Ford Fiesta 2004 1.4l start issue
Asked by HelloHowdyPop Dec 17, 2015 at 06:39 AM about the 2004 Ford Fiesta
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
Hello
Having an issue with my 04 fiesta 1.4l
Tried to start for work one morning and car will not idle, car will start and
engine will run only if I hold down the accelerator, as soon as I release car
stalls. If engine is revved enough to warm car will run 100% fine, but once
cooled down same issue returns.
No fault codes showing. Instrument cluster has been checked, fuel pump
and sensor checked, spark plugs and ignition leads replaced, had a split in
the crankcase breathing tube which has been replaced.
All signs pointed to throttle body, was cleaned out and still did not work,
then was temporarily replaced with working throttle body from identical car
which still did not sort the problem.
When the engine starts cold the throttle moves to the closed position so I
am coming to the conclusion this could be a throttle sensor issue unless
anyone can suggest anything?
Spoke to ford, they can look Monday but want £94 an hour just to look at it
before any work is done but want to exhaust all options first
11 Answers
firebird338 answered 8 years ago
Try cleaning or replacing the ( IAC ) idle air control valve or Mass Air Flow sensor depending on which one your vehicle has.
Firebird is correct that the maf can cause low idle/dies if its dirty and giving a bad enough reading without being out of "specs". Another thing to look at is if the temp sending unit is biased high or low when cold. It can also cause the engine to not want to go through the warm up cycle correctly.
Definitely check the IAC and associated wireharness.
A while has passed since this post however the same problem on mine was caused by the PMU learning the wrong cold idle values. Upgrading the PMU software fixed this straight away, "starting problems" is a patch on the software upgrade.
Nitin_sam1 answered 6 years ago
I'm also facing the same problem in mornings car is getting on and immediatly it's gets off if I don't accelerate.. please give me some solution for this....
HelloHowdyPop answered 6 years ago
Hello Been a while, I took the car to Ford in the end, they plugged it into their computer and reset something and it worked, didnt even need any work doing. They said it took them about 5 minutes, still charged me £70 though
Sounds like HelloHowdyPop prob had the same fix as mine- upgrading the PMU software. It cost me £100. Or may just reset the keep alive. It clearly is a bug in the original software, in other spheres, you don't have to pay for a bug fix.... I was told you may be able to temporarily fix it by pulling out the PMU fuse and waiting for the keep alive memory to die out, you can then put the car through 20m cold idling to re-learn and retain the correct cold idle speeds. But it may go off again. So I upgraded. The cold idle has been fine ever since.
if the throttle body position sensor goes bad do you just replace the throttle body or the wiring for it
I'm having a similar problem with a 2013 ford figo only it doesn't idle hot or cold. Dies immediately if you leave the accelerator.
my 2004 ford fiesta 1.6 has just got a new alternator, new battery and new plugs. It just wont start. the engine lights do come one when I turn the key but the engine wont start. I brought in a mechanic who told that the valves are bent. I seriously need advice guys. I spent a lot on this car already
Ford Fiesta zetec 2007 , my dashboard lit up but when I fired up and released my hold on the key engine died , got a diagnostic done and mechanic cleaned the throttle it was dirty and was not opening fully , he wiped it all out inside and viola it now works , worth a try ?
