mumof4 Posted January 13, 2007 Report Posted January 13, 2007 Bugger..just when it was getting interesting!!....seatkid was right....usually only i do threads like this.. :lol: ... shame it wasnt sorted....least it wasnt a slipping clutch. :wacko: .. Stick around hun.... :lol:
RADIOTWO Posted January 13, 2007 Report Posted January 13, 2007 Bugger..just when it was getting interesting!!....seatkid was right....usually only i do threads like this.. :lol: ... shame it wasnt sorted....least it wasnt a slipping clutch. :wacko: .. Stick around hun.... :lol: No No as Mumof4 says it is getting interesting ! so please don't sell it get it resolved first, so we can all benefit from the solution ! (so I hope he does not buy it) (only joking) Hope it all goes well Radiotwo
mumof4 Posted January 13, 2007 Report Posted January 13, 2007 Well..if he does buy it..point the buyer in our direction..and hopefully we can get it resolved one way or another..
RADIOTWO Posted January 13, 2007 Report Posted January 13, 2007 Well..if he does buy it..point the buyer in our direction..and hopefully we can get it resolved one way or another.. Good thinking, not thoght of that !!
Guest greenfingers Posted January 14, 2007 Report Posted January 14, 2007 Hey folks, thanks for all the attention. The Northerner came down today, and he loved the car. He knows of an auto electrician near him, and is undaunted. He lives mostly in France. The Sharan will live half here and half in France, and he seems sure that he has people who can sort it out. The old boy is 74 years old, and good for a few more yet! He wanted something to do the job of both his old Merc Vito 108, and the small car that his wife drives. He loved the versatility and comfort, and his Grandchildren will sure enjoy the DVD system! So, with a little guilt and lack of accomplishment, I must announce that our Sharan has moved on to enjoy a new lease of life. I hope that her new owner, and indeed all shalambraxy owners, get the full enjoyment and pain they deserve!It has been an emotional time for me, and not easily forgotten. However, I may not be able to resist the urge to post one last message after tomorrow, Tomorrow is Collection day! ^_^ I am going to West Sussex to commit shameful adultery, and return with a '51 plate facelifted 2.7 diesel Mercedes! If the gods don't strike me down, there may still be one post left to come! ^_^
tim-spam Posted January 15, 2007 Report Posted January 15, 2007 The car was run for well over an hour today, so I believe the battery has recharged fully.In fact, it has been standing for over 4 hours now, and I have just read 12.73 volts with everything switched off.Which means that the alternator is OK, as it is clearly charging the battery fully. I would advise the new owner to fit the correct Ca battery (Halfords sell them with a 4 year guarantee) and go from there. My guess is that all should be OK. Reading more in Car Mechanics who are doing a project on a Mk1 Sharan. They too had a problem of a new battery going flat in 2 days and suspected a battery drain.... they said "we quickly identified 5mA of current still seeping through enough to drain a battery after a couple of days".On a 70Ah battery, 5mA would take 14000 hours to drain - perhaps they were using torch batteries.... With all of the electronics on a modern car, there will always be some continuous discharge - in my handbook, it recommends disconnecting the battery if the car is to stand for any more than 2 weeks. If we assume that a 50% charge is just sufficient to start the engine, this would amount to a 35Ah drain over 2 weeks. This equates to a continuous 104mA.
seatkid Posted January 15, 2007 Report Posted January 15, 2007 I agree, the "Car Mechanics" :lol: reference to 5mA is total toss. Most modern cars have a residual current drain of anything between 20 and 200mA - Remote, alarm, ECU, clock, etc. Even 200mA should only drain a fully charged 90Ah battery to a serious degree (50%) after 9 days. The solution to Greenfingers problem is probably to toss the "Numax" and fit a proper battery.
tim-spam Posted January 15, 2007 Report Posted January 15, 2007 Seems a shame to sell the whole car because it has the wrong battery fitted....
Andrew T Posted January 15, 2007 Report Posted January 15, 2007 Tim, why do you believe that not having a Ca battery fitted would lead to excessive discharge?
tim-spam Posted January 15, 2007 Report Posted January 15, 2007 It wouldn't. In this case, an awful lot of time has been spent trying to find out what's wrong with the car, when the evidence seems to point to the battery. The best place to have started would have been to fit the correct battery in the first place. Even if the current drain on the battery remained at 200mA, this would not have caused a flat battery over a week or two, let alone a couple of days. The fact is that 200mA is not at all excessive on a modern car and should not have caused a problem. When my battery failed a few months ago, I had to jump start the car to get home from work. Once home, I switched off and then tried to re-start - no problem. This showed that the car's charging system was working. 1 hour later, there wasn't even enough charge left for the central locking. So, I went to Halfords (in my wife's car) and bought the recommended (Calcium) battery for around
Guest greenfingers Posted January 15, 2007 Report Posted January 15, 2007 tim-spam, Firstly, I didn't sell the car because of this problem. In fact, I had numerous other issues with this car, some of which were resolved, and some of which weren't - you could check through my posts if you wanted to analyse the details, but in short I found the ventilation system appalling, the windows steaming up a bore, and the aircon a constant worry. Also, the exhaust fumes entering the cabin not only smelled awful, but gave me concern for my 18 month old child's health. The autobox was ponderous and I feel it also had an inherant design fault (the coasting/accelerating thud). Maybe I'm being unfair to the car since it is a great people carrier, but I never liked all that road noise and understeer, and the ride quality didn't even approach a BMW's. Having said all that, all cars have flaws and I know this a forum for Galaxy lovers, so I would expect some flack for those comments, but it is my opinion and I can make my own choices. We want to buy a caravan, and the front wheel drive on these cars is not best suited to towing a large load across a grassy field - that is the main reason for changing the car. Secondly, I can see you are insistant that anything other than a Ca battery won't work on the car, but what was on yours before it failed (as all batteries eventually do). Also, how many other cars do you imagine use Pb batteries without problems? Perhaps a poll of what the forum members are using would be enlightening. Thirdly, if you were interested in solving the discharge problem I was having, you would have realised that the 200mA resting current was not causing the problem - my tests proved that. The problem was due to some unknown event which was happening intermittently, and was never measured. I expect that the new owner will get a qualified electrician to sort it out if he can't. I did not have the time to do that myself.
Guest greenfingers Posted January 15, 2007 Report Posted January 15, 2007 Now that the fire has stopped spitting from my fingers, it seems timely to announce that I did that unspoken thing today, and replaced our old gal - with a Merc ML270 tip auto. Yes I know it's not a true MPV, it'll be thirstier, it cost me an extra 3.5K etc........but after one and a half hours driving it home, I am happy with the decision. It is a totally different vehicle and has it's own particular flaws - slated by the press as being badly built in the USA, prone to electrical faults, bouncy on uneven roads, expensive to repair and so on. My immediate feelings are elation, yet already I have discovered that the centre 'armrest' gets annoyingly in the way, you have to plan a manouvre in advance, and the seating is nowhere near as adaptable as the old gal. No doubt, there will be other challenges, but the important thing is to remember is that nothing is perfect, and we should make the most of what we have - and enjoy it! :D Happy motoring to all of you! :)
Guest gooner52 Posted January 15, 2007 Report Posted January 15, 2007 hi gf con grads on the new car m8 hope it serves you better than the galaxy did got any pics m8
tim-spam Posted January 16, 2007 Report Posted January 16, 2007 My car was fitted with the recommended (Ca) battery from new, and I replaced it with the same - simple, and it works. If you fit non-recommended parts and experience problems, you can hardly blame the car. My advice to you, as I remember, was to fit the correct part, which you did not do - as you say, your choice. I, and others, were just trying to help. When mine mists up (and, if the conditions are right, all cars will from time to time), the aircon system clears all of the windows within around 10 - 20 seconds. No worries there. As regards understeer, these cars are just about the best handling MPV's money can buy. As regards road noise, this depends a lot on which tyres are fitted - again, mine is not bad at all in this respect. It is also a very good towcar indeed - many others will also testify to that. Exhaust fumes in the car?? Never happened on mine, even when one of the exhaust sections started to blow. It's very difficult to see how the fumes got in, unless the tailgate wasn't closing properly, or the seal was missing or incorrectly fitted - did your towbar fitter replace it properly, because if he didn't, again, you can hardly blame the car. As for the auto 'box, my choice is manual every time, so no worries there. However, I hope you enjoy your Mercedes - time will tell whether or not you experience the electrical gremlins which seem to affect some 270's.
Guest MATT jr Posted January 16, 2007 Report Posted January 16, 2007 lol sounds like your used to bmws and mercs! i agree with the above statement - from what iv seen of other MPVs the galaxy seems the best one...just a shame it has so many problems. for what it is, i would say its a great towcar, very stable and has good pulling power for its engine size - but could never out do a M class or X5 - for obvious reasons. hope your new toy is good for you - we are tempted by a M class - but insurance would be
tim-spam Posted January 16, 2007 Report Posted January 16, 2007 The trouble with forums like this is that, because they provide a tremendous amount of useful information about how to fix things, people reading them can get the impression that all of the cars concerned are nothing but trouble. My own experience, after the best part of 3 years of ownership are very good. Apart from fuel, tax, MOT, routine servicing, tyres, brake pads, battery (5 years) and part of the exhaust system, I have had to do the following:1) Replace one seat recliner knob - less than
seatkid Posted January 16, 2007 Report Posted January 16, 2007 Absolutely everything works as it should after 85,000 miles, but then again, since the warranty expired, I have done all of my own servicing / repairs, so I know that it has all been done properly.Ah! Could this be the secret to a quiet life? :P FWIW All car batteries are made with "Pb" (lead) - "Pb-Ca" (lead-calcium alloy) plates are used in modern maintenance free batteries (no need to top up water). The older Lead-Antimony alloy type requires topping up with water, although they have other advantages/disadvantages and are still available as "leisure" batteries - the kind used in boats and caravans. The Calcium or Antimony is used to strengthen/reinforce the Lead grids.
Guest greenfingers Posted January 17, 2007 Report Posted January 17, 2007 My car was fitted with the recommended (Ca) battery from new, and I replaced it with the same - simple, and it works. If you fit non-recommended parts and experience problems, you can hardly blame the car. My advice to you, as I remember, was to fit the correct part, which you did not do - as you say, your choice. I, and others, were just trying to help. I appreciate you were trying to help Tim, but I find your assumption that only recommended parts will work properley, astonishing. If you were to follow the advice in your car makers handbook, you would end up paying over the odds for service items which are in some cases inferior to the alternatives.There are far too many examples for me to list here, but let's start with tyres - VW recommended Dunlop SP 2020 tyres for my car. There is a long thread on this forum which shows comprehensively that some of the cheaper brands (Fortuna, Nokian etc) not only perform better, but also cost much less than the 'recommended' tyres. I made the mistake of sticking with the Dunlops when I had a puncture, and then I discovered (from reading this forum) that these were partly responsible for the high levels of road noise I was experiencing.These cars suffer from excessive brake disc wear, but this could be lessened by fitting softer brake pads than the recommended standard.It has been acknowledged that the original pollen filter allowed fumes to enter the cabin, so now the 'odour filter' is available - produced by a variety of manufacturers.Read the 'which oil' thread, then make a rational decision which oil (and filter) to use, and then admit that it won't have a 'Ford' or 'VW' label on it. The good thing about forums like this, is that it helps people to benefit from the real experiences of others, and not feel compelled to follow the financially biased advice of the manufacturer. I am truly glad that your car has behaved well, and I wish all Shalambraxy owners great satisfaction with their choice of vehicle. I have simply documented my experiences and opinions, and hopefully these will be helpful to someone in the future. Anyway, Gooner asked for it - so here is a pic of the old gal, and one of her successor. :mellow:
Guest mcyoungy Posted January 17, 2007 Report Posted January 17, 2007 greenfingers - what's the legroom like in the 3rd row of the Merc?
Guest gooner52 Posted January 17, 2007 Report Posted January 17, 2007 car looks great m8 nice colour too(headlamp washers/parkings sensors) very very nice how does it drive,and bet your well happy with it j;)
tim-spam Posted January 17, 2007 Report Posted January 17, 2007 1) I appreciate you were trying to help Tim, but I find your assumption that only recommended parts will work properley, astonishing. 2) VW recommended Dunlop SP 2020 tyres for my car. 3) These cars suffer from excessive brake disc wear, but this could be lessened by fitting softer brake pads than the recommended standard.1) I never said or implied that only recommended parts will work properly - how on earth did you draw that conclusion? All I said was that, in this case the manufacturer specifies a Calcium battery for these cars (I believe that this is due to the type of charging system fitted). I bought a calcium battery of the specified size and rating from Halfords for around
seatkid Posted January 17, 2007 Report Posted January 17, 2007 OK - Fault fixed. Just to recap..... Fault: Car won't start if left over the weekend.Solution: Replace car.... seems foolproof.... :P
Andrew T Posted January 17, 2007 Report Posted January 17, 2007 Well SK, you're usually the first to suggest selling the car as a solution to a problem!
NikpV Posted January 17, 2007 Report Posted January 17, 2007 Well SK, you're usually the first to suggest selling the car as a solution to a problem! :P he had it as his signature for a while though - well before greenfingers followed his advice :P
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