Ivor_E_Tower

Metal shim-like bits sounds like bearing shells to me; plenty of smaller bits suggests that somethimng has broken up. If the bits have got into the oil pump, and then the oilways, they will almost certainly have scored (ie wrecked) other surfaces in the engine. Far, far safer to get another engine instead of trying to rebuild this one

Take the engine noise-deadening shield off and have a look at the back of the alternator. There will be a VW-Audi part nuumber there. It's almost certainly the same as fitted to mine (see my thread on non-starting dead Galaxy). Are you certain that you need a new alternator? Read the thread and see what happened to my Gal. Initially there seemed nothing wrong with the feed fuse box, but 4 months down the line and with no further issues until this week, things are different. See top wire below and white discoloration of the fusebox http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b352/IvorETower/Gal_fusebox.jpg

Are you definitely trying a Region 2 DVD? I seem to recall that it won't play multi-region or any other region than 2

Yup, that rings a bell. You need to reverse the permanent live and ignition live as per tiny's comment above if you fit an aftermarket unit. Also you need a proper head unit with front/rear fader and wil probably have to run new speaker cables to feed front and rear separately. May be worth talking to your local dealer and seeing if you can find out the name of the audio specialist that they use when customers want to upgrade their music systems

Now, my memory may not be what it is, plus I've lost track with the various systems that have been fitted, but where are you trying to put the DVD? Into the head unit, or isn't the player in the storage bin at the side of the cargo area (or on the floor between the front seats)?

IIRC the flashing display will not automatically reset and needs to be accessed by VAG-COM to stop it from flashing. I may be wrong here, but I am sure that I have read this in the past. VAG-COM will also tell you if the flap is still faulty... could be that the display was flashing because of your compressor fault

LOL !!! Just done a search, actually, and there are several threads on the main feed fuse box and alternator-to-fuse wiring, so I have the 2 part numbers. Just got to phone around tomorrow for price and availability

2002/2003 should give you a choice of 115, 130 or 150 PS engines. All have the same torque output though. Cam belt change is 40,000 or 60,000 miles depending on several factors! and it costs an arm and a leg at a main dealer. Reason is that one wheel has to be removed to get access to the belt and pulleys. From memory I pad around

Looks like it's the high-current fuse box by the screen wash refill.... got hoem from work today and did a few quick electrical checks before switching off..... 11.8V across battery, 11.8 battery positive to alternator body, 0.00 battery negative to alternator body. Opened the fuse box cover and 13.4 from live feeds to battery negative. Waggled wires around, checked dashboard...... no charge light has gone out! Re-check voltage across battery which is now over 13V, so it is charging. There appears to be some swelling and white discolouration at the rearmost terminal in the fusebox as viewed from the front, so looks like I have a visit to the Ford Parts Counter to make tomorrow or Saturday

My problem went away and the auto electrician advised not touching anything. Except... that 4 months later it has returned. Tuesday morning when I started the car to go to work, the "no charge" light stayed on, and the "alternator workshop" message came up. It now does this on every journey so I can only go short distances in the daytime when it's not raining, and when I get home, the battery charger has to be connected up straight away. It's booked into the auto electricians on Monday 18th as I can't spare the car or get there until then (due to business trips away, with transport provided, thank goodness), so I have a few more days of driving with my fingers crossed to go.... This time round, of course, the weather has been warm and dry, so it's not damp that's got into the electrics that is the cause, and as it now happens all the time after 4 months of perfect car behaviour, it's unlikely to be an intermittent connection. I wonder what it is, and how much it's going to cost; the Gal is rapidly becoming the worst vehicle that I have owned

Try taking the unit out, disconnecting all leads, wait a few minutes then re-connect (assuming that you have the code). My parents are on holiday and I've been using their car. The Gal (with 5000-series radio-cassette and CD changer) was left in my garage for 8 days and when I went to use it, the radio was totally dead - no display, nothing. I just removed it from the dash and did the above, and hey-presto! It asked for the code when re-powered up, I entered it in and the unit has worked fine ever since. The hardest part was finding the radio extraction tools; I knew I had a pair somewhere in the house..........

When the blades are parked at the base of the screen, the centre should be lower than the two ends

Ignition lock fault ??? I had a similar issue with my first car many, many years ago... shorted out 2 terminals on the back of the ignition switch with a screwdriver and it started :)

From memory... book at least 2 days off work and be prepared to strip out the entire dashboard to do the job; it's not something to be undertaken lightly.

Indeed, great result. The alternator charge problem seems similar to the issue that stranded me last week except that once mine had packed up, it took an overnight wait for it to surge back into life. Fingers crossed, after blowing the dust out of mine and squirting it with cleaner/lubricant, it has behaved itself. I have not yet found a price for a replacement alternator as low as Francis, I'm still looking at nearer

+1

Thanks Seatkid; I've half-done option 3... it's so dark and cold outside that I have not removed the alternator or end cover as it's not easy to see how, or retain feeling in my fingers whilst working outside. However I have given it a good blow (quite a bit of black dust came out) and squirted it with "protecting lubricant" (not WD40) whilst it was running. Been out for a drive, parked up for about 30 minutes whilst I went into town centre and bought some more contact lens solution, came back to car which has re-started OK, and driven home. I hope this buys me some time to get regulator and new brushes sorted out although I think I will use an auto electrician rather than attempt it myself due to the cold and dark (plus hopefully they will give some sort of guarantee with their work). Motor factors etc are closed today... hopefully some places will be open tomorrow; initial investigations do show that a complete new alternator will be around

Who fixed it, with what and how? What happens when you try to "deselect" sport mode? Warning bleeps, lights or absolutely nothing?

Or should that be Butt in the bedroom ???

Well, this morning everything is fine again..... fully charged battery, 14.4 volts when the engine is running and 12.7-ish when both heated screens are on. So do I risk taking it to the garage on Friday or do I try to seek out an auto electrician who can rebuild the alternator with new brushes and a new voltage reg just to be sure??? Happy New Year all !

Thanks guys but... I already checked the JB, it's fine, no signs of any problems or melting. The cables also look OK. The battery is new, having been changed on Tuesday as part of the garage's first investigation (albeit they have fitted a poxy 64Ah version, about which I am not happy); they said they did a full check and the alternator was charging at 14.5 volts. In which case, how come the RAC on Monday, and me today, are only seeing 12-and-a-bit when the engine is running unless the fault is intermittent (on the alternator - regulator or diode pack maybe), or the new battery is faulty. Just been out to check..... the battery is still disconnected, charging at 2 Amps now, and it's measuring just under 14 volts across the terminals whilst on charge. I intend to leave it on charge all night, check it tomorrow then disconnect it, measure voltage, leave it a few hours then re-check its voltage to see if it is losing voltage on its own when not connected to anything. Edit - and don't forget that I got the "alternator workshop" error message on the dashboard display when all this started....... and again today when the problem recurred

It's been a while since I visited the site... but the Copper ad wasn't replaced that soon, because I came across the bus in Farnham earlier in the year (23 Feb, isn't EXIF data wonderful?) http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b352/IvorETower/DSC_1104bus.jpg

The problem is.. will the garage want to fault find and get just the defective parts, or is it easier and quicker to just change the alternator? Plus I need the car for work on Monday as I'm not on any convenient public transport routes (I suppose I could cycle the 6 miles uphill in the dark.....) As to the price... ouch! Last time I changed an alternator it was just under

Tesco are now doing own-brand "cheap" replacements for the flat-blade wipers; trouble is, I don't think they go up to 28 inches :-(

I suspect the alternator, as originally diagnosed by the RAC.... the voltage across the battery is under 12.5 even with the engine running. The front screen will not switch on - it's inhibited from so doing by the electronics since there is insufficient voltage. I've disconnected the battery and had it on charge for a few hours - charger is still putting out over 4 amps. I stopped charging (It's at 13.2V under no load), reconnected it, and still the same issues when the engine is started... so I've disconnected it again and put it back on charge. Now, I wonder what the chances are on Friday of getting a replacement alternator, and how much it's going to cost... the bill is already just under