Gadgetoid

MM, I stand corrected about glow plugs for the coolant of Audi's but I think I'm correct that there are none in Shalaxys. Thanks for the other post, I am enlightened with respect to the workings of the basic auxiliary heater, but still can't figure out why you need a whole second battery if you want to run it as a parking heater. Surely an electric water pump, fan in the heater unit and the A/C fan are unlikely to drain the main (starter) battery to the point of being unable to start the car unless left on for many hours. I've seen the second battery described as a leisure battery - thought one might be useful to have under the seat, but only to have a 12v supply independent of the main vehicle electrics, so the aftermarket DVD players, fridge, etc... don't get 'unplugged' by the voltage drop whenever the starter motor is engaged. A split charge relay looks to be easily available and cheapish - though it looks as if you shouldn't buy the cheapest available as they will preferentially charge the battery with the lowest charge rather than the starter battery by default. You could probably buy the rest of the kit & caboodle from Frauds ( if I had Microcat I might be able to see there is a fancy plastic mounting box for the second battery to sit in, possibly to prevent acid spills, but of course that program is not available legally). Prices at the usual premium though :lol:

Out of curiosity: Are the Ford Calcium type batteries only found in the petrol Galaxies. I thought they had to have a special alternator to charge them. I figured that the TDi's would probably come with bog standard VW alternators and standard batteries. Certainly the battery in my 2002 TDi is not marked as a calcium battery - but that might not mean much :lol:

From the advert it looks like you get a pump + timer + connections in the upgrade kit. Not sure about relays. Also not sure why an extra battery is required - unless the water pump draws an awful lot of current. I'd always assumed the second battery option was there to make sure there was always plenty of amps to drive the electrical gizmo's used more in the winter, like the front & rear heated screens. Doesn't having a second battery tend to prolong the life of the starter battery (assuming you wire them up properly). I have seen some posts on this forum which talked about glow plugs in the coolant circuit, but never from anyone who has spoken sense elsewhere :lol:

After using this site to sort out several woes I'd thought I'd have a look at the opposition. Found a site for the C8/807/Ulysses series and even the owners who love their cars seem to admit that their reliability is appalling :lol: . The only thing keeping them attached to their cars seems to be the electric sliding doors :)

I'm also thinking about converting the supplementary heater to a parking heater. Found this interesting web page with a Eberspacher Hydronic D5WZ which looks damn similar to the Galaxy aux heater :lol: . http://www.auto-electricals.co.uk/acatmore/hydronicbdws.html They include a refurbished heater in the

Oops! Title too long for topic heading. That lone T at the end is the first part of TDCi - which made me suspicious that the eBay seller didn't know his Galaxy **** from his elbow to start off with :o

For those of you who have seen this on eBay, allow me to stop you wasting your cash :D A simple search on google threw up this link: http://www.ffoc.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=81565 (our thanks to Majestic12 from the Ford Focus Owners Club site) :o Instructions are straightforward. Unfortunately, as might be expected, this doesn't work for a Galaxy Mk 2 TDi - because all the parts too much VW I expect :o . If you do a search for my previous posts you will also discover that the VW/Audi climate control access to the main CPU doesn't work on Galaxy Mk2's either - because the parts are not enough VW I expect :P . Perhaps someone can let me know if this technique does work for Mk1 Galaxies. My gut feeling is that it won't, but I'd be happy for you if I'm wrong :D

Before ripping the dash apart look at the plastic trim at the bottom of the windscreen (that the wiper spindles and washer jets come through). This is held on by some pretty ropey fixators (especially if someone has already b*ggered about with them). They rattle when the windspeed gets up. Take it through an automatic carwash and if the rattle returns when the blower comes across the windscreen, bob's your uncle :blink:

Anyone tried these guys? Wrong side of London for me, but still tempted by someone who says they specialise in Galaxy evaporators http://www.carairconditioning-gatwick.com/index.html Of course, they may just have twigged the amount of work involved and look on it as a cash cow :o

Sorry Taliska, but the line about VAG-COM was just me trying to tease GSMGuy - though he failed to bite <_< I am not clear about the date of changeover to the one piece moulding, but I am sure someone on here was reporting they were trying to replace theirs and couldn't get hold of the proper part (central spares not including the washer jet pieces or something similar) - try doing a search. Or asking the parts chappie at your local Frauds (unfortunately my local chap is useless and the good parts chap from VW is too far away to call on casualy) :lol:

The instructions on Audiworld.com give a different combination of keys to the Ford handbook to change Celcius to Fahrenheit. Not that I understand the Fahrenheit scale ( a bit like measuring distance in leagues really), but it was just to see which worked. Results: Ford 1 Audiworld 0

About 58 quid from Frauds That way you can guarantee the corect style and trim - and tell them to get stuffed if they source the wrong one ;)

There is a plastic push-fit spring lug on the top border of the cupholder assembly. You have to get it forced down with a small screwdriver or similar to pull it out. Its a bit fiddly to do, but it is possible. ;)

Tried the instructions given on Audiworld.com, but unfortunately they don't correlate with the CC unit in a Mk2 Galaxy. Even the Fahrenheit to Celcius combination doesn't match with the Galaxy handbook ;) . I presume that it will be the same for Sharans and Alhambras. Why not try some of the combinations your friend uses and tell us how you got on.

Cannot say I have ever seen one of these on Ebay Best bet would be a specialist scrapyard or Ford/VW/SEAT dismantlers. Next best would be any of the dealers - only a plastic moulded part so unlikley to be too outrageously priced -maybe :angry:

Taliska Spare wheel is lowered by turning a screw on the boot floor near the tailgate - its under the funny circular plastic insert. I think you are right to be concerned about your Cat - had the wifes Gal serviced by Frauds last month and afterwards it was a good 1cm above the max limit on the dipstick. Went back to the service department and they corrected it without quibble the following day, so obviously they knew that they were at fault and that there was a potential for a damage claim arising. Because they have to remove the engine undertray to get at the sump drain it is not an easy job to drain oil from the Gal. Given the overfilling I also felt I had to ask them if they used the special oil for the VW PD engine - servicing manager actually seemed to know what he was talking about, and assured me they did, but I still worry whether the grease monkey who actually did the service followed the right procedures if he'd already cocked up the oil volume. As for Stevebm1's comment, am I right in thinking he has got hold of the wrong end of the stick - your Gal has no wiring loom modifications, you just use one of those wires with a false cassette tape at the end to transfer sound from your DVD player onto the tape heads and so into the stereo system.

Well Martin115 did give the location and name of his garage in the previous thread :rolleyes: HOWEVER if I weren't miles away I would be prepared to try it - anyone who spends some time on this forum picking up nuggets to use back at the workshop can't be bad - EVEN IF HE DOES TEND TO SHOUT :unsure:

Had to replace mine as it was cracked by the previous owner getting a hands free kit fitted - chap who fitted did the screws up so tight it cracked the entire facia and the underlying dash :angry: Anyway bought a new silver facia from Frauds (about 50 quid IIRC) Procedure goes something like: 1. Remove climate control bezel 2. Unscrew 4 mounting screws for climate control panel and remove panel - note order of the electrical connectors 3. Extract and disconnect radio (make sure you have the code first otherwise you will need Frauds to tell you from the radio serial number - and pay their fee). If its the original fit radio the code will be written on a label in the hand grip on the tailgate :D 4. Push out all switch blanks and switches, note which connector with which switch 5. Remove spring loaded cup holders (bit tricky to do, there was a special knack but cannot remember what it was at the moment, something like getting a screwdriver blade above the top lip of the cup holder before it was fully extended, took me about half an hour of fiddling to get them out without breaking <_< ) 6. Should no longer have anything mounted in the silver facia 7. Unscrew mounting screws - one each above the cup holder recesses (so you can't leave them in) and IIRC one at the back of the radio recess Straightforward apart from the cup holders :D . Refitting is the reversal of removal (as they say in Haynes manuals) - cup holders slot in without problems. Doesn't appear that you can swap them for anything useful instead.

TIS = Technical Information System (or something similar). Its the Ford dealer version of a Haynes manual. You can buy a CD or DVD with it on from Ebay. Not been released officially from Fords so strictly you are buying pirated software :rolleyes: . Lots better than a Haynes manual though. The other source of useful information (and debatably a bit more legal) is the Russian website that vr6galaxy pulls his exploded diagrams from: http://www.elcats.ru/imaudivw Though I seem to be having some trouble accessing it at the moment though - also it covers Sharan rather than Galaxy so some trim variation from Galaxies. Hope this helps :angry:

If you can't find a donor scrap car then you can buy all the fittings new from Frauds for about

I. think. that your, volume: is set too^loud and ;leading to a ~lack of (punctuation), making -your "post" very. hard _ to make

Ivor is technically correct - the seats with integrated child seat all have the seat belt locking mechanism fitted on right or left side, but the middle seat needs one on each side (for a mark II with 3 point seatbelt - I presume the earlier versions have a middle seat with the lap belt integrated into the seat) However, if all you want to do is put a toddler in the fold down child seat using the integrated straps, and not using any part of the adult seat belt mechanism, there is no reason why you can't use either a right or left seat in the middle. I have to say that the integrated fold down seat is far superior to putting an afterthought Britax on top of a standard seat. The straps are rock solid. The standard adult seats seemed to be just the wrong shape for the aftermarket child seat to sit properly, so consequently it was always a bit looser than I was happy with. Could just have been the particular model we had, so you might find one that fits better by trialling the fit before buying (our child seat preceded the Galaxy though, and at

Carl - can you post the details of your Air-Con specialist. Wifes Galaxy air con now failing for the third time in 12 months, despite new compressor and dryer last April ;) . Likely to be a slow leak somewhere and I don't trust the Fraud main dealer to find it - and they will charge

Not got one myself but I have heard that some of the early model 6 seaters only have slots for 6 seats. Even if you cannot see the slots though it may be worth lifting the carpet to see if they are there. If your 6 seats are Captains chairs you won't be able to fit 3 across the centre row as the armrests make the chairs wider. Seem to be plenty of standard seats on eBay recently though

To quote from the TIS: "TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN No.118/2000 Car and Light/Medium Commercial 19.10.2000 Section: 412-02 (34) Model: Galaxy with 1.9 TDI engine with booster heater or auxiliary heater, built from 27.06.1997 to 10.09.1999 (build code VR to XJ) Markets: All Subject: Dense black smoke coming from the exhaust pipe of the booster heater Summary Should a customer exprtess concern about black smoke coming from the booster heater. the probable cause may be: 1. Brief, light emission of smoke during start-up and after run of the booster heater (approx. 10-20s). Cause: One off emission of black smoke resulting from the design of the booster heater. No further action required. 2. Light emission of smoke at low ambient temperatures and high humidity. Cause: If white smoke appears at the exhaust pipe when the vehicle engine is running, then water vapour is the cause. No further action required. 3. Thick, continuous emission of grey smoke. Cause: Booster heater metering pump is faulty. Excessive deposits in the burner of the additional heater. Burner is over saturated with unburned fuel. Remedy: Install a new booster heater metering pump and, if necessary, a new booster heater." GSMGuy did a great 'how to...' access, check and change the glow plug quite recently in the Technical section, including some very useful pics. You don't say how old your Gal is, but if still in warranty, the above Technical bulletin number will help, if older then a DIY job is quite possible. I'm not sure that the problem is entirely limited to the models quoted (1997-1999) as it seems to be fairly common to have some sort of problem with this piece of kit. It was supposed to have been replaced with an improved version in later models. I guess it will all depend on just what colour your smoke is :lol: