Troubleshooting — general information (Transit 2)

If you regularly service your vehicle according to the recommended schedule, you should not need to refer to this section of the manual very often. The service life of original components is such that if critical components subject to wear or deterioration are inspected or replaced within the specified timeframes, the likelihood of sudden failure is relatively low. Failures usually occur not so much as a result of a sudden failure, but rather develop over a period of time. Serious mechanical failures are usually preceded by characteristic symptoms that appear hundreds, even thousands, of miles before the breakdown. Those components that sometimes fail suddenly are, in most cases, small and easily replaceable (for example, light bulbs).

Having discovered any sign of a malfunction, the first thing you need to do is decide where to start looking. Sometimes the cause of a breakdown is obvious, but in other cases a little detective work is required. By making half a dozen adjustments or replacements using the random trial method, you can successfully get rid of the fault (or its symptoms), however, you may be left with nothing if the fault persists, which can ultimately lead to excessive waste of time and money. A calm and logical approach to searching is usually more rewarding in the long run. Remember to pay attention to any warning lights or abnormalities in individual systems that may be noticed before a malfunction occurs - loss of power, excessively high or low gauge readings, unusual odors, etc. - and remember that failure of components such as fuses may be due to the development of some more serious malfunction.

The following pages contain a brief overview of the causes of the most common problems that may arise during the operation of the vehicle. These problems and their possible causes are grouped under the appropriate headings indicating the various components (or systems), such as the engine, cooling system, etc., to which the malfunction relates. The Chapter or Section to refer to when checking a particular cause is given in parentheses. Whatever the fault, there are a number of basic principles that apply when troubleshooting it. These principles are as follows:

Make sure there is a malfunction. This makes it much easier to find a fault if you know exactly what symptoms preceded it. Additionally, this is especially important if you are troubleshooting a problem for someone else who may not be able to accurately describe the symptoms.

If a fault occurs in an electrical circuit, first check to see if the wires are broken, and only then proceed to check the equipment.

Replacing a dead battery with a new, fully charged one will prevent it from draining quickly, but if the underlying cause is not addressed, the new battery will drain just as quickly.

Keep in mind that a "new" item may have defects (especially if it was not packaged tightly and was "rattling" in the packaging), so never refuse to inspect an item just because it is new or recently installed. Failure to follow these principles will result in a situation where, after all the checks have been carried out, it will turn out that the component that was faulty was the one that was missed at the very beginning.

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