GENERAL
Tyre dates
Q I Could you please advise why cannot find a date of manufacture on two of my tyres? One is a Dunlop Sport SP, the other is a Michelin Pilot HX.
These tyres were on the rear of my Mondeo when I purchased it last year. I want to replace these tyres with a matching pair (fronts are Bridgestone) but would like to find their age. There are numbers on the tyres in question but not in the usual format of week and year. Can you advise please?
I tried to take photos but could not make out the numbers, please find below the numbers I have been able to read.
Michelin Pilot HX 026507, Dunlop SP SPORT 0225892, Bridgestone Turanza ER30 54807 (this number on both front tyres) 019 and 56008 (2900 on offside front )
Geoff Allen
A The age mark on tyres has been a legal requirement for many years now and before the year 2000 was a three-digit code showing the week and year. After the year 2000 this was changed to a four-digit code. The tyre date code is printed into the tyre’s sidewall along with a series of numbers known as the DOT code. These number will often follow the word DOT on the tyre.
If you have a 7-12 character DOT code. The first two characters will be a code that represents the assigned plant code for the manufacturer. The next one or two characters represent the tyre size code. The next grouping can be no more than four characters that are designated by the manufacturer with their internal codes for the specific construction of that tyre. Because these characters are optional for the manufacturer, the DOT code can be any length up to a maximum of twelve characters.
The final four digits, for any tyre made since the year 2000, are the tyre date code and represent the date of manufacture. The first two of these digits designates the week of the year the tyres were made, and the final two digits are the last two digits of the year of manufacture. For example, 2620 would indicate the twenty-sixth week of 2020.
If you have a 13 character DOT code. The first grouping consists of three characters that represent the factory code. Due to legislation this has increased from the earlier factory code of two characters, to three.
FORD MONDEO
Non-start
Q I am a retired GP and have a2009 Ford Mondeo Ghia 2.0 TDCi– mileage 125,000 – regularly maintained, which after a battery charge with an old-fashioned battery charger has never worked since for four months. It won’t turn over (good battery fully-charged) and appears to have closed down electronically.
It was taken to a competent Auto electrical garage by the AA. After a diagnostic check we decided it was a faulty ECU. I had it reconditioned but no joy. Because this garage didn’t have the latest Ford diagnostic kit, they said they couldn’t fix it. So, I had it taken to another garage run by two properly qualified lads whom I trust – they fixed my wife’s Range Rover Sport with a similar problem no other garage would touch.
Anyway, they have changed the ECU, the speedo unit and Body Control Unit, etc., from a donor vehicle. No joy still. The latestauto electrician believes some wiring to the BCU is damaged. I don’t need the car as I bought another. I’ve put the garage under no pressure as they are trying to fix it the most cost-effective way. I’ve contacted Ford dealers for a diagnostic check only but never get rung back. Any ideas?
A There was a known issue on the Mondeo which affected vehicles up to 2010, which prevented the engine from starting, and this was caused by water ingress into the main engine loom. This either shorted-out the circuit or caused the wiring to become damaged, breaking the circuit. A wiring harness repair kit part number 1 736 825 is available.
This is a relatively easy, but slightly tedious task – and would require the circuits testing with a continuity meter.It is difficult to know what may have occurred due to the charging of the battery. It may be that this is coincidental as to the actual reason for the non-start.of the tyre; unlike the eight to twelvecharacter DOT code, these characters are not manufacturer optional. The last four numbers as before represent the manufacturer’s date.
Without physically examining the tyres it is difficult to confirm this, but I do suspect this to be the case.
As the engine will not turn over, the first point to check would be the starter relay and to see if this is fed or activated. The engine control module pin Bk2 should have a 12V feed when the ignition switch is in the start position. If this is the case, then the ECM and ignition switch circuits can be discounted. If there is no feed, then the reason will need to be determined.
I am presuming that the second garage you have used do have the Ford compatible software and also that the IMMOBILIZER ACTIVE warning is not showing on the dash indicating a key recognition problem.
Having changed the ECU, speedo and BCU from a donor vehicle, these would not work unless coded into the original key and so I am presuming this has been done. This being the case it can only be a wiring issue, and this as mentioned earlier would need to be investigated one wire at a time using a continuity meter to discover the source of the problem.
Unfortunately, sometimes, solving such problems does become timeconsuming, and when paying an hourly labour rate, this can be prohibitive.
FORD FOCUS
System message
QI have a Ford Focus 2014 EcoBoost 1.6 Navigator with just over 59,000 miles. Aftera visit to a tyre shop, I have got a message on my dash as in the picture attached, ie. “System Check 0 Messages Active” and I can’t figure out how to get it off.
I Googled it (sign of the times) and can get how to run the test screens (mine is via the OK button on the left-hand side of the steering wheel not via the brake and accelerator pedals), but I can’t get how to go back to the normal screen that shows petrol consumption, distance to empty, etc.
I’ve just resorted to disconnecting the battery for an hour and it took the message off, but it would be handy to know how it came on and how you get it off without resorting to such radical
