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Odd sound from engine at high speeds

I just drove home from a long trip this weekend. I noticed a "crackling" sound coming from the driver's side of the engine (compartment) over 65 mph. Is this normal in the 2000 Ford Focus SE. It's a stick shift incase that matters.

Oh yeah... and my engine light has come right after putting gas in my tank from a reputable gas station (Mobil). Of course this happened on the same long drive and freaked me out... at first. I've already driven the car around a couple times since getting home and have added more gas (from Chevron) and the engine light still won't go away. Any suggestions. And incase it matters I placed gas in my car at 4:45am, but after my car had been running for about 10 min.

Reply to
joes1girl
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Definitely not normal, I'd check underneath for a loose front air deflector or wheel well lining. Have you hit any animals recently?

These check engine lights are precautionary, and usually not as scary as you might think. It could be as simple as a loose gas cap. It might go away on its own, or you could have your car scanned for computer codes. Any dealer or good shop can do this.

Reply to
Dave Gower

No animals hit... but did have my instrument cluster replaced for an intermittant speedometer and odometer problem (which is still not fixed). Could the engine light be a reflection of that? It surely didn't go off before the cluster was replaced?

I did check the gas cap. I took it off and placed it back on (tightly) two times. Since the dealership has to still fix my speed/odo problem will have them check out the engine light for codes. Thanks!

Reply to
joes1girl

Yes, I understand that the speed/distance sensor can definitely cause problems that will make the warning light come on. Good luck.

Reply to
Dave Gower

Okay, to get rid of the CEL, disconnect the battery and leave it alone for

30 minutes. This will reset the computer. If it comes on again, you'll want to take it to autozone or advance auto parts or one of those places and let them read the code for you. I recommend asking these questions at
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in the forum or on
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Both are very reputable and have tons of info on them.

Blane

Reply to
slo

Okay, first of all, to get rid of the check engine light all you have to do is reset the battery. This means take the ground cable off of the battery, wait around 30 minutes then reconnect it. After that, if the CEL comes back on, you need to get a diagnostic check.

I recommend going to

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and/or
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if you have further problems with the check engine light (CEL).

As for the sounds.. have you actually checked your battery out to make sure it's still good? Sounds to me if it's coming from the driver's side it might be a problem with corrosion on the battery or a bad battery. Give it a shot and let us know.

Blane

Reply to
slo

I just had this happen to me. Check the heat shield that covers the exhust manifold. It looks like a warped pie tin behind the radiator. The bottom bolts may be broke allowing it to swing back and forth. See if that is loose.

Reply to
EOO

That would be more of a banging sound compared to crackling... I think of crackling as a fire.. Could be wrong though. Joes1girl, can you elaborate a bit?

Reply to
slo

Sounds like the sound made when eating rice crispies... you know... snap crackle pop! I know that sounds funny, but that's what it sounded like. I just got my car back from the shop this past satruday for other problems. I'll be driving the car to San Diego this next weekend (185 miles). If it is still having that problem I will have my boyfriend walk me through checking both the bolts and the battery (though I don't think it will be the batter. Just purchased the vehicle 1.5 mos ago and they did a multi point check and have continued to do so for evey service visit thus far. I'd hope that checking the life of the battery would be something to check.) Again thanks!

Beth

Reply to
joes1girl

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