Tons of car issues - The Ford Focus Forum

**dremel** · 10-25-2009, 04:26 PM

Hey Guys, hopefully you can help me out.

My car has been sitting idle for over a year. I left for college, and I let my sister drive my car. I dont know what she did, but the car magically stopped working and she just left it in my parents driveway.

When I got back into town, first thing I did was look at the car. The first thing I noticed was that there was oil all over the engine. After doing clean up I notice the oil was coming from the valve cover. So my first assumption was that the car lost compression do to a faulty v.c. gasket so I replaced that.

I tried to start the car, but the battery was dead, so I replaced the battery. When I unlocked the car, the alarm went off. My sister lost the clicker, so I couldnt turn it off. So I pulled out the fuses connected to the alarm and tried to start the car.

When I tried to start the car, I just heard clicking. So my next assumption was that I got a bad starter. I replaced that. The clicking noise went away, and everything was turning, but the car still wasn't starting.

I wasnt sure if the spark plugs are firing, so I replaced those, but when i did that I noticed the distributor was broken off the mount. It looked like some one was pulling really hard and it finally snapped. I think when my sister took it into the shop they broke it to try and charge her more. But anyways, I replaced that as well.

I also went ahead and changed the oil, and added gas to the car. There is full power to the car, pretty much replaced everything I could. And the car still isnt starting. I read the "car wont start?" sticky. And I think I can answer yes to all the questions.

How can I check if there is valve train damage?

Could unplugging the fuses to the alarm system make my car not start?

Is there ANYTHING else I can try to get my car started?

Im not at all a mechanic, so please, any suggestions would be great! Thanks guys.

**SilverZXIII** · 10-25-2009, 05:24 PM

The alarm or passive anti-theft system might have something to do with it.

**dremel** · 10-25-2009, 05:50 PM

See I wasnt sure if the alarm was the issue because the ignition would turn over. Im going to call Ford tomorrow to see if I could pick up a blank remote. Is there anyway I can turn the alarm off with my key?

**GapBoyPCS** · 10-25-2009, 06:11 PM

Hold on a sec.

Is your car alarm a Ford one or is it an aftermarket?

**dremel** · 10-25-2009, 06:15 PM

Its a ford accessories add on alarm system I believe. I dont have power locks, but my old remote had the ford logo on it.

**Focus126** · 10-25-2009, 06:25 PM

is that little red led light above hazard switch flasing or goes off, if it's flashing then it's PATS related

**locdowg7** · 10-25-2009, 07:01 PM

First off your valve cover gasket dosent hold compression. Most likely your massive oil loss is not coming from the valve cover. If you have had a major loss of oil I would suspect a seazed engine put a breaker bar with the right size socket on the crank pully and try to turn it clockwise if it dosent turn sorry dude you need to be looking into a new motor. If it was your passive anti-theft system your starter wouldnt even be clicking.

Secondly What motor do you have because none of the focus models have a distributor.

Third never let your sis drive your car again.

**dremel** · 10-25-2009, 07:06 PM

ok. When I replaced the battery that light was blinking. Everytime I opened the door the alarm would go off and I would unplug the battery to turn off the alarm. While the battery was unplug I would disconnect the fuses to the alarm. When I would plug back in the battery, the light would be off, the car would turn over, but not start.

Whats PATS? and What can I do about it, if that is the problem?

**dremel** · 10-25-2009, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by locdowg7

First off your valve cover gasket dosent hold compression. Most likely your massive oil loss is not coming from the valve cover. If you have had a major loss of oil I would suspect a seazed engine put a breaker bar with the right size socket on the crank pully and try to turn it clockwise if it dosent turn sorry dude you need to be looking into a new motor. If it was your passive anti-theft system your starter wouldnt even be clicking.

Secondly What motor do you have because none of the focus models have a distributor.

Third never let your sis drive your car again.

My friend came over who is familiar with cars came over and helped me check if the engine was seazed; and thankfull it wasnt.

this is the piece that was broken off. the guy at at auto parts store called it a distributor.

**locdowg7** · 10-25-2009, 11:35 PM

Thats good is not seazed thats your coil pack and even if it was bad your motor will still turn. Get yourself a test light and test for power on the large wire going to the starter and the small wire when your turning the key to the crank position. If they light for both times then its your starter. If it dosent light up on the small wire (signal wire) then it could be a Pats PCM connection or fuse problem.

**dremel** · 10-26-2009, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by locdowg7

Thats good is not seazed thats your coil pack and even if it was bad your motor will still turn. Get yourself a test light and test for power on the large wire going to the starter and the small wire when your turning the key to the crank position. If they light for both times then its your starter. If it dosent light up on the small wire (signal wire) then it could be a Pats PCM connection or fuse problem.

Thanks locdowg, ill try that tomorrow.

whats Pats PCM?

**locdowg7** · 10-26-2009, 12:57 AM

No sorry PATS, PCM. PATS is passive anti-theft system if your vehicles key is wrong or if theres a problem with the sensor then the vehicle wont start. PCM is the Powertrain Control Module controls the engine also has the PATS system integral to it. PCMs not working then neather will PATS.

**locdowg7** · 10-26-2009, 12:59 AM

Oh and I would also fix that coil theres a guy selling a Screaming Deamon coil pack in the for sale section.

**locdowg7** · 10-28-2009, 08:48 AM

Any update?

**dremel** · 11-01-2009, 01:47 PM

I just replaced the starter. I am assuming it has something to do with the PCM or PATS.

**locdowg7** · 11-01-2009, 05:40 PM

No your starter is just that the starter. Did you run those tests I told ya about? Did the starter fix the problem?

**Zoomer69** · 11-01-2009, 07:54 PM

The wires going into the plug for the coil pack may have broken off, if the motor indeed turns over but doesn't fire.

If the motor doesn't turn over, the coil pack has nothing to do with it. You'll want to fix this anyway - $20 at the local junkyard should get you a serviceable replacement. Make sure to take the plug from the wiring harness and several inches of wire - it's really easy for the wires to pull out of that plug because there's little slack, and this will let you fix that permanently.

If the starter motor was tested and works, and you can turn the motor over by hand, you have a problem with not getting power to the starter.

10-25-2009, 04:26 PM	#1 (permalink)
dremel Rookie Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 13	Tons of car issues Hey Guys, hopefully you can help me out. My car has been sitting idle for over a year. I left for college, and I let my sister drive my car. I dont know what she did, but the car magically stopped working and she just left it in my parents driveway. When I got back into town, first thing I did was look at the car. The first thing I noticed was that there was oil all over the engine. After doing clean up I notice the oil was coming from the valve cover. So my first assumption was that the car lost compression do to a faulty v.c. gasket so I replaced that. I tried to start the car, but the battery was dead, so I replaced the battery. When I unlocked the car, the alarm went off. My sister lost the clicker, so I couldnt turn it off. So I pulled out the fuses connected to the alarm and tried to start the car. When I tried to start the car, I just heard clicking. So my next assumption was that I got a bad starter. I replaced that. The clicking noise went away, and everything was turning, but the car still wasn't starting. I wasnt sure if the spark plugs are firing, so I replaced those, but when i did that I noticed the distributor was broken off the mount. It looked like some one was pulling really hard and it finally snapped. I think when my sister took it into the shop they broke it to try and charge her more. But anyways, I replaced that as well. I also went ahead and changed the oil, and added gas to the car. There is full power to the car, pretty much replaced everything I could. And the car still isnt starting. I read the "car wont start?" sticky. And I think I can answer yes to all the questions. How can I check if there is valve train damage? Could unplugging the fuses to the alarm system make my car not start? Is there ANYTHING else I can try to get my car started? Im not at all a mechanic, so please, any suggestions would be great! Thanks guys.

10-25-2009, 05:24 PM	#2 (permalink)
SilverZXIII Senior TEAM Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Orlando, Florida Posts: 2,839	Re: Tons of car issues The alarm or passive anti-theft system might have something to do with it. __________________ Originally Posted by MEXTEP SO, what were you guys doing last night?. you never answered. Originally Posted by spinwax I was banging my parts guy's fatass.

10-25-2009, 05:50 PM	#3 (permalink)
dremel Rookie Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 13	Re: Tons of car issues See I wasnt sure if the alarm was the issue because the ignition would turn over. Im going to call Ford tomorrow to see if I could pick up a blank remote. Is there anyway I can turn the alarm off with my key?

10-25-2009, 06:11 PM	#4 (permalink)
GapBoyPCS Moderator Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Waterloo/Toronto/GTA, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,227	Re: Tons of car issues Hold on a sec. Is your car alarm a Ford one or is it an aftermarket? __________________ Richard - 2002 ZTS \| Sangria Red \| 434,000+ km...Be Bold, Stay Focused 24-7 Redline Rendezvous \| OFOC - Ontario Focus Owners Club \| SVTOA-Toronto [FJ] focaljet - Forum Guidelines - Welcome to the Jet - Team Canada - FJ Store - Sponsors - SEARCH

10-25-2009, 06:15 PM	#5 (permalink)
dremel Rookie Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 13	Re: Tons of car issues Its a ford accessories add on alarm system I believe. I dont have power locks, but my old remote had the ford logo on it.

10-25-2009, 06:25 PM	#6 (permalink)
Focus126 TEAM Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: New England Posts: 383	Re: Tons of car issues is that little red led light above hazard switch flasing or goes off, if it's flashing then it's PATS related

10-25-2009, 07:01 PM	#7 (permalink)
locdowg7 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 84	Re: Tons of car issues First off your valve cover gasket dosent hold compression. Most likely your massive oil loss is not coming from the valve cover. If you have had a major loss of oil I would suspect a seazed engine put a breaker bar with the right size socket on the crank pully and try to turn it clockwise if it dosent turn sorry dude you need to be looking into a new motor. If it was your passive anti-theft system your starter wouldnt even be clicking. Secondly What motor do you have because none of the focus models have a distributor. Third never let your sis drive your car again.

10-25-2009, 07:06 PM	#8 (permalink)
dremel Rookie Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 13	Re: Tons of car issues ok. When I replaced the battery that light was blinking. Everytime I opened the door the alarm would go off and I would unplug the battery to turn off the alarm. While the battery was unplug I would disconnect the fuses to the alarm. When I would plug back in the battery, the light would be off, the car would turn over, but not start. Whats PATS? and What can I do about it, if that is the problem?

10-25-2009, 11:35 PM	#10 (permalink)
locdowg7 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 84	Re: Tons of car issues Thats good is not seazed thats your coil pack and even if it was bad your motor will still turn. Get yourself a test light and test for power on the large wire going to the starter and the small wire when your turning the key to the crank position. If they light for both times then its your starter. If it dosent light up on the small wire (signal wire) then it could be a Pats PCM connection or fuse problem.

10-26-2009, 12:57 AM	#12 (permalink)
locdowg7 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 84	Re: Tons of car issues No sorry PATS, PCM. PATS is passive anti-theft system if your vehicles key is wrong or if theres a problem with the sensor then the vehicle wont start. PCM is the Powertrain Control Module controls the engine also has the PATS system integral to it. PCMs not working then neather will PATS.

10-26-2009, 12:59 AM	#13 (permalink)
locdowg7 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 84	Re: Tons of car issues Oh and I would also fix that coil theres a guy selling a Screaming Deamon coil pack in the for sale section.

10-28-2009, 08:48 AM	#14 (permalink)
locdowg7 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 84	Re: Tons of car issues Any update?

11-01-2009, 01:47 PM	#15 (permalink)
dremel Rookie Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 13	Re: Tons of car issues I just replaced the starter. I am assuming it has something to do with the PCM or PATS.

11-01-2009, 05:40 PM	#16 (permalink)
locdowg7 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 84	Re: Tons of car issues No your starter is just that the starter. Did you run those tests I told ya about? Did the starter fix the problem?

11-01-2009, 07:54 PM	#17 (permalink)
Zoomer69 Senior TEAM Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 1,725	Re: Tons of car issues The wires going into the plug for the coil pack may have broken off, if the motor indeed turns over but doesn't fire. If the motor doesn't turn over, the coil pack has nothing to do with it. You'll want to fix this anyway - $20 at the local junkyard should get you a serviceable replacement. Make sure to take the plug from the wiring harness and several inches of wire - it's really easy for the wires to pull out of that plug because there's little slack, and this will let you fix that permanently. If the starter motor was tested and works, and you can turn the motor over by hand, you have a problem with not getting power to the starter. __________________ Flashing lights in your rearview mirror getting you down?? Stop being cop-bait! 8)

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