Ivor_E_Tower

Got back tonight to find the trim around the rear wiper spindle and lower edge of rear window on the inside of the tailgate is hanging off - obviously the hot (!) weather and the shock of closing the tailgate have loosened it. Anyone know the best way to re-fit it before I try to tackle it myself later in the week? TIA

If you don't mind driving 2 jcts up the M3, can I recommend Premier Car Care in Camberley (formerly something like Auto Electric Centre) with whom I have no connections other than as a satisfied customer.

I'm no legal expert but I think you have 2 basic choices - (1) go along tomorrow and insist that you speak to someone senior at the garage and remain on-site to observe what they do and what they find, or (2) get an independent examination done and a report written which you can then use as leverage to get the garage to fix the faults - assuming that this is what the independent report will find. If the garage seem quite genuinely concerned, then I would suggest that option (1) is better bet. Glad to hear that nobody was hurt - and don't forget to always leave the car in gear when you park it - especially a Galaxy as it has rear discs and apparently no separate drums for the handbrake - the handbrake apparenlty works by applying the rear pads to the discs, and as the pads cool down after a journey, they relax their grip and are less effective. A chap who services CMM machines who visits a company I used to work for had a similar thing happen when he let his wife borrow his Alhambra - he always left in in gear, she didn't. He had a downward sloping driveway and was able to watch in horror as his wife got out of the car and slammed the door, that it slowly rolled down his driveway and into his house......

...or a lose connector into the indicator stalk? Try taking the steering column shrouds off and checking, then follow the wires down towards the firewall/bulkhead.

...or just buy one of the wide-field-of-view clip-on ones from your local motoring accessory shop :D

There is a known problem with some instrument assemblies. IIRC nobody has actually posted to say that there is a fix for it. We did have some members say that there was no point in changing the clocks (and Ford stopped doing it) because there was a risk that the new replacement would do the same. Best to check with your dealer.

Yes, but Russ's problem is not so much that they don't work, as that they don't seem to be working properly. This is odd, especially with rear screen, as it should either work properly or not at all. Any broken wires will be obvious as the mist will not clear from around them (have had 2 broken wires in one of my wife's previous cars so I can tell you it really is obvious). Front screen is a different matter as the wires are thin and embedded in the glass. Wires do break inside the glass and cannot be repaired.

Can confirm it's just as you say, but also don't know about the front indicators. The rears are orange-coloured 21watt bayonet fitting. Bought a spare set of bulbs 2 weeks ago, you see, but I have some leftovers from before.

Then I suspect that the aerial lead has somehow fallen off, or the fuse to the aerial amplifier has blown. However, if there really is all that noise on all wavebands, it's more likely to be no aerial. Do you have the special "keys" to remove it and check?

Depends how badly misted up/frosted over the glass is before you switch them on :D Battery should not make much difference as when the engine is running the alternator will supply the electricity to run the electrics. Check that you have over 13 volts across the rear screen heater; if necessary unplug the wires and measure the resistance of the wires with the power OFF. (If you don't have one, get a cheap multimeter from Argos, Index, Halfrauds etc - under a tenner).

Sounds are always difficult to diagnose over the internet! Could be nothing to worry about, but you never know. Does it have a genuine oil filter, or a factored part that may not have an anti-drain valve meaning that when cold, some engine bits don't have a coating of oil, resulting in an odd noise?

Nope, not a small backstreet garage but a proper "VBRA-approved" paintshop. Ask around - there are so many that just like to replace panels rather than having skilled panel-beaters who can work magic. My wife "did in" the front passenger door and sill of my old Honda a few years ago. First two places I went to effectively wanted to write the car off as they wanted to replace the whole door. Third place, recommended by a young lad at work who repaired insurance write-offs for a hobby, panel-beat the worst of the dent out, filled and re-sprayed. Unless you shone a bright light on the door, and squatted down and squinted from the front or rear of the car, you could not tell that it had been damaged and repaired. I was most impressed.

Questions, questions..... I take it you have radio-cassette and CD unit (Ghia)? Was power to the radio interrupted when the battery was replaced, or did they connect a small battery across the terminals to keep it powered? Do tapes play? Is the radio dead on all wavebands? Does the radio display work, and just no radio sound? Have you tried pulling the fuse to the radio, waiting a couple of minutes, then re-inserting the fuse? (Make sure you have the radio code to hand first).

Yes, I bought a Bosch rear wiper last year as well and have the same problem, top of screen left unwiped despite me trying to bend a new profile to the blade support. Don't dare ask how much Ford want for a new one though!

Price sounds OK - was it private or from a garage/dealer? There is a way of coding the keys yourself, try a search on this forum; I take it that you have another remote key that works - some earlier cars did not have remote locking so although a previous owner may have bought an additional/replacement remote key, it need not necessaily work.

..should have added that mine are the old-style traditional blades, not the newer spindle ones. Have not yet noticed anyone selling the new-style ones, so good to know that GSF sell them.

Don't go to the dealer - find a good local bodyshop with "proper" panel-beaters. You will get a much better job done this way - offer them cash for a "private job" and they will probably bite your arm off to do the work. The paint around chips needs to be rubbed down to the same level as the chips to make them "disappear". If you are in the GU postal district I can recommend a few places to try.

Champion as in the spark plug company? Should be OK. Have you tried the Halfrauds in Basingstoke? 28" left and right as a pair, non-aero, Bosch, got mine from Halfrauds in Farnborough last year.

Are you sitting down? :( Around

I'd buy as new as possible (post-facelift rather than pre-) and not worry about the mileage, as long as you say, that all servicing has been done, especially cam belt changes.

Remove from dash using the "standard" U-shaped tools available from car audio shops, Halford etc for about

Don't press the computer reset, it is the trip meter that needs to be held in. Also make sure that you open the bonnet, then close it, a few minutes before doing the "reset" operation-if you don't do this, the computer thinks that no work has been done on the engine so will not reset the service indicator.

Does it happen with the car at rest in neutral too? Unlikely to be the MAF sensor itself. Does it rev above 3000 rpm?

Warranty item, let them sort it out. Any signs that you have tried to have a go yourself, and they may say that you have invalidated the waranty.

You will have to read your warranty terms and conditions. Probably best to stick with Ford dealers when under warranty - bearing in mind the cost of aircon repairs and their likelihood, is it worth trying to save about