hampstead

Hi Could just be a coincidence, but while I was trying to figure out why my car is running so badly I discovered that the washer fluid pipe had come adrift in the passenger footwell. Fixed it thanks to the threads on here (although mine is of a different - but evidently no better - design to the various photos on here). The cloth wrapping of the wiring loom that passes down the nearside of the car is pretty wet and the car has been running horribly (see throttle position sensor thread) - could the water leak have something to do with the poor running? Thanks, Matt

Possible change of direction on this - I've just detected and repaired the classic fault with the rear washer fluid pipe. This has saturated the passenger footwell and the large chunk of wiring loom that passes along side it. I'll put a fan heater in there to try and dry it out overnight. I've read the consequences of this leak can be dire - will post a new thread asking what can go wrong as a result. Cheers, Matt

Rhodesmi, were you able to resolve the problem? Thanks, Matt

Is that blue switch at the pedal? Thanks, Matt

Interesting - my TDi 110 is also playing up shortly after a cambelt change - runs, but not properly. I'll keep an eye on this thread... May help you to check out my TPS thread - contains a short yarn about my cambelt change - it coincided with problems with my immobiliser servo and EGR valve. Good luck, Matt

Thanks everyone, Brake lights all OK. MAF sensor I believe is OK, as I know what it was like when it didn't work before, and the problem I have now is quite different to what it was then. I came across a site - www.dieselbob.co.uk - which suggests I should add the injection pump to my list of possible causes... Meantime, I'm still keen to try a new TPS - anyone bought one before?? Cheers, Matt

Been having a spot of bother with the Galaxy lately (1998 TDi 110), trying to eliminate possibilities one by one and I think a relatively cheap thing to try is a new TPS. Can anyone recommend where I can get one? Ideally I'm looking for a brand new part for sensible money - would be quite happy with a pattern part though. Thanks very much! Matt ------------------ For your general amusement here's a brief tale of what's happened so far, any suggestions welcome... Car has about 110,000 miles on the clock, was running fine, needed to do a long trip abroad fullly laden, due a service soon, so I thought why not put it in for a service before I go, get the cambelt changed too, so off it went to the garage (friendly local independent place, not marque specialists but well regarded, have been OK in the past). In the course of the cambelt change, two problems materialised/occurred. First, the immobiliser servo failed, meaning the car would not start after the cambelt was changed. After fitting a new servo, it would start but ran very rough. They twice re-checked the work they had done on the cambelt change and could not find fault with it and eventually diagnosed a problem with the EGR valve, which they cleaned up. So after 8 days in the garage I got the car back, we do the big trip and the car is all fine for about a month (over 2,000 miles) after the service, but suddenly it has thrown up a couple of problems which may or may not be related: 1) ABS warning light permanently on, red brake warning light on occasionally. Then a few days later: 2) Varying degrees of hesitancy when putting my foot down - this can be when pulling away from stationary, or accelerating from a constant speed. Sometimes it will rectify itself, other times it chugs along well short of power. The natural tendency is to press a little harder when that happens, which results in a disgraceful belch of smoke from the exhaust. I will get the ABS warning checked - hopefully it is just a sensor - I've had one fail before. At this stage I am thinking of the ABS and power problems as unrelated coincidences, but could it be that the engine management thinks I am braking and is modifying the fuelling? Assuming the two are unrelated, I am fairly confident it is not the MAF sensor which I replaced about 18 months ago, and the 2,000+ good miles since the service makes me think the timing was all fine when they gave me the car back. If a new TPS doesn't help, what else would people suggest I look at - throttle actuator, vacuum pipes, turbo, ECU...? Thanks again

OK, thanks, they were obviously justified in disconnecting the battery. I guess I will never know one way or the other if the ignition was on when they reconnected. Has become quite a saga. Car went in Monday morning and is still there! Hope it comes back soon...

Hi all My Galaxy has been at the friendly local garage (not a dealership) having a full service and I asked them to also change the cambelt. According to them, they disconnected the battery to do the belt change, and that in turn was the last straw for the immobiliser servo, so I will now have a much bigger bill for the labour to diagnose why it wouldn't run after fitting the belt. Fair enough, worn things can finally fail when you start prodding around. But is it really necessary to disconnect the battery to change the belt - I thought the belt was on the offside and the battery on the nearside - if so it's unlikely to be for reasons of access. Anyone know? Thanks!

Thanks for the reply. Been away from a PC for a while so hadn't seen it, but the MAF sensor is fine (I replaced it about 6 months ago) and all the brake lights work OK (curious to know why I needed to check that!). Any other ideas from anyone? Thanks.

Car is a 1998 TDI 110. On 3 separate occasions recently when putting my foot down hard to overtake from a steady speed, the throttle has become unresponsive and the engine died back to a fast idle. This is accompanied by an orange warning lamp flashing on the dash, which I think is the glow-plug lamp. Turning the engine off and re-starting clears the fault - car otherwise runs fine. Can anyone suggest some areas I could investigate (including where physically on the car) before sending it off for some dealer diagnostics? Thanks.

Looks like it is an AFN engine after all.

Think I've found the answer...arrow shows location of next photo.

Engine number begins WJ then five digits - no sign of "AFN" in VIN or engine number. How easy is it to post pictures on here? - maybe I could take a couple of snaps and see if anyone can identify it!

Back to (almost) the original subject of this thread, I'm trying to find the identity of my TDI engine, so I can buy the appropriate MAF sensor from GSF. I have a 98R Galaxy Ghia X, which I believe is a 110bhp model. TDI badge on the tailgate is silver with all red outline, but I don't know if that's its original badge. When I phoned GSF, the chap needed to know if I have the AFN engine - how can I tell that? Their website seems to list two possible parts: (1) Part 18790 for SH 1.9 TDi 98> (Ch.7M-W-020 001>) AVG/AHU/AFN Engs. at

Since you already suspect the tailgate...I think I have read on here somewhere that the pipework for the rear screen washer is prone to coming adrift/leaking. That happened on a Mk4 Golf we had, and water collected inside the tailgate round the handle and caused a sensor to short, which then triggered the alarm. It may even be the same handle on the Galaxy and Golf. Now the possible pathways for water to get from the washer piping to the handle don't look as 'easy' on the Galaxy as the Golf, but it might be worth you removing the inner trim of the tailgate to see if there is any water in there. As for the bike carrier, does it hook round the top of the tailgate? Maybe it could have dislodged something there. HTH

So running with the MAF sensor unplugged (as I have done this weekend) may not be too clever after all... Is it a DIY job to replace it?

The suggestion that a faulty MAF sensor could result in a blown turbo is interesting...anyone know if there's any truth in it? I've only had my TDI 110 for about 3 weeks, and having nothing to compare it to, I decided to unplug the sensor yesterday just to see if there was any discernible difference - the performance is better with it unplugged, which suggests the sensor is duff. I can't tell how long it might have been like that, though. Being cheapskate, I thought I might run around for a while with it unplugged until I decide whether to bother replacing it. GSF have Air Mass Meters from

This is the link Ivor mentions: http://www.environcarsales.co.uk/ A used 2.0 litre goes for

Hello When I bought my 1998 Galaxy used recently it came with 2 plain black keys and one with the remote pushbuttons, all of which work in the locks and can start the car. There's no red key, though. The central locking won't work remotely, so I've followed the procedure found in the manual and on this site (quoted here from SeatKid) 1. Close all the vehicle doors. 2. Note: Make sure the door lock cylinder is held in the unlock position for more than 0.5 seconds. Insert the key into the driver door lock cylinder and turn the key from the rest position to the unlock position three times within five seconds. 3. The door lock light emitting diodes (LED)s will illuminate for 15 seconds during the remote transmitter programming mode, allowing the remote transmitter to be programmed. 4. Remove the key from the driver door lock cylinder and aim the remote transmitter at the interior rear view mirror. 5. Press and hold the LOCK button on the remote transmitter. 6. While holding the LOCK button down, press the UNLOCK button three times on the remote transmitter. 7. Release both buttons simultaneously. 8. Make sure the door lock LEDs flash five times, confirming that the remote transmitter has been programmed. 9. After a remote transmitter has been successfully programmed, the GEM will reset the programming mode, allowing a further 15 seconds to program the next remote transmitter. 10. To program additional remote transmitters, repeat steps 4 to 8. 11. Make sure that all the doors lock and unlock, confirming that the GEM is no longer in programming mode. 12. Test all the programmed remote transmitters, by activating and deactivating the locking and unlocking functions. All works fine up to stage 4 - the LED on the door lights for 15 seconds. After stage 7, the LED on the key flashes five times, but the one on the door just remains continuously on until the end of the 15 seconds and then goes out - it doesn't flash. To me that would suggest either the key isn't transmitting properly, or the receiver isn't working (or perhaps not present), or the GEM isn't working properly. Can anyone shed any light on this or is a visit to the dealer in order? Thanks.

Hello On our 1998 Galaxy, above the jack storage compartment is another compartment covered by a flap, containing the CD changer. Next to the changer there's a shaped piece of foam that looks like it's intended to hold something - can anyone tell me what it's for? Thanks!

Thanks kalel for the link. Looks like the VIN doesn't contain engine info, though - does anyone know how to interpret engine numbers! We found an insurer who doesn't make a distinction between a 90 and a 110, so we are up and running.

Hello We've just bought a 98R TDI Galaxy which we pick up tomorrow, so I'm trying to arrange insurance for it. Most insurers seem to be unable to identify it accurately from the number plate - some think it's a 2.0 petrol for instance. The AA car data check identifies it as a Ghia X TDI 110, which I believe to be correct. I would have thought the VIN plate could tell me exactly what model it is - does anyone know how to interpret the VIN? Many thanks.