stairforce

My 1999 2.3l auto petrol Galaxy (LPG converted) has started making a loud noise at idle, which goes away if you bring the rpm up over 1500. It seems to drive OK if you can bear the racket at idle. I found an article on the Internet (admittedly relating to an American Ford model) with a 2.3 litre engine with balancer shafts (like this one) and it suggested that if the balancer shafts fail somehow, this can cause the symptoms I am getting. Does anyone have experience of this fault? Can anyone confirm that these symptoms may have this cause? Biggest question - what is it likely to cost to get fixed? Is it an engine-out job?

I have a 2.3 Galaxy, which is most definitely a Ford engine (not offered in Sharan or Alhambra). Vag-com works FINE with the 2.3 Galaxy EXCEPT the engine management system, which runs the engine very nicely on petrol or LPG, but does not talk to Vag-com. I acquired vag-com to investigate an auto-box problem (now resolved - new transmission control unit :huh: ).

Good advice from SK. The one thing I would add is do something about it very soon. Water pumps are usually noisy when they die. Thermostats are silent when they die. The thermostat in the Galaxy's predecessor (a BMW523i) died last year and the engine went from stone cold to full scale deflection on the temp gauge in just 2 miles. Having trashed the engine in our Mondeo back in the summer when the oil light came on for about a minute, I stopped the BMW very quickly. I crept back home and phoned the dealer, who said don't drive it any further. I didn't. Thermostats can die open or closed. Mine died closed. This means it doesn't allow the coolant to circulate and the engine over heats quickly. If they die open, its not so serious, it just takes age to reach operating temp.

I am struggling to picture how you drive it :lol:

What do I think? I'm not convinced you have had good advice from trading standards. I'm no lawyer (engineer, for my sins) but if they (Scorpion) Offer to provide a service for a given price (Consideration) and you Accept that Offer, a Contract is formed between you. No matter that it is verbal, it is still enforceable in law, although it is rather easier to prove your case if it is written down. If they then change the price, it has to be a breach of contract. This is not criminal, as contract law is part of the civil law. So you can't get the police onto them, you have to sue them yourself. On the plus side, though, the burden of proof is not so difficult in a civil case. The prosecution in a criminal case have to prove their case 'beyond reasonable doubt'. but in a civil case the burden of proof is only on a 'balance of probabilities', which means you can win your case if your version of events seems the slightly more likely of the 2 stories. As I say, this is just my opinion, I'm not qualified to give legal advice, but I would suggest you talk to a solicitor who is.

I have just had a new Transmission Control Unit fitted in mine - the saga of the box in limp home mode features prominently on this site. The people who fixed it (Transmission Technologies UK of Knowle, Warwickshire) told me that the TCM is adaptive and adjusts itself to allow for the state of wear of the gearbox. He warned me that the changes may not be that good for the first 50 miles or so while it does this. In the event, it has behaved in an exemplary manner since they returned it to me. :) I would recommend them for auto box problems - they don't do anything else. They fixed (at the first attempt) a problem which had baffled 2 different Ford dealers. :blink: Can't help on the 5 beeps, I'm afraid. :(

Well if its a warranty job and they give a full warranty (e.g. 12 month) on the bits they change then let them do it. Personally, I feel its a silly little wiring (sensor or loom) fault. But time is money.... We all know that that was a typo and it was meant to read the other way round :blink: :D Change gearbox and TCM together?? This is outragous profiteering, even by Fraud's standards. (there's 2 words I never thought I would put together!) I have finally got my gearbox problem sorted. :D The 2nd-hand car dealer I bought the Gal from sent it to Transmission Technology UK in Knowle. One of their better decisions :angry: , as TT really know what they are talking about. Don't be put off by the premises, which are a bit scruffy. They only do automatic transmissions. They changed 1 component, the TCM. OK, they are

With petrol costing 87p/l and lpg costing 35p/l you need a serious reson for not using it. But if that's the case, what is the capacity of the tank you don't want. Mine is 55l, which is a bit small for a thirsty 2.3l auto Gal...

Sorry it didn't go your way this time, Mumof4. Better luck next time. Agree that test is harder than it used to be. It needs to be - roads are more complicated and busier than when I took mine in 1975. (Driving lessons

Tony, If you didn't buy your cable from Ross-Tech, you either need hex-com or hex-usb. The key variants work with the Ross-Tech cables which have a dongle built in (a bit of circuitry that the VAG-COM program looks for and means you don't need a licence key to use the full-version features). As to whether you need hex-com or hex-usb, that depends on whether your cable has a usb connector or a serial port connector on the end that connects to your PC. If you can use a PC enough to find your way to this forum, you can probably tell the difference. As for "should have brought the car to you" - appreciate the sentiment ;) but feel obliged to point out that I have not managed to fix my own car either ;) But I have found that the dealer who sold it to me offers a 12-month parts and labour warranty. :o Happy Days (as long as they don't try to fix it themselves. ;) I have already had to debug their botched attempt at installing a radio/CD player. It played CDs but the radio didn't work. Found out on this forum that Galaxy has an aerial pre-amp, which needs power fed up the aerial cable. After-market sets do not supply this, so you need a widget between the set and the aerial cable, which needs a 12V supply. That got me some stations, but it forgot them all every time I switched it off. So downloaded the installation instructions from JVC's website. Turns out that there are 2 12V feeds, one to power the set (switched) and one to power the station memory (on all the time). For Galaxy, they have to be swapped round.) The worst of it was, they INSISTED it was working when they delivered it, and just needed tuning in. :lol:

You're assuming it NEEDS replacing! :unsure: It'a an expensive item that needs a lot of labour to fit, and you're not fussed 'cos you're covered by a warranty :D , and they don't really know what's wrong :( , so go for something expensive

Steven Langdale recommended Alpha-bid (on ebay) for the cable, just over

This is one for the real techies out there! As reported previously, my auto gearbox went into 'limp home' mode on 2nd Dec while we were in Devon. (We live in the Midlands :D ). Since then I have (1) wittered on about it on here ad nauseum (2) acquired a CD (with some Terribly Interesting Subjects on it) :P (3) acquired a cable for the diagnostic port and VAG-COM software to go with it B) I have discovered the location of the transmission control module (between the battery and the inner wing), and checked the wiring from the multiplug to the sensors, as vag-com is reporting faults 281 and 297 (no signal from vehicle speed sensor (VSS) nor turbine speed sensor (TSS)). The wiring checks out OK. The sensors both have a resistance of about 720 ohms as measured on a multimeter. Is this about right? What output should I expect from the sensors (when working OK)? I would expect low frequency alternating current, with the frequency proportional to the engine/road speed, but what levels (i.e. voltage)? Should I get an output from the TSS with the engine running and tranmission in Neutral or Park? Also does it work by varying resistance (and so would need power) or is it a coil placed close to rotating magnetic components? The local dealer admitted defeat before Christmas. It went to a not-so-local main dealer today, who wanted to change the Transmission Control Module [TCM](

Thanks, Steve. I ordered the cable from alpha-bid last night. :o Beginning to wonder why Ford don't just have done with it and ship the cable, the software and the CD we're not allowed to mention WITH the car in the first place :o Merry Christmas to all the people who read the drivel I write on here :( Wishing you all happy, cheap and reliable motoring in 2006.

I know that now! :blink: I knew there was an inhibitor switch but figured it woud be on the gearbox itself :o . From observing the operation of the switch at the base of the selector lever, it seemed to be detecting when the button was pushed on the lever. We did have a starting problem at the time, and the AA had discounted the inhibitor switch, but had rigged some kind of bypass so we could get home. Had it fixed - it was not the switch itself but the wiring to it. I've only had it a month and still learning :o