Taliska

Hi, The car is still under warranty, but it'd be nice give Ford a clue as to what is wrong with it. There are folk here that are more helpful and knowledgeable about the Galaxy than Ford mechanics. I know who I'd rather trust. It would appear to be an intermittent fault and that's painful if I need Ford to fix it - it'll be just my luck that it is working properly the day that it goes in for servicing. If the part breaks once, then I guess it'll go again in the future and I'll need to fix it myself. If I can fiddle with the switch now (wherever it may be), then maybe I can check it out with a multimeter and positively identify it as the dodgy bit - then tell Ford what needs replacing. Just need to write the list down of bits to get fixed under warranty... Taliska

Hummm... Just popped out to see if the dashboard would say whether the tailgate was open or not. Well it did, and after a quick test everything is working just fine, for now... Funny, but I had the same anomaly on my old Audi in its latter years. Is the microswitch right inside the locking mechanism(s)? Thanks, Taliska

Well, my 5000 RDS is a peculiar beast - as well as its "I'll just change station when I want to" feature, it woke up on Friday with an awkward mood on. There we were trundling down the road when the kids wanted a DVD on - the audio is plumbed into the car system via a tape cassette adapter. So to quieten things down in the front a bit, I press the FADE / BAL button and it skips straight to Balance, missing the Fade out all together. I try again, and no Fade; I flip to CD and try again, no Fade. After a few minutes of listening to the DVD audio, I get bored of it and switch the Radio (etc) off completely, then switch it back on. Bingo, the Fade functionality comes back. I turn the noise down in the front and the journey passes pleasantly. Anyone any explanations? Taliska

Hi all, Seems that something's dodgy somewhere... When I unlock the car with the remote central locking on the key, I can open the boot lid. I can then put the weekly shop in the boot, but halfway through loading it in, the car locks itself again. If I try really hard, I can set the alarm off too! :( I've noticed that the lights just inside the boot don't light up either when I open the boot, but they will come on when I open a passenger door. Okay so something's bust, but what? Thanks, Taliska

Hi, A friend has a petrol Galaxy (2.0L?) and while on a long journey they got stuck in a traffic jam and the car overheated. 'STOP' appeared on the dash... What's likely to have gone wrong??? Thanks, Taliska

Just go to:. http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/ Not used the front page link for many years! Taliska

Well guys, it's a lot better now... Lifted the analogue clock out, and - well nothing really - you can't see much in there and there wasn't much to rattle. Plan B - looked at those panels just under the windscreen wipers... They were wobbly, so decided to take the plunge and unbolted the wiper on the passenger side. Nut came off easily, then I lifted the arm up off the screen and it then came off quite easily. The panel lifted straight out. A brief inspection showed a cable-clip broken, one (out of three) plastic mounting studs missing and the panel mouldings bent where the studs join it. The two remaining studs were very wobbly. There was also some of that black tacky trim-fixing stuff too. Quite frankly it looks as if it had been screwed together badly in the first place. Okay, so I got my tub of Plumbers Mait out which has been languishing in the garage for ages - it seemed to be the closest thing to this black tacky stuff that our friends in Portugal had used. I didn't want to super-glue it as I want to have the whole thing replaced later by Ford. I stuck it round the studs to stop them wobbling then put a little over the top of the stubs so that the panel might stick to the studs. I pushed the panel firmly down and re-attached the wiper, carefully aligning it with the other one. Did the same operation at the driver's side, except no black tacky stuff was to be seen. All three studs were there this time, but they were all wobbly. Plumbers Mait to the rescue and all was tightened up. Now this side had started rattling directly after the first service - so perhaps not badly manufactured, but damaged later. On the journey today - no rattle - bliss. Now if yours rattles, get the car at a constant speed and a constant rattle, then flick the wipers - it might just change the rattle briefly. It does really sound as if it is coming from the inside of the car and the passenger side rattle sounds as if it's coming from the clock. One giveaway indication is that the panel is badly scored where the wiper arm is rubbing away at it - oh, and of course, it's loose! Many thanks, Gadgetoid... Good luck, Another?Maybe!... You know what to look for Andrew T... Mr Ford, here cometh my Warranty Claim for two new panels, six new studs and one new cable clip. (It'll wait until the next service, 4000 miles). Taliska

Completely forgot to do it today (and yesterday for that matter) - had a large bout of train track electification to do on OO scale over the weekend. Guess it'll have to wait a while longer... Taliska

Thanks Guys, {Seems I'm not always getting the email notifications - either that or I've been over-zealous with the spam killing. } Will try to prise out the panel and squint inside. As far as I remember, the top-of-the-dash storage bins have a big metal bar right at the back - I think that I need to get behind that. The rattle wasn't too bad initially - only did it at 90mph, now it's doing it anywhere between 30-60mph. I'm sure it started directly after the very first service some 15k miles ago. :( Time to get the screwdrivers out... Wish me luck! Taliska

Hi, In the middle of the dashboard, there's the beloved oval clock... Can the panel that it sits on be easily prised out so I can get into the cavity and fill it with cement? Thanks, Taliska

Hi all, I know that this has been covered a few times, but I have a TDI and the dealer filled its oil up at the last service. I checked the level (can't remember whether it was hot or cold) and thought that the level was too high - i.e. at the upper kink. Knowing that the oil level drops if the engine is warm - when are you supposed to measure it - when the engine is hot or cold. I presume that the sensible answer is 'when cold', cos that's when the oil is normally put in the car when it is built and when it is serviced. So at what level(s) should I start to be concerned about it? Many thanks, Taliska P.S. Didn't they say years ago that if you were to change the oil, that you should run the engine first to get the oil warm and runny?

This makes me cry... Dealer put the right oil in on the 2nd service - that's cos we went round to the parts department and got a can of it. Only today when I checked the oil level did I notice that it was way over the full mark - have they put the whole damned can in??? Incompetent bunch. Ford really p*ss me off. Volkswagen - why won't you service my Galaxy for me??? Taliska

Something like this happened on my first Golf - spend loads trying to get it fixed, but never got to the bottom of it. Twas a truly frighteningly loud and worrying clunk from the front somewhere. Good luck finding it... Taliska

Either that, or your batteries well and truly on it's way out! Sounds very familiar! Taliska

BTW... If you do get a general purpose invertor, then you can use it for other purposes like charging the Camcorder in the car. The Maplins inverter is significantly cheaper than that beast, and it doesn't need a screwdriver! Taliska

I'd avoid the Halfords inverter, it hasn't got a fan, and it (well two of them actually) kept overheating and tripping out! Taliska

Looks like the same thing is happening to my Ford badges at the front and back... aarrrggghhh. :D Taliska

Thule bars + Halfords roof box (box about

Mystery Solved... Well, I just had to go and see if mine did it too (2003 Gal) and it did... :o Pushed it in, twisted clockwise... humm nothing much happened... :D Okay, untwist, pull out... and the whole switch came out!!! :D When you do the twisting bit, it pulls a couple of lugs in on the switch cyclinder and you can then pull the switch unit out to replace... :lol: I just had to push gently on the bezel of the switch and, lo and behold, a small click and the switch was held in place again. phew. :D Did brightened up my Monday morning. :D At least we now know how to change the switch when broken! :D Fredt, perhaps yours is a long-life version that doesn't need replacing. :D Taliska

Thanks all :D Taliska

I've just remembered - they eat them in Peru, don't they? :D Taliska { Yes, they are rather cute! }

Aaawww... Taliska

Isn't this wierd... found out today that my boss's boss sold his Galaxy - he did mention that it wouldn't go up hills at all. B) First thing that came into my mind was the MAF - didn't say anything though, 'cos I wasn't sure and anyway it was too late. :P Just goes to show how useful this forum is - pity he didn't find it himself! :o Taliska

Must remember not to do that with our two! :P Taliska

Can I get a prize for being the 100th reply to this thread? :P :o :o And also the 1000th reply in the I.C.E (In Car Entertainment) Discussion board! B) Taliska