EAC FAIL on 2004 1.4tdci Fiesta (2024)

09-05-1418:57

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40 days ago i was cruising along and felt a brief loss of power a few times. Over the next few miles heading home it got worse, was flashing EAC FAIL on the dash and i struggled to get the speed up on the 60mph A road. I limped into the village garage who changed the fuel filter - no joy. I took it into town to get it on to a machine to observe live data. They told me they were getting low pressure from the pump and that it needed replacing - perhaps the injectors too. So, i got a 2nd hand pump, had it fitted elsewhere, new timing belt, new starter motor as that packed up too - no joy, exact same problem (having thought it had been resolved though, the mechanic took it in for its MOT which it sailed through). It then went to another garage to be put on the machine. He then said air flow meter was coming up and throttle position sensor was worth looking at. So, its had a new pedal because that has sensors in it, and its had another air flow meter (MAF Sensor) - no joy, exactly the same! I've disconnected several connections and used contact cleaner - no joy. The mechanic is now scratching his head. All of this has taken over 6 weeks.It starts up first time no bother at all. The revs are fine when idling, no jumping around, nothing erratic with the revs. There is no pattern to it losing the power, it just does it when i try to accelerate too quickly. It then flashes EAC FAIL on the dash, i come off the power and it stops flashing it, and i could then accelerate IF i do it gingerly - anything heavy footed and there's no power and its off flashing the dreaded words at me again. It NEVER cuts out requiring restarting. The engine management light does not come on at all.

10-05-1408:08

Sounds like the common throttle body issue, have a google search there are hundreds of results.

10-05-1408:20

I am getting told by some people that diesels dont have throttle bodies.......which adds to the confusion

10-05-1408:24

Also, i have been googling this for the last 6 weeks, sometimes over an hour per day. Just looking for the clever people out there now because i have tried things in line with a lot of the suggestions. What i find frustrating is people not returning to confirm what solved their problem

10-05-1408:37

Sorry i forgot it was a diesel engine!
My only advice is to seek out and find a diagnostic specialist that actually knows what they are doing, there are some good ones around.

Guest

Hometune

10-05-1411:54

10-05-1413:25

Hi, unfortunately i live in a small, remote place so we dont have an abundance of specialists and i have a car that wont take me to the bigger towns several miles away.
Yes, i haven't been to the Ford dealership yet for £££ but i have been to the towns best auto electrician who i hear the Ford garage go to themselves at times. The results from that have been a lot of wasted time and money.
As far as that link goes, i have read that several times and the mechanic there feels quite strongly that the pedal is the issue - however i have done that and i have found a dozen other people on forums all over the internet who also changed theirs without any joy at all. He also suggested the wiring, which is something else to investigate.

Guest

Hometune

12-05-1407:02

On the petrol models the EAC fail is very common. There have been software upgrades by Ford to eliminate the fault over the years. But I think the wiring needs to be properly checked so then everything is eliminated. But a check of the readings from the pedal would tell you instantly if the pedal has a fault or not.

14-05-1416:14

Well, i changed that pedal as i said, took it for a run. no joy. The next day i changed the air flow meter and took it for a run, no joy. The next day i changed the air filter (becuase it just needed it anyway). Took it into the garage to go on the machine again and it was just the same as its ever been. He then left it on the machine all night and said it wasnt come up with anything. He then took it on a run and it was absolutely fine. I have just driven 20 miles home and its been absolutely fine. Nobody did anything. It could just come back the next time i go out and we could be back to square one but at the moment its back to normal. Some have said that it can take time for the ECU to 're-learn' anything new put onto it. Is there any truth in that at all? Maybe the parts i replaced did the job and it took the ECU a day or two, or a few miles to 'get with the program'. That doesnt make any sense to me personally but........

Guest

Hometune

15-05-1414:57

If you had used diagnostic equipment with a dedicated Ford program (not a cheap OBD scanner), then after replacing a component that can alter the running of the engine, such as your airflow sensor, you should go to the menu called 'Clear the KAM' (Keep Alive Memory). This resets the ECU back to factory setting so that when you next start the engine, all the signals from the components are input to the ECU which relearns them. This takes a little time but usually a 20 minute drive in town and on a motorway (mixed driving) is enough to reset everything properly.

25-05-1412:23

Ive had this problem with 3 seperate TDCI customers. Everytime it has been pin grip fail on the diesel pump. The second car brought to me had been with a well recommended auto electrician for almost a month, Yet all he managed to do was damage the loom ( by breaking into wire) to do tests instead of using a breakout box or similar. The very same car had bad engine mounts and the loom was tight making the wire pull back inside the plug and making the car either stall or flash eac fault. I have got vcm ids and still didnt show up anything on live data to put me in the right direction. Hope this is of help to someone.

Guest

Hometune

27-05-1422:33

29-05-1413:15

Ive got the same problem with my ford fussion2 1.6 16v and ive ad in garage twice new throtle body on. Still same but when I get eac fail on dash I just tap with hammer n screw driver the throtle body and it goes ...very wierd indeed its in garage at this minute thats why im looking on hear..did u find problem out?as the longer in garage why they go ovwr everything the more im paying..

Guest

Hometune

29-05-1415:08

Your car is petrol - the one on here is a diesel - so remove the large black pipe from the throttle body unit. Spray some WD40 on the butterfly spindle particularly at the ends where it pivots. They sometimes stick due to poor build quality.
Also worthwhile disconnecting the plug and giving a squirt of WD40 to clean the terminals. Then follow the wiring back and do the same at the next connector.
Also, the Ford diagnostic tool in some cases can perform a software update to try and prevent this happening. Finally, after fitting and or cleaning, the Keep Alive Memory (KAM) should be cleared and then the new throttle can be adapted to your car.

11-09-1413:32

Have you sorted the problem?
My 2004 tdci flashed up eac fail this morning after I've had problems with car not starting aswell which I think is to do with a dodgy fuel filter I recently had put in

12-09-1411:37

They saud it needed throttle body n ecu so done both was ok for 2week then happened again took to a ford dealers n they charged me 260 to look at everything then they said it need ecu n a throttle body which id already done.left car at garage been there over 2mnth lol im not paying 260 for them t tell me its something that I have done already

05-03-2000:28

The wifes 2004 fiesta 1.4 tdci was showing eac fail and in limp mode.
i was reluctant to start chucking money at it and replace every part as many others have so i did a bit of reading on forums.
the front lower engine mounting was also wrecked so the assumption was the engine movement had damaged wiring, so hopefully a cheaper fix.
the garage was reluctant but we agreed to start with the engine mount. I spoke with the mechanic and told him my thoughts, and when i went back later the mount was done and he had found a broken wire were the crankcase had rubbed and broke the wire.
he had just out the car back on the computer and it still showed the eac fail on the dash.
one of the faults showed as fuel rail connection, so he followed the wires and found another broken wire behind the air filter box.
this was repaired and on restart the eac fail no longer showed and the car revved and drove perfectly.

Guest

wagolynn

07-03-2011:46

It's nice to win now and again.