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Thanks!

That's interesting - and it told you it didn't work because although the performance was useless, it was consistently useless? When I disconnected mine I couldn't tell much other than I was about to be hit by a bus when I pulled out of a road! Perhaps the extreme excitement of that blurred my senses somewhat! I think I'll have another go.

That wasn't me who got it sorted, but it is interesting. Now you mention it, although the performance was down when I disconnected the MAf, it was consistently down. It's also interesting that yours was better with the MAF connected, yet it was still faulty. That sounds pretty close to what I'm experiencing. Still I intend to get it diagnosed if I can first.

Thanks that's kind. I'm actually in Berkshire. I guess the VW or Ford dealer will be able to do it. I used to know a local guy some years ago who specialised in VW's and had the software, however he's moved!

Oh dear, that makes grim reading! I hope it is the MAF too. Is there a way to get it checked out before I splash out, possibly needlessly, on a new one?

Right. Can't visibly see any problems with the hoses. The egr is reasonably clean, as is the air filter. But there are some newer developments!!!!!! When accelerating in 3rd, 4th or 5th (not the others because the car is not having as much load in 1st and 2nd), at about 2000 - 3500 revs, the car accelerates but you can feel it being inconsistent - almost hesitant. It pulls fine then hangs back a bit, then pulls again, drops off, etc etc. Perhaps this is the start of the MAF going??? The other thing that I noticed at the weekend - and really a lot this morning, was the cloud of blue smoke as I started the engine from cold. Doesn't do it when it is warm, but on a cold start there seems to be loads of blue smoke. This morning the wind was blowing from behind the car and it blew the smoke all around the car and off across the garden. Lots of it!

No, that was by my calculations as I don't have the trip computer. What I do is fill the tank to the top every time and just work it out from the trip mileometer. What I have noticed though is that the speedo and consequently the mileometer under-read. Speedo is more or less OK up to about 40, then it starts dropping by about 5mph so that at 70 on the clock I'm actually only doing 65. This is according to my sat nav with 12ft or less accuracy - which means its speed calculations are pretty good. Mileage is only a bit out, but over 100 miles is usually about 5 miles wrong.

Thanks. Yes all of this helps. Today I disconnected the MAF. Boy what a difference. No acceleration at all. Once reconnected, it was fine again. So I guess the MAF is not the culprit. I will have a look at the filters and egr. It had the air filter changed a year ago and a new fuel filter, oil filter and oil change 3 months ago. I have just filled up this afternoon and got 39mpg. It has been much better than this in the past. I haven't checked the hoses yet, but will - at the same time as the egr. As for driving, I mainly use it for long motorway journeys and occasional driving the family into town. In October I drove it to the south of France and back - and it was as good as gold. Fully loaded we were doing a constant 80 - 85mph and got about 45mpg. Once again, this is all good advice. Thank you! :rolleyes:

Will do. It's piddling down here today, so hopefully do that tomorrow (wife permitting!) Thanks - will report back when I have.

Thanks - I will do that today and report back. And yes, I have the glow plug light intermittently coming on - which I think is the brake pedal switch, however the performance is poor whether it is on or off. It doesn't always come on, it tends to be when cruising on the motorway or leaving the car idling for longer periods of time.

Hi I have been reading as many threads on poor performance as I can, but I'm still not confident that I'm on the right track. My 98 TDi normally runs beautifully, but recently a number of things have started happening. I'll give them in order: 1. At MOT, it just scraped through emissions. They said "you need a service" and I told them it had just had one! 2. At night as I'm driving and I pull away from lights or accelerate (not madly mind you) I can see lots of smoke in my rear view in the beams from the car behind. I also notice soot if my wife drives off (with me watching out of the car) 3. I used to get about 42 to the gallon consistently, but now it's slipping into the late 30's. 4. Power seems OK - but I'm not a hacker and am used to small engined cars (apart from my last Galaxy which was a V6 and like a rocket!!) I seem to think it's the MAF or injectors? I haven't disconnected the MAF because I've read a lots of posts that seem to contradict the outcome of doing so. Any suggestions, tips, checks etc would be very helpful. Thanks (and seasons greetings :rolleyes: )

Thanks, it's the weekend (hooray) so I will try it out tomorrow and report back.

Hi I have managed to open my boot from the inside after it stopped working. Hard job with lots of cuts to my arms! The switch works - and I can hear the relay clicking, but nothing else is. The wiring seems to be OK, but connecting a voltmeter to the connector to the solenoid seems to give mixed readings each time the switch is operated. It varies from 2V to 10.5V. Any ideas? How can I test things? I am not sure what voltage the solenoid needs to trigger - and for how long the voltage should be there (ie is it a pulse rather than a continuous feed)? Do I just feed 12V to the solenoid or will that ruin it? If it is not the solenoid, could it be the relay or something much worse!!! Thanks

Thanks for that. I did read the other posts (especially the one with the differing opinions!) but mine doesn't fit their description. It has always been "normal" without excessive travel and even now sudden, non-progressive low speed braking is absolutely fine. Did the tests. No engine running, pedal hard - no progressive travel. Start engine with foot on brake and it goes down - but again - no further travel. I may be getting paranoid, but I can hear a whooshing sound as I press the brake. It comes from the pedal area. It might have done this before - but I've not noticed it. Then again - I've never listened before! I've had the car nearly 2 years and it has never done this before. There's a little niggle in my mind that the brake test in the MOT could have done something, because up to then - nada.

Just got through the MOT yesterday without a hitch and then today when I was progressively braking, the pedal kept going down. Pumping it brought it up again - and when braking normally it is OK. It is the slow gentle braking at low speed where the pedal sinks. Any ideas? (96 2.8 Galaxy)

Yes, that's the same as mine. If it gets into the N raqnge, it is only just. Thanks for the help. B)

Thanks - that makes it very clear. :D Maybe because our drive is at an angle, it flashes for low coolant level - and then when on the road, turning off and restarting clears it because it's level. I will keep my eye on it. As for my temp, it never really gets out of the very first segment past cold and I've never seen it point vertically even when stuck in a summer traffic jam!

Embarassingly simple question, but I never got a handbook! What is the red warning light immediately above the temp guage. Occasionally mine comes on and flashes. If you turn the engine off and restart it goes off. If you keep driving, it stays on for the whole journey no matter how long.

Yep, he had the tool. Didn't need leads. Had all the filters changed, oil and new plugs, plus new brake pads. All in

Thanks for that. It might be what they were talking about at that price. I am not sure about the tool - but I will find out tomorrow as it goes in for the service........ Here's hoping !

Ahh, the plot thickens!! Thanks for all the advice. It is interesting that they said to me "the leads sometimes break when you take them off the plugs, so be prepared for a new set of leads". Hmmmm, perhaps we are lacking the right tools! Got to say that the guy is a good mechanic and I've used him for years - so hopefully I'm getting the wrong end of the stick. He is honest too - certainly everytime before. I guess if I mention all this before he starts working on it, it may help to more clearly estimate the bill. Thanks again chaps!

Yeah, that's what I was worried about! Seems like a lot of money. Normally I'd do the usual stuff myself, but I just haven't got time at the moment. Having never needed to do anything to the car in 6 months is good but it does mean that I am not familiar with the cost of parts. Actually it is very reliable and incredibly smooth and quiet. I suppose a major service once every 3 years (what they told me I ought to do) is not bad. I'm going to mention to them when I take it in about the prices. Maybe I can call their bluff. It may also be that I misheard them, but I'm 95% sure I didn't. Out of interest, was yours a non Ford garage? Thanks for the advice and links!

I am having a full service and have been told to expect: 1. Plugs at a cost of

It now appears that it wasn't coincidence. Because the brains of the window controls has gone awol, the mechanism doesn't know when to stop and so on closing keeps turning, breaking the plastic clips. Now I have to find out how to stop it!!!!

Hi My window winder mechanism fell to pieces. I thought it was through age fatigue on the plastic components, but having just put in a new mechanism, it is close to doing the same again. The auto stop feature does not work. I noticed this about 3 months ago but just thought it was a pain not a problem. The window doesn't stop when it encounters fingers/apples (see another post!). There have been mentions of the unit that senses this current change in the motors. Does anyone know where it is. Is it the unit under the passenger seat? I have a Mk 1 galaxy. I have checked the wiring between the driver's door and pillar. No problems there - I have even cleaned all the contacts on the multiplug and given a quick squirt of WD40. The runner on the driver's door window is very badly damaged (twisted??!!) and this probably caused the problem with the window meeting resistance and going back down again. This happened when I first had the car - then one day it stopped going back down, but one touch up never worked again and the sunroof wouldn't close on global closing. Sadly I have now just found out that the other mechanism is well on the way to failure like the passenger side. Thanks