Scorpiorefugee

Hi. You do not seem to have any response on this. It seems to have a lot in common with my recent problem. If you are still suffering or have a solution I should be interested.

I've always had a sneaking suspicion...... Perhaps we should stop this nostalgia before I start to really feel my age. Or maybe we should start a new section just to help some of these youngsters gain a sense of perspective.

Mum of 4, Didn't you notice the reference to a '38 Austin 7. Sorry, a lass of your tender years wouldn't even uderstand any of that. I never owned one of those but I did own and run a 37 Standard 8 - about 30 bhp - WOW! I wonder if SeatKid knows about these old things. Good old side valve engines, no heaters, radios or turbos to worry about. Semaphor indicators which meant you operated the switch and then had to turn and bang the door pillar until the damned thing decided to pop out of its hole before you turned. Not a problem really because the speed that they used to do meant you had loads of time before you got to the corner. SeatKid, Thanks for all of that useful info. Unfortunately, my old thing doesn't seem to fit with any of those. The problem seems to come and go at it's leisure although it is pretty persistent in it's faulty state. It seems to clear if I gently increase revs in second and can clear briefly when cold. The engine does sound harsh when faulty but can instantly return to its normal buzz. No smoke, whistling or anything other than a reluctance to respond to more than 25% of pedal movement. I am however now a little wiser and maybe able to use this to advantage but, right now, I'm tired. Must be my age. :D

Good idea but I am probably the only dope daft enough to buy it. Besides, it's almost part of the family. :( By the time I've finished with vehicles even the scrap yards are reluctant to take them. :D I haven't done with this one just yet. :D

If you have a damaged tyre it needs checking sooner rather than later, especially on the front. I am a little puzzled at this being the possible cause as my experience with this problem is that it gets progressively worse as speed builds up. A quick check is to examine them for uneven tread wear as that can be a sign of delamination although I have only ever had that with old or very cheap tyres. If in doubt, try swapping front to back. This is not a bad idea anyway as rear tyres seem to have about double the life of front ones.

M o 4 Is there no end to your talents? Actually, I can see it now - it at the top of the diagram. It just doesn't make much sense but it does suggest the problem is somewhere else.

OK! I just got a bit lucky. I remembered that I had a Ford TIS disc from when I had a Scorpio and it covers the Gals up to 98 ish. (I might be able to bounce a copy if anyone asks but not too many please) I now know what bits and pieces are involved and can guess at the purpose of most of them but can't see how anyone can get at them without serious stripping down.(If SeatKid looks in again -- I Know!....."WHIMP!" The hoses all look in good condition although the one to the Vacuum Diapraghm unit is sopping wet. I wondered if anyone can suggest a simple way of checking if it is all doing anything I should be grateful. It's dark now but I intend to disconnect the pipe feeding into the EGR (What does that stand for?) and checking for suction and then going backwards. However, my instinct at the moment is to suspect the boost control solenoid or the EGR for sticking. I shall also disconnect the battery for a few mins to reset the error codes. Any input will be much appreciated.

Just had a quick read so I may have missed something. This happened to me a while back. Mine was caused by the total disintegration of a flexible copper link on the starter motor. This feeds the main current to the commutator and needs to be flexible as one end is on a rubber bush. Mine was in the garage for other work and the mechanic said the only way he could do anything was to replace the motor. I asked him to tajke it off and let me have a go. I used a big soldering iron, a lot of flux and a good many lengths of the copper braid from some aerial coax. It took a while but iys been going for a year or so now. It is a good idea to cover the thing with some thick grease to keep out the weather.

Just a quick thought. There was a longish topic on this a while ago and it was resolved only when the owner had his rechipping reversed. You say nothing about having the performance boosted at all but just in case..... If not relevant, just ignore me.

Mirez and Beyond Help? (Is it really that bad? :) ) Thanks for the suggestions. Re the Cat. I think the easiest way to check that is to ask my friendly MOT tester to do an emission test. I'll put it on a to do list. Re the throttle sensor. I think that is quite possibly the cause of the problem that 'Mum of 4' is experiencing but the fault seems to clear in such a way that it doesn't fit that sort of pattern. However, I shall have to research a way of getting a it to test it. The same thing seems to rule out pipes although a blockage does seem a posibility. I just wish I knew a bit more about what did what without having to strip it all out. Thanks again.

I have an much abused 110 bhp 98 Gal and the remote has never been much use and I am not much bothered. However, having read through this series of posts I thought I would give it a go. Now, It seems reasonable that the Car is programmed to the remote and not vice versa so the following detail may be of interest. I have 2 Gals, a MKI and a MKII and they both responded to the procedure described by SeatKid with the exception that the door LED on the MKII went into a flash mode after programming a key. The strange thing was that, because the key to the MKI didn't seem to be working, I tried to program the MKII key to open the MKI. This worked well but when I tried to open the MKII it wouldn't work. This seems to disprove the assumption made about the key being programmed. I have since managed, without much trouble, to reprogram both cars or keys and intend to experiment further. The possible cause of the confusion may be that both cars were parked on the same drive even though only one was in programming mode at any time and I need to separate them to be absolutely sure that there is no interaction. If this provides any useful facts I shall provide an update but the only thing that may be really useful is that the same procedure seems to work for versions at least from 98 through to 2007 ish.

Good news....... I've still got my cap to keep my head warm. Bad news ...... It ian't the MAF. Any other suggestions please?

Hi SeatKid, You say that with such conviction and as the lady herself has made the same suggestion I have no option but to go out tomorrow and swipe the one off my missus's Gal. If that fixes it, I shall then give it back and ask her to gently braise my cap and serve it with fresh veg for dinner.

Thanks Cherub, Good to see that you're still at it, energy unabaited. :) Nah! When it's in a bad mood it sounds and runs like an old tractor. Sorry to hear you're in trouble with yours and it does sound a bit similar. Can't remember which version yours is but each one seems to have it's own fault patterns. The only common problem seems to be the MAF. I've had a look around and there seems to be a lot of silly things for which no-one (Even SeatKid) has a satisfactory solution. - reluctance to start when hot for one. In another life I used to develop fault fiinding techniques for things much more complex than motorcars but that did need a depth of understanding way beyond what is available on these things and never found anything that could not be diagnosed with no more than 6 simple tests. I cannot easily adopt the usual Ford dealer approach of replacing bits until either the customer runs out of mone or they just happen to fluke a fix. I shouldn't be unkind. I'm sure they are not all that bad. :)

Thanks Mirez, I did wonder about the Cat and exhaust sensors etc. but It is intermittent and still goes like a train when it's in a good mood. Also, my understanding is that on overrun there is no combustion, no exhauit and no turbo action (hence turbo lag when you suddenly floor it) so the cat actually runs cool. I suppose that when putting the power back on it could suffer thermal shock and cause the result you describe but I'm hoping that the intermittent bit is a good sign and staying hopeful. Anyway, a cat would cost more than than car's worth. (to anyone else at least.)

Thanks Nik. I've had MAF problems and it just doesn't feel that way. It cuts in and out just like being switched on and off. It's all very frustrating. I know that there are lots of posts with useful information on these things but I have not seen anything that helps me to understand it to the point of being able to tackle the problem logically. Still can't complain. It's all been so damned reliable I haven't had to worry about it before. 90K of trouble free motoring with nothing more than a lot of careful neglect and the occasional oil change...... It has every right to start getting a bit temperamental.

I think someone has already suggested that the insurance company should know but I'll suggest it again. Try getting insurance on line and put in the reg and it should all be revealed. Personally, I don't think it matters much. If it's clean, comfortable and well cared for I reckon you got a pretty good deal for

It's been a while. I do pop in occasionally but I find it all too habit forming and have to find alternative therapy. Is there an organisation like Ford Galaxy addicts anonymous or something. Anway, I'm hoping someone out there can point me in the right direction. My poor old '98 110 is well on the way to it's 1/4 million but is now spending a lot of time pretending to be a 1938 Austin 7. It all started after a long descent of Birdlip hill hanging on to 3rd gear. When I got on to the M5 and went to pull out it just didn't happen. It had a few a few bursts of normality but for the last 400 miles it's been just about capable of holding 70 on a level road. The throttle only seems active for about the top 1/4 travel and actully seems to lose power if pressed further down. Fuel consumption seems normal and there is no smoke. I have noticed that the engine note seems more harsh and, on the rare spells of normality, it seems to settle to its normal happy buzz. This could be my imagination but I think not. Experimenting, I have found that, if I hold it in second and let it build up to 3500 rpm (I seldom go there normally other than when going down Birdlip.) the old thing picks up her skirts and makes a bee line for the horizon and, if pushed reasonably hard, will behave normally for a while. I have had a good browse but the only post which seems to get close mentions a device mounted under the air filter, but mine doesn't have one. During it's normal spells it seems as sweet as it has ever been during the last 80K that I have had it so I am hoping that there is nothing serious. I've had a tug and a poke at all of the pipes but can see no sign of weakness. Any suggestions welcome but I am so attatched to the old thing I could almost live with it as it is, even going back up Birdlip at 35 in third.

This seems to be one of those things that no-one talks about unless they have the problem. Mine is the same and has been since about 170000miles. (NOW 220,000). My solution - ignore it. I have seen several posts in the past but no answers. I did read about someone who'se Gal failed to start at all when it was hot and he was told it was worn bores/rings. If it's any help, I think mine is better with a full tank - could be worn pump???. Sadly, I cannot remember when mine started doing it or if it was gradual or sudden. Sorry I can't be more helpful. Just popped in briefly first time for ages. I hope yours keeps going like mine. Ron.

OK. Been there and done that. With the wire disconnected (as I remember) this simulates a cold engine and, whatever the temperature of the engine as displayed on the instrument panel, the glow plugs will stay on for about 15 seconds every time you operate the ignition switch. This may have some effect on the running of the engine but I didn't leave mine off for long enough to find out. My problem, and possibly yours, was that the temperature sender had faulted to send a signal that the engine was always very hot. Note that there are two senders in the unit, one for the gauge and one for the control system. (Daft or what?). this meant that the gauge registered normal but I had no glow plug activity with the glow lamp only showing for about a second at most. The car started normally in the summer but took about 5-10 seconds to fire up on very cold mornings. Another symptom was that the cooling fan always came on for a few minutes after I turned the engine off, irrespective of temperature. The cure - fit a new one. (

Mike, Just a couple of quick thoughts on your problem. First, are you sure that it is in fact overheating, could be a sender problem. Heater running cold suggests something more serious. Second, here was a series of posts by a chap with a persistent overheating problem and it turned out that he had chipped his engine and that was the cause of the problem. Also, These engines seem to run happily on low/normal stress conditions with the water pump rotor detatched, so even if the pump has been replaced, there could still be a problem in that area. Finally, re the water loss, I had this problem for about 20 k miles and, eventally, the garage changed the water pump and the problem went away. I believe that a lot of problems are made worse by poor diagnosis so take your time and I hope you get it sorted. I got mine looking as if it had had a hard life with 140K and a few odd problems. All the problems turned out to be something easy to fix, once diagnosed correctly, and it has now done 210k and I cannot imagine life without it. Ron.

I chased this one around for some time. As ssomeone has already said, the sensor is in a plastic moulding with a sort of circlip fitting holding it in just above and slightly forward of the centre of the rocker cover. It is a bit of a *&$ to get out and you will loose a bit of water. do make sure you replace the O ring properly. Also, be cateful with the wires, paricularly the earth, as they get very brittle and break off. It does, in fact have 2 sensors in the one unit and one seems to be used for the dash temperature indicator and the other for the ECU. Yo can prove a point by simply disconnecting it. The engine temp gauge will read low but the glow plug light should come on for about 15 secs every time. One clue to the problem is that the cooling fans come on for a while every tme you switch the engine off, even when it is cold. Mine cost about

Mine did this from the first day I got it. My problem was the temperature sender - its a double unit and the bit that feeds the temp gauge was OK but the bit that is used for engine management was permanently indicating over heating. A quick indicator is the glow plug light. if it always goes out after 1 second, even on cold mornings, there's your answer. If you can find it, disconnect it and your problem goes away. be careful for brittle wires that break. Good luck. If I don't follow up on this it's because Idon't gen on here often but have a butches throug some of my posts from a year or so ago.

Just for comparison, mine flashed when I had a leak and stopped when it was fixed and it's a later version than yours so 'modification' seems unlikely. As far as I can tell, if the pressure is low, then it flashes. It is possible to have gas in which will provide pressure the stop the flashing and get the pump solenoid to pull in but not enough to get the aircon working, but yours is working so it may well be that there is an element of truth in what they say. If it is still working some time after a repair or regas it is unlikely that you have a leak so there is probably nothing serious. It may be worth getting the system checked but,to do it properly, it has to be completely drained and refilled with a measured amount of gas. There seems to be a reasonably standard charge of about

Re the water pump, I've now decided that it should be changed with the cam belt. More important with the later engine but I've now had both changed on mine and it only adds a bit to the total cost and adds a lot to the sense of security. A slight warning, Almost immediately after having them both fixed, I lost refrigerant from my air con via fractured pipes dowm by the sump. I have a slight concern that this may have happened during the repair but the garage has looked after me well for 20 years so I just put up with the total