My ford Ka recently has started over-revving when slowing down and stopping, when the clutch is pressed in its not so bad but the noise is awful when coming to a stop. The problem is only intermitent and some days its fine, is this a problem with the clutch, has anyone had this with a ford ka?

louise, August 2004

Another source of over revving. Broken wire on the power steering pressure sensor located above the auxiliary drive belt. Apparently if the circuit is open the ecu gets a message to say there isn't enough pressure in the power steering and speeds the engine up.
Repairing the wire solved the problem.

Formulator, April 2014

Fiesta 1.3 Endura yr 2000 revving solved.
My problem was the throttle position sensor - see Hrvoje Degelic 2008 below for details.
I used the technique stated in other forums of drilling the two metal guides out of the TPS to give some play in its position and turning the unit to reduce the voltage to a minimum.
I bought a pack of short wires with small crocodile clips from maplin and put three between the TPS and its plug so I could read the voltages with a multimeter with the engine running so I knew which way to turn it.
That was 6 months and 10,000 miles ago and all is well with no problems at all.

Previously I had bought the new wiring part from Ford that was supposed to fix the fault, but all the wires on the bulk head loom were black and I was not prepared to get it all wrong. So one for a professional.

I have put this by way of a thank you to the others that took the time to help me.

Formulator, November 2012

I have a brand new 2012 fiesta that revvs from 1700 to 3000rpm (diesel) when the clutch is pressed, not all the time but quite frequent. after loads of trips to the dealers a field engineer from ford uk came to look. He couldnt find a fix so rang Ford programming and engineering dept... apparently its a feature and is designed to help with gear changes.....
:-/

b3atts, November 2012

Disconnect electrical connection from speedo sensor (in gearbox)

matt m, June 2012

my fiesta 1.3 has been doing the same for nearly 3 years. valves have been cleaned out sorted for 6 months, it came back i got asked if i was pressing my accelerator, and i spend around £200 on a service and getting plugs and things changed, and after about a year now its back, i am now currently looking for a new car as spending out on this problem that is not going way

tinks, June 2012

Hi to everybody having this over revving problem with the Ford Endura engine, remove plug socket from the throttle position sensor, and spray contact cleaner on the socket pins and also into the tps as much as possible. Reconnect the plug and securing clip and the problem should be sorted, I did this with my fiesta over six months ago and it is still running okay without over revving.

Ray Hoole, May 2012

Don't know the answer but get it seen to as it can get worse. My (petrol 2 litre) Mondeo hit 5000 rpm (yes five thousand) without my touching the gas pedal. Garage now looking into it, they suspect the electronic engine management system - it also overheated on the four mile journey to the garage. Clearly this could dangerous.

Mike G, May 2011

hi do anyone no y my 1.6 focus engine is revving up and down and my engine mangent light is on thank lee

lee, March 2011

fiesta 1.25 zetec 98 i also have same problem along with
a flat spot between 3.5k to 4.5k is it related ???

quini, February 2011

I brought a ford KA as my first car, iv just passed and got it 2weeks ago! i hate the car, and its made me scared to drive. The idle control valve is broken which means it cuts out on me at junctions, traffic lights etc. its so dangerous especially because the steering goes heavy and i cant steer. Aswel as cutting out on me it has over revved which meant that i pulled up outside my house, pressed the break and because of the amount of revs it didnt stop and i went straight through the hedge. horrible i would never recomend a ford KA or fiesta! Especially as a first car i have already decided i am going to cancel the insurance get it fixed and sell it. Dont even know if i want another car now.

i hate KA's, November 2010

Remove battery for 30 mins, this resets the ECU settings and stops it.

Tom, October 2010

were is the throttle position sensor on a ford ka

spencer, October 2010

Rotary Motion, Mechanic.Newtown. Using throttle body cleaner remove the 3 sensor plugs & spray & blow out. remove air sensor at the back & the valve on the front, spray & blow out. special tool required for the rear air sensor. leave tps in place remove air cleaner pipe going to the throttle body & dont be shy,(USE HEAPS) spray down the first hole you see & bit for good measure in the plantium chamber, give it a blow if you want & put the air cleaner pipe back on & start it. It will be hard to start so put ur foot flat to give it some air. finito

TERRY LEWIS, August 2010

Hey Guys! same problem on ford ka 98 endura engine, mechanic just opened tps blew it clean and sprayed wd40 on 3 plug joint and air intake, good as new :

Henry, August 2010

mine has started yesterday, at the traffic lights i pressed the brakes and the engine began to rev as if i had my foot on the accelerator and the car felt as if it was wanting to speed up instead of slow down, this morning i was taking children to school which is a 7 mile round trip and i have managed to use 1/4 of a tank of petrol due to the over revving. i have a Ford Ka (nickname KAK) 1996 with the endurer engine. which also has a faulty starter motor.

mattnowensmum, July 2010

I bought a ford ka in february. Nothing but hassle! i have the same revving problem which at first happened every so often. my uncle changed the idle control valve and it stopped for three weeks and then started again. the pther day i purchased a TPS, Still no change in the over revving so i have my tps disconnected atm. im hoping the wiring loom is the problem but ford are charging £45 for a tiny wire!! Not sure whether to just leave it unplugged.

Oh and not to mention ive gone through 5ltrs of oil in a month, its piddling out :(

katie holland, April 2010

Can u drive a car without a tps, do u really need it. my car was going bonkers, i removed the tps and and it does'nt over rev now... does this mean the tps was the problem???????

kev, March 2010

Did they literally just disconnect the battery and the EEC reset's itself? Or do you need any tools? Cheers

Andi, February 2010

My husband lost his job because of his engine revving and caused an accident, of course the mechanic couldn't find anything wrong with it and he was denied unemployment because of it, that his driving was not in the best interest of the company. The van is an automatic and revving upon braking. He pressed the brake to stop behind a car and the engine revved causing him to speed up instead of slow down. If anyone has any info about the eco van's revving please let me know, he has an appeal coming up on the 20th for unemployment and if we can find anything to help his case other than his word we might have a chance. Thanks

Becky, January 2010

My local garage did the same solution as DeeDee. They disconnected the battery for 1/2 an hour to reset the EEC memory. Apparantly this makes it re-learn the settings that it needs to manage the engine.
It certainly works of my 1.3 Fiesta.

Simon, January 2010

could be sucking in air, via the intake gasket. Trying spraying some wd40 by the manifold, if the car starts to run a lil lumpy then it will be that. Replace the gasket.
If nothing happens could be water in the system. Give it a gd blast. If not pop it to ur local garage

daniel, November 2009

Also does it on my car... AA came out last night and it stopped doing it...
It's quite annoying when at lights and it sounds like you've got your foot on the accelerator with the hand brake on. Motorway driving to work is always a laugh

Gaiaroo, November 2009

Just had the same problem with girlfriends KA, over revving when changing gear and slowing down at traffic lights etc. Looked under the bonnet and saw that the air intake casing was loose. Re positioned casing and drove off, problem gone. I don't think I solved the problem, it just stopped because the car was parked up for a few hours, will have to see what happens this week.

Neil Duran, August 2009

I had the same problem with my 1998 KA, i just disconnected the throttle position sensor completely and its runs absolutely fine now.

mechanicintraining, December 2008

My little 1996 1.31 fiesta batmobile has exactly the same problem, and it's an annoyingly intermittant issue which I can go for months without experiencing, then suddenly it starts up again.
I find when breaking, the engine will over rev and the whole car will shudder - sometimes slipping the gear into neutral makes it stop, but recently that's made no difference at all.
My mechanic has prodded and poked and rummaged around but found no reason for this revving, and no solution, so I'm assuming it's just one of those things that plague fords.

DeeDee, November 2008

I have just fixed the probem on the wifes 1996 fiesta 1.3 Endura. All I did was disconnect the battery to reset the EEC memory. I reconnected the battery and it stopped over revving!!! How that worked I don't know but the car has not overevved since?

Anthony Williams, September 2008

yes, my Ka does exactly the same!
Help anyone!

BD, September 2008

Hi, I have a 1999 Fiesta with the over Rev problem, been trying to solve it for the last year, (very expensive) had 2 new idle valves, had engine cleaned and serviced, my over rev problem is all the time, and especially on a motorway run,,, as soon as i go above 60 the revs shoot up like the car thinks im only in 1st gear, and then the engine starts over heating. Need help driving to liverpool soon and this will take hours if i cant go above 50mph !!!! Thanks

Mrs London, June 2008

Just to add something - first try loosening the screws (just a little) with a star screwdriver and tapping the tps so that it moves in the same direction where the throttle turns when increasing the gas.

Be careful not to spray the tps with wd 40 because it will make the problem even worse (it affects it a little) and if you're removing it remember to look carefully where the axle sits in it's slot.

Hrvoje, April 2008

I was trying to solve this problem for a couple of days and found what causes it. I have an 1998 fiesta with the Endura-e engine (the same is one installed in most KA cars):

- it is caused by the throttle position sensor (tps) - a small black plastic piece with a three-wire plug which is located on the back side of the throttle body.

- in my case it was not faulty because i've taken it out and measured it with an ohm-meter, nor was the connector faulty. I've read that sometimes the connector itself can fail, and that there exsists a revised one.

- it was the wrong resistance of the tps in the idle throttle position that was causing it - it seems that this is a design flaw and that TPS is set to work near the "edge" and over time when the material changes its properties this causes it to go over the ege - and overrev.

The TPS in endura-e is a potentiometer which is connected like this:

- one pin is connected to the minus (chasis)
- the second one is connected to constant 5 volt source from the eccu

- the middle pin is the slider and changes the voltage as the throttle turns. When you turn the key (give a contact) and measure the voltage between it and the chassis in idle, it has to be 0.4 V. In my case it was 0.5 V

You can adjust this sometimes by loosening the screws on the tps and moving it to the side (it has a little play)

What I did (and I don't recommend it :) is to solder a 5k trimmer pot between the slider (middle pin) and a minus pin and with it I can regulate the idle voltage from 0 to 0.55 V and by experimenting i could clearly see:

- if I set it above 0.4 V it has a tendency to revv a little longer
- if I set it above 0.45V it is overevving madly
- if it's at 0.4V - its fine

Of course you shouldn't turn the trimmer too low not to short-circuit the ecu source, and if it's set too low the engine might have a tendency to stall at idle. AND NEVER DO THIS if you don't know how to fit it firmly and to insulate it properly.

PS My car is still sometimes stalling when idling, but I think, This is an another problem (with the idle air control valve)

Hrvoje

Hrvoje Dagelic, April 2008

Same problem here - I realised that the noise was in fact me doing an engine impression through my mouth - without noticing. Now that I've stopped, the car works fine.

Dan, April 2008

I believe its the air bypass valve. (silverish thingy near the front of the engine. Dump it in a bucket of petrol for a bit, replace and PRESTO! :)

Jaymz ZA, January 2008

A word of warning - I got charged £100 for a new idle valve control and it has not made any difference what so ever.

I am sick of garages and other people traeting me as if I am stupid about this problem with people asking me if I'm "sure you're not accidentally pressing the accelorator" as if I'm stupid and one mechanics telling me its just the noise a car makes when it's gathering mementom as if I'm that stupid I don't know the difference between what a car engine sounds like and what mine is doing. Also of course, as its an intermittent problem, it never ever does it when I take it into a garage.

Lucy, July 2007

ive just started with the same problem! my car was over revving when breaking, i called the aa out to have a look. they took it for a test drive and told me that nothing was wrong with the car, that night i drove home from work and the engine cut out several times when i went in to 1st at junctions, and when i reversed in to the driveway. ive just had new break disks and pads fitted few days ago, could the garage have caught something while doing the work?

gemma, March 2007

Had the same problem with a ford ka engine revs wouldnt settle after being in gear, new TPS and a rinse out of the idling valve with wd40 - good as new. Pretty sure it was the TPS though.

Ian, January 2005

your problem is a throttle position sensor also ask 4 the modified multiplug in you local ford dealer.

mec, September 2004

I had the same problem and I signed up with fixafordcar and they sent me the answer, it turned out to be a sensor. My boyfriend at the time put one on and it was as good as gold. The local garage had already tried the idle valve £100 later it was still the same

Sally, August 2004

I also think it may be ur idling valve sticking locate remove get some white spirit or petrol and pot idle valve in and clean if this doesn’t work check for engine drawing air into inlet manifold via gasket or breather hoses

bert, August 2004

The CPU is in trouble I Think, their is a switich from preventing your car from stalling in gear!

Morgan, August 2004

my car does the same too, its a ford fiesta and mine is intermittent also

Kerrie, August 2004

sounds like your idling valve is sticking

john, August 2004