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

Me too. Its been done about 2 weeks. The engine sounds different - not worse or better, just different. The LPG burns more slowly than petrol, requiring considerable timing advance - 40 - 50 degrees before top dead centre being typical, so it's a 'softer' bang. But I seem to notice the mechanical sounds of the engine components more. I have not noticed any difference in power or torque. We only had the Gal 2 weeks before having it converted, so never really measured the petrol mpg. At the moment it is running at about 17mpg on LPG (but remember we have a gearbox fault at present :o which stops us getting 4th (top) gear on the auto box). Our tank is only 55 litres. Its a toroidal one and lives in the spare wheel well. The spare fits nicely in the garage :o As you can 80% fill them, (the LPG tanks that is :blink: ) it should hold 44 litres, but the most I have put in in one go is 36 litres (8 gallons). This costs

Steve, the limp-home gearbox is mine - and yes it still is like that. Arden Garages had it for 2 days last week, and managed to fix the starting problem (inhibitor switch at the base of the auto selector lever) but not the limp-home mode. Said it was reporting faults on 2 sensors (didn't tell me which ones, despite asking in writing for the codes and what they mean). ;) Someone on here told me they had a problem with chafed wiring to the auto box where it runs under the starter motor. The starter motor has to come out to fix, but someone else said that there are 3 sensors in the auto gearbox , and only 1 can be changed with the box in situ. :( If it turns out to be damaged wiring, will fixing it fix the problem? Or do the faults have to be cleared via the diagnostic plug before it will play again? :( Re: your question of 7th Dec, we are in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Yuri, Many thanks for that. My auto box is in limp home mode (posted elsewhere on here). Gal has been at the stealers last 2 days - diagnostic is reporting 2 faulty autobox sensors. Well these things are inanimate, they don't come out in sympathy when one dies, so for 2 to die at the same time suggests wiring problems. And this timely post tells me where to look! :P Re Auto ECU, funny how the stealers always want to change the most expensive part first... :lol: I've learned more about the Galaxy in one month of ownership than I did about its predecessor (BMW 523i) in 6 years! I'm just trying to work out whether this is a good thing or not <_<

Well the stealer managed to fix the starter problem (inhibitor switch/selector indicator light assembly)

You've got me worried now! My auto is at Fraud's as I write, to have 'Auto box in emergency (3rd gear only) mode' investigated. I was hoping it would turn out to be something simple....

I've just spent a fair slice of yesterday replacing the bulb which indicates the auto selector lever position. This is my first auto (only had it 4 weeks so far) and the bulb was blown when we got the car. I used the Maplin bulb (part no. BT43W, 59p) that others have mentioned. No-one has mentioned the small black plastic slider that clips onto a metal stud on the selector lever. This stud moves down when you press the button on the lever and breaks a contact. The slider engages in a slot on the plastic component which carries the aforementioned bulb. TWO things. 1. It is DEAD EASY to drop this into the well under the selector lever. Recovering it is considerably more difficult. It sits on the stud with the metal strip facing up. 2. Does anyone know what this switch does? Mine has been inoperative for the last week, as I just found the metal strip off the slider (you guessed it) at the bottom of the well under the selector lever. But it does not seem to have affected the operation of the car.

Mine started doing that on Saturday afternoon. Called the AA out, cos although we were halfway up a steep rise, I don't think you can bump-start an auto... The AA man established that no signal was getting to the solenoid, but it was OK as far as the auto box inhibitor. He figured it wasn't going to be a quick fix, so rigged a wire from the auto box inhibitor switch to the solenoid via a spring-loaded switch. We turn on the ignition, flick the switch briefly and it starts. The other thing is that the auto box has gone into its emergency program and goes everywhere in 3rd gear. (We can manually select 1st and 2nd.) I am a bit distressed about all of this as I have only had it 3 weeks, and have just spent

I am doing the same as Ridway - my 2.3 Auto Galaxy goes in for its LPG conversion on Monday. I have only had it a fortnight, and due to some over-enthusiastic trip resetting by its other driver, I have little idea of its mpg on petrol. (I know it drank