Hi guys,im looking for a bit of free advice as i am hopless with cars and hopeyou can help.first the backgroundi bought a g reg escort poplar about 5 weeks ago from an 80 year oldnun who kept it in a garage and only used it to walk the dog (66k in18 years!)my style of driving isnt so conservative and my job requires 350+ milea week, stop start during the day and a flat out motorway run(although 60 is flat out for this car) morning and evening.i usually fill the tank to the brim monday and run it to empty byfriday morning, i promise not to do this in future.monday morning i needed a push start as the battery had run flatstanding over the weekend and this was the first sign of any trouble.the car ran fin until yesterday afternoon when in low gear and lowrevs it started to lose power in waves. It was almost as if theaccelerator was pushing back at my foot.yesterday afternoon on the start of the motorway run i dropped intosecond for a roundabout and the engine just died, no coughs orsplutters, it just lost all power and the oil and battery light cameon. this happend a couple of times until i hit the fast flowingtraffic where it was fine. at the next jam it was ok for 20mins or sobut then started cutting out again (i noticed that the headlightsslowly dimmed before the engine cut and ive been told that this may bea problem with the alternator) this carried on for the remain hour ofthe drive home and i had to stop the car on the hand brake to use myright foot to keep the revs up.i was advised that it may be a problem with the fuel filter/crap inthe tank and that i should fill it up, the car is now brim full butthis morning was much the same although a long fast run before hittinga jam didnt seem to help this time, so i think the problem is gettingworse.i depend on my car for work so i have ordered the haynes manual andwill be cleaning all the electrical conections over the weekend. Ihave also belatedly decided to do what my father always advised andlearn something about...

Test the alternator with a multimeter to see if it is charging- you should see 13v or more (up to about 14v typically) accross the battery terminals with the engine running.

alternator, battery or fuel filter?

Oct 31, 2008 25 Replies

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Mike P 17 years ago

IIRC it cost about £20 at the time to get sorted by a mechanic , bear in mind this would be 1998 though..

Mike P

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Clint Sharp 17 years ago

In message , dead kennedy writes

Don't crap in the tank. Don't trust 80 year old nuns.

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Clint Sharp 17 years ago

In message , Adrian writes

On a G-Plate escort? It'll be one of those lovely VV carbs. Might be better to see if the local motor factors has an old aftermarket Weber for it or asking at the local Ford dealers if they have one hanging around in the dusty corners of the spares warehouse.

Seconded on the fuel filter and the jubilee clips are a *very* good idea.

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SteveH 17 years ago

I'm assuming this is going to be a OHV lump? - 'cos I had a 1.6 CVH Escort on an F-plate that had a twin-choke Weber as standard.

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Duncan Wood 17 years ago

Depends which model you bought.

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SteveH 17 years ago

1.6 GL 'Plus' (Pretty much Ghia spec, but without the stick-on plastiwood)

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