nickcockman

Cigarette lighter is best. It also comes on with ignition and goes off on a timer after you lock car - timer is several minutes but it does go off. I used a fuse piggy back thing. Chunky wires feed this so should be fine. I fed the wire into the back of the glove box and put a cigarette lighter socket and twin USB adapter in there to run devices off. Good luck... :)

I've just replaced mine with some LED - think they are W5W 501. One only lasted a couple of hours use but replacement seems fine. LEDs seem to be a bit hit and miss... :( I did the driver side by removing the headlight (two screws) and you can just about get to it to remove and replace. Passenger side is a pain. You have to remove the whole fog lamp unit. One bolt underneath that you can just about see if you shine a light through one of the holes near the hole to get to the bolt. Then I managed to lever the unit out. Scratched the surround a little. It has clips at top and the whole unit sort of comes out towards the centre of the car slightly - if you see what I mean. Good luck - make sure you don't break the unit! I used a rag around a flat head screwdriver to lever with. Also, I found the LED lights so bright that I stuck a couple of bits of masking tape to reduce the glare. Otherwise I think it might irritate drivers in front through their mirrors! ;)

I had both replaced on my previous 2008 galaxy 2.2 tdci. Think it cost me £200 cash as needed a special tool to push them out/in which local mechanic didn't have. Took me ages to find where it was squeaking from. Rubber bit towards the middle of the car on rear suspension arm. Would only squeak on a long journey but then got worse and I could squeak it by rocking car. Hope you manage to get it sorted... :)

Ok, so I realised after taking the car for a spin in the dark that I have lights that come on when steering - that is what the extra halogen lights are for. It happened that the car was parked on the drive with the steering to the left! :) Anyway, I'm in France and lights are fine. I simply adjusted the max left side to lower it an inch or so...

By the way. I adjusted the yellow max height adjuster with the lights OFF in case it might affect the xenon levelling system. I am feeling my way so please don't take my findings as perfect info but more as reference! :)

Did some more investigating last night in the dark using a stick and some white paper to measure height of light. The passenger xenon is set around an inch higher than the driver. I gave the outter yellow passenger headlight adjuster two turns clockwise. From googling this sets the max height of the light. Now the passenger is around the same height as the driver side. I used a stick with some white paper behind it to mark the height of the light beam to see what adjustment I was getting. I also checked the spray from the passenger dipped halogen which comes on when the engine is running. The reflectors from this halogen provide massive spray and I believe would be the main cause of issues for driving abroad. So, in summary... I can set the passenger xenon at the same height as the driver side. I can also disconnect the halogen dipped bulb which sprays from the passenger side. This will allow me to travel in France without using deflectors or any masking. If there was a way to turn OFF the passenger dipped halogen and turn the DRIVER dipped halogen on in France, this would be the ideal. I feel this must be a software tweak... If only ForScan could do it... :( Hopefully this is of some use to someone. If anyone knows of other references to this dipped halogen I would be very interested to read more about how it works. Cheers, Nick

Just to follow up on this old thread. My mechanic friend created a plate bent to shape to send the oil around the exhaust and then into the plastic under tray. He also did this for a 2.2 mondeo with a similar issue. He found a spare bolt thread to attach the plate to the engine. Obviously the way to fix it properly is to get at the top of the return pipe to replace gasket, but this involves a load of work to get to it! Rubbish design... I have since got rid of my 2008 galaxy and bought a 2012. I lost faith with the 2.2 (~140k on the clock) as clutch was on way out and it kept going into limp mode and still had the occassional smoke smell when a drop managed to find it's way to the exhaust. I also had to soak up a load of oil from the under tray on it's last service. Much happier with the newer one although my wallet is some what lighter :( Needs must when it is our only car... Cheers, Nick

Hi all, I emailed Ford about adjusting lights for France, they said contact dealer. I contacted dealer who said I would need to take car in before and after trip to have the lights plugged in and adjusted before and after the trip. He suggested they would be lowered. Cost would be £45 for each visit... I don't think so! When I put lights on with the ignition on, the xenon's light up. If I start the engine, a halogen lights up on the passenger side (in addition to the xenons) providing 'spray' out to the left. There is a halogen in the driver side which never lights up, however the bulb is fine. They halogens are different to the full beam halogens. See the attached picture showing the headlight configuration. I have unplugged the passenger side 'dipped' halogen and no bulb faults show up in the dashboard. So I'm thinking I can just unplug this and tape up the connector when I'm in France and don't need to worry about eurolite stickers? When I look at the xenon pattern against my garage door the pattern seems very horizontal and I can't see any glare off towards the passenger side. I'm guessing that the passenger side 'dipped' halogen can be turned off using Ford software for driving on the right, and if you were staying abroad for a long period you could get the driver side 'dipped' halogen turned on with the software. This is just a guess though! :) What are people's thoughts? Thanks, Nick

In answer to my own question ;) the galaxy takes up to a 315mm length battery - in fact the current battery I have is this length Ford branded one. I've ordered a Varta F18 silver 85Ah 800 A CCA from Tayna Batteries on ebay for £78.95 all in - seems like a good price to me... Cheers, Nick BTW - full battery dimensions are 315mm x 175mm x 175mm (length/width/height) and the battery tray in the galaxy accepts 315mm length and then there are two smaller positions for the clamp around 30mm between each bolt point one. Also, to remove the battery, pop off the plastic air pipes off the filter and pop out the air filter box. The front of the plastic cover round the battery unclips on either side and can be removed. Disconnect the positive and make sure it is out of the way. On the right hand side unscrew the earthing strap where it is bolted to the car - this is an extension wire that goes from battery earth to the car. Then unscrew the battery clamp at the front of the battery and slide the battery out. Easy, but I didn't find many references on the web... :)

Hi - just a quick question... Will the mk3 tdci (2008 2.2) take a battery with dimensions 175mm x 175mm x 315mm? Various sites suggest it will, but I wanted to check. I know that I could pull the current battery out and see if it takes a slightly longer one, but was hoping I could save myself the hassle if someone has already put a longer battery in their galaxy... :) Thanks in advance! Cheers, Nick

Hi again, Would anyone be able to give me some advice on a small oil leak from the oil return pipe on the turbo please? It is only a small weeping as far as I can tell, unfortunately though when it drips some of it goes onto part of the exhaust then causes a few minutes of smoke! The smoke enters the cabin so stinks and really need to get it sorted... :( I have attached a picture showing where I think the oil is coming from. The car still drives fine, and there doesn't appear to be any problems with the turbo - no noise, smoke or noticeable loss of oil etc. so hopefully there is nothing wrong with the turbo! 1. Is it common for this pipe to start leaking where it joins the turbo? 2. Could it be something more serious than just a leaking return pipe which might cause turbo problems at some point? 3. How easy is it to fix it? What's required to get to both bolts of the return pipe mount bracket to replace the gasket? 4. Can I just make up a bracket with a little plate to collect the oil and then empty it every year?! ;) Any info is much appreciated! Thanks in advance, Nick

Thanks for your reply. I think you are correct. It seems that the majority of towbar sites list them as 2006 and up. It would seem reasonable that it would be the same as it would be costly to make radical changes for the newer ones. Cheers, Nick

Hi, quick question. Do all tow bars that fit a 2006 galaxy (mk3) fit cars up to the most recent? Some tow bar sites seem to suggest a difference again at ~2010?... Many thanks in advance. Cheers, Nick

I've got a manual box - does the auto box have some electronic module that can be programmed then? Just noticed that your 2.2 has 200 and mine is only 170ish... ;) ... how did they gain the extra 30bhp in the newer ones? Also - do you know why my signature is showing as my old car?? I've updated my profile... Thanks, Nick

121k, so may as well get it done and dusted now :)