Ford - Focus :: 2006 Will Not Hold A Start When Cold Outside
Feb 7, 2013
My 2006 focus just turned 100,000 miles. Last few months as it started to get cold outside its had issues with not "holding" a start. It seems to make all the normal sounds but won't continue to run. It is progressively getting worse, ie: more frequent and takes more tries to get it started. Yesterday I tried repeatedly and it wouldn't start until I gave it a LOT of gas-this is the worst its been. Previously it would either eventually start after repeated tries or with a little gas. Even on unseasonably warm days its happening now. Both autozone and tireman say the battery (2yrs old), alternator, and starter check out fine.
After lots of online reading here's what I've tried/paid attention to in hopes of narrowing it down.
-Changed spark plugs
-Fuel injector cleaner
-Spare key
-Don't notice security light flashing when it happens or any other random electrical issues
-No strange idle fluctuations
Once its running its fine and seems to start ok for next couple tries even at cold start. Trying to narrow down from IAC valve, PCV valve, throttle position sensor, wiring, ignition switch, fuel pump, etc. Can computer codes read even without warning lights? I have noticed for quite some time that idle has a slightly rougher sound (nothing obvious) but this seems to comes from muffler end and its been in for standard service and never been mentioned as an issue...? Its never stalled at idle or sounded like it was close to stalling/strictly issue with getting it going. I'm trying to determine if its logical that repeated attempts or giving it gas build up more fuel pressure? Or more logical that lots of gas is pushing open something thats clogged up?
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Secondly, the truck only seems to want to start when I give it gas. Even when I use starter fluid, it will only get to an idle if I hold it to the floor when I turn the key. What this might be?
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Is the pump supposed to be powered and running for the entire time ignition-on-engine-off (I assume so since it is receiving 12v). How loud should these guys be? I would have thought I would be able to feel the motor spinning or hear something....
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Occasionally my 2004 Ford Focus will not start. I put in the keys and turn them. The lights and radio fire up and there is a click, but the engine won't turn over. To resolve this, I remove the key, open the hood, loosen the battery cable on the positive terminal, wiggle the cable around, and then tighten it back down. I then go back in the car and turn the key. The engine starts. Is there a bad connection somewhere? Should I replace the battery cable?
Long version of the problem: I've been having these problems intermittently for almost a year now. After the first or second time I had the car towed to a local shop. They couldn't figure out what the problem was because the car was starting just fine at the shop. The mechanic said that some of the cables might have shifted around in the towing process. So I tossed an adjustable wrench in the glove box in preparation for the next time. The next day, it happened again. Through some quick trial and error, I narrowed down the problem to be the positive battery cable (or something that's connected to it).
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Sometimes I have to hold the accelerator the floor and it starts. Sometimes I get a faster than normal cranking speed and no start. When this occurs I can hold my foot to the floor and it will backfire through the intake. After some time of this the car will start.
Here's what I've done so far.
1. Checked timing and timing belt - OK
2. Ignition system check coil, wires, plugs - OK
3. Fuel system pump, injectors, and regulator - OK (Regina fuel system)
4. Checked and changed the relay and the cam sensor - OK
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Truck has been doing this and now getting worse. 06 f250 6.0 147,000 miles. Runs like crap when you first start and truck has trouble shifting when I first take off in the mornings until it warms up then it idles fine and runs like a champ no problem shifting. Not in a cold climate 40F at the least. Not trying to take it to the dealer and get raped. Been doing research some people say get the inductive heat flash, some say needs new injectors, some say could have a bad gasket on the injector idk. I'm trying trying to get it resolved....
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I have 2006 Ford Focus that was recently in a small rear end crash. The airbags went off. The only damage was a front bumper and hood and plastic grill. The computer had to be reset by Ford dealer for the airbag. Since the accident the front brakes intermittently apply, not enough to slam the car to a stop, but enough to slow it down and limit acceleration. We have replaced the rotors, calipers and front brake lines. Problem still exists. Ford says the computer shows nothing (duh) and my mechanic of 20 years doesn't know what else to do.
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I have a 2003 Ford Focus Sedan with 75K miles, bought used from a Ford dealership 3-4 yrs ago with 45K miles.
I spent Saturday driving around doing errands. Late in the day, it wouldn't start up again. This was after about 20 minutes of sitting in a parking lot right after a 10-mile drive. It would turn/crank but not actually turn over. Eventually, I had a tow driver come out, who also gave it a try, and then it made an awful clunking-grinding-crunching sound after a couple seconds of trying to turn. Towed to the local mechanics.
They did some compression tests and tell me that a spark plug is "smashed." They say only a major engine problem could smash a spark plug and recommend just replacing the engine. The alternative would be to take apart the engine to figure out exactly what's wrong, at a labor cost of $800-1,000, but they say there would be a good chance that whatever they find out wouldn't be fixable anyway.
Recent history: oil change about 6 wks ago, no history of oil problems, regular oil changes (at least since I bought it).
Recent problems:
(1) About 2-3 times in the past few months (including Saturday morning the day this happened), my car would sometimes take a bit more turning over to actually start. Those episodes would feel like it was "barely" starting, and then the car would kind of gentle buck for the first 20-30 seconds of driving, then be totally normal and start right up again afterward.
(2) For the past year or so, the speedometer and odometer would intermittently go to zero, usually after a sudden speed or lane change or big cranking of the wheel (e.g., reversing out of a parking spot)...this would last a mile or two then randomly come right back on.
(3) The weekend before my engine wouldn't start, my check-engine light came on while driving on the highway.
This happened to occur during one of those brief zero-speedometer episodes. I took it to the shop, they said it was a sensor issue, and it took nearly $500 to repair.
So....questions:
(1) any of the above history related to current engine problem? My shop says probably not, but I'm not sure what to believe.
(2) Recommend taking the engine apart at this point to diagnose the problem, or just replace the thing?
(3) If replace, get used or refurbished? (Shop recommends latter b/c they say history with used is totally unknown)
(4) Tow it to a different shop for the second opinion? (5) Or, just give up on the car totally and get a new car? I have minimal knowledge of mechanics.
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After two repair shops telling me there is nothing wrong with my car, I'm at a loss. My car is in great condition except when it decides not to start. On hot days, if I am doing several errands I need to worry about if my car will work after the first stop. After driving for a bit, when I turn off my car and return a short while later it will not start. The car will attempt to turn over and the battery works just fine, it just won't start. Also, another issue I think is related and connected to this is that on car trips lasting more than 15 minutes, the air conditioning will stop working. The air will blow but the cool 'conditioning' aspect will fail and I will be stuck with hot air blowing at me. The catch to this is that after waiting 2 hours for a tow, the driver was able to start my car on the first try, thus making the tow unnecessary. Obviously my car is not 'perfect' like the repair shops are telling me....
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I have a 2005 Ford Focus ZX4. It is a stick. For the past month it has been having trouble starting, the example I will turn the key and it will try to start up, but doesn't. Then it will start but it is weak, sputtering, not wanting to really start, but I give it a little gas and it is fine. The last time it happened, It started after about 8 tries. I was driving a little ways and all of a sudden the radio/cd player quit working flashing a message that said low battery. Then all the lights in the car started to dim out. The headlights started dimming out too.
I did make it home, turned it off and when I tried to start it again all I heard was a click, click, click noise. It is at the shop now. I thought for sure it was the alternator, but they said the alternator is testing fine and once they 'recharged' the battery it is fine too. They drove it around for about a half an hour and they said it was running fine. What the what? They said they did have the problem getting it to start that I did, but only once. Now they aren't sure what the problem is. I don't want to get ripped off! I also don't want to have to fix something that isn't broken. I
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