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Coolant problem / power loss / limp mode

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Coolant problem / power loss / limp mode

Postby Amlocks » Tue Mar 05, 2019 10:45 pm

New in January Transit Custom L1H1 170PS 340

Now done only 3300 miles and developed a problem.
Suffered power loss on motorway yesterday, slowed down and struggled with hills. No warning lights or messages.
Feels like it's in limp mode won't rev above 3K or similar to engine being choked by egr open or turbo fault or intake blocked.
Question 1 can it go into limp mode without flashing a message?

After about a mile it went back to normal performance. But the fault kept reappearing on and off. Temperature seemed to fluctuate. Fan stayed on after I locked van, which it never has before.

Today it got even worse, more miles with fault than without. Also got to 120° on temp dial so I pulled over. The top hose from radiator was stone cold and air behind fan cold. However the hose to expansion tank was very hot. Coolant level normal and never any sign of leak. Undid cap a little and steam hissed out.

Ford cannot look at it for over a week and I am worried about driving it now. Got long runs booked in Thursday Friday.

More info.
First occurrence was after 30 minutes run. Had half tank of diesel left from full.
Temp gauge has always been steady around 90° but today all over the place.
On run home tonight I put heater on full blast and kept engine temp below 90° with a little judicious coasting and switching off in traffic. The problem did not occur on this journey.

Q2 am i safe to drive it or will it do more damage? I shall run heater full all the time

Please help.
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Re: Coolant problem / power loss / limp mode

Postby BHM » Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:20 am

Knackered thermostat....quite common.

Its a complete housing, but not a bad job, Ford will have to authorise repair etc etc....

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Re: Coolant problem / power loss / limp mode

Postby Chrisp74 » Wed Mar 06, 2019 9:14 am

plus 1 for the thermostat.
Ours did exactly the same and required a new thermostat housing. I also had the "cant look at it for a week" from the dealer so I used the interior heater on max to manage the temp guage. worked quite well!
As its less than than a year old phone the Ford breakdown and get it recovered to the dealer (dont breakdown at home though leave it up the road somewhere) This will hopefully get you a loan vehicle.
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Re: Coolant problem / power loss / limp mode

Postby Amlocks » Wed Mar 06, 2019 1:12 pm

Many thanks
Using heater today on short journeys been ok. I'll drop into dealer and have a chat hopefully get wheels turning before I take it in
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Re: Coolant problem / power loss / limp mode

Postby wild camper » Thu Mar 07, 2019 12:33 am

Part no 2037317 about £80 on eBay
I’m sure mine is faulty, but at the other extreme, the vehicle won’t warm up
I’ve had it back to the dealer twice but they just say the diagnostic shows no fault
It looks like there’s a pattern of failures developing for the Euro6 engine coolant housing
I’ve just started correspondence with Ford Customer Relationship Centre about the unresolved problem
I’ll post here if there’s a positive response
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Re: Coolant problem / power loss / limp mode

Postby Chrisp74 » Thu Mar 07, 2019 2:39 pm

Wild camper
Does sound like yours is faulty as you say failing open.
Do you have access to any diagnostic kit to plug in to your van? When my van was playing up I used my relatively cheap Foxwell scan tool to view coolant temp whist driving. I could see the temp rising at constant vehicle speed. I was able to control the coolant temp with the fan blower. The Foxwell tool allows me to save data so I could review it later. You could present this to the dealer?
Or take a Ford Tech up the road with there diagnostics so you can both see coolant temp live. Might be able to prove the van cannot control water temp.
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Re: Coolant problem / power loss / limp mode

Postby boddasnake » Thu Mar 07, 2019 9:18 pm

Transit Custom L1H1 290 Limited

I've had a similar problem today.
Loss of power, struggling up hills, limit on the revs. No warning lights or messages.
Fan is running a lot but temperatures look normal.
Called the AA out through Ford, but they had no idea to the issue as nothing was showing up on their diagnostic kit.

Seeing the posts above I will be phoning and getting the van booked in
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Re: Coolant problem / power loss / limp mode

Postby wild camper » Fri Mar 08, 2019 7:32 pm

Thanks chrisp74
Can anyone quote the normal operating temperature for the 2.0 EcoBlue 130PS engine is please?
There’s nothing in the handbook except to state the coolant capacity is 8litre
Mine is typically 63degC after 5 miles
I can’t concentrate too much on the Autel AL519 diagnostic tool while driving
I’m a bit of a Luddite when it comes to data and printing but I’ll have a bash at producing a report for the technician
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Re: Coolant problem / power loss / limp mode

Postby BHM » Fri Mar 08, 2019 8:51 pm

wild camper wrote:Thanks chrisp74
Can anyone quote the normal operating temperature for the 2.0 EcoBlue 130PS engine is please?
There’s nothing in the handbook except to state the coolant capacity is 8litre
Mine is typically 63degC after 5 miles
I can’t concentrate too much on the Autel AL519 diagnostic tool while driving
I’m a bit of a Luddite when it comes to data and printing but I’ll have a bash at producing a report for the technician


Looks too cool imho, however Ford may not value the calibration and therefore the implied temperature of a third party diag tool.

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Re: Coolant problem / power loss / limp mode

Postby Chrisp74 » Mon Mar 11, 2019 9:04 am

I think the thermostat would open at 90 degrees C, or there-abouts. so the coolant should run constantly at 90 degrees once the vehicle has reached operating temp.
Wild Camper- I'm wondering if that's normal to only get to 65 degrees after 5 miles? As you say theres 8 litres of coolant and about the same of engine oil to bring up to temp. might be normal this time of year?
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Re: Coolant problem / power loss / limp mode

Postby Dywlc » Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:25 pm

I had a similar problem on my 2017 170 custom. It started on a Friday and I was leaving to do a 3000 mile trip around 10 european countries. I took it to a local garage who quickly put a laptop on it and they said they thought it was No. 3 diesel injector. I did the trip and three weeks later when I returned (it was a pig to drive while I was away) I booked it into the dealer. They fitted an oil switch and said it was sorted. I was hardly a mile down the road when it started again. Took it back and booked it back in again. This time they changed the oil! Still the same result. On the third visit they fitted a new injector. It's been like a racing car ever since.
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Re: Coolant problem / power loss / limp mode

Postby toby97 » Tue Apr 20, 2021 7:56 am

Hello! Not sure if you'll see this message so long after your original post, but did you get the problem resolved? Was it the thermostat housing?
I have the identical problem on my vehicle, and if you know what resolved it it would save me a lot of digging!

Thank you
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Re: Coolant problem / power loss / limp mode

Postby J22ONO » Sat Aug 14, 2021 2:23 pm

So…. I’ve just bought my first Transit. It’s a 2015 Transit 290 L2H2 (ex DHL wagon)… driving it home from the dealer, the engine warning light comes on abs the needle says it’s 120 degrees. I pull over and lift the hood. Spit test Augusta the engine is not hot… and nothing feels hot, so continue with my journey home as temperature gauge says fine and no alert on the dash … every couple of miles it happens again but now loosing power up hills etc! Phone the dealer… he says bring it back and we will fix or get it fixed and we will pay… you have breakdown recovery in with our warranty if you need to use it…sounded totally embarrassed and is a genuine guy…. so my question is… how reliable are transits? Is this common now days, only they used to be built like tanks! - what do you think is wrong? The above says possibility sensor but with the lack of power??? Perhaps fuel jets or something? - will get it checked out and will share diagnosis but just want your thoughts pls.
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Re: Coolant problem / power loss / limp mode

Postby Jamborello » Thu Nov 04, 2021 12:26 am

I have had this fault over the last couple of weeks in my late 2018 130 Automatic with 86,000 miles.

It would be driving fine with the temperature gauge bang in the middle. Then a slight hesitation from the engine followed by a loss of boost, with the temperature gauge flickering slightly but not high, no warning lights or messages. The fault would usually clear after 30 secs to a minute and the van would drive fine once more.

I took it in the the local Commercial Vehicle garage which is a transit centre, thinking it would be a temperature sensor or something similarly trivial. When I phoned for an update they advised it needs a new engine!

Head tech advised that it is a common fault and that they had replaced a lot of engines for the same fault. As it is (just) still under warranty there's no cost to the leasing company but still a shock given the age of the van and the fact it felt otherwise fine.
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Re: Coolant problem / power loss / limp mode

Postby Scarface-uk » Mon Jan 24, 2022 11:45 pm

Mine got same problem
Water pump + thermostat housing changed still getting the same problem ..
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