Ford Focus 2006 problem electrics.

[PJPom]

I have a very clean and low mileage Focus 2006 which has performed well over the last five years. Late last year a light appeared on the dash and the message engine system fault appeared on the readout, as it caused no problem and disappeared I thought I was lucky. One morning I jumped in and turned the key and nothing, the instrument panel was dead and no lights came on. Resorting to the time honoured method of fixing anything I hit the top of the dash, lights came on and it started.

This happened a few times over the next few weeks , sometimes it would start other times I would walk away and half an hour later it would start. After asking around for a good Auto Electrician I was directed to a man who was supposedly the best in town, BIG mistake, He ignored all the information regarding this problem which is known the world over and proceeded to pull wires everywhere and blame the problem on ECU, Throttle body , Battery , security system but never mentioning the instrument cluster solder failures which seems to be the one constant problem.

After a lot of stumbling about he got the car to start but it still has days when it is dead or driving along all lights come on , not very satisfactory.

This brings me to the reason I am here asking for help, Can anyone recommend a instrument testing company in Thailand who can check and repair an instrument panel circuit board, I can remove the panel easily and courier it anywhere.

Hope someone can help...thamks.

[KannikaP]

5 minutes ago, PJPom said:

have a very clean and low mileage Focus 2006 which has performed well over the last five years.

Who owned the car from 2006 to 2019, five years ago?

[transam]

This may sound a daft question, but do you leave the A/C on recirculating all/most the time..?  😋

[PJPom]

12 minutes ago, transam said:

This may sound a daft question, but do you leave the A/C on recirculating all/most the time..?  😋

Not often, I had a new evaporator fitted four years ago and have the most efficient a/c ever, good job as its a black car with a large windscreen

[PJPom]

19 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Who owned the car from 2006 to 2019, five years ago?

No real idea , it was a Thai company . When I bought it the condition of the car ,interior and mechanically tied in with the shown mileage , a good purchase at the time .

[transam]

1 minute ago, PJPom said:

Not often, I had a new evaporator fitted four years ago and have the most efficient a/c ever, good job as its a black car with a large windscreen

OK, it's just electrics/connections do not like the humidity a closed cab A/C system may collect...🤗

[stubuzz]

1 hour ago, PJPom said:

Resorting to the time honoured method of fixing anything I hit the top of the dash, lights came on and it started.

A common problem with the binnacle. Usually caused by a dry solder joint.

A used cluster will need to be coded to the car.

https://www.focusfanatics.com/threads/no-electrical-no-start.283842/

 

[stubuzz]

I know of many repair shops in the UK if you are willing to ship it.

 

https://www.fordinstrumentclusterrepair.co.uk/product-page/copy-of-ford-focus-instrument-cluster-speedometer-mk2-05-onwards-rebuild-service

 

This one is in Thailand.

https://www.ryutech.co.th/ecu-repair

 

Alternatively, you could take it to a TV repair shop and have them examine the board and re solder any dry joints.

[Foresttrump]

Stubuzz advice is good and may well be your problem.  The fuse box is another problematic area on the early Focus and often suffers from water ingress caused by air-con condensation.  This also brings on different accessories such as lights and wipers when driving, and is part of the immobilising system.  It's easy to inspect and can be found under the glove box on the passenger side.  If you're confident you can easily unplug the box and remove it to inspect the connections.  Use your phone to take pictures beforehand so you can remember where all the connections go.  Good luck.