petemc

Well, 2 weeks off work resulted in trips to safari park, beach, zoo, bowling,et, etc but no work on the car except for drilling out and replacing the other front wheel speed sensor. Tonight I finally returned the dash to standard and fitted 2 new LEDs. All dash illumination appears to be behaving themselves! I have yet to connect a laptop back onto the car or test the brakes in slippery conditions, but so far so good. I heard a new noise yesterday when braking which I am assuming was the ABS pump briefly having a go (inappropriately, I was braking in good conditions but perhaps I still have an intermittent fault on the broken ring well spaced off sensor). I am interpretting this as an encouraging sign anyway. Thanks again for the guidance and assistance.

Just a quick update for those who were kind enough to offer assistance. I have managed to get through the MOT :lol: so can return to being a fair weather biker again! I purchased a cheap USB serial interface cable off ebay, downloaded the free copy of vag-com, borrowed a laptop from work and spent a frustrating evening attempting to get the thing communicating with the car. I kept overlooking the fact that the Ross Tech information states that the USB port selection on the software does not work with

Yes...thanks for that input seatkid. Unfortunately, I still now have to deal with it. Perhaps someone else out there can answer my question about the resistance of the abs sensor?

Brake fluid level switch is working ok. Front wheel speed sensors, when disconnected read >20Mohm (i.e. open circuit) even if I spin the wheel. I vaguely remember seeing somewhere on this site that they should have a resistance of approx 1.2K? Anyway, I decided to remove one for further testing....By the time it came off it was a brush and dustpan job - it required drilling out! I think I will check one of the rear ones next before I drill the other front sensor out. Can anyone confirm the resistance of these sensors?

Sorry, forgot to mention, mine is a '98 2.3.

I had a similar problem where lower and high level brake lights would cease to work, blowing a fuse and then be ok for days, weeks or months. It turned out to be cracked insulation in the wiring which passes through the offside tailgate wiring loom boot. Every now and again the copper conductors must have shorted against the metalwork taking all of the brake lights out and causing some distress to fellow M56 users behind me on my daily commute!! I used insulation tape around the individual suspect wires and additionally around the complete loom to solve the problem. Make sure the boot is clipped back properly as mine came out and got slightly crushed after the mod and now pops out occasionally.

Update - Found connector underneath the ashtray. Managed to get Gendan communicating with galaxy. 'No reported fault codes' though! Tries several different cycles of turning engine on/off, ignition only on/off, rebooting software, etc. Was able to see live data, rpm, throttle position, oxygen sensors, etc, but still no errors. Looks like I'm back to basics for now then.

A guy at work has lent me something called 'Gendan Engine Check Pro'. Similar to vag com? I'm going to give it a go - can't find the connector it fits into yet though. Somewhere around the fuse/relay box, is that right? Will keep you posted.

That would be very helpful, I'd even pop out to buy some choccy biscuits! I live in the Chester area. Research so far has me thinking possible faulty brake fluid level switch, ABS controller or there was an interesting fault with Mondeos requiring a resistor to be soldered across a couple of pins on the connector in the passenger footwell - not sure if this applicable to Galaxys also. Any additional pointers always appreciated. :)

Well, I've just moved the LEDs from the 'door open' warning to the 'ABS' and 'Brake Warning' (not alternator as reported earlier, duh..) positions with predictable results I suppose. I now have two nicely lit ABS and Brake warning LEDs! The front offside speed sensor ring is split but is firmly rusted onto the shaft and does not move so I don't think that is the problem (it may have been originally though). Fuses are ok, connectors seem fine. Sensors were checked by a good ex Ford technician last year and were reported ok. I will check them myself tomorrow, after I have found out how to do it. Next stop is check Ford TIS disc for further clues. Is it worth getting an auto electrical guy on the job with suitable diagnostic equipment?

Wow, I am loving this feedback and sharing of knowledge. The dodgy soldering was actually on a what looked like power resistor and also on a standard resistor. The cluster has beeped when towing a trailer once, when indicating. And when having relay 30 issues. I will listen carefully when next in the car to the beginning of my journey, I haven't heard anything previously suggesting the ABS pump being tested. Wifes on a 12 hour shift tomorrow but I will try and get some time to further investigate.

Thanks for the response big_kev. I had considered doing a swap, but ultimately I'd like to replace the swapped LED eventually also. Thank you for the link. If the ring is broken, won't the ABS come on quite regularly? I have tried (safely) bringing the ABS on in ice and snow with no success. I think everybody should throw their car around in snow on deserted carparks! I was suspecting the pump. I think I will swap the LED tomorrow and see what happens. Cheers....Pete

Hi My 1998 2.3 Ghia X has just failed its MOT. One of the things it failed on was the ABS warning light on the dash not illuminating temporarily when turning the ignition on. It has sneaked through the last 6 or 7 MOTs without this working. Taking the instrument cluster apart has revealed that the LEDS for both the ABS and Alternator have been removed (with PCB tracks in the case of the ABS one!). My question is this, does anybody know the specification required for the replacement LEDs? Can I simply pop down to Maplins and buy a suitably sized 12v white LED? Obviously, if I do manage to replace the LEDs, I am then going to find out that they were ripped out prior to my purchase of the vehicle for a reason. I knew the ABS didn't work but now I will need to find out why! Also spotted some iffy soldering elsewhere on the circuit board, I'll sort that too. Like I did with the engine management relay (relay 30?) last year thanks to you guys, with photo assistance also, thanks again. If anyone has any info on the instrument cluster LEDs it will be very much appreciated. Cheers, Pete

I'd just like to add my thanks also. Followed these instructions back in march, spotted the bad soldered joints in the relay, resoldered them all and haven't had a problem since. Made things a lot easier than trying to follow Haynes manual information in the dark and cold. Thanks again!