[kmac42]

Hi everyone,

I've been searching online about this issue for a while without any luck. This morning I went to turn on the car (2000 Ford Focus ZTS) and heard a pop, at the same time white-grey smoke that smelled awful came out of the defrost vents. Immediately afterwards the car stalled. Now when I go to start it, it sometimes starts, then stalls immediately. Other times it will rev up to about 3500 RPMs and then stalls.

Any thoughts of what this could be? Blocked cats would cause the engine to stall, correct? Would it cause the smoke in the vents though?

The IAC would also cause the car to stall, but again could it cause the smoke?

Heater core would cause the smoke, but would it cause the car to stall?

Are there any issues that would cause both of these symptoms at the same time? Before this morning the car was running perfectly fine.

Thank you in advance!
Kory

 

[kmac42]

Just an update, I fixed the problem. I found a hose disconnected below the throttle body/IAC. My guess is that it's a vacuum hose for the crankcase (this is my first time working on a Focus though, so I'm not sure). I reconnected the hose and everything is working fine.

Before finding the hose, I started the car and the smoke was no longer coming out of the vents anymore. Maybe the actual popping off of the hose someone caused the smoke in the vents? Either way the car is running fine now.

 

[sailor]

Cool, - Fixed....

 

[whynotthinkwhynot]

That was probably the PCV valve hose, and it could've dripped some oil down on the exhaust. It doesn't take more than a few drops of oil to cause smoke, and then that smoke was picked up by the cabin air intake which is on the passenger side of the cowl. That's about the only explanation I have for it.

If you have a Zetec DOHC engine, the PCV vacuum line problem is well documented. You should carefully identify the hose you removed, and see if the hose needs to be replaced. Ford's replacement hose costs $20 or so, but has insulation around the rubber and plastic parts to prevent future heat damage to the line.