Ford Ka starts but then dies

My wife's work transport is a 1998 Ford Ka 2. which has only 30,000 on the clock and has until today been exceeedingly reliable despite being used only for short journeys. This evening my wife left work, the car started normally and ran perfectly fine to a supermarket .(about 3 miles). It started and ran again perfectly normally for the journey from the supermarket to home (about 2 miles) but then stalled whilst she was in the process of reversing into ourdrive, Since then it will start and run momentarily but has no power and quickly dies whether it is left to idle or the accelerator is pressed. The fuel gauge shows over a quarter of a tank and it is a dry pleasant early May evening here in the suburbs of Norwich.

The battery was healthy until our repeated attempts to start the car.

What should I check please?

Peter

Reply to
Peter Balcombe
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My first bet would be a gummed up idle control valve; a more typical mileage for them to start getting sticky is around 60,000 but if it's only been used on short runs, it may have happened. Whatever you do, be very careful with the figure-of-eight seal that's in the ICV; that's vital. Ford only sell new units all in one, but quite often cleaning with petrol or similar will restore it (but probably for fewer miles or time).

It may also be the throttle position sensor.

Reply to
DervMan

if it will keep running if the key is kept in the start position then it would point to the fuel pump only running when trying to start (pump relay perhaps). the next thing that came to mind is a broken up cat, but you would usually hear that before it got that bad, or maybe a broken up back box, you could drop the exhaust and see if it goes then. The run for a moment thing is just what that Golf was doing to me, it turned out to be the internal filter in the fuel pump, I don't know if the KA is similar. She didn't put diesel in at the supermarket?

Mt bet would be a fuel pressure fault (lack of)

Reply to
Mrcheerful

Update - having just returned from a meeting I tried again to start the car which by now is entirely cool. Battery turns engine easily but engine fails to start at all now.Grrrh!!

Peter

Reply to
Peter Balcombe

then go to normal fault finding, check for a spark, if there is a spark then check for fuel, if you have both then it gets much more involved.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

I know this probably isn't the source of the problem, but check you have a silver calcium battery. Not having one in a ford with smart charge system can cause all sorts of issues. My sisters car ran like a dog. We realised the battery was wrong and swapped it for a silver calcuim and it's run a treat since.

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Reply to
Davey

My wife's focus behaved like this a couple of years ago.

Turned out to be the ignition coil ( replaced under warranty ).

So as has been said already: check for sparks, check for fuel.

Reply to
Ron Lowe

I had this on a Moggy once. Turned out to be a blocked air filter.

Reply to
Jeff

Mini used to do that when the exhaust was blowing, same effect as full choke and got rapidly worse till it stopped. My neighbour had the run for a few seconds fault after he parked in a pub car park, he had backed into an earth bank that had blocked the exhaust.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

Reply to
Peter Balcombe

Dear All,

Problem solved - the fuel pump fuse had blown - missed first time rouind because I did not realise there was a separate one for the pump not covered by the two engine management ones. Slightlt concerned why a fuse should suddenly blow after so many years though.

Peter

Reply to
Peter Balcombe

Cross your fingers and carry a spare fuse

Reply to
Mrcheerful

I'd be more concerned if it didn't

Reply to
Jeff

In message , Mrcheerful writes

Spot on diagnosis it would seem.

Have you ever considered doing this sort of thing for a living?

;-)

Reply to
Paul Giverin

it has crossed my mind once or twice

Reply to
Mrcheerful

No, don't do it.

It wouldn't leave you enough time for Usenet!

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

I believe Mr Cheerful is somewhere on the M25 ? I have sometimes wish I lived closer, as there isn't such willing expertise locally. :-(

As an aside, my intermittently starting Rover 25 wasn't the fuel pump relay, but my impatience in not letting things 'fire up' for long enough. I never noticed this with my 200, but since giving it a few seconds for things to settle down, it's never failed to start. Presumably, the starter current was effectively killing the pump.

Andy C

Reply to
Andy Cap

Stretch my old ring out.

I Am Kirk Johnson. "Anal Stretching, Wrenching & Expanding Specialist"

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Reply to
Kirk Johnson

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