UKPOC forums

Hi,

A mate of mine is asking about the early Probe immobiliser issues - not for technical advice but for his job (car journalist). Does anybody know much about the subject please? He wanted to know how long the issue lasted, whether dealers dealt with it, if it ended up in scrapped cars etc if possible.

Thanks.

I think that you will get a collection of notes or views which might be enough to make a story.
I would say the likes of Malcolm and Andy W are probably the best people, or maybe even JRH, as he is a knowledgeable man

Ford never addressed the faulty ignition problems from day one. They were successfully prosecuted in a couple of US states but never federally.
Hence they escaped having to cure the fault.
Later models must have received better components, but over time , the same problem arises.
IMO , the tiny relay contacts in the Bosch immobiliser were never big enough to make a good enough contact to the ignition circuit after about 3 years of starting.
I cured that by forcing them hard closed with a matchstick.
Somewhere M515 CEW still has that cure applied.
ALSO, any open circuit on a HT plug lead invites TOTAL failure of the ignition components.
Even today, no-one can really predict when the ignition circuit will fail but it surely will.
ALWAYS carry a known working spare in the boot

Thanks both

I bought M939FDF from new in 1994 with 81 miles on the clock. I had it for 14 years and did 285k miles, less 81 miles in it. I believe that to be a record mileage. In that time it went through 7 distributors, or - when you could get them - repair kits (coil and Hall Sensor components) all new from Ford as I never skimped or botched any repairs. That's an average 40k per failure. In fact I used to get very twitchy about it from about 30K. It usually let me know when it was about to go as it would be an unreliable start and running not quite as usual for a short while, then failure.

At that time, I didnt know about UKPOC or any of the other clubs, but I have since learnt of the theory that the Bosch immobiliser was the cause of the problem by being in some way incompatible with the dizzy. That horrible device was also a cause of problems of sudden missfiring, then cutting out unexpectedly, then restarting after about a half hour or so, then repeating the cycle. This problem was eventually solved by another ex probe owner who very kindly went over the immobiliser pcb for me, curing a dry joint. I still had dizzy problems after that, but never another problem from the Bosch. I admire the stalwart gentlemen who persevere with pre Temec immobilisers but they are not for me. That said, I think most are now bypassed.

To this day, I am always anxious when starting the car even though the Flying Machine has a Temec! Will it, or wont it? This neurosis was a bit like a turbulent marriage (I imagine ) You love them most of the time, but then they really pi$$ you off sometimes.

Bob, in 1994 Ford introduced their repair for life for free scheme , those dissy repairs should not have cost you a penny.
Was that the case ?

But, there have been immobiliser, that are still working fine to this day p
aka Leon’s black car for example

Kit

jrh wrote: ↑

Tue May 09, 2023 11:18 am

Bob, in 1994 Ford introduced their repair for life for free scheme , those dissy repairs should not have cost you a penny.
Was that the case ?

Hi John.
It most certainly was not. That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of that. All repairs bar the first were paid for by me. I fell. Out with garage that sold me the car over the second failure. They said it was the fuel pump. I said the symptoms were the same as the dizzy failure…! They said “we are the experts “! I said ok and they changed the pump. Still no start so I said what about the dizzy? They said it’s the immobiliser. Changed the imo older, still no start. So the changed the dizzy and Lo…the engine she start as though by magic. They try and charge me for the pump and immobiliser. I explain to them that that is not going to happen for them and words were spoken. Thereafter I took it to a Mazda garage and specifically to one mechanic who really knew his stuff but apparently didn’t know about any Ford guarantee. I think the case was that the car was so unique that very few Ford garages had a clue what the car was all about.
These days I think all the knowledge lies with this club.