power at all engine speeds? Before I proceed to replace plug wires and plugs.
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I've got an '03 with some kind of problem Basically it runs rough and has sporadic pops and back fires. If it was your run of the mill non-computerized carb type system I'd say it had some timing issues. That's kind of what it acts like.
Admittedly I haven't dug into it, at all, because frankly I know squat all about the engine and it's likely issues. What I'm hoping for is some informed input given the most basic description I've just given. Or at least a direction.
If you can solve the problem without a major rebuild (I can dream!) I'll fund enough of your favorite beverage to be considered a "binge".
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'03 6.0 Powerstroke. Rough idle AFTER it warms up. Runs fine cold. It seems to studder and miss at mid range acceleration. Egr deleted and new oil cooler installed. New lift pump. Replaced ICP sensor. Have 48.5 volts at the FICM. Replaced the fuel pressure spring to the blue one. All new filters. Does not smoke. Does not throw codes. I need to fix this truck one last time. It has a date with the bottem of a very deep lake! It has been nothing but a pos since it hit the ripe old age of 25k miles!
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I have a 99 F150 Lariat 4x4 with a 5.4, 150,000 mile on it. About 2 weeks ago I blew spark plug out on #2, and a friend who said he has heli-coiled a bunch of these tried to do mine and ruined the head. Anyway, I called a local engine shop and got another PI head, only I used my cam in it. Torqued it as per the book, etc... Mind you that the engine ran perfect before all this.
Got it back together with all new plugs, new exhaust manifold, and 2 new COP's. When I start it-it runs rough for about a min, then straightens back out to run perfect again, and after a few seconds you can hear a solenoid click, then it goes back to missing again. This goes on and on... I went through all the vacuum lines and checked them, checked the egr valve, put on a new IAC, new PVC, cleaned the MAF, and checked everything else with a DVM.
I took it out and drove it.... Runs good for a minute, then it goes back to missing, then back to smooth again. This just keeps going on and on. I noticed when I hear that click, it sounds like a mad rush of air being sucked in, but I cannot locate it. I ordered a new set of COP's to try next. I can understand if it just plain missed all the time, but this it intermittent. Also, the only code I can get is a too lean on bank 1, so I replaced the 90's and the pvc valve. Now no codes but still in and out of missing. It ran perfect before the new head.
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I start the car - a 2001 Ford Focus 4 cyl DOHC. It runs fine for 30 seconds then stops, as if it is no longer getting fuel. I can't start it again for a couple days then the same thing happens over again. FWIW, I parked the car for 8 months before this happened and only started it once in that time. But it ran fine then and before I parked it. What can this be?
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I have my 2002 Ford F250 Powerstroke. 175,000 original miles by me and only me. SCT, MBRP, Howes or Stanandyne almost always. Runs like new. It starts rough if I don't plug it in. Even on 50 degree days. Then it levels off and runs perfectly. If I plug the truck in I can drive off immediately with perfect operation of motor. I just went 1500 miles. Pulling a car hauler with car. NP at all.
New Glow Plugs, GPR "Yes it works", IPR, New Harness, Buzz Test shows it's fine, New #8 injector last year, New O rings HPOP. My buddy who is a PStroke guy said this trucks runs too perfect for it to be injectors. He recommends seals for the injectors. What does this mean. Or what else can it be. Where should I start.
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I have a 2000 E350 boxtruck with a 5.4 auto. The motor is a new rebuilt with about 4000 mile, coils were replaced with motor, injectors were rebuilt with motor.Today (500 miles from home) the truck died. I was going up a slight hill on an interstate. It will still start, but runs very rough and when I put it in gear and step on the gas it dies.
So I had it towed to a garage. While pushing it into the garage I noticed my gas cap was missing. I know it was on 45 min earlier because I got gas. Did I forget to put in back on? probably.. But I wondering if the missing gas cap could cause the truck to run bad,vary bad?
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My '03 6.0 is hard to start and runs rough when cold. Not just cold outside temps, but engine not up to temp. Starts and runs like a champ once it's up to temp. It was doing this when I got it, but it's getting worse.
From what I've read the common culprits are:
1 - failed solder joints on FICM power supply board
2 - bad power supply side of the FICM
3 - updated flash needed for FICM
4 - injector stiction
5 - leaky O-rings at high pressure oil rail to injectors
I have read up on how to run the voltage test on the FICM with a multimeter.
Seems like I would have to go to a dealer to have the software version for the FICM checked.
I am 100% competent to do the tests and/or repairs myself, but since I recently moved in with my fiance in a condo and my tools are in storage, I will have to do it at a friend's house. That being the case, I want to know what all of the common things are that I may need to check for so I am prepared. So, I wanted to see if there were any other common causes of this issue.
I plan to test the FICM voltage and give FICMRepair.com some business if that's the problem. And if that's not the problem (or maybe even if it is) I will get the injector seal kits and replace all of the injector seals as well as disassembling and cleaning the spool valves in the solenoids. I will also change oil and fuel filters with Motorcraft parts and Rotella synthetic oil while I'm in there.
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I have a 2001 7.3 with 259,000 miles. It does not get too cold here, however over the past few winters when the temp is below 50 at night the first minute or two of running out of the neighborhood is tough going unless I let it heat up. It has been getting worse over the past few years and now if its even 55 or 60 I need to let it heat up. Glow plugs? Injectors?
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Here's what I'm dealing with. Took the truck on a 1500 mile trip with no issues. Got home and started it the next morning and it started right up. 1/2 mile from home it starts to run rough and wants to die. It does this for a few minutes and then perks back up and runs fine for however long the trip is. It will always re fire and have no issues. Every morning it's the same game as described above. Within 1/2 from home it's doing this. Seems to be fuel delivery related, but why would it start after sitting overnight, and then after its little fit, run without an issue?
No codes in computer.
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I have a 2001 F350 with the 7.3 standard trans. The previous owner put a toggle switch to control the EBPV as an engine brake, I've never used it. It blows white/blue smoke when cold but has for the last 4 years and doesn't seem any worse now.
Last fall I ran the truck the lowest on fuel that I ever have, the light was on for a long time and I thought I would run out. I made it to the gas station and filled it up then drove home. The next time I drove it I went about 25 miles and it started to buck while going up hill. This got worse and eventually the check engine light came on and it stalled.
It wouldn't start again so I had it towed home. I got it started a couple hours later but it would run really rough and only for a minute or so then stall. It will usually start again once or twice and stall, then it wont start again until it has sat for an hour or so.
I didn't have a code reader at the time so I started reading threads. Here's what I've done to date.
Changed the oil and filter, it was way over do. New fuel filter.
The oil level in the HPOP stays about an inch from the top, I've checked it a few times after its stalled.
Dropped the tank and cleaned the screens in the pick up, no change.
The ICP had oil on it so I replaced it and a new connector, no change.
Changed the CSP with a grey one, no change.
Changed the IPR valve with one from a buddy that was on an engine that was running. The truck ran rough for a min then settled down and ran smooth. I let it idle for 20-25 minutes with no problem so I thought the problem was solved. After sitting for a month or so I fired it up and its back to running rough then stalling.
I bought a Vgate ELM327 connector and downloaded FORScan on my laptop. (I'm still not sure what I'm doing). These are the stored codes P1281, P0475, P1316, P0478, P0470, P1211. I cleared all the codes. I did a buzz test cold and the Injectors all sounded the same.
I monitored the truck while running (rough) the IPR is staying around19.92%, ICP is 701.4psi. After 5 seconds the ICP starts to climb and so does the IPR, at 12 seconds the IPR is 37.11 and ICP is 1835.1 psi the it stalls. The fuel pw,ms is around 2.50-3.0 until before it stalls, then its 1.66. The only codes that come up are P0475, P0470, B1473.
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2000 F350. Starts great. Idles fine. After it warms up a little, it will run rough and lose power like it is only hitting on a few cylinders. It will eventually stall unless I push the clutch in and bring it back to idle and then it smooths back out. I figured it was starving for fuel but I can rev it with the clutch in with no issue. I ran it up to 2500 rpm and held it there with the clutch in and ran perfect.
I let the clutch out and start rolling....missing again. The check engine light does come on but my scanner says that there are no codes stored. If I idle it, it will smooth out, and the light goes off. All I have done so far was change the fuel filter which was almost plugged shut and the housing was full of rust looking debris which I cleaned out. BINGO! Nope. Same issue.
I am really at a loss as to where to start. I bought this with 120k on it and it now has 170k and I have not had to do anything other than routine maintenance.
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My F150 with 175,000 miles on gave me a the ol' P0305 code indicating misfiring in cylinder #5. I changed the plugs and wires using Motorcraft wires and Motorcraft AGS34FM plugs.
Now the truck idles fine, does not give a OBD code but runs rough at 2,000-2,500 rpm. Tried it out on the highway and it started "bucking" a bit. Not sure what to try next.
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