engine cuts out while driving

[smbotans]

hi,

i have a ford fista 2006 and have 2 serious problems with it:

1. while driving at a constant speed (as opposed to accelerating or braking) the engine will cut out without any warning whatsoever and the only way to get it started it (apart from using the starter engine) is to turn the ignition key one step back and one step forward again ... this problem is totally irregular ... the car could be fine for a week and then it will do it ... it may do it once and that's it or it could do it 3 times in about 1mn as it did recently ... day or night makes no difference but it seems to happen more at night ... i have searched online for an answer and got all sorts of possibities from a faulty crankshaft sensor to weak electrics and using wd40 under the bonnet on anything electrical to a hole in a hose to needing to replace the fuel filter and so on ... the car has been properly and regularly serviced ... i really need to get to the bottom of this as, apart from being terribly annoying, it is a hazard on the road ... imagine the engine cutting out while overtaking another vehicle!

2. when driving (obviously), the speedo needle will drop to its zero position also without any warning and then magically will start working again ... given the intolerance of our police force that books up for being 3km/h over the speed limit, i need an answer there too ... very irregular too but more frequent than the problem above ... this problem is a daily one

if anyone can help, i would greatly appreciate it ... being a pensioner i dont want to go to an autoelectrician who will go through a process of elimination in the hope of finding the problem costing me thousands

thanks for your time

serge

[smbotans]

oh poo! no one can help ... dont know what to do now :-( can anyone perhaps recommend someone in geelong who would be able to have a look at my car and give an idea of what the problem is? cheers serge

[Pursya]

This sounds like my supercharged Eunos 800.
It was vacuum hoses. I would be driving along and suddenly no revs over 2.5rpm.
Solution was to turn ignition off then on again.
The mechanics replaced the hoses and it never did it again.

[smbotans]

Originally Posted by Pursya

This sounds like my supercharged Eunos 800.
It was vacuum hoses. I would be driving along and suddenly no revs over 2.5rpm.
Solution was to turn ignition off then on again.
The mechanics replaced the hoses and it never did it again.

thank you so much for your reply ... hoses was one of the things mentioned in my research ... did you have all your hoses replaced or specific ones?

[Pursya]

The Eunos 800m was a complicated beast.
The problem occurred after a new supercharger was put on. As far as I now it was not perished lines in my case, but lines not connected properly.
But the perishing of the lines was a common problem for those engines that achieved high mileage.
From what Mazda told me there were several dozen lines to track down. I don't think the Fiesta would be that complicated.
Not much help I'm afraid.

[smbotans]

Originally Posted by Pursya

The Eunos 800m was a complicated beast.
The problem occurred after a new supercharger was put on. As far as I now it was not perished lines in my case, but lines not connected properly.
But the perishing of the lines was a common problem for those engines that achieved high mileage.
From what Mazda told me there were several dozen lines to track down. I don't think the Fiesta would be that complicated.
Not much help I'm afraid.

thanks for taking the time to get back to me ... i will check the hoses to see if there is something obvious with any of them ... thanks again