jackthehat.co.uk

Hi Elize, Yeah, the alternator mounts were really tight. I never thought about filing them down so I just gave things a good battering until everything lined up. I can also confirm that the pulley was a real brute to get off. I thought I was going to snap my new spline tool... as you say, brute force is certainly required. I am still looking to buy a replacement Galaxy in the coming weeks as soon as the insurance pays up. The pulley will be one of the first things I look for as well as rear washer, aircon and other common faults.

I have exactly the same problem on my Ford Granada Scorpio. For years I had no problems but the last two sets of rear tyres wore heavily on the inside edge and didn't last long. I thought it was due to carrying heavy loads on the motorway but I only do that 3 or 4 times a year for about 200 miles a time. The loads were extremely heavy but I still find it hard to believe that that's the cause. The car has 183K on the clock so bush and shocker wear is a possibility.

No news yet folks. Got some paperwork through today from the insurers to fill in and return. I imagine it will be at least a week or a fortnight until I get made an offer for the vehicle. I just hope it's a reasonable offer.

Well done Jambo, I changed my pulley then my car was written off a fortnight later. Hope your car fairs better my friend!

Hi folks, My last listing has been removed and after thinking about it, rightly so. OK, I have had a very bad week but that shouldn't have been seen as a way to justify my angry opinions and behaviour. I apologise to all those affected and I particularly thank those who did give helpful advice. This forum has been very useful to me recently and I would hate to contaminate such a friendly place with my brief spell of ignorance. Hopefully the next post I make will be to show off a new (more reliable) Galaxy. All the best Jack

Good man... it's definitely the easiest way to get things done around here. By the time you've convinced the dealers what the problem is and told them about the parts you need replaced you could have done the job yourself. Now my crap car has an oil leak... just another problem to add to the huge list of endless faults. Bah... humbug!

Hi, just to let you all know that the battery was discharged. My local motor factors re-charged it properly and I re-fitted the battery today. Car started first time and the alternator is putting 14 volts into the battery when the engine is running. Sounds like the problem's been fixed. Thanks all for your help.

My screen is definitely a heated screen and I am definitely pushing the correct button to use it. I will have a look behind the interior light panel and those other sections near the 1/4 lights as suggested. I will try to test if power is getting to the screen. Many thanks.

Couldn't see any sort of cables or connectors up either side of the screen. Not sure I understood the second part of your post. Are you telling me there is something to look for behind the interior light panel?

Hi folks, Yet another fault with this atrocious excuse for a vehicle. The heated front screen doesn't work. The switch lights up and I can hear the relay clicking. I was wondering if the connections to the screen itself were disconnected (maybe due to a replacement windscreen at some time). I took off all the trim around the screen apart from across the top of the screen where it meets the roof. I couldn't see any cables or connectors anywhere. Any Ford I've owned in the past has the connectors at the bottom corners of the screen. Not this one. Any idea where they should be? I can't imagine them being along the top of the screen. Any help appreciated.

Good news, I managed to fit the new alternator pulley today myself. Very easy job but the spline nut was mega tight! Nearly broke my arm trying to get it undone. Unfortunately I can't test the thing because the bl**dy car won't start (yet another problem with this crap vehicle). Thanks ever so much people, especially Littledaz for diagnosing the problem in the first place. I wish dealers were as knowledgeable. Happy Easter folks! :16:

Hi folks, I have lost my jump leads so couldn't try jumping it this morning. Instead, I took off the battery and took it to a local motor factors who tested it properly. They told me that the battery was showing no faults but had a poor charge (even though I tried to charge it fully the other day). They have very kindly offered to give it a proper charge for free. They say it needs fully trickle charged overnight and then a vigorous charge for 1 hour tomorrow. I am going back for it tomorrow morning so we'll see what happens. I also managed to fit the new alternator pulley today. It was a very easy job actually. The spline nut was unbelievably tight but it's all done now. I can also confirm that the one I took off was definitely faulty. I'll keep you all posted. Many thanks.

Hi Keith, No that definitely won't be the cambelt. The cambelt is hidden away behind a cover and keeps the timing on your engine together. As far as I know, no cambelt on any car drives the alternator. The belt you are referring to is a drive belt (sometimes confusingly called a fan belt by the older generation even though it has nothing to do with fans) and will run off your flywheel pulley and go round the alternator pulley.

Nope, haven't had the time to try jumping it yet. I assume that push starting the car will work OK. I will try and use jump leads tomorrow morning. Now that I think about it, for the last couple of weeks the starter seemed to sound very out of breath and weak when starting in the morning.. I put it down to the cold mornings affecting the battery. I just assumed that after fully charging the battery I had ruled out battery failure. Good idea though, I will definitely be trying that tomorrow. If it starts then I can rule out the starter motor as the problem.

Hi, thanks for starting the discussion. The dash lights flicker in time with the clicking sound when the key is turned.

Hi, this probably won't be much help but I have a 2002 1.9 Tdi Galaxy and it has a spring tensioner to keep the belt taught. Good luck! I am sure some of the folks on here will help you.

It's me (yet again) Before I give my Galaxy the Swan Vestas treatment for being the worst car ever produced can anyone help me with the latest problem? The car now refuses to start. I have recharged the battery to full capacity and all that happens when you turn the key is a rapid series of clicks that sound as if they are coming from the drivers side dashboard. Could this be a relay making this sound? You may have read my other recent post about alternator pulley failure. (This is relevant to this post so please bear with me...) I have messed about for the last month or two trying to find the cause of a rattle at idle and drivebelt slippage. After changing the tensioner and the belt the much respected forum member called Littledaz (my hero) diagnosed the problem as a faulty freewheel pulley on the alternator. I am still waiting to get the pulley replaced so I was hoping that the faulty pulley had somehow caused the battery to become discharged through poor alternator performance. That's why I charged the battery back up to full power. The lights light up on the dash nice and brightly and the power windows work swiftly so I am assuming that the battery is OK. You would imagine that it would at least have the power to get the engine to turn over a little. Any ideas of what to look for? I did a search and read a few posts about the mysterious relay number 30 (or does that just apply to petrol engines?) Am I looking at a faulty starter motor? This car is totally jinxed. VW should be ashamed to call themselves a quality car maker. It's nothing but unreliable poorly engineered junk (just my opinion.. no intention to offend anyone here!) Any advice appreciated

Thanks Adrian, I'll give it a try... i think it could be hard work as the garage man who put the tensioner on said it's spring strength was unbelievable. So we'll see. Thanks again.

Ok folks, quick update: Finally managed to get a price for the pulley from Fraud Dealer:

Hello again folks (esp. Littledaz) ... sorry I've been away for a while. As Littledaz predicted, my alternator problem has returned again with a vengeance after I changed the belt and tensioner. It has been clattering away for 2 or 3 weeks now and the belt is making strange noises again. I phoned the Fraud dealer up to ask how much to change the alternator pulley and they didn't know what I was talking about (surprise surprise). Anyway, the wife got in the car today and the damn thing failed to start. Sounds like a flat battery probably down to the knackered alternator (I hope). I shall have to get back on to the Fraud dealer tomorrow to get the thing booked in and sorted out. When I get home from work tonight I am going to put my feet right through that stupid VW Galaxy... it's one of the the worst vehicles I have ever bought. To top it off the service indicator is screaming "service now" at me and I've just had to shell out for a new remote keyfob and

:( :( :) :lol: ;) :P :D :D Littledaz you are a star mate! You are totally correct (again). The car manual says fuse no 33 is a green 30A for the blower but it is actually a red 10A fuse. This had indeed blown and after replacing it my wipers are back to normal. I am chuffed to bits. Thank you so much! If you ever leave this forum I will hunt you down like a dog and savage you :) Is it really beyond today's manufacturers to even get the car manuals correct? Not only was it wrong about fuse no 33 but the other 15A fuse I checked earlier for the wipers is listed as a 5A fuse in the manual. Not a bit of wonder the Germans got thrashed in the war... if all their equipment was so badly put together they didn't stand a chance. Thanks again everyone and I'll be back next week when the bl**dy car breaks down again.

Ah, interesting. Sounds promising Littledaz. I will have a look at that tonight when I get home. Thanks again for your excellent advice! No doubt I'll be back when something else goes wrong with this blasted car. I'll let you know how I get on.

Andrew T: I will have a look at the motor this weekend thanks. It isn't the fuse (fuse number 24 actually) because the wiper stalk still operates the rear wiper. The front wipers and screen washer motor stopped at the same time. I suppose it could be the wiper stalk that is faulty.

Hello again Littledaz! According to my manual, fuse 33 is a green 30A fuse for the front blower. I'm at work at the moment so I can't look at the car. Mumof4: my manual says there aren't any fuses under the bonnet that are relevant to the wipers.

Hi there early bird! No, I haven't checked any under the bonnet yet. I have been working 12 hour day shifts so only had a quick look last night in the dark. The fuses I looked at were in the fuse box under the steering wheel.