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RE: Ask the Car Guy @socky Jun 9, 2019
2013 LW MK II Ford Focus
2 Litre, 5 Speed Manual. Petrol.
32,000 KM
Car has no torque when accelerator is pressed down (regardless of gear). There's a juddery idle, and it takes a long time to start up. Check engine light just came on, some googling suggested it could be one of the coils.
What's your diagnosis?
I checked the engine bay, and to my surprise, the engine was still there. No obvious loose cables, corrosion, and coolant looks clean. Oil levels were fine.
Spark plug coils are pretty easy to change, but don't just assume that it is causing the issue. There are many things that can cause power loss. Some of those things won't create an engine light. You are in luck that you have an engine light. Your computer records the fault and only displays the engine light.
Here is what you need to do: Find an automotive shop or parts store that will use a scanner to read the fault code. Call around, some will do it for free. It only takes a moment to read the codes with a scanner. The car's computer measures the tolerances of many parts and sensors. Any one of these components or sensors that fall out of the tolerances will store a fault code in the computer. Whoever scans your car can look up the fault code to find the component or sensor that is out of tolerance. From there, you can choose to replace it yourself or get it replaced by a mechanic. Once the part is replaced, follow the procedure in the manual to reset the engine light.
I hope that helped.
Thanks mate, exactly the plan for tomorrow. While my father was a fitter and turner (and reconditioned engines for a living!) I don't have a mechanical bone in my body. Didn't take after him at all, and he took all that knowledge to the grave with him over a decade ago!
I know I'm lucky got the check engine light - without it, troubleshooting would be very, very time consuming.
I'll fill you in on what happens as it happens - I've got a very busy week, but lucky, I work from home, and the bus network near my house is pretty dang good. Its my first ever check engine light!