Higs

You need to remove the scuttle tray (3 bolts) to have better access to the pump. Thanks I probably should have been able to work it out myself but I'm a bit hard-of-thinking after a week of manflu.

Well I'm pretty sure I've located the run on pump. And I'm pretty sure it's pining for the fjords. There's no noise coming from it and it doesn't feel like it's working either when the engines running or after. I know others have replaced it themselves but I can barely get my fingers through to touch it so reckon it's a garage job. Hopefully sorting the pump out will sort the heating out whether it's by bleeding air out of the heater or just by upping the circulation.

Out of interest, how are you bleeding the system? I was under the impression it was self-bleeding so haven't tried a manual bleed.

Something that would help me (as someone unfamiliar with the workings) would be a photo of the engine bay showing: location of run on pump water pipe going to heater water pipe coming from heater I've spent much of the last two days with my head under the bonnet looking at 'stuff' but I just can't work out where some of the pipes are going to/from and what they should be carrying and whether they should be hot or not. Ta, Higs

Yes it's an '02 1.9TDI. As above I've had Vag-Com working on this car. It's the laptop (and therefore also software version) that's changed since last time.

Almost certainly though, any breach somewhere like that would result in liquid leaking out rather than air/gas getting in.

It's infuriating isn't it. I can't think of another way it could be being pressurised unless there's some way air is getting sucked past some form of valve but I doubt it. I know it doesn't make sense but it's almost like the coolant is being sucked into the 'system' and the air gap in the expansion tank is under vacuum, not pressure. :) I've had a car with a serious head gasket failure before (gas into water) and the rad hoses felt like they were full of concrete, rock hard. With this current issue, there's still some squish in the hoses.

I'm also having overheating problems and would appreciate any advice/wisdom. See below for details I've posted on the 'cold heater' thread - I'm sure they're connected. I'm not discounting the possibility of a CHG problem but I have a feeling the problem is colland circulation/blockage. Actaully, in a strange way I wouldn't mind if it was CHG as that's a definitie problem with a definitie fix.

I have these symptoms too: heater only blows cold air even when engine temp displays 90c coolant level drops when engine running pressure in expansion chamber even after cold for many hours (days!) - coolant returns when pressure released To date this has been an annoyance but not a real problem. However we've had a couple of overheating incidents recently and I reckon there must be a link. Garage has replaced thermostat, reverse flushed coolant system and tested coolant for exhaust gases (negative). Water pump has been replaced - impellor was free from shaft. In the past the aux heater has been either bypassed or blocked off by a different garage - I don't actually know what they've done as (i) my wife took it in for something else and they just did it for her (without asking) as it was smoking and (ii) because of where I live/park I can't really get under the car to look and wouldn't know what to look for if I did. Since the car last went into the garage I've read on here about a 'run on' pump. As far as I can tell this second pump is not running - certainly there's no notable 'whirring' under the bonnet once the engines off. In fact thinking about it the fans behind the radiator never seem to come on either. 1.9TDI '02 reg 130,000miles. Any ideas? The guy at the garage (who I trust after many years of good service and common-sense advice) says it has some of the symptoms of a CHG failure, particularly the pressurisation, but he's confused by the absence of combustion product in the coolant. He says he's happily do the gasket for me but can't be sure that's the fault. The garage is closed now 'til Jan 4th and our other car (Saab) is refusing to start. Joy.

Hi I have the same problems as above: eBay USB lead COM3 tests 'OK' but with latency warning VCDS doesn't connect. I know the lead is adequate because it used to work with my old laptop and an old (free) version of Vag-Com. It's the new laptop (and newly loaded version of VCDS) that I'm having problems with. I've had look in the Device Manager but I can't find any 'COM' ports. The OS is Windows 7. Can anyone help? p.s. I'm happy to re-install VCDS but I'm not going to mess about re-installing Windows - the risk of me cocking up something more important than VCDS is too high!

Found it, fixed it and put the new stereo back in. All working fine. Then realised I'd left a cd in the old unit ;)

I know this is an old thread but I might as well add to it instead of starting a new one. I'm pretty sure I've blown the fuse for the ignition feed to the radio. Is this one of the ones in the dash or is it in line with the audio electrics? (I'd look in the car myself but the wife's out in it at the moment) To give a bit more detail (if it helps)... our Galaxy had a std Ford stereo in it (6000cd, from memory) but I replaced it a few weeks ago with a Kenwood unit with Ipod control. Just a couple of days after fitting it I was starting the car while simultaneously turning the stereo on and it went 'pop' and died. I checked the fuse on the head unit and the fuse for the stereo power and they were both intact so assumed I'd fried something inside the unit. I didn't think about (or even know about) a fuse the the ignition feed. Anyway I put the old 6000cd back in and it's now behaving as if the ignition's off all the time, i.e. showing the '1Hour' message and switching off after an hour.

Done. So..... anyone know a good Galaxy specialist near Macclesfield? The coolant loss thing may or may not be connected to the aux heater but I think I want it reconnecting (and sorting out) anyway - it seems a shame to be dragging it around and not using it. I'd like to take it to someone who'll fix the existing unit rather than just swap it (at great cost?)

Macclesfield. There's a clue in the thread title but I could have been clearer in the question itself, I suppose - blame the coffee.

Coffee. (also, it's good to 'share' sometimes)

Recently, while on long motorway stretches our ('02 1.9 TDI) Galaxy loses water. It's a bit of an odd one in that we can do hundreds of miles locally in it including motorway stuff and it's fine but if we do a long stretch on a French motorway and stop for a break it will give a low water light and take quite a bit of coolant when we start again. We've also noticed that when we went up hill the hot air went cold. It's been into our local garage who I trust and they can't work out what's going on. There is no water in the oil or evidence of exhaust gas in the coolant and they can't reproduce the problem (without spanking it down an empty motorway for three hours). They've basically said there's not a lot more they can do until things get worse and there's something more obvious to fix. When we first got the car we had problems with the aux heater. Shortly after this it went into another garage to have a windscreen wiper motor done under warranty and they 'helpfully' disconnected/disabled it for me as it filled their workshop with thick smoke every time they started the car. Maybe water's leaking out of the unused unit? I didn't think too much of it at the time as it sorted out the smoke problem and this was a good two years before the coolant problems started but I do wonder if they're in some way connected. I've also wondered if it's some sort of pressure relief thing - could it be that the car's OK when moving but overheating when we stop driving and spurting water out??? There's no water evident in the carpet on either side so I don't think it's the heater matrix Anyway... all I really want to know is whether there's a Galaxy specialist near me as it's stumped my normal garage and I don't have the time/energy to sort it out myself.

Apologies if this has been asked before (and I'm happy to be pointed to a FAQ or previous thread) but... Is it possible to switch the booster heater off using Vag-Com? I've had the Gal for about a year now but the booster heater didn't work at all last winter. I've just got Vag-Com and reset the error codes over the weekend. It's had one lengthy run with no problem but this morning Mrs Higs did a couple of shorter trips. When she pulled into a car park she had concerned citizens coming over to tell her it was on fire - it wasn't but apparently there was a lot of smoke. Assuming it doesn't settle down (and I can't be faffed with changing the glow-plug myself or afford to pay someone else to do it) can I just disable it?

I just hope (i) you stick with the 'youth team' and (ii) you give Cheslki a right good seeing to.

(slight hijack) Can I ask what the significance of the above is? The reason I ask is that my rear washer doesn't squirt. There's nothing wrong with the rear parking sensors though (and what's the link between parking sensors and washer's squirting anyway???) right I'm off to look at Nick's FAQs before I get sent there anyway!

Daft question: do they all have a booster heater? If they do I'm not at all sure mine was working when I got the car. As above it takes an age to get any hot air out. I've never heard a 'jet turbine' noise - is it subtle? could I miss it? And I've certainly never had it fill up with smoke. If it does need fixing is this something the machanically inept can do or is it a garage job? (feel free to point me at a previous thread - I did have a search but nothing quite answered my questions)

So it's not just me then?

Was talking to a guy at a conference last year. He'd just left Ford R&D and told me this version of the Galaxy will be coming out as a Volvo variant at some point. I guess that would have a better interior and the D5 engine?

Well I'd rather have you in 2nd than either the scousers or CSKA Chelsea.

Sulking (and trying to remember we're 6 points clear). I guess if the defensive strategy is 'back off and don't clear anything first time' it's just possible we'll let the odd goal in.

Yes please.