Pmmaster

Hi There, My vehicle is a Mk1 and I had a similar problem with faulty fuel gauge, temp gauge, speedo, rev counter etc, as well as poor performance. I eventually tracked the problem down to a round multi plug on the front of the engine block (right hand side if you are stood looking into the engine bay, just under the cylinder head). The plug had got water in it and was causing all sorts of problems. It seems most of the engine management and instrument signals go through this junction. I'm not sure if you will have this plug on your vehicle though. If you have a fuse blowing it sounds like there might be a short circuit somewhere in the circuit causing it to draw a higher current. I tracked my problem down by taking the instrument cluster out and checking every pin for continuity with earth, resistance, voltage and comparing it with the haynes manual wiring diagram. The pin numbers and cable colours aligned perfectly with the manual on mine so it was fairly easy to track down once I realised I had high resistances on earth cables, missing voltages and ,missing earths. I was able to narrow everything down to one junction point, the round plug. I hard wired it and removed the plug altogether and now all my problems have cleared and the car runs well again. Not sure of the differences on the Mk2 but hope this may help as I had the same experience as you in not being able to find many soloutions. Good luck. Paul

Thanks Dave, Mine is a Mk1, i guess it'll be the same tho, is that the main earth strap? (number 1 on haynes diagram). I may give that a clean as a matter of course. I have a mini update, I managed to find an earth strap on the gearbox end of the engine block connected to the circular wiring connector bracket. I found it was corroded to hell and not registering any continuity with the body. I cleaned it all up and applied some petroleum jelly, I also opened the round connector and used some contact cleaner spray in there. Checked continuity and it was good and hey presto!, all my gauges are now working! It looks like there were three wires on there the speedo, temp gauge and fuel gauge are my guess, certainly according to the Haynes wiring diagrams the temp gauge and vehicle speed sensor earth at that point. Anyway chuffed they are working again and thanks for the help, it seems you were spot on about it being an earthing problem! The humming sound I reported from the cluster has also stopped so it seems pretty conclusive, result! Still got the starting issue though. I removed the multi plug from the fuel pump that supplies the stop solenoid and goes onto the MAF sensor I believe. I was previously seeing 0.7v on both power feeds and got a good earth. I'm now seeing 12v on the MAF feed and 8.5v on the stop solenoid supply. I still have my bypass cable straight from the battery which when energised starts the car no problem supplying 12.5v. So I know the solenoid is good and I have fuel etc. I am just wondering if anyone has any idea why I am only getting 8.5v on the existing suppy loom? I'm guessing the 8.5v is not enough to activate the solenoid and thus its not starting without my homemade loom. The car is usable but I would much rather not have to keep switching the direct power on. Any advice greatly recieved. I will post some pics later on of the earth straps (I found a couple!) for future reference for anyone else who has the same problem. Thanks for the help so far Paul

Just reviewing the electrical diagrams, it seems to be pointing towards earth point 20, described as Left Hand Engine. I have had a look around for it but its not immeadiately obvious where it is. Has anyone got any experience of it to give me a clue whether its front, back top bottom etc on the left hand side? I assume it is left hand as in when you are sitting in the car? Thanks Paul

Hi Thanks Dave, I have got the Instrument cluster out but as yet not had a chance to look very far. That said, when connected I can hear a small humming sound coming from it even if the ignition is off and key removed!? I couldn't see any obvious earthing points to check behind it, but will have a better look when I get five mins. I changed the Relay 601 in the main fuse box (on right hand side below steering wheel) but not had any effect to the starting. I also checked under the passenger seat and found a control module of some kind, but it was bone dry under there and someone had also wrapped it in an air sealed bag for good measure! Could the cluster itself be faulty? Viper Clive, thanks for your input, I dont have a sunroof and as I mentioned it is bone dry under the passenger seat. Annoying, any other ideas welcome! Can anyone tell me the best way of checking the earths? I have looked in the Haynes manual but the earth strap locations are pretty sketchy. Looking at the wiring diagram I think I need to be looking on the bulkhead or the engine. Any help on this would be hugely appreciated! Thanks Paul

Hi Guys, Hope someone might be able to help! I own a 96 Mk1 Galaxy TDI. Problem 1: Last week I saw the start of some weird electrical problems. Firstly after some heavy rain overnight the Galaxy refused to start the following morning. It was spinning over and wouldn't fire. So I checked the fuel, that was fine. Checked the fuel pump solenoid and it had less than a volt of power. I checked battery and it was fine so I ran a cable direct from the battery to the solenoid with a switch. It started perfectly so I took it for a drive and found it ran ok but was VERY sluggish in 1st and second gear. I also noticed the second problem which I'm not sure is related or whether it is a seperate problem also caused by the rain. Problem 2: The speedo, rev counter are now working only intermitantly along with the temp gauge and fuel gauge. Each cycle between working or reading incorrectly, it seems random. The current situation is no speedo, no rev counter engine temp half way, fuel gauge half way despite engine being stone cold and me knowing there is only a little bit of fuel in the tank. More rarely the handbrake light and abs/airbag lights have lit up and also the oil light once or twice started flickering on and off. I've spoken to a helpful local ford specialist who has recommended I check the engine control unit under the passenger seat as they can become submerged in water. I have also seen the dash "POD" earth strap mentioned in another thread but I've no idea what the POD is or where to find it. If anyone has any ideas I would really appreciate any help, I'm fairly sound with mechanical stuff but I've only really dabbled when it comes to electrical problems! We really cant afford an auto electrician so I'm gonna have to figure it out myself so any help would be really appreciated! Thanks Paul

Hi Farny, Did you ever figure out what the problem was? I seem to be having the same problem on my Galaxy. It started with the wet weather and now I have lost my speedo and rev counter, although they'll occasionaly come back in. I also lose my fuel and temp gauges on and off, although they are currently both reading half way, even when the tank is empty and the engine is cold! If you have managed to cure it I would love to hear what was wrong as I suspect I have the same problem. Thanks Paul

Hi Farny, Did you ever figure out what the problem was? I seem to be having the same problem on my Galaxy. It started with the wet weather and now I have lost my speedo and rev counter, although they'll occasionaly come back in. I also lose my fuel and temp gauges on and off, although they are currently both reading half way, even when the tank is empty and the engine is cold! If you have managed to cure it I would love to hear what was wrong as I suspect I have the same problem. Thanks Paul

Thanks very much, I will take a look tonight and test it!

Hi there, Firstly apologies if this has been covered before, I've tried to look around the site but couldnt find what I was looking for, I also tried the FAQ's but cant seem to get the relevant links to work? I own a 96 Mk1 Galaxy 1.9TDI with the AHU engine. I was hoping somebody might be able to help me with a problem I'm having with the temperature gauge. Can anybody tell me where to locate the temperature sensor for the gauge? I've got the Haynes manual but it doesn't appear to be very clear. Essentially the gauge appears to be reading to high. Within 1 - 2 minutes of switching on it is registering as being extremely hot and at the very top of gauge with a red flashing light. Normally it takes ages for my galaxy to reach operating temp! Water level is fine and checking under the bonnet the engine and hoses are barely hot so thinking its pretty clearly the sensor rather than a genuine overheating problem. There are no obvious leaks either. On top of this occasionally the temp gauge randomly returns to about half way where I'd expect it usually and the red warning light extuinguishes, again making me think the sensor or wiring is at fault. On the odd occasion I've had fuel read out issues that are similar but generally this hasn't been an issue. Both issues began around the same time so I guess it could point to another issue in the wiring. However, I thought I'd start by changing the temp sensor as they are relatively cheap and may hopefully cure the problem relatively painlessly! I've had a little look around and there are two sensors that I think it could be. Firstly there is a hose from the front of the cylinder head which goes to the top of the radiator I believe. There seems to be a sensor about half way down in this hose. Option 2 is a sensor screwed into the gearbox end of the cylinder head. Any help would be greatly appreciated as the vehicle is in daily use and otherwise very reliable. Thanks Paul

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could help me as I have become really stuck with my 1.9 tdi 1996 Mk1 Galaxy. I have an issue where the vehicle sporadically refuses to start. It spins over fine but it feels like there is no fuel as it doesn't even try to fire. The problem seems to occur most frequently when I have been using it and got up to running temp and have then stopped (for things such as pooping in the shops or re-fueling). I have noticed that the glow plug light stays lit indefinately until the engine is running when the ignition is on, rather than going out after a few seconds like it used to. I initially did some onnline research and decided to change relay 109 based on the fact that some of my symptoms seemed to match. This seemed fairly easy being located in the main fuse box under the steering wheel, unfortunately the problem has persisted. I have discovered a trick which is usually able to get the vehicle started. If I remove and replace the electrical plug on the injector pump, it usually results in a click (the stop solenoid I assume?) and the vehicle will then start fine. It sounds ridiculous but it works 90% of the time! The problem is the other 10% of the time when it will be as stubborn as a mule. Also its meant to be wifes car for running the kids around so having to rely on playing with plugs is not an option. I really hope you guys can help as I'm losing patience with the car as we spent a fortune on it recently! EDIT: Just to add that I have VagCom or VCD Lite and have plugged in and found no fault codes stored.

Hi there, I'm new to the forum and hoping someone might be able to help me. I have a 96 mk1 Galaxy that appears to have a leaking injector pump. The leak appears to be coming from the rear of the pump at the bottom. Due to everything thats in the way its pretty difficult to isolate exactly where from, but its definately not the injector pipes. I was firstly wondering if this is a common fault that any of you have encountered before? Secondly I was wondering whether its a job I can tackle myself? I was thinking of either getting another pump or fitting the seal kit myself. I've done cam belts before but I've read about the pump timing needing to be checked dynamicaly by a dealer. Can anyone shed any light on what this entails? I also wondered if anyone has had a go at fitting the repair kit to the pump and how difficult/easy it is. Any advice would be useful, this is my first Galaxy, I've had it a year and this is the first time I've had to do any major work on it. Much thanks Paul