Misdiagnosis Murder! Ford Ka Electrical Fault Finding

In part two of our Ford Ka ignition story, we prove just how easy it is mis-diagnose electrical faults, and how much time you can waste if you let common sense go out the window and rely too much on forum experts and Google...
On the plus side, we learn how to fit an ECU and associated immobiliser nonsense, how to swap the ignition barrel, the wrong and the right way to fit a crank position sensor, how to use an LED (substitute noid lamp) to check if the correct pulses are coming from the ECU and so much more we'd rather forget...
Do we fix it...? Watch the vid and find out...
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.

[@ayhanhalil9271]

This video is a god sent, I've not been on the road for a month now and I've had the exact same issue. So hopefully this'll be the answer to my solution!

[@hughferrier5837]

This must have been so frustrating but your a hero to chase it down. I have done similar things and thought it was only me that went off in the wrong direction and replaced unnecessary parts . The videos are very helpful in seeing how to access these areas on the Ka. I have an old Ka and love it. They are kind of like the old Minis, make you smile as you drive them. Thanks for the patience even to video and then edit. Really helpful.

[@SpannerAddicts]

Thanks for the kind comments. I wish I could leave well alone sometimes, but I can't help myself - I hate being beaten by this sort of problem! Sure it won't be the last...

[@mediocrefunkybeat]

Basic fault finding! Spark plugs, leads, coil pack, battery. Then ECU, crank sensor...! Great video. Really enjoyed that. It's a lesson to us all when something so simple can escape somebody with your experience. Would have totally flummoxed me.

[@toolsfortube]

I'm having the exact same problem with my fiesta 2002 plate (ECU fail code on the dash and the obd2 code about the ignition system), I've ordered a new battery because they are pretty cheap and a dime a dozen, thinking that it was a voltage issue, hopefully that will solve this problem as the right amount of voltage will get to the ECU! I'd just like to say as an amateur mechanic your follow along diagnosis process has been EXCEPTIONALLY helpful and really solidified my learning from this. I'll update this comment if this works or not!

[@robertgrimsted877]

Hi I got a ka has well it always starts on the button so many things could go wrong but I love it miss the older cars not so many things go wrong with them loved the vid glad you got it going

[@stormwarrior5241]

Very well filmed and highly informative, well done! It's so easy to be miss-led by your logical instinct's by deeply hidden hard to access electronic paths. I'm an electronics engineer (not auto elec) who owns one of these Ka's and I would rather fix any complex fault sitting at the bench rather than wreck my back twisting around trying to get to the components in modern(ish) cars. I have an intermittent charging fault at the moment, and after trying all the logical stuff I'm about to attack the loom tomorrow. It's such a shame that Ford never gave adequate rust proofing to these little cars as they are so much fun and practical to drive. By the way, are you Robert Plant's younger brother? !

[@bendy1808]

Great video guy definingly going to save vid in library

[@barrybrockbank7906]

Wow! Yours has been the best video by far that I've ever watched. I have the same problems as your KA. The car has been stood for months as it was left to me when a friend passed away. The battery was dead so the first thing I did was to fit a new battery and the car seamed to run ok. Fitted new wiper blades and it passed the MOT. We don't need a third car, and thought I may as well sell it. Then I encountered the same problems that you showed in video 1. It would tick over and run ok and only misfired on acceleration. I carried out oil and filter change plus a new set of plugs. plugged in my tester showed fault on plug 4 but after watching your part 2 perhaps it's the battery is a bit down. I'm going to charge it tomorrow and try driving again to see if I still get the misfire? I'll let you know.

[@sithembisoduze8728]

Have the same problem with my ford ka, the shifter wasn't working anymore so I replaced the slave and master cylinder. After the gearbox was put back the engine is not starting. The car is cranking and I checked the fuel supply on the injector rail its supplying fine. Checked the spark from the coil pack got nothing.

[@sithembisoduze8728]

Great videos

[@dublxxxx4407]

Well done

[@Chef1Mat]

excellent mate, i also have a shitty KA. drinking like an alcaholic, sparks plugs stiff, also in a funny position. will be changing the sparks and coil pack with mechanics help.

[@MrCATHALM3345]

Good video 👍

[@jeepman012]

Should have called the AA or RAC, those guy,s carry testing equipment plus they should have diagnose tool's and they have a lot of experience. .

[@SpannerAddicts]

I pity the poor AA guy who gets called out to one of our cars! But yes, seen them diagnose really tricky stuff in minutes at the side of the road.

[@noexpensespentstudios]

Don't you just love electrical problems? Sometimes, it feels like sparkies are not paid enough to deal with this nonsense.

[@SpannerAddicts]

Angyl Roper couldn't agree more. Chasing electrical (and increasingly electronic) faults drives me crazy, and a good auto electrician is worth their weight. I'm quietly pleased that I managed to nail this one though...

[@markleaning107]

Looks as tho it would have been cheaper to buy a space shuttle lol 😂

[@SpannerAddicts]

Yes. Less would have fallen off as well...

[@hullygully-3599]

Just for future use. Is it all running now on the replacement ECU , key and transponder set ??

[@SpannerAddicts]

It did - until the fuel pump packed up and we decided we'd had enough. We have unfinished business with the Ka, we love them - but it's going to be a different one...

[@marshmower]

Security is bad when you cant start your own vehicle. Transponders have improved slightly i think. Maybe.

[@Bombastic_Spastic]

what a killer! the first thing I do on electrical gremlins is check the battery voltage! That must hurt!

[@tonypowell250]

How do you check the battery voltage?

[@Wil-70-NL]

@@tonypowell250 with a voltmeter on the battery. At least 13,8V when the engine runs in idle mode. If you switch of the engine a full battery has to be at least 12,65V.

[@stevejelly3161]

Hi Spanner Addicts !!! ... I've got the same problem and can i give you my conclusions ??? ... ... Ford knew this all the while , they designed the fault in to prevent breakdowns on road !! ... They knew they had a problem (really) between the heater valve to the thermostat to include the head gasket !! ... The little black plastic box on top of the air filter is am air scoop but also a flame trap !! ... When you crank the engine it listens to how fast the engine is cranking !!! ... It listens to the health of 2 cylinders on cranking and reports back to the ECU !! ... I think it uses the Lambda sensor to hear those 2 healthy cylinders ?? ... If it's too slow it will "bomb you out" by keeping the timing retarded and the engine will die while just cranking it over like an idiot !!! ... Also when the engine is cranking the ignition timing is retarded and only allowed to fire on 2 cylinders ... If all is going well , the moment you release the key it initiates all 4 cylinders without you knowing !!! ... It also measures the coolant temp from a sensor that lives in the pipe just by the battery ... This stops you driving round and cooking the engine but is not infallible (its only what i've been told) ... If you try and start it with your foot to the floor it will "POP" back in the air filter and the little black box will absorb the flame !! (see?) ... If you pull the box off and add neat fuel into the air filter ( FIRE HAZARD -WILL CATCH FIRE) the engine will start on the vapours and will get "tricked" in thinking it's running and it will drive off perfectly !!! ... Stop the car after starting on "drugging" with neat fuel and "beep beep" off to go !! ... Nip in the shop, come back out ? Back in the same syndrome !!! ... It gives impression it's an immobilizer fault as if you crank for about 10 times it'll finally run !! ... It'll burn quality jump leads !!! ... On cranking the moment it knows the engine is turning well and the 2 cylinders are healthy it'll advance the ignition timing and start as normal !!! ... Even if it''s struggling , the moment 2 cyls fire the cranking will speed up !!! ... OBD2 won't really find it !!! ... Ford anticipated this in the design of the KA and ensured it broke down in a safe place for the AA man to arrive and pop a new battery on !!! ... ... HOPE THIS HELPS !!! .... WHEN RUNNING THEY DRIVE VERY WELL INDEED THOUGH SLIGHTLY THIRSTY !!! ....

[@beaverman1974]

So lesson here is check the battery first and save yourself a load of agro.

[@SpannerAddicts]

beaverman1974 Basically, yes. In our defence, the code reader showed no tacho pulse so the crank sensor was definitely dead, and the lack of a live to the coilpack did need to be rectified, but towards the end, we could have saved ourselves a lot of time and head scratching by just checking the battery... Thanks for watching

[@beaverman1974]

Spanner Addicts It was a good series. Looking forward to the next project! Do you ever do any MX5 related stuff at all? Maybe you could do a "sports car on a budget" type of thing... Edit: Duh, I just saw that you did the whole T piece replacement on a MK1. I watched that video loads of times to work out how to do it on mine! That was an awesome and really helpful video. Saved me a load of time and hassle on mine! Thank you!

[@SpannerAddicts]

beaverman1974 You're welcome, and I'm glad it was useful. There's actually still a load more to come on the MX5, but we've been a bit sidetracked this summer. We'll get around to it soon. Thanks for watching!

[@johanmeiring861]

Good morning, I have just change the temp sensor switch on the thermostat housing. Engine misfire and engine light on dash board stays on. Please pls. advice .

[@tonypowell250]

Re my 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? My battery was replaced last year so I'm guessing that should be ok? Any help greatly appreciated. Thank you

[@Wil-70-NL]

P0303; misfire cylinder 3. Check cable and distribution. Or one transistor in the Ecu has broken down.

[@bendy1808]

I WOULD CHANGE THE TEMPETURE SESOR IT TELLS ECU TO START CAR

[@sithembisoduze8728]

Anyone with Ford ka 2007 workshop manual, looking for wiring diagram

[@mclarenboss]

Why are you changing car identity

[@hwntwww]

How not to fault find