Buying A Ford Ka (And Dealing With ECU Failure...)

We bought a Ford Ka (because we like them...), and before we got a chance to enjoy it, we suffered coil pack failure. Sorting it out looked like a simple job, until we discovered that a knock on effect of failing coil packs can be a trashed ECU. Oh dear, sad times...
We found our own special way of removing the ECU without removing the dash, so that's a bonus. But we need your help on the next step - can we just fit a secondhand ECU, or are we going to have to employ the services of an ECU specialist, or even worse, a main dealer...?
If you've enjoyed the video, please don't forget to like, comment, share and subscribe. If there's any jobs you'd like to see us tackle (even if it's just to see us fail...), please let us know in the comments below.

[@loveitorscrapit6673]

Great little car everyone I know hasn’t had any problems. Thumbs up.

[@speakfreeley4473]

I too remember them when they were first launched. Who'd have thought back then that Mk1s would have been produced for 12 years with no more than very slight alterations.

[@AllOutFPSGlitchesandTutorials]

The Ford Ka is a great a little car if you ignore the stereotypes, mines still rust free after religious rust proofing underneath. Hope you get yours going mate

[@SpannerAddicts]

All Out FPS - Glitches and Tutorials thanks. So do we - I think we're almost there with it and when we crack the problem, we'll post another video. The reason we bought this one was the condition of the body - it does need a little tidying but nothing in comparison to some of the Kas we viewed. If we can get it running again, we'll get the touching in and rustproofing done!

[@unregistredhypercam]

I had the ecu pin corrosion issue. Two pins had got it, one for the fuel injection relay and another for the alternator, so the car ran the injectors at 100% constantly, and the battery light came on. Mine had every pattern fault these cars get. In the space of a year it snapped two coil springs at speed nearly killing me, the thermostat housing warped, the heater valve broke, it rusted out needing welding, the sump began to leak oil, the exhaust needed replacing, the coil pack and leads went, a wheel bearing, and a door handle snapped and then that ecu corrosion happened. Ugh. I wouldn't touch one again. The Fiesta from the same period is so much better. I'd hapilly pay twice as much for one.

[@marshmower]

Capacitors and possibly some semiconductors might have faded. Or a bad connection. All baseless speculation though. Great content here, btw.👍 Oh could be a crank position sensor.

[@demonhighwayman9403]

As someone who just bought a street ka and am waiting for it to return from getting repaired, I'd suggest a citroen ax diesel for a cheap runaround, I had one about five years ago just to get to work and I could get around 62mpg from it. I even slid it off the road backwards one winter down a slope into a tree and fixed it with just a new tailgate for a hundred quid.

[@martinpetersen6266]

My ka is from 98. having problems with the ABS light. can't get my OBDII to figure what wheel sensors are bad. so was watching on stuff for ECU-ABS connection in order to see if there is a way to simply test the wiring manually with a mag-amp meter. you know instead of taking all the wheels of and go through all the speed sensors manually one by one.. can't beat laziness.. through it sometimes sparks ingenuity. watched a few vids on ECU component build up.. and you might be able to fix it.. specially if you are into electronics and/or computers. also a multimeter is your best friend, OBDII scanner your second best.

[@noexpensespentstudios]

Bangernomics is knowing when to stop, for definite, but sometimes you also need to decide on what to start with. Always a tricky balance to find and ECUs are often too expensive to fix even on higher value cars. BUT, if you like it and it does what you want, it's usually worth spending the money in a case of "better the devil you know", especially if you're able to DIY. Good luck with this one anyway, the KA is a great little hatchback and very much the spiritual successor to the old Fiestas in a way the new Fiestas just weren't.

[@SpannerAddicts]

Yes, agree completely on all counts. The 'devil you know' argument is a good case for sticking with a car, but this one does seem to be picking its moments, and the worry is that as soon as you fix one thing, the next in line fails... We're still pondering the options. And yes, I've always though the Ka was great. Had only experienced them with the Endura-E engine before this one, and found them a lot of fun to drive. The extra BHP from the Duratec makes them even better. It's going to be tough if we have to cut our losses and run.

[@noexpensespentstudios]

Oh no, you've become attached. Oh no.

[@gordonminchin6299]

I had a 99 1.3 fiesta that did the same thing took me 6 weeks to find a ecu

[@Woodyherby]

Great video, I brought my first Ford KA a month ago, going well so far, few noises.. have you experienced any noises going over speed bumps? Scraping noise from back left of the car?

[@itswais77]

Broken spring or shock...

[@tonypowell250]

I have a Ford KA Luxury 2007 - unfortunately things seem to have gone from bad to worse :-( I had error code P0304 showing but since Green Flag have replaced all four spark plugs I'm now getting P0303. They have tested all the electrics and confirmed they are fine. Therefore he suspects the issue is fuel related and suspects blockage in the petrol filter? He recommended I put some Redex in the fuel tank. To be honest the engine now seems to be misfiring worse than ever. He was there for ages testing the HT leads and the coil pack. The only other option he could offer was to tow me to the nearest garage. Do you know why the error code would change after replacing the spark plugs? Any help greatly appreciated. Thank you

[@hwntwww]

battery disconnect?

[@Stry-Glitch]

It's an old vids but... how did it ended ? :D

[@enockgamha6840]

Can someone pliz help me. I drive a ford KA 1999 model. I lost the keys with chip. Is it possible to hot wire ford KA to start

[@bradturner6992]

what sorts of issues do the newer KA models have? you said at the start the have serious corrosion issues, and someone i work with had a lot of issues with that, im looking at a ford ka 2013 model with only 30k on the close, and the price is £2800, really not sure if thats a great buy as ive heard various positive and negative things about the car, it'd be my first car buy.

[@SpannerAddicts]

Hello Brad, the 2013 Ka is a completely different kettle of fish to our old banger. Not sure they suffer the same level of corrosion issues that the original Fiesta-based Ka was (and continues to be) blighted with. And they're a much younger car, so should still be in much better shape, even if the anti-corrosion coatings aren't quite what they could be. If it's your first car, get someone who knows what they're looking at to go over it with you. And if it's sound, try not to get sucked into too much internet hearsay. If you like it, buy it and enjoy it. Thanks for watching and good luck!

[@simonreeves2017]

Brad Turner - 2013 KA is a completely new design from the ground up. Much more rust resistant than the Mk1. A good option as a first car. Check the service history, change the engine oil at lease once a year. Type 'MoT history' into Google to find the DVLA web site, this will show you any issues the car has had at test time in the past- very useful when buying any used car.

[@barrybrockbank7906]

Shame it all went pear shaped. I bought a OB2 reader for our 1.3 Duratec 2004 KA and that tells me it's a misfire on number four cylinder. I've fitted new spark plugs but still the same! Trying a new set of spark plug leads next. Following the work that you did I thought the next step would be the coil pack?

[@barrybrockbank7906]

On the good news front, the interior is like new and underneath it's rot free! If I decide to not carry on tracing the fault, I will scrap it The alloys are good as are most items and I will fit the seats from the KA into my Morris Minor Traveller!

[@pawelm4061]

pls mind that some chineese obd2 readers may interrupt engine operation, including misfire-type errors!

[@itswais77]

Bad choice with the KA... most of them will just rot til it's irrepairable in a space of a month, you'll be lucky to find one that doesn't rot at all. I got one at work thats been left standing but it hasnt rusted since 2 years after its last MOT plus no rust around the fuel cap and an S (98') plate.

[@SpannerAddicts]

Nice one. Finding one that wasn't terminally rusty was tricky. Having such an early as yours rust free must be incredibly rare now

[@itswais77]

@@SpannerAddicts also i got endura e engine in it and its mine now so 😅 Also the duratec engine is so overrated cause of them terrible misfires

[@simonreeves2017]

You've been very unlucky there. The KA is a very good car, the KA, Fiesta mk4 and Puma all share the same platform - and the same problem: RUST. Great shame, because all three were great motors, dynamic, frugal, cutting edge styling. If only Ford had dipped the body shells during production. I run an X Reg Puma as a road legal track car - great fun, and has been reliable (touch wood), my main task has been fighting against the rust, but I've not faced the reliability problems you have with your KA.

[@SpannerAddicts]

Yes, I'd agree. I'm a big fan of Fords of this period and ran both a Mondeo and a MkI Focus up to huge mileages with very few problems - tyres and front brakes were about it. I think we will sort the Ka and it will be fine - when it's running, it's great fun to drive so we want more of it! It is a shame about the rust. But for future classic owners, it will make the survivors all the more unusual and desirable. Thanks for watching and good luck with the Puma!

[@simonreeves2017]

Spanner Addicts - Ref the dead ignition, I'm assuming you eliminated the basics of fuse and relay? Inject the box sections with waxoyl, or Coma Wax Seal and keep on top of stone chips on sills, and stone chips in general. With the shell not dipped, any unprepared breach in the paintwork will quickly rust and spread. A rust converter and touching in with a dab of clearcoat is better than nothing at all. I find Meguiars Ultimate Quick Wax very quick and easy to use as a general paint protector apply two to three times a year to clean bodywork - will take about 10mins on a KA

[@itswais77]

I got a way to stop rust, regular washes 👍🏾 even put the jetwash underneath

[@Palma123-6000]

How much horsepower does this KA have????-51, 67, 93 or 116?- how much horsepower????????

[@SpannerAddicts]

It's the later Duratec engine, so I guess it would have been rated at 70 bhp when new. How much of that is left in there now is anyone's guess...

[@hwntwww]

This chanel is about not doing anything to cars- all talk no spannering

[@dee106ful]

Get a junkyard ecu

[@SpannerAddicts]

Hello. We did try this, but the one we got from the breakers (complete with keys and ignition transponder) wasn't exactly right for the car and kept throwing up fault codes for things like the air con - which our car didn't have. If you go down that route, you have to make sure that it's not only the correct model year, but also for the same spec and there are a surprising number of variations. Thanks for commenting.

[@sylhetlondon803]

Stick to Japanese I have a Corolla with 356000 mileage

[@Harry-sp5zb]

why do people call it the ford car lol its KA

[@pauldavison7105]

Because that's how you say it