Kevinb

Hi everyone, This may be a stupidly simple answer(!). I need to replace the (now dead) battery on my Galaxy and have read the Haynes instructions on how to do this (got to love the 1 spanner rating for replacing the battery, but that being dependent on the 2 spanner job to facilitate accessing the battery!). Can anyone give and constructive pointers on what I may encounter while doing this? Any pitfalls to avoid? Many thanks in advance, Kevin

Xavier, cheers the reply. I had it checked out by a local garage in the end. His diagnosis was the gearbox. The car was likely used by someone in the past who favoured high gear-low revs. The gears become slightly worn due to this and when put under load at low speeds now, the gears had movement, hence the growl. Once out of that range, the gears no longer played and the sound goes away. He reckoned it was more likely I would win the lottery than see the gearbox fail and so we left it. This would tie in a bit with other issues the previous owner left us with... The irony was they were a doctor...! Many thanks for your time though.

Cheers for the reply! Interesting you say that about the earth fault; not thought of that... I suspect there may actually be a fault with the boot door catch as it seems to be a little temperamental with closing properly. I had this with my mk.1 as well. As for the gears, I've done a little bit testing here. 1st never growls 2nd growls between 18-20mph 3rd growls between 30-32mph 4th between 40-44mph Not tried 5th and 6th If I change into the respective gear past the listed speed, it doesn't growl. Would this sound about right for moving up too low then? I've not heard other mk.3s make this kind of sound though.

Any ideas anyone? Much gratitude to anyone who can help!

Hi everyone, I'm hoping someone can help with a couple of snags I've noticed with a 57 plate Galaxy 1.8TDCi I purchased for the missus. The three interior lights stay on when the doors are closed. They are all set to the central setting (door open) and so should not be on when driving surely...?! Any ideas what may have caused this? I'm thinking possibly a door catch sensor, but then the car isn't registering an open door... The second item is possibly the more worrying. A little explanation first. When I move away in first, the car is fine and normal. I'm used to putting a car into second as soon as is reasonable (harking back to my driving lesson days twenty odd years ago here....) and up the gears - third at about 20-25mph, fourth about 35-40, fifth about 45-50 etc. I've found that if I follow this process and accelerate there is a brief growling/roaring noise from the engine. Not immediately after changing gear or accelerating, but during the process of accelerating. There seems to be a slight vibration, but nothing even slightly major. If I rev the engine to beyond what I've done for years, the growling isn't there. Almost as if it's been bypassed. Okay, so the easy answer is, "Well, don't change gear so early!". Yes, I would agree with that; however, I'm sure the car isn't supposed to growl in this way when accelerating, surely? I'm happy to be wrong here and maybe newer cars just don't like being under load at low speeds, but I just can't help but think there is an issue to answer. Many thanks for any advice anyone can give. Kevin

Hi everyone, I'm hoping for some feedback on this issue. We had this issue over the last few months and this morning my other half discovered the battery had died.... Sure enough the interior lights had been on all night due to the tailgate sensor not registering the door was closed (which it was) and the dashboard LED was on. This has happened in the past but was cleared by closing the tailgate again. We've noticed the dashboard LED for the tailgate has been on faintly in the past, but again, this was usually sorted by reclosing the tailgate. My diagnostics this evening have been to access the tailgate latch and systematically disconnect the wiring connectors in turn with no improvement, So, I disconnected them all and found no improvement. Apart from having to learn how to open the boot from the inside(!!!!) it doesn't seem to be the sensor that's at fault - the auto electrician I spoke with said that disconnecting the correct connector should turn the LED at the dashboard off providing the sensor was at fault. Okay, so this clearly hasn't resolved the problem. The tailgate gaiter isn't in fantastic condition but the cables are generally in good condition. However, logic at this point dictates this is the likely culprit. I don't see it being the CL controller as the interior has been kept religiously dry since purchase. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Madfish, How did you go with this? We've had a similar issue over the last few months and this morning my other half discovered the battery had died.... Sure enough the interior lights had been on all night due to the tailgate sensor not registering the door was closed (which it was) and the dashboard LED was on. Cheers!

Brian, Cheers for the info. I've got a manual Galaxy. The first link pointed out it's a pain to fit. They weren't wrong, it's a complete bastard to twist into place. Missus took matters into her own hands and ordered a part from Ebay, which arrived today. After a little bit of swearing, straining, spilt blood and much effort, it still refused to twist in place. A pair of grips later for the leverage and it turned into place! All working ok now but I do have concede that Ford were probably right and it was the right part after all. Still, it works fine now. Just the starting issue to sort out now. I greatly appreciate your input on this.

Hi BrianH, I'm pretty convinced it's the sensor as I have been able to workaround the problem by depressing the pedal, and then pulling out the sensor arm, and then gently letting out the pedal. This usually works within a couple of attempts. However, it is getting worse. Hence my need to fix it. The flashing glowplug sensor is usually the indication but also when the rear lights don't go out when the car is first turned on. I am aware that (presumably) VW redesigned the part at some point, which is why I didn't argue at the dealership. However, I have seen them get things wrong in the past.... I don't think the new (green) part is the correct unit as, although it does fit into place, you can only turn it clockwise due to two lugs directly behind the locating/retaining pins (not present on the old unit). From what I can gather, these "activate" the unit and prevent it from being turned anti-clockwise - the way the old unit is located into position. Due to the new unit being significantly larger than the old unit it sits pretty much completely flush with the steering column surround (which lips outward at the top). Due to the way the parts sit (steering column and sensor) the sensor can't be twisted around. It's not a case of me not having the minerals (I'm a fairly hefty presence) to turn it, it simply will not turn. I did fit the electrical connector to test it in desperation but it didn't solve the problem either. I know this isn't necessarily a foolproof diagnostic, but may be be relevant. Fortunately, I was able to coax the old unit into working again... The new unit's part number is 1c0 945 511 a and the old unit's part number is 1j0 945 511 a This does mean that it is possibly the right part but still, from a mechanical point of view, it just doesn't fit! Problems problems!

Hi everyone, Okay, so I started having intermittent issues with my brake pedal sensor. After a bit of research, I discovered the old "pull out the sensor arm" trick but it seems to have stopped permanently now. I ordered a part from Ford and received the part 1c0 945 511 a - a much larger unit in green. I didn't argue as I couldn't envisage the brake pedal area. Upon fitting it, I've found the area just isn't large enough to allow the unit to rotate in place. I gets jammed in the steering linkage surround. I notice there is an white inner mechanism that spins when it is turned clockwise - and will only go clockwise. My gut is telling me it's the wrong part. Can anyone advise? The original part number is 1j0 945 511 a but I do understand that a manufacturer redesigns things retrospectively as necessary. I've attached some pictures showing the new part, it in place, and then the old (black part) in place as well. Help anyone before I do my nut in! Cheers!

Sparkypaul, Cheers for the feedback. I'll have a look the relay. It doesn't seem toooooo difficult to get to on the mk1.....

BrianH, You're a star. Many thanks for the info. I suspect that my list of "things to do from the missus" has just gone up a bit... And she has the audacity to complain that I want an XBox One! The things I do around the house (mutter mutter grumble grumble!) I used to work for a large Telecoms/Electronics manufacturer which had the had the fortunate side effect of teaching me some pretty good soldering skills. I'm a bit rusty though! I may buy a spare just to be on the safe side. By the look of the GSF website, they don't sell the relay anymore. From what I can see, the part number for my Galaxy should be 357906381A Without me stripping the car down to get the actual part, does that seem right? The funny thing is that I've seen a few guides on various forums detailing this replacement process, but none of them mention disconnecting the battery.....

Just another thought, BrianH Do you know what the usual LED code for this is? Would the LED code flash is another code is already flashing? Our aircon has never worked (the famous high-pressure pipe has split and we don't need air-con that much!) and so the LED always flashes that code upon ignition.

BrianH, I suspect you may be right. A local Auto Electrical workshop recommended a long term workaround for the rear hatch by soldering in about a foot of extra cable which could then be fed into the boot and/or main chassis. However, in this case there isn't anywhere for the soldered joints to go is there! More recently suggested simply replacing the door loom but I dread to think how much that would cost from Ford... The curious thing is that I've check all the door/hatch cables and they are all connected fine. It really is very odd, and without being "intrusive" - and possibly damaging perfectly good cables, I don't think the issue is with the cables, bucking the trend so to speak. I was surprised to hear that the auto-electricians didn't recommend soldering the leads, insulating them, then taping them all up together into one large cable that would surely be stronger than the individual cables alone. I would have thought the leads would have fed back into the door void when the door was closed, but apparently not. Very strange indeed.

Sparky Paul and Chrisp - many thanks for your help in this. Stupid questions time. What does the 109 relay do and how does it affect the starting of the car? I ask mainly because the issue is intermittent and certainly hasn't been prevalent. Certainly, my other half who uses the car mainly didn't even bother to mention it until the other night.... Presumably, the issue becomes increasingly common until the car simply doesn't start? It may be worth noting that my car does turn over, it turns over like crazy, but doesn't "ignite". Could this lead to another cause? I'm assuming this is a "well-known personality" trait of the Galaxy that leads to this? BrianH - What's GSF? I'm assuming a website? What did you solder in the relay to get it working? Was it easy to access (presumably) the internals? Last question(!) Given these relays are known for failing, does it seem seem likely the relay has been replaced in the past on this car, given that it is a T Reg? Many many thanks to everyone on this.

Sorry, I really should make a signature... It's a T reg 1.9TDi Late Mk.1 It was probably a bit warm after the 35 mile run as it's mainly dual carriageway where I was going (South England) and it wasn't heavy traffic. Sun was out but very late in the evening.

Hi everyone, Strange one here and any feedback/pointers would be gratefully accepted! I drove the car for roughly 35 miles this evening. When I tried to start the car a few minutes after turning it off, it clearly turned over but refused to start. This carried on for three attempts until I tried to bump start it. I wouldn't start this way and so on the off chance - and in desperation - I tried the ignition again. It worked fine. I finished what I was doing, which didn't take long and came home. Once I got home, I tried the engine again and found it didn't start again a few times. I left it a few minutes and it started fine again. According to my other half, this has happened about twice this year, but also happened yesterday and so it seems to be an issue that is now becoming more common. Any ideas anyone?

Brian, Many apologies for not replying sooner.... Much to do around the house and a partner who gets her money's worth.....! I did wonder about having a play with a replacement unit to test while leaving the other unit insitu. The very strange thing is that not long afterwards, it all started working again. How damn bizarre. I soldered the leads back together again and wrapped them in insulating tape. Not ideal, but good enough until I can resolder them (I didn't have any fluxite at the time so it wasn't the best job...) and make a more professional job of it. Like I said very bizarre indeed. However, many thanks for your help.

Gregers - I really have checked all the cabling as this one of the first things I thought of. I then rechecked them. The front door cables - both sides - really are in good shape. For a T reg, I was very surprised. The rear hatch cables were not in brilliant shape originally and had been "fixed" by a previous owner. I'm not bad at soldering though and so got a nice clean repair job. THey are still in good shape. Again, somewhat surprised but I won't complain! BrianH - speaking entirely hypothetically here... Let's assume the lock motor has packed in. Would I be correct in saying that by turning the key the motor isn't needed, and therefore not engaged? Conversely, if the driver's door or rear hatch locks are used, the passenger door motor needs to engage? Apologies if it's basic 101 here, I just want to get my diagnosis process right! Anything else you can think of? From what I've read, central locking gremlins are aplenty on these cars. One odd thing though, the central locking ECU is not under the passenger seat, which is as dry as a bone. Cheers, Kevin

Firstly, thanks to everyone who has helped me in the past. Very odd issue with the central locking. I have been working on the rear left passenger door electrical connector this afternoon. I found 5 broken/breaking wires which I've reconnected for now (more permanent fix coming in the future). I ensured the connector was disconnected from the rest of the car before I started although didn't disconnect the battery (I know I know!). Upon finishing the job and finding the rear left window now works, I've found that the central locking has gone a bit funny. Before I worked on the rear door, I did fix the front door's wiring rubber boot cover back into place as it had been disconnected at some point. The cables were all okay though. If I operate the central locking from the front passenger's side, it works for both locking and unlocking (although it the unlocking sometimes took a few seconds to unlock the other doors). If I operate the front driver's side lock, all locks initially operated in both unlocking and locking except the front passenger's door without any issue. However, later on this evening, I tested it again and found that if the car is locked, and then unlocked in quick succession, it won't unlock the other doors. If a few seconds goes by between the two processes, it works fine If I use the inside door locks, it mirrors the above although the passenger lock doesn't "feel" like it's part of the central locking system. I'm not sure why this is and may just be me being sensitive to the situation. If I open and hold the key in place all windows operate in both lock and unlock, which it didn't do until this afternoon. The boot gaiter, while a small disaster, has no broken cables in it. Clearly, the central locking works and so I can't see it being the actual door lock(s). Initially, I was going to say I didn't think it was the central control unit either, but given the intermittent function if lock/unlock if operated quickly, I'm not so sure. I'm thinking it might be a wire but very carefully pulling on each cable in the front passenger door connector seems to indicate they are secure (ie not broken), or the central locking motor on the passenger's side being old and on the way out. Anyone's ideas and suggestions would be gratefully appreciated before I end up having to take it to an auto-electrician... Cheers everyone, Kevin

Chromedome, waaaaaaay ahead of you there. The car had never had an undertray and so never realised it was missing. It was only when a neighbour had his Galaxy up and it's undertray off that I realised. My other half has experienced that sudden loss of power steering which also made it priority. Apparently, a local scrappy just bins them as no one ever asks for them! So, after sorting out a few issues (aux belts replacing, oil leak, changing the oil, partner having a baby and running around like a headless chicken etc!) it's been fitted. However, true to the way previous owners have treated it, I found a half sheared bolt in one of the bolt holes! Still, it's on now.... Thanks for everyone's help. Kevin

Hi everyone, Does anyone know the correct length the alternator drivebelt needs to be. I bought one (after having checked with them the car's details including Reg number) which turned out to be too short (it was about 1043mm). The retailer has produced an alternative but wasn't sure and so brought two along! One is 1153mm and the other is 1148mm long. Short of simply going to another supplier (I'm trying to avoid this as he's trying to get his business off the ground and I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt), does anyone know which one it should be? Or does it not matter? I'm running a Mk.1 1.9TDi that does have air-con and so it uses two drive belts to run the auxiliary components. The belt I need advice on is specifically the (flat) alternator belt. Many thanks, Kevin

Apologies for not making it clearer earlier and my late reply. The engine is from a Mk.1 1.9 TDi. As it happens I was taking it to a garage just before going on holiday. He was pretty good and had a quick look. As a benefit of a previous owner having decided the undertray was a waste of time, the power steering pump was pretty much jammed in place resulting in him having the lever it into a slackened position (after loosening it!). Only took a few minutes but he's apparently seen this many many times...... Thanks for everyone's responses since then. Kevin

Hi everyone, Pretty embarrassing to have to ask.... Can anyone point me in the direction of which bolts/nuts to slacken initially when trying to loosen off the power steering pump to allow the belt to be removed? Pictures would be even better! I've tried following the Haynes manual, which I've generally always found to be pretty good despite what people say. However, it simply states "slacken off the pump's mounting bolts and turn the toothed tensioner nut clockwise to loosen the belt". The toothed nut is obvious, but doesn't seem to actually move the pump in any way. The mounting bolts it refers to could be any of the dozen or so bolts I can see in the immediate vicinity - the most likely candidate being a large 16mm bolt that is clearly the pin for a pivoting assembly just in front and above of the powering steering pump (and is attached to it via the assembly). However, after gingerly moving around the mechanism, I could find no obvious answer. It might be worth noting, I have changed power steering belts on cars in the past, and am confident I can do this! However, it's resisting all my attempts at logically deducing which bolt(s) I need to slacken!!!!!!! I also want to show my two teenage stepsons that their logic of "why can't you just cut It [the old belt] off" is NOT the right way to tackle things... Many thanks for any advice you can give, Kevin

Many thanks for that Sparky Paul.