[carman5575]

I bought my son this 2003 Focus Se Sedan 2.3L a few weeks ago. It had a seized alternator, the ignition was hard to turn and you could remove the key in any position. The dash had a lil quirk going as in the warning indicator lights would stay on very dim and flicker with the car turned off and the key removed. I figured maybe after I resolved the alternator and the ignition problem it might be fixed but no luck...what I have done to the car so far. Replaced alternator(Brand new and had it tested before and after I installed it, Replaced ignition lock cylinder(brand new) Replaced positive battery Terminal, Replaced 175amp mega fuse between the alternator and the starter, I have checked the connections to the alternator and the ignition a few times and I cleaned the ground battery terminal. The car starts up and runs does sound a lil like a lawn mower but the flex pipe has a hole so I kind of expected that. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I found plenty of post online but none of them are really the same symptoms.[boxface]

 

[whynotthinkwhynot]

Replace the ignition switch. It's a fairly inexpensive part, and would cause that issue. Sometime when you're messing around with the driver's side wheel well out, disconnect the bulkhead connector, clean as best as you can, and grease the connections.

The ignition lock cylinder problem is well documented, and common to all 00-04 Foci. If you purchased an aftermarket lock cylinder, you may have one that will have the same fault some day. The re-designed lock cylinder has the key hole in the center of the cylinder whereas the bad design has the key hole off center towards the floor of the car when installed. The Ford cylinders with the key hole in the center are bulletproof. A trip to a locksmith (preferred) or taking the VIN to the dealer will get you back to having only one key for the car. Ford's bad lock cylinder problem is opposite of GM's, the Ford will eventually not start, but it has never cut off while driving. If you have an aftermarket cylinder with the key hole in the center of the cylinder- I would assume it is ok since it was built off the re-design. You might be ok either way since the issue takes about 50k miles to show itself. If you ever have problems where the key is hard to turn- replace it immediately.

 

[slevane]

Double check all of the grounds not just the battery, if it is not clean and shiny redo them. If there is any question about them redo them. Was this doing this before the ignition cylinder change? If not pop the cover off the column and inspect for a cut or pinched wire. It may be the connector on the back of the cluster just needs reset, this is very easy three screw holding the bezal/4 holding the cluster, the is a little button and a lever you need to flip to release the connector from the cluster. Check the bulkhead connector behind the drivers side wheel well liner. Not only on the outside but on the inside of the firewall. Inspect the fuseboxes as well to verify things are in good shape.

 

[carman5575]

I will give the ignition switch a shot

 

[carman5575]

If the switch does not solve it. I will go back to recheck all the grounds and instrument cluster and bulk connector

 

[carman5575]

Update: Problem solved!!

After everything I found that the instrument cluster had collected some dirt in the lil blue holes on the circuit board. I cleaned them with some electronic cleaner and qtips and it works beautiful now![boxface]