Diesel 03 Mondeo - Flashing Glowplug Light

[dreaddan]

I was under the impression that the mk3s all had cam chains not belts.

You may want to find a decent diesel specalest as they will be cheaper than ford direct. Some things they wont be able to do with the ECU but are alot better.

 

Dan

[MilkTrayMan]

Hi dreaddan,

 

Am not sure re: Belt Vs Chain?

 

Although cost is always a factor, it's the convenience that I've plumped for mainly.

I need my car to get to work and I can't afford to have it off the road, even for a day cos I work long unsociable shifts when there is no alternative public transport.

 

My main point was that FORD seem to be creating a captive market for their Dealers by perhaps designing into their product an over-zealous component that they surely know has caused lots of their customers heart/wallet ache.

 

If the component IS faulty or liable to failure surely they are party to knowingly selling defective goods?

 

If they become aware "after" selling of their products (...which they would be by studying Service Reports from their Dealers), then why don't they design the problem away and in the meantime provide free rectification?!

[syrill-sneer]

"The mechanic there told me that the car's ECU was programmed to "remind" the car owner to have it looked over by a Main Dealer at certain intervals???..."

 

I'm a senior technician at a Ford main dealer and can confirm this is NOT true. Who ever said this lying! The common problem where a simple ECU recalibration can cure the fault is the ECU 'losing' the injector values, and this is a genuine fault, which has since been cured.

There are many other faults which can bring on the glow plug light and in your case it may be a worn out/damaged injector which, after being reprogrammed may have extended its life for a short time, the same as tapping a blown light bulb and it works for a short period afterwards, but eventually blows again. Another common fault which can cause the symtons you describe is a failed EGR valve, but only retrieving the fault codes retrieved will tell the exact cause.

The only thing Ford use to remind owners that their cars need looking over are the service schdules. To think a mechanic actually thinks that the ECU would cause the engine to misfire, create excesive smoke, have poor starting etc. makes me wonder whether this guy actually knows anything about modern vehicles.

[24476247]

My 02 Mondeo TDCI Zetec brokdown last week in Northern France when on the A28 doing about 80MPH the glow plug waring lamp started to flash and the engine compleatly cut out?

I was towed to a local garage and the french mechanics told the AA that I need new injectors and pump without loking at the car, As this was to take them more than two weeks to lift the bonnet the AA arranged for the car to be returned to the UK. Once in the UK my local Garage pluged in their dionostics and found that the Crankshalft position sensor was faulty.

replaced sensor (£12.65) and all is well again!

[Bear77]

I also have the same problem of flashing glow plug light - first appeared in Feb 05 only 4 months after I bought the car! Then again in April 05. Cured it initially by having one of the injectors reprogrammed at a cost of £70. Now it's returned again - 1 week ago.

 

This time Ford want to replace the injector - a whopping £400 including fitting for just one injector.

 

If this cures it for good I'd be happy - but I'm not sure I want to take the chance that the other 3 injectors will follow suit!!!

[amd550]

Hi Wonder if anyone can help

Got a 53 zetec s 130 tdci. only got the car 7 months ago. since i got it i don't think it ran right. Me mam how drives it on some ocations told me the she was at a junction tryed to pull out and the car just din't want to got. Me dad who also drives it was sitting still putting his belt on when it just cut out he started it back up and away it went.

The is no faul showing but some day the car can run fine and other day it can run bad where it just doens't want to pull away.

I was drining it myself about a week back got to a junction to pull out. I did everything as i normaly do but tried to pull away and it died the reves went for 1700 to stalling.

My fuel consumption is also bad it onlt gets 40 MPG.

am i missing something or does it not sound right.

The car only has 40000 miles on it and i do a oil and filter change a 6000 as what the book says.

can someone help because its starting to happen more and more.

Ow another thing when the sengine is cold there is a loud ticking noise coming from the engine.

when you listen to it, is coming from the injectors.

If someone can help it would be great thanx

[chiefengineer]

Hi Wonder if anyone can help

Got a 53 zetec s 130 tdci. only got the car 7 months ago. since i got it i don't think it ran right. Me mam how drives it on some ocations told me the she was at a junction tryed to pull out and the car just din't want to got. Me dad who also drives it was sitting still putting his belt on when it just cut out he started it back up and away it went.

The is no faul showing but some day the car can run fine and other day it can run bad where it just doens't want to pull away.

I was drining it myself about a week back got to a junction to pull out. I did everything as i normaly do but tried to pull away and it died the reves went for 1700 to stalling.

My fuel consumption is also bad it onlt gets 40 MPG.

am i missing something or does it not sound right.

The car only has 40000 miles on it and i do a oil and filter change a 6000 as what the book says.

can someone help because its starting to happen more and more.

Ow another thing when the sengine is cold there is a loud ticking noise coming from the engine.

when you listen to it, is coming from the injectors.

If someone can help it would be great thanx

 

I'd give Ford a call. I think there is a customer assistance number in the handbook. I found them very helpful. Also, check when the car was registered - it may still be under warranty. If so, take it to a Ford Dealer and get them to run diagnostics on it.

 

Jeremy

[Sparkie1723]

Just a quickie on this site I've been an auto spark for over 45 years ( I.m 70 now well nearly I'm 69 really)

I can safely say that the symtom of the glow plug light glowing can be caused by a 100 different causes that is why when some say this cured the fault on mine and some say that this cured it on mine the main problem with todays electrics and electronics, ther are so many electronic components monitoring what each other is doing, in some cases one component can be a little "iffy" another tells "itself" that its the one to blame, you replace that and it doesnt cure it the the other one still throws up the fault. .....In other words dont become a spark or you'll end up a "nutter" like me, thats what auto elec faults do to you

 

 

 

Saprkie1723

[Nitronick]

Not saying this is the cause of all flashing glow plug lights lack of power blah blah blah BUT

 

Remove the battery and battery tray.

 

You will then find 2 earth leads held in place by 10mm bolts ( if memory serves me well). Remove them and clean them.

 

Trust me its worth a try

[jackthom]

"The mechanic there told me that the car's ECU was programmed to "remind" the car owner to have it looked over by a Main Dealer at certain intervals???..."

 

I'm a senior technician at a Ford main dealer and can confirm this is NOT true. Who ever said this lying! The common problem where a simple ECU recalibration can cure the fault is the ECU 'losing' the injector values, and this is a genuine fault, which has since been cured.

 

That's very interesting, I've been trying for some time to find out why injectors require re-calibrating with the original data. If this had been required due to wear and tear you would expect different calibration values to be required.

Can you be more specific about what sort of fault has caused the ecu to 'forget' these values and can I do anything with my '52 reg TDCI to avoid any more memory lapses? :-?

[Chunwai]

Hi all I have been following your post with interest due to a simaler problem I am having, I have an 03 TDCI and every couple of days I get the flashing glow plug light then loss of power till the engine cuts out. Once the car as stoped I can restart fine and the car drive fine for another couple of days. I have also notice my fuel comp has dropped on the same journy from 50mpg to 47.7 mpg, I have had a friend of mine run dianostics which came back with 2 faults the break light switch which was a perm fault and I had this replaced and a fuel pump fault which I'm having to save up for. Hopefully replacing the fuel pump will resolve this problem I'll also ask for the fuel system to be flushed out just in case after reading some of the probs above. Ill post back and let you know how I get on.

[jackthom]

.......... I have had a friend of mine run dianostics which came back with 2 faults the break light switch which was a perm fault and I had this replaced and a fuel pump fault which I'm having to save up for. Hopefully replacing the fuel pump will resolve this problem I'll also ask for the fuel system to be flushed out just in case after reading some of the probs above. Ill post back and let you know how I get on.

 

If the fuel system is showing low pressure it's possible that only the pressure sensor on the fuel pump needs replacing. Much cheaper than a new pump.

[christdci]

Hello all

 

I HAVE A MONDEO TDCI 03 43000 MILES AND HAVE HAD SAME PROBS AS DECRIBED IE CAM SENSOR WITCH I HAD DONE APPROX 4 MONTHS AGO.

IT HAS NOW DEVELOPED THE SAME FAULT AGAIN.

WITH FAULT CODES PO251 AND P1211 FORD HAVE DONE SOME BASIC TESTS AND FOUND THAT THE INJECTORS ARE LEAKING OFF TO MUCH FUEL,THEY SAID IT MAY BE FUEL CONTAMINATION I MUST HAVE PUT PETROL IN IT , WITCH IS ANOYHER COMMON TREND WITH THESE FAULTS.

I HAVE DONE SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND A FORD BULLITIN THAT SAYS THAT THEY HAVE HAD MANUFACTURING FAULTS WITH THE FUEL PUMPS AND THAT SOME OF THE HARDENED METAL CAN CONTAMINATE THE SYSTEM AND DAMAGE THE INJECTORS AND PUMP COSTING AROUND £2000 TO PUT RIGHT. (BULLITIN NUMBER 63/2002)

WITH HIS IN MIND DOES THIS COME UNDER THE SALE OF GOODS ACT ?

I HAVE ALSO FOUND OUT THAT FORD HAVE ONLY RECENTLY RELEASED THE INSTRUCTIONS TO REPAIR THE INJECTORS, BUT NO ONE HAS THESE AND SO THEY WILL ONLY SELL YOU NEW ONES .

THE MORE I SEARCH THE NET THE MORE PEOPLE I FIND WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. SO TO RECAP

I BOUGHT THIS CAR 3 1/2 YEARS AGO FOR £11.500 IT HAS LOST £6000 IN VALUE AND I MAY HAVE TO SPEND £2000 ON IT TO DRIVE IT WITH OUT CUTTING OUT THANK YOU FORD.

[christdci]

Hello again

 

I now have the ford bulletin for the glow plug fault codes

on the fuel system, I can email them to anyone whos interested (7 pages)gives full explanation

[Planemad]

Hello all

 

I have a 52 plate diesel mondeo tdci (130) estate. Last november I had the dreaded flashing glow plug light, lack of power. The engine ran but very sluggish. Was informed by the dealer that an injector needed replacing £250 plus fitting plus vat. And guess what happened today, same problem.

 

Car booked in for next Tuesday, but I am surprised at the amount of people recording this problem on the web, there is a massive thread on honestjohn.co.uk.

[Chunwai]

Bit the bullet and decided to get a secound opinuion on Saturday from a FORD dealer. £88 for a diag said it would take all day - didn't only took a few hours - only fault they found was the ECU need upgrading, I was told this would cause this type of problem and I should have a fully working car. Monday morning going to work whilst over taking same problem came back, just glad ther was a layby on the right hand side of the road , phoned ford who have said they will need to run a FULL diag and a 10 point check this time and it would take ALL day. (so I'm going to ask what did I paid for on Saturday thought that was for a full diag.)

[mondybob]

Here another one for you, same situation, Mondeo 130TDCI 51 plate, just had new plugs due to one misfiring, but have always had a stutter around 2000rpm, and today the magic light came on, turned it off 30 secs later it started back up and ran.

 

Unfortunatly its not runnign like a 130 as i got taken by my mates 105bhp 2.0di Rover. Ford quoted me £85.20 for the diagnostics but I am abit worried that it wont show anything and its £85.20.

 

Ive looked online at diagnostic cables and software and they start at around £60 does anyone have any experience with any of these kits??

[Chunwai]

2nd diag pointer to fual filter the filter was a therd party one that was fitted by a local garage, I was told that it contained a lot of water they tested my fual and it was slightly contaminated but not enough to sugest that the pump had gone yet... if this does not fix it next step is to replace the fual pump at £800 fitted not cheap. might just trade the thing in. Need to test on a long run.

[fluffycloud]

I had the same fault on a brand new VW Golf TDi a few years ago, my auto electrician hubby took it straight back to where it was bought insisting they fix it (he would have but as it was 2 weeks old decided they might as well do it for all the money the car cost us.. it was a principal thing) anyway... it was a brake light switch that had malfunctioned causing the glow plug light to flash as and when it felt like it! We didnt keep the car long I must admit! Then the petrol guage and dash stopped working !

[Chunwai]

After fuel filter was changed the car ran great for one day till I had the flashing Glowpug light again this time the course was the break light switch. Been fine for the past 2 weeks a friend of mine had a simler problem but he also had starting problems he took it to a Diesal specalist cost of £41 pounds for a full diag and fix - one of his injectors bolts were loose they tightened it up he say it's running excelent now

[chris2211]

Hi, this is my first post on this site, I have a 03 plate Mondeo tdci 115 auto estate, it has 90,000 miles on it with full ford service history, im the second owner, the first being a leasing company so no expense was spared. It started cutting out about 3 weeks ago, luckily I was on quiet streets in Blackpool when it happened, but low and behold flashing glowpug light came on today, looked in the manual but nothing was in it about the problem. just entered it into google and i was amazed how wide spread the problem is!!! It mainly seems to be 03 plate mondeos tdci, I read some of the other threads and I was very concerned that other peoples cars were cutting out at high speed on motorways, I travel a lot around the North West and up to now (touch wood) I have had no trouble with it cutting out at high speed, does anybody know if it gets worse from slow speeds to faster speeds over time before cutting out?? Think I will visit ford garage tomorrow to see what they have to say about it. Has any one ever got a decent discout by printing out all these threads and showing them to ford garages and/or Ford customer service?? they must know that there is a serious problem with these engines!!

[pistolpars]

Hello all this is my first post i drive a 2003 mondeo tdci 115 ps with 104,000 on the clock and a full service history.I had a problem with the glow plug flashing and loss of power.I switched off the engine and restarted and it ran smoothly.The problem has returned it is so bad it does it nearly all the time ie start off with good power get to betwwen 2000 and 3000 rpm and then the glow plug light comes on and loss of power:mad: but keeps going although not at full power.On several occasions the power has dropped and the engine has died all together.I turn it off and on again then drive for another mile:-x then its gone again.It was suggested i change the cam position sensor which i did at a cost of £14:) this hasnt seemed to cure it.Any suggestions before i book it in to my main dealer for a pricey diagnosis.Thanks in advance "pistol"

[Chunwai]

Since Dixon ford ran a diag and changed my fuel filter and my break light switch problem the car has been OK started blowing a bit of black smoke but as not cut out on me since Cost me just under a ton. A friend of mine who's problem were similer but with starting problem's took his to a Deisal specalist Cost him £41 diag and fix of one injector which had a lose nut on it.

[Knight-rider]

Hi, I am a new member and this is my first post.

 

I have the same problem. About a month ago, the glow plug light started flashing and running rough. Got to where I was going and then on way home, car started fine and no more flashing light.

 

Couple of weeks ago, the car took 3 attempts before it started, however once it did there was no flashing light, and car ran well.

 

Today however driving into work I noticed the light started to flash again, and run a little reluctantly and the engine sounded noisier especially from low revs to about 3000 revs. Lunchtime went out in it and again it started fine but light still flashing and running not as normal with smae npise levels as this morning.

 

Having read this thread, It seems there are number of faults it could be (Cam sensor, crank sensor, EGR(?) valve, brake light (not sure if previous posts have meant a broken bulb or a problem with teh brake light circuit??) - and so its best to get the fault properly diagnosed.

 

My question is whether this can only be done by FORD, or wether someone like Nationwide Autocentres (owned/run by the AA) can also do it?

 

Also is a cam sensor only available from a Ford dealer (assuming I have a go at just replacing this to begin with - if so does anyone have a link to where I can get a visual as to how to do it)?

 

Many Thanks for any assistance you are able to offer.

[pistolpars]

Hi just an update on my cars problem.I changed the cam position sensor and also the crank position sensor and BINGO she is flying again and it cost £14 for the cam sensor and £24 for the crank sensor took about 30 mins to fit both of them where as ford want over £200 to do the job. i am well :) thought i was gonna be in for a whopping big bill gotta be worth a shot.I also replaced the glow plugs £11 each and starting is a breeze now i love my mondeo again HOOOOOOORAY.....