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Posted: 16 June 2012 5:16 PM Subject: power loss Autosleeper Transit
New User
Posts: 6
For the past several years we have been the owners of an Auto sleeper motor home on a Ford Transit chassis,
The problem I have experienced, when I let the van coast to traffic lights, Mini Island, or behind a slow moving vehicle, (in gear no revs), I get a drop in power, the engine management system light comes on and stays on. If I can switch the ignition off and back on again whilst coasting it seem as though the engine resets and get full power. Also if I stop the vehicle switch the ignition off and after a while back on again then I get full power.
If I change down the gears or keep the engine revving a little whilst coasting I don’t get a problem.
When this first started I was told I had filled up with some dirty fuel. Cleaner fluid was put in a nearly empty tank and a few miles later I refilled the tank. This seemed to solve the problem. A couple of months ago I did a trip of over 100 miles and didn’t get any loss of power until I was within half a mile of home when I coasted to an island. But it happened again during May twice, this Holiday weekend I have done a round trip of 150 miles, with no problem. Any ideas what’s going on here.
Bill
Posted: 16 June 2012 5:43 PM Subject: RE: power loss Autosleeper Transit
If it has a diagnostic socket have you had the faults read, although it might well not show anything for an intermittent fault. It might be a sensor or an electronic engine control glitch??
Posted: 19 June 2012 1:52 PM Subject: RE: power loss Autosleeper Transit
Stalwart
Posts: 846 Location: Leicester
Hello Bill,
There were some pretty serious problems with Transit Turbo vehicles back in the day and these were centred on the throttle control valve. It sound like yours is sticking when it changes from 'on power' to 'idle' position. If I were you I would take the vehicle to your nearest Bosch Diesel centre who will either have a fix for it or deliver some costly news. These engines were shunned by fleets because of the throttle body problems, because at the time the problem always resulted in a new throttle body which was something like £1300! I have no doubt that there are less costly remedies now, but the Bosch centres are the place to start, and if they say it needs a throttle body and the cost is still prohibitive you could try the likes of Euro Car Parts or Andrew Page who may have a supply of cheaper items by now.
Posted: 24 June 2012 9:36 AM Subject: RE: power loss Autosleeper Transit
Location: Herefordshire - Motorhome = 2005 Hobby T-600 FC
My 1996-built Herald Templar motorhome's Transit 2.5 litre 100PS turbo-diesel motor very occasionally did something similar.
I'd be driving along at a steady speed when there'd be a sort of mild 'thump' and the vehicle would hesitate as if the brakes had been applied momentarily and immediately released. The engine-management warning light would flash (but not stay on) and the motor's power output would now be way down. Stopping the vehicle, switching the ignition off and then restarting the motor restored full power. It only happened a couple of times - once in the UK just after the vehicle had been serviced and (several thousand miles later) once in France.
As I couldn't provoke the fault, it happened so infrequently and I knew how to 'fix' it, I never attempted to identify the cause. I don't think Transit Mk 5s have much diagnostic 'memory', so (unless you can get the vehicle to a specialist when it's in its 'power loss' state) the fault may not show up on a diagnostic tester. It's possible that a Ford dealership will be aware of this unwelcome characteristic if it was common to the Transit Mk 5 breed and you might try asking about it on the Ford Transit forum.
Posted: 24 June 2012 11:53 AM Subject: RE: power loss Autosleeper Transit
New User
Posts: 10
I had a similer problem on my 54 Transit last year. Two garages I visited could not identify the problem.
I took it to my local Ford dealer and they diagnosed a faulty solenoid which they replaced. solved the problem but cost £555 !
A word of advice: for the most constructive help always quote full vehicle details in you first post. Many of the folk on this Forum are real experts who service Transits for a living and can be a little 'abrupt' at times, so be warned.
Posted: 25 June 2012 9:53 PM Subject: RE: power loss Autosleeper Transit
Stalwart
Posts: 1450 Location: Stockport Autosleeper Duetto on a MK7 Transit
euroserv - 2012-06-19 1:52 PM
Hello Bill,
There were some pretty serious problems with Transit Turbo vehicles back in the day and these were centred on the throttle control valve. It sound like yours is sticking when it changes from 'on power' to 'idle' position. If I were you I would take the vehicle to your nearest Bosch Diesel centre who will either have a fix for it or deliver some costly news. These engines were shunned by fleets because of the throttle body problems, because at the time the problem always resulted in a new throttle body which was something like £1300! I have no doubt that there are less costly remedies now, but the Bosch centres are the place to start, and if they say it needs a throttle body and the cost is still prohibitive you could try the likes of Euro Car Parts or Andrew Page who may have a supply of cheaper items by now.
Best of luck and let us know how you get on.
Nick
Did not the MK5 Tansit use the Lucas Epic (not Bosch) system?
Posted: 26 June 2012 9:30 AM Subject: RE: power loss Autosleeper Transit
Location: Herefordshire - Motorhome = 2005 Hobby T-600 FC
spospe - 2012-06-25 9:53 PM
Did not the MK5 Tansit use the Lucas Epic (not Bosch) system?
Yes, but there's still a sporting chance that a Bosch specialist might be able to identify Bill's motorhome's fault.
I did search through the Mk 5 part of the Ford Transit forum myself, but it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are plenty of examples where a vehicle has suffered power loss, but they all appear to have other symptoms (like heavy smoking from the exhaust) that point to, say, an EGR-valve fault. I could not find anything resembling Bill's (or my Herald's) problem.
Posted: 26 June 2012 6:00 PM Subject: RE: power loss Autosleeper Transit
Stalwart
Posts: 846 Location: Leicester
spospe - 2012-06-25 9:53 PM
euroserv - 2012-06-19 1:52 PM
Hello Bill,
There were some pretty serious problems with Transit Turbo vehicles back in the day and these were centred on the throttle control valve. It sound like yours is sticking when it changes from 'on power' to 'idle' position. If I were you I would take the vehicle to your nearest Bosch Diesel centre who will either have a fix for it or deliver some costly news. These engines were shunned by fleets because of the throttle body problems, because at the time the problem always resulted in a new throttle body which was something like £1300! I have no doubt that there are less costly remedies now, but the Bosch centres are the place to start, and if they say it needs a throttle body and the cost is still prohibitive you could try the likes of Euro Car Parts or Andrew Page who may have a supply of cheaper items by now.
Best of luck and let us know how you get on.
Nick
Did not the MK5 Tansit use the Lucas Epic (not Bosch) system?
I don't actually know, and have thankfully never had to find out! What I do know is that when I was first looking to buy van in 1997 I went to auction sites to buy low mileage ex-demo vehicles. I noticed that Fiat vans that had a £1000 to 1200 premium for a turbo engine from new, were commanding a similar premium used. Transits with Turbo's however not only did not attract the premium prices, but in fact struggled to get any bids at all. I asked the traders, then dealer people that I knew along with some fleet managers and al said the same thing. "Would not touch 'em with a bargepole" was the typical response.
I am told that these engines were Ford's first foray into 'drive by wire' for the accelerator and it did not work properly. When the receiver module failed; it was part of the throttle body and the whole thing had to be replaced.
I guess it is catastrophic failures like this that drives the engineers to acheive reliability in the long run, so it is to be expected. It is also probably why Ford were the last manufacturer to go Common Rail in vans. They let people like Mercedes make all the mistakes first!
Whether it is a Bosch device or not; their centres are among the most experienced repairers in the land and I am sure that they will have seen the problem before and will know what to do about it. Not all are equal though; I can recommend TT Automotive at Loughborough, but there is another specialist nearer to Leicester that does not know it's exhaust port from it's arm hinge, so hold on to your money until all options are considered.
Posted: 27 June 2012 8:02 AM Subject: RE: power loss Autosleeper Transit
Location: Herefordshire - Motorhome = 2005 Hobby T-600 FC
As has already been said, the Transit Mk 5 used a Lucas Epic engine-management system (versions of whiich were employed by other manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz and LDV). A manual for the system can be found here
If there was a major "throttle control valve" problem with Transit Mk 5s, then I'm not aware of it, nor does GOOGLE identify references to it. It may well be that there were faults with Mk 5s that put off fleet managers, but a lot of Mk 5s were sold in the UK and many are still functioning. Just like the Fiat X250 'judder' caused widespread concern among motorcaravanners, it may be that hearsay comments caused similar concern about the Transit Mk 5 in the LCV trade market.
Posted: 30 June 2012 10:12 AM Subject: RE: power loss Autosleeper Transit
New User
Posts: 6
Hi Derek, Many thanks to you and all the other persons who have contributed to the Forum regarding the Ford Transit problem, If and when I find out what the problem is I will let you know.
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