Last week was very busy for us with many diagnostic jobs to solve. One of the more interesting jobs (to me anyway!) was a non-start semi-automatic Ford Fiesta. 

Semi-automatic means that it has a normal manual gearbox with electronic actuators changing gear and operating the clutch for us, controlled by a computer.

Using IDS, the first problem I noticed is that the car was immobilised. The chips that are in the keys were missing so I ordered new ones and programmed the keys. The car was no longer immobilised and the customer didn’t have to pay for whole new keys as they already worked on all the locks.

The next problem was that starting was not enabled by the transmission control module (TCM). Testing showed that this was because the gear position programming could not be carried out. Commonly the actuators get stuck, but I tested these and proved they were ok. The lack of a reference voltage at one of the actuators meant that either the wiring between the TCM and actuator or the TCM itself must be faulty. 

Disconnecting the TCM the answer became obvious……….

The connector had been fitted incorrectly and several pins were crushed. After some very gentle persuasion the pins were moved back to the correct position without breaking them off (not easy!). From there it was a case of reprogramming the gear positions and clutch biting point and the car drove off into the sunset!

Our trade gets a bashing from the public and there are definitely people out there doing things they shouldn’t, as in any trade, but these posts are to remind people that there are garages out there, such as ours, who know what they are doing, spend money on equipment to provide a better service to you, the public, and above all, are honest and trustworthy. We could have easily told the customer that new keys and a TCM were required, but instead we were honest and used our knowledge and skills to save the customer money and get them back on the road.