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Not odd to me Andrew. Had that problem back in July and as you say I was getting a warning light (engine management I think) come up. Thanks for the tip anyway. Fords haven't come back to me about fitting a longer earth strap/cable as a temporary measure. I think they must be dreaming about the

Fords tell me that the cause of all the problems is a broken gearbox earth strap. They cannot replace it because the strap is clamped by a bell housing bolt and this has sheared off. Its neighbour has sheared off too. They say the gearbox needs to come out. :angry: Is it possible to attach a longer earth cable to a different position on the gearbox without taking the gearbox out?

I thought those bolt heads looked a bit big for a battery tray ^_^ Earth point is under the tray as shown on page 5A.2 of Haynes. Not easy to get to.

Right, I've got the battery out but I cannot see where the cable connects to the chassis. Where does it connect and what if anything do I have to remove to get to it?

I don't understand. I thought if the battery wasn't earthed the lights and other electrical items wouldn't work. Is this wrong? :D groundhog day part 2 :) , your battery is earthed, as sk has also said , bad connection, remove clean up & replace , all earth staps/connections ,as winter is approaching i would do the same with the alternater & starter, once this is done , if prob still there report back I thought it was a simple enough question :) Yes or no will do :D

I don't understand. I thought if the battery wasn't earthed the lights and other electrical items wouldn't work. Is this wrong? ;)

I disconnected the battery at lunch time and then reconnected. Unfortunately it didn't change any thing. I did learn that when the ignition is first turned on after battery reconnection, the 4 clocks all spin all the way round and back. The same way they have done when the car has refused to turn over. So presumably power wasn't getting through to the ECU????

This sounds easy enough to try out but I had hoped the warning lights would have meant something definitive to someone. :D Went out after dark tonight and could also detect the speedo fluctuating slightly and the back light of the mileometer panel was altering in brightness. Seems to be one thing after another with the Galaxy at the moment and Fords want

I have checked the voltage and it is 13.9 at tick over (about 1000rpm) and 13.5 volts at tick over when loaded with fan on full, lights on, front and rear demistor on, indicator on. ls this ok?

OK. I will try and have a look tonight.

The failing to start has only occured once. I have not recharged the battery and over the last few days the car has been starting and running just fine. If it was the alternator failing, wouldn't I be having problems with a run down battery by now? The battery warning light isn't comming on. I do not have an aftermarket alarm fitted. Would a bad connection to the starter motor/alternator give these warning lights and tacho symptoms?

Sorry if this has been covered already. After a short journey I tried to restart the car. Engine would not turn over. Seemed like a flat battery but the battery had plenty of life in it. At times, when trying to start, the needles on all 4 clocks went all the way round and then back again. Sometimes I could hear the stater solenoid? clicking. After about 20 mins it started again as normal. Although the car starts and runs ok I am now left with: 1) a half illuminated brake warning light ie. about half the brightness as when the hand brake is on. This stays on when the ignition is on. 2) a tacho that jumps about a lot when it gets up to about 2000rpm. 3) an ABS warning light that flicks on again usually after about 2000rpm. Brake lights are working ok. Any ideas. Does a 1999 90bhp 1.9TDI have ABS? :)

managed to get an auto electrician to sort it out today. i was surprised to be charged for 2.5 hours work for him to fix shorting cables at the tail gate. :16:

I haven't changed the bulbs but the car passed its mot on monday and one of the minor comments was that one of the upper tail gate lights was out. Could it realy be down to that :wacko:

Just had this problem with my TDi. ie. glow plug warning light flashing and brake lights not working. I have changed the brake sensor but it hasn't made any difference! I previously changed the sensor in 2003 and everything then worked ok. What is the problem likely to be this time? Going on 2 week holiday on friday night with the car so really need this resolved :ph34r:

Thanks. Just had a look under the car and I can see the anti roll bar connects the 2 trailing arms :huh:

I think I am missing something here. :huh: I thought i would be able to jack the car up just at the position of the spring that needs changing, support with axle stand (where is best?)and just release the damper adjacent to it. Why do I need to release the damper on the opposite side?

Is there a minimum height that the car needs to be raised to on the axle stand, to allow the spring to come off?

Hi my 1999 TDi has failed on one of the track rod end ball joints having excessive free play and one of the rear coil springs being incomplete and not correctly located. I am considering doing the repairs myself. I have a joint splitter, axle stands and a couple of car jacks. Is it fairly straight forward to replace these parts? Is there anything to be wary of? I got a quote for the parts and was asked if I needed the 'pig tail' or 'heavey duty' spring. How do I tell the difference? Thanks :(

Presumably then, the 'orange' antifreeze which my Ford handbook warns me not to mix with 'blue/green' was also a Propyline-Glycol?? :rolleyes: Any road up, even though all I did was change the sensor and refill with antifreeze the system has now decided to spring a leak. Typical! :)

Does anyone know different because I could do without the hassle at the moment :lol:

Put the new sensor in last night and found that I only had to use about 5 ltrs to fill up. So now I have a mix of the old blue/green (not orange) and the latest antifreeze 'Ford Super Plus Premium' to spec WSS M97B44-D. The Ford parts department told me that they are compatable. I just want to make sure they are correct :P Gauge is perfect now :D

I just got the same sensor as you from Partco. There weren't any alternatives for different power engines but the Intermet catalogue stated it was for 1995 on 66KW which equates to about 90BHP. I think the same sensor must be suitable for both power engines. Thanks for your help :lol:

Is there anything I should know about, when filling the system back up or is it simply a matter of pouring the 50/50 coolant mix in the header tank? :(