Frustrated As Hell (EOC - re-starting issues)

[jake6486]

Someone needs to convince me why I should continue to EOC as well as why I should turn my car off at lights.

Background:
2003 Ford Focus, 165k Miles on it, 65k on the motor, been Engine Off Coasting (EOC) and shutting the car off at lights since the summer.

Three months ago I burnt out an ignition coil. Never done that before. Guy said it was likely from all the start stop I do. I wasn't convinced.

Today I was stopped at a light and went to turn over the ignition and I get nothing. It is like I am trying to start it without the clutch in or something. I have no idea what the issue is. I slammed the clutch down, jiggled the ignition, and anything else I could think of.

I don't yet know what it is. I read all this stuff of how sucessfull these methods are for people and they were for me too. However, if they keep causing issues they will net out at zero from cost repairs and cost savings.

Anyone else have EOC and Engine Off At Stop Light issues?

[AndrzejM]

Don't know if your issues are the result of EOC, but I know that turning on and off any electric, mechanical or hydraulic device is the most stressful for the unit itself. It's like a lightbulb, it can shine virtually forever when it's constantly on, but flip the swich 100 times and it will go off.

I haven't tried to EOC yet because my Berta's engine is still in the running in stage after restoration but I'm still thinking if I should start to EOC.

Maybe I'm the old school guy who thinks that engine feels best when running.

Anyway I'm hoping you'll solve your issues quickly.

[Miller88]

Primary reason why I refuse to EOC - it wears out other things too.

The ignition coil was likely not related.

[Daox]

The ignition coil just went bad. It spends its entire life being charged and discharged, a little on/off action isn't going to do anything to reduce its life.

Sounds like you might have a bad starter now? The old tip is to tap it (not hammer it) with a hammer or wrench or something and try starting again. If that works you know your going to need to rebuild/replace it.

That all being said, I've EOCed my Paseo for probably 40,000 miles without any hiccups. The worst thing I had happen was my ignition switch started to get a little sticky. A little powdered graphite lubricant fixed that up and it was smooth as butter again. Still, EOC is harder on engine components than normal driving. However, problems occuring from it are very rare.

[Diesel_Dave]

Is the starter 165k miles old or 65k miles old?

165k on the original starter isn't necessarily that unusual. Also, it might be the clutch rather than the starter. Depending on how it's been driven (maybe before you owned it?) 165k miles can take a toll on a clutch.

[Flakbadger]

Two things to look for:
1) Being that it's a Ford, Google where the fuel cutoff switch is. It's supposed to deny fuel in the event of an accident to stop fires. My Ranger was terrible about activating it for no particular reason. On the Ranger it was behind the passenger side kick panel. On F-series trucks it's near the brake pedal up under the dash.

2) Verify that the little switch your clutch is supposed to hit is being activated. It's a switch that tells your car "yes, the clutch is depressed. Allow the starter to work."
I had THAT problem on my Ranger too, fixed it by bending a little tiny piece of metal and securing it with duct tape.

Hope this helps!

[Miller88]

More food for thought - does this engine have coil on plug? The first 5 or 6 years of COP in Ford vehicles were bad ... A lot of fords were blowing out coils prematurely for no reason when ford first made the change to COP. I'm glad that my Taurus of that era had a coil pack and wires.

Originally Posted by Flakbadger

Two things to look for:
1) Being that it's a Ford, Google where the fuel cutoff switch is. It's supposed to deny fuel in the event of an accident to stop fires. My Ranger was terrible about activating it for no particular reason. On the Ranger it was behind the passenger side kick panel. On F-series trucks it's near the brake pedal up under the dash.

2) Verify that the little switch your clutch is supposed to hit is being activated. It's a switch that tells your car "yes, the clutch is depressed. Allow the starter to work."
I had THAT problem on my Ranger too, fixed it by bending a little tiny piece of metal and securing it with duct tape.

Hope this helps!

I've had a ford with an overactive inertia switch (a few others in my family did too ... oddly enough). I also know where to hit a 96-07 taurus to make it shut off haha.

Anyway - it doesn't sound like that's OP's problem. When I've tripped mine it would crank but not fire. Sounds like his isn't cranking at all.

[Arragonis]

@The OP - could you ask your garage how stop/start involves the coil being used more than just keeping the engine running ?

It doesn't have any additional work in starting your car vs. just keeping it going - a spark is a spark.

[Sven7]

I got that same thing- lights go on but nothing happens- once in the Probe, and twice I went to turn it on and nothing at all worked, as if it had no battery. In the latter circumstances, disconnecting and reconnecting the battery fixed it. What you've got, though, I have no clue. I stopped EOC'ing a few weeks ago and, crossing my fingers, haven't had a problem since.