Strange Problem with MB TDCi Titanium Hatch

[Batman105E]

Hello,

As stated in a previous thread we have had our Mondeo since October, have been very happy with it, my missus uses the car to travel to work in Shepparton once a week a 600k round trip.

This morning she calls me and says that she stopped for a break and the car went "haywire". After she hit the power button to switch it off the car then wouldn't lock, wouldn't detect the key, wouldn't start and all the time the car was clicking, buzzing and making whirring noises with the HMI showing all signs that the engine was still running or at least that the car was on!

She called RACV and while waiting, she called our dealer and spoke to the foreman who asked her to get the RA serviceman to check the earth strap behind the kickpanel on the passenger side. When the servicemen arrived he was reticent to pull anything apart to check so instead disconnected the battery, this seemed to reset everything and fortunately the missus was able to finally get to work at Shep nearly an hour and a half late.

We have had intermittent issues with the radio and bluetooth phone connectivity but had put this down to the phone, but maybe the two are related somhow and there is a little electrical gremlin?

Has anyone had similar issues?

My wife is now convinced we have a Friday build car...

We have now had the following things - there was no compliance sticker (instead two tyre placards), the washer bottle filler neck was not fitted to the car from the factory, fuel spill issues on fill up that is not yet resolved, radio/bluetooth and now this computer/brainfart.

Car is booked in tomorrow and I will report back any findings.

Steve.

[apstar]

Yep exactly what my MA did when it had a faulty cell in the battery every relay in the car was clicking,lights flashing, dash lit up like christmas, yes it cost us 3 hrs in time waiting for the NRMA to replace battery seems this may have been happing to MB models before if he said to check a particular connection !! good luck

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[Dusty1]

Replace the battery. You're probably on the factory one still, and putting in a new one is a good way eliminate to see what happens, or get it tested by someone. Do a search on 'flat battery' to see another thread on this issue.

There's also a thought that parking outside shops with those electronic security things at the front doors can play up with the remote keys. Don't know if there's any truth to it.

No compliance plate is an issue, I would have thought. I don't know why a dealer would sell a car without a compliance plate.

I only get diesel leakage, when I put in too much.

I wouldn't worry about the Friday build thing with these, the factory in Belgium runs 24/7 and most of the Mondeo's that come to Australia are built on a Friday. If it was an issue, there would be a lot more people posting on here. Consider how many cars have been sold and how many regularly post on here.

I had issues with my Nokia and the bluetooth, was a drama to fix, but do a google search on '<phone brand> de-branding'. My voicemail cuts out on my iPhone 4, but does everything else I need it to do.

[Batman105E]

Originally Posted by Dusty1

Replace the battery. You're probably on the factory one still, and putting in a new one is a good way eliminate to see what happens, or get it tested by someone. Do a search on 'flat battery' to see another thread on this issue.

Car was manufactured in July and delivered in October - battery shouldn't be an issue but will get it checked tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Dusty1

There's also a thought that parking outside shops with those electronic security things at the front doors can play up with the remote keys. Don't know if there's any truth to it.

Was parked in Heathcote nowhere near shops so should not be the problem.

Originally Posted by Dusty1

No compliance plate is an issue, I would have thought. I don't know why a dealer would sell a car without a compliance plate.

Car was delivered to Aus with no compliance, had to wait an extra day for the sticker to come up from Melbourne to be fitted to the car.

Originally Posted by Dusty1

I only get diesel leakage, when I put in too much.

Stupid freakin capless fuel system, a useless concept that has so far only caused issue. Waste of time and space that system!

Originally Posted by Dusty1

I wouldn't worry about the Friday build thing with these, the factory in Belgium runs 24/7 and most of the Mondeo's that come to Australia are built on a Friday. If it was an issue, there would be a lot more people posting on here. Consider how many cars have been sold and how many regularly post on here.

It is an ongoing joke we have with the dealer, given the issue with compliance and the washer filler neck not being fitted.

Originally Posted by Dusty1

I had issues with my Nokia and the bluetooth, was a drama to fix, but do a google search on '<phone brand> de-branding'. My voicemail cuts out on my iPhone 4, but does everything else I need it to do.

Will look at de-branding but I don't reckon the missus will be keen on mucking with her work phone.

Will report back tomorrow after the dealer checks it over.

Steve.

[apstar]

Just as a slide line the NRMA serviceman told me European cars had more issues with batteries than those say from Australian models.

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[Batman105E]

Quick update - the techs at the local dealer spent 5 hours checking over the car and found nothing. They tightened all electrical earths and checked the battery (it was ok) then attempted to get the fault to re-appear without success.

Now we have to wait and see if the problem re-surfaces.

Meantime I will give the missus a quicke lesson on disconnecting the battery in case it happens to her in the middle of nowhere.

[apstar]

Originally Posted by Batman105E

Quick update - the techs at the local dealer spent 5 hours checking over the car and found nothing. They tightened all electrical earths and checked the battery (it was ok) then attempted to get the fault to re-appear without success.

Now we have to wait and see if the problem re-surfaces.

Meantime I will give the missus a quicke lesson on disconnecting the battery in case it happens to her in the middle of nowhere.

Show her also how to re-enter the radio code but when I had my battery replaced it seemed to remembered for quite a while must have a capacitor that holds power for the code

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[Batman105E]

Ahh Ok this is becoming a bad joke now...

The Titanium has "global open" and "global close" that opens and closes all windows and sunroof with the remote control, very handy on hot days to quickly cool the car.

Well the car had been sitting in the sun all day, we went out for dinner, used the remote to open all windows and sunroof. Got to the restaurant and used the remote to close all windows and sunroof.

Came out after dinner and the two driver side windows are wide open.

Did the global open again then tried to close them all again with the remote and this time it left the two drivers side windows and the front passenger window down as well.

Got home and repeated the same thing again two or three times and then closed all windows using the window controls on the drivers door. Did the global open and close again and this time both front windows stayed down. Repeated this half a dozen times and also disconnected the battery three times in between. No change.

Mucked about a bit more with the battery and then 20 minutes later hey freakin presto its working properly.

Getting very tired of this, very tired indeed.

[Dusty1]

Maybe you need to re-set the windows up by (I think) holding them button up until it clicks.

Personally, if I do a global close, I always check to make sure the windows are up, as they can be a bit tricky. Having said that, I don't use it all the time (it's garaged most of the time), and when I do it works as it should.

[Martyvan]

did they end up replacing the battery??? did they even try that as a possible solution to the problem????

[Dusty1]

Originally Posted by Martyvan

did they end up replacing the battery??? did they even try that as a possible solution to the problem????

He said they checked it. If it's not covered by warranty he'll have to pay for a new one.
The battery is the first thing I would have had looked at. I know that when my new car gets here that the battery would have bee sitting for at least three months.

[MOND30]

Re: the global open/close, I believe there is a 'memory' of what position the window is in, and this is 'forgotten' when the battery is disconnected.

You do need to somehow reset the memory as Dusty said above, something with the window switches, a quick Google should show you.

Cheers.

[apstar]

When I had my battery replaced lost all up/down window functions as in global then 3 weeks later it all came back on its own

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[Batman105E]

Had another chat with the foreman at the local dealership (he is a terrific bloke who bends over backwards to make sure you are happy with the service the workshop provides) and we are starting to think there is a problem with the BCM (body control module). It seems a car in the NT had an issue with the car not starting and not recognising the key and it was caused by a faulty BCM.

Ford Au/NZ have a workshop foreman forum that the guys use to seek answers and solutions to unusual issues that afflict cars, he is going to seek some answers on this forum.

We will wait and see, but it seems like it is most likely the BCM.

The battery was tested and found to be fine.

Steve.

[Batman105E]

Just got a call from the workshop foreman and he confirmed the need to reset the global open/close of windows when the battery is disconnected. Will have to do it tomorrow when the missus gets home.

[Batman105E]

A quick update...

We have had some strange issues all along with the radio in the car.

The service department checked out the problem when it was playing up and there were a series of error codes related to the audio control module, the body control module, the instrument cluster control module and the heater/climate control module!

After discussion between Ford and the workshop foreman it was determined that the audio control module was faulty and probably was causing all the electrical issues that have been experienced with the vehicle.

The ACM was replaced yesterday, we will now wait and see if any strange problems resurface.

Steve.

[fordmondeoman]

hope u have better luck now with the car batman105e if it comes back from what you have described that is happing and it is hard when u cant see the car and check faults but to me i sounds like there is a can-bus issue either a modual pulling the bus down or a wiring issue with the can line, hope for your sake the ACM fixes it.

[Batman105E]

Originally Posted by fordmondeoman

hope u have better luck now with the car batman105e if it comes back from what you have described that is happing and it is hard when u cant see the car and check faults but to me i sounds like there is a can-bus issue either a modual pulling the bus down or a wiring issue with the can line, hope for your sake the ACM fixes it.

Yes that is exactly what the service department think - that is the ACM was causing the issue and because they are on a can-bus line then it can cause other issues with other components.

So far more than 1000k with the new ACM and no issues yet! Connectivity with phones is better??? and all seems well - touch wood!

[Batman105E]

Sorry to bring up such an old thread but a few things have developed lately and have seen all the problems either resolved or a fix has been found.

After the ACM was replaced we had a few months of trouble free motoring, then we had flat battery issues, but each time we tested the battery it was fine even though the car was thinking the battery was flat. Finally got the battery replaced under warranty and all electrical gremlins that were experienced (car not starting, not recognising key fob, flat battery detection and so on) have now gone.

We have however still been having the odd problem with the radio, in that it would not work or function at all, but just show the time. Other times it would show everything working but no sound and no ability to operate via any of the controls. These things never appeared when we went to the dealer to get it looked at. The radio would sometimes reset when re starting the car other times would not right itself all day.

Last night it happened again, the radio wouldn't work or be controlled, while the misses was coming back from the airport. I did some internet searching and found a UK Mondeo forum, where it stated to press and hold the radio on/off button for 30 - 40 seconds to reset the radio. I phoned her and told her to try this and it immediately resolved the problem. According to the website the bluetooth freezes up the radio and when reset it works fine (kind of like rebooting a pc when it crashes).

So if anyone experiences any of the problems I listed above just try out some of the fixes. We have now done over 65,000 km and the car is going great.

[mighty-mon]

Thanks for that update and info on the radio reboot proceedure. I was not aware of that. Also, you may need the firmware update that Ford uk have that fixes a few of the bluetooth bugs.

Here is the link

http://www.ford-mobile-connectivity.com/

[Dusty1]

When mine went nuts changing the battery was e best option for me.

The Euro forum is great and provided me with a lot of info, Talkford.com thank you!

[scribbly]

Just had the battery go flat in the wife's MA. Not even RACV could work it out.
Of course I wasn't anywhere nearby because it isn't my car anymore.
After a $75 tow to a repair shop and 90 minutes of troubleshooting the mechanic eventually figured it out. Even the booster battery wouldn't start it. It was only when the booster had been left attached for a couple of hours that enough charge trickled in to allow a small kick in the starter.
A $190 new battery and we're all ready to go.
All I have to figure out now is how to get the 6 CD's out of the radio (stuck in there for last 6 months).