Windy Corner

Passenger Footwell, 3 way socket from Lidl with sticky fixer type fixings so no drilling. Cable follows main loom through Transmission tunnel and wired across battery with in line fuse. Cable tied to main loom, tom tom lead cable tied across to drivers side, pops out from under the dash just under headlight switch. All removable should the need arise Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

If it's actually boiling, that means it lost pressure somewhere ??? Check cap, although that won't explain pipes not getting hot, sounds like thermostat blocked (wot Ian said !), causing the cap to fail under pressure ?? Not that I'm an expert of course Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

In all my wanderings over websites all things ford focus, a couple of things kept coming up :- 1) 1.6 Zetec engines destroy coilpacks 2) If you change the coilpack, you may as well do the leads and the plugs or you will just be chasing the fault 3) After market coilpacks are carp, you may as well spend the extra on a genuine Ford one 4) Caterhams coilpack (from parts website) is about 36 odd quid. A genuine Ford one is £80 odd. Don't know which make Caterham (or PowerTEC) use, be surprised if it isn't a ford one 5) Genuine HT Leads (FoMoCo) are aboyt £10 each Okay so it was more than a couple of points 😬 The thing that pinned it down for me to the HT was, I started pulling the HT leads off of the coil (with a big glove on) and it became apparent that 2 weren't firing (made no difference to engine whether they were connected or not). That is why I suspected the coil (Wasted spark fires two cylinders at once) If the spark plug gap hadn't of done it, my next step would have been the coilpack and leads. It may be worth pulling some leads to try and identify which cylinder isn't firing and if it is 2 then suspect the coil Regards Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

Eccles, Sorry, but I was so pleased I had to share it 😬 😬 Have you tried the MAP sensor ?? Reason for asking was that I spoke to Brett at CCM today, and they had a problem with their new 09 plate Sigma 150, they couldn't suss it, so sent it to Dartford. Upshot is that there was an incorrect batch of MAP sensors, so when CCM swapped it they swapped it for the same duff ones. May be worth a call to Dartford to check part no's ?? A clutch at the proverbial straw, I'm afraid................. Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

A further update Having spent 2 weeks at CCM and th problem not quite fixed yet, I spent hours surfing, sorry, working, the internet. Having Googled 1.6 Zetec SE (Thanks Brian) I found that the consensus amongst the Focus owning community (someone has to) is the the plugs are overgapped at 1.2 / 1.3mm. This is probably fine, when everything is new, but is too big a gap when everything has run in. The recommendation is to regap to 0.9mm. I checked mine and they were 1.2 ish so I re-gapped on Thursday night last week, thinking it'll either kill it or cure it for Wightblat................... Touch wood, it didn't miss a beat all weekend and seems just as sure this morning. So if anyone is still having Sigma 150 rough running troubles, try it, a very cheap fix if it works 😬 Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

Just a thought, my intermittent problem (which has got much better since Simon at CCm redid all the earths), seemed worse after several starts with out a run. Just metered the battery, and it drops to 9.7 V on cranking, charger indicated 50% charge so it is on charge now. Is this low enough to upset the ECU / Coil / Spark ??? Car is Sept 2007, but 14,000 miles, looks like original battery Any comments welcome Thanks Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

Thanks Brian, I couldn't get to that earlier as the SBD website is banned as "not work related" ☹️ but blatchat isn't !!! 😬 Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

There is one on the SBD website Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

Ian, I run my roadsport SV on 17/18, wear is even and seems to work well. The latest handbook says 18 front & rear for 195x45x15 and confirms Steves figures of 24 & 23 for CSR front & rear. We can compare sidewalls on the quay at Portsmouth on Friday 😬 Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

I was out playing with the Lidl set up over the weekend, bearing in mind this was £7 odd of kit, my expectatons weren't high. I didn't like the over the ear headset, seemed a bit vague to me, so I purchased some cheap computer headsets with noise canceling mics, and some bits from Maplin to make up some adaptor leads, and the system works great. Over 50mph the wind noise is excessive, but the headsets are a lot more comfortable than full ear defender types. I can also hear the Tom Tom (mine doesn't have an audio out, and I still have an awareness of other traffic noises. I went this route (a) it was cheap and (b) I don't like the idea of the full ear defender / pitcrew headsets. (or the cost). If there was an alternative headset for Autocom or Starcom, I would consider that. I'll be bringing it to Wightblat if anyone wants a play. Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

From what Simon at CCM told me, it was the earth on the wiper motor bracket. I like the idea of running a separate battery ground to the dashboard, maybe try that. Unfortunately on my car, other issues have come to light such as misfiring under load, so I'm beginning to suspect an intermittent fault int the HT circuit as well, this maybe putting more fuel down the exhaust which may be confusing the ECU, which may be overcompensating etc etc. Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

From the feedback, it sounds like the problems are limited to a few cars, the "design" would appear okay then although I have heard it said that the Single TB of the 125 is more "stable" than the 4 TB 150, so it maybe it is that, that is partly responsible. From my perspective, it sounds as though electrical connections are everything, so perhaps the next stage for Eccles and Brian is to start metering out the loom for continuity, especially connections to chassis. If you can access the ECU Live information, that may tell you that a particular sensor is or isn't working, but I have yet to do this at home yet. Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, the discount, forgot to mention that , how much is the discount then ?? Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

Picked mine up tonight, seems to run well and started again fine after being left for a few minutes. I find it difficult to believe that a dodgy earth could be responsible, especially so far from the ECU, but thats what they surmised, repaired and it seems to have worked. Need to carry out some more field testing and will report back in a few days or so. All set now for Friday (Earl Shilton Bypass Opening) and then Wightblat (touches all the wood he can find 😬 ) Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

Questmead are :- £40.18 + £8.50 Del + VAT = £55.98 Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

Well summed up 😬 Anybody 🤔 Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

Out of interest and apologies for the hijack, what is the minimum thickness for standard pads and discs ?? I am quite interested in Roadsport06's Option 2, but need to justify new pads and discs Thanks Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here Edited by - Windy Corner on 25 Mar 2009 07:42:12

I agree, it is a fussy engine, any slight problem and it coughs, although when it is right it is great. Caterham chaps said the same, all the Sigma engine problems are 150's, the 125's are fine. Seems strange when the only difference is the cams TB's and a bit of software ???? Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

Theres always hoping, Peter !!! Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

To further add to the story on mine........... Spent an hour at CCM at lunchtime, they really have done their damndest to sort the problem so full marks for effort, after swapping everything and eliminating everything, the only thing left seemed to be the loom, so when I left they were in the process of loom inspection and possible change. I called back this afternoon, and they think they may have found the problem, a dodgy earth under the dashboard, so fingers crossed It also appears there has been another map issue, the latest is Revision F, although not sure what the differences are. I think my issues are slightly different to Ivans and Brians, in as much that mine is intermittent, when it runs well it is fantastic, but when it doesn't ☹️ I was also lucky that mine is still under warranty. Will keep you posted Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

Thanks all for the contributions, my car is still at CCM (2 weeks on monday), where there appears to be much head scratching. I will feed back to CCM these points, Mike, your point sounds particularly feasible, as it is intermittent, I always surmised electrical connections may be at fault. Keep the ideas coming, I just want my car back for Wightblat !!!!!!! Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

There is also the small point that on a driveby the car is a line source (of increasing then decreasing loudness), not a point source, so to compare by calculation will never be straightforward. Another question that I don't know the answer to, is the noise level measured a Max (LAmax) level or average level (Laeq) ?? Which would make a difference to how driveby is calculated. Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

Ian, If you decide to go for it, happy to lend a hand Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

Being in the industry, we have all sorts, although the more expensive ones are supposed to be more accurate i.e. the tolerance in the measuring instrument, a "Precision grade" like the ones we use in work (£2000-£5000) are +/- 0.7 dB, the engineering grade, are I think +/- 1.5 dB. In reality, perhaps read "more accurate" as "more repeatable" I use a Maplin one occasionally, as when working in a hazardous area, people get upset when you drop a £5000 sound Level Meter in a vat of goo !! The accuracy between the two is usually okay but the cheaper ones don't do the greater range of functions (not necessary for simple noise testing) Hope this is helpful Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here

The theory is for propagation (for a point source only) is the the dB drop off with distance is 20Log (R1/R2) so using R2 = 0.5m and R1 = 30m, the change in level due to this change in distance should be 35 dB so the figure of 123 above is somewhere close. For practical reasons, some in the industry use 15 Log (R1/R2) which would give 114 dB HOWEVER, also as pointed out above, multiple sources, reflections all go some way towards muddying the issue. Also remember the tolerance in the measuring instrument, a "Precision grade" like the ones we use in work (£2000-£5000) are +/- 0.7 dB, the engineering grade, are I think +/- 1.5 dB. Hope that this helps, one other thought, 30m away sounds too far away fro a driveby figure ????? Rik Roadsport SV 1.6 Sigma 150 in Viper Blue here