Ford Fiesta MK6 (2003) Sometimes Loses Power

Brian2011

Hello,

I have a Ford Fiesta 1.25 LX MK6 (2003) that sometimes when driving it loses power and won't accelerate for a brief few seconds before working fine again.

About 6 months ago, I was driving and the car lost power for a few seconds and the engine management light (EML) came on and stayed on, so I took it to a mechanic the next day and he ran it through the diagnostic scanner and said it was an oxygen or lambda sensor that caused the EML to come on, so he just deleted or cleared the error code to turn the EML off, and told me if he comes back on that a new lambda sensor would probably need to be installed. He also changed the spark plugs which he said were not great.

So I was driving along a few days ago only at about 20mph and the car lost power again and I had to stop and the EML came on, So I just turned off the ignition and when I turned it back on, the EML was not on and the car drove away fine again. I took it to another mechanic the following day and explained to him the problem and asked him to put it through the diagnostic machine again, but there were no error codes as the EML was not illuminated, so could not diagnose problem.

This is an intermittent problem for me where the car momentarily loses power for a few seconds and it only happens like maybe once or twice a week although it does seem to be happening a bit more in the last few days.

So Can anybody suggest what might be causing this problem, as I would like to get it sorted, as I might sell the car in a few months and can't sell it if it is doing this. I mean can a bad lambda sensor actually be the cause of the car losing power momentarily?

Also sometimes the speedometer needle can bounce around a little, but this happens only sometimes, so can someone suggest what may be causing this aswell?

Thanks

corktina

i'm no expert but the coil pack is often a suspect on Zetec engined car (well duratec in your case but it's the same thing)

jimmyw

Without the EML on its hard to say what the issue is.

Did the mechanic change the HT leads too?.The father has a 1.4 2003 one of these cars and a while ago the car was buck leaping and missing all over the place, the EML was on and the plugs and leads were changed and that fixed the problem.

The light was on again there recently and the code was coming up what you got OP, i.e Lambda (oxygen) sensor heater fault.The car still drove no problem at all, except the light was on.I changed it, cleared the light with my own basic FCR and bingo, light is staying off.

The biggest pain in the butt was trying to remove the blasted heat shield on the exhaust manifold.In the end, I ended up bending it back to gain access:rolleyes:.By the way, the dealer wanted 200 quid for just the sensor, I was able to get it in the UK delivered for 64 quid.......Rip off Ireland:(

shanec1928

ever get a solution op? same thing happens to mine bar the engine management light.

Waterson

I would suggest asking your mechanic for a diagnostic scan, a print out of any freeze frame data and then post it up here. We will be able to assist you from there. The EML can illuminate for countless reasons.