Starting Problems

[BiggerAl]

Hi

I am a new member & need assistance in finding a garage or mechanic in the Blackpool area who KNOWS the Galaxy 2.8 V6 Mk11.

I have a starting problem which is intermittent. Some times the car runs perfectly; sometimes it needs 1 or 2 attempts to start it because the engine fires but then immediately dies. Worst of all I can attempt to start 9 or 10 times without success & then no starter, nothing at all. However when this happens a jump start always works, the car starts instantly, ticks over & drives perfectly......until the next time! I do notice the red led in drivers door blinking when I am having the problem

I have spent approaching

[BiggerAl]

Hi

I am a new member & need assistance in finding a garage or mechanic in the Blackpool area who KNOWS the Galaxy 2.8 V6 Mk11. I would also be very pleased to receive any advice as to what this problem is caused by & remedies

I have a starting problem which is intermittent. Some times the car runs perfectly; sometimes it needs 1 or 2 attempts to start it because the engine fires but then immediately dies. Worst of all I can attempt to start 9 or 10 times without success & then no starter, nothing at all. However when this happens a jump start always works, the car starts instantly, ticks over & drives perfectly......until the next time! I do notice the red led in drivers door blinking when I am having the problem

I have spent approaching

[Scorpiorefugee]

Hi

I'm not convinced that the immobiliser is the problem as the car will start & run perfectly when jump leads are used.

54 plate 2004 Ford Galaxy 2.8 V6 Ghia

 

There might be a clue there. Have you thoroughly checked battery connections or tried a new battery. I know nothing of this model but if it is OK with jump leads then it has to be related with the battery or connections. I believe that if the battery teminal voltage falls below a certain level the system resets as soon as it returns to normal which could cause it to cut out even though it has started OK.

Edited November 7, 2009 by Scorpiorefugee

[BiggerAl]

Hi

I'm not convinced that the immobiliser is the problem as the car will start & run perfectly when jump leads are used.

54 plate 2004 Ford Galaxy 2.8 V6 Ghia

 

There might be a clue there. Have you thoroughly checked battery connections or tried a new battery. I know nothing of this model but if it is OK with jump leads then it has to be related with the battery or connections. I believe that if the battery teminal voltage falls below a certain level the system resets as soon as it returns to normal which could cause it to cut out even though it has started OK.

Thank you for that. Just the way I was thinking! Having spent close to

[turk90210]

I can see where scorpio is coming from but I can also see where the garage is going, did you tell the garage the full story as I would have thought the battery would have been the 1st thing they would have checked

You say "you can attempt to start 9 or 10 times without success & then no starter, nothing at all. However when this happens a jump start always works, the car starts instantly, ticks over & drives perfectly......" In this attempt to start the car is the engine/starter turning over fast and just not starting then after the 9/10 attempts the battery goes flat hense the jump start or is it barly turning over? - so as scorpio suggests this could be a battery problem so a test would be in order if nothing else but to confirm its condition and replace if poor BUT

 

You also state "sometimes it needs 1 or 2 attempts to start it because the engine fires but then immediately dies" - now this is a classic sign of the transponder in the key not being recognised so if available I would try the spare key.Or if you havn't got a spare then invest in one as they are always needed What is the light on the door doing when it doesn't start

if you find the battery is ok and going off what you have said so far I would be inclined to think Immobilizer, ie key or reciever.

 

Good luck I wouldn't worry about feeling a chump I think we have all been there at some stage (much prefer feeling the mrs though)

[BiggerAl]

I can see where scorpio is coming from but I can also see where the garage is going, did you tell the garage the full story as I would have thought the battery would have been the 1st thing they would have checked

You say "you can attempt to start 9 or 10 times without success & then no starter, nothing at all. However when this happens a jump start always works, the car starts instantly, ticks over & drives perfectly......" In this attempt to start the car is the engine/starter turning over fast and just not starting then after the 9/10 attempts the battery goes flat hense the jump start or is it barly turning over? - so as scorpio suggests this could be a battery problem so a test would be in order if nothing else but to confirm its condition and replace if poor BUT

 

You also state "sometimes it needs 1 or 2 attempts to start it because the engine fires but then immediately dies" - now this is a classic sign of the transponder in the key not being recognised so if available I would try the spare key.Or if you havn't got a spare then invest in one as they are always needed What is the light on the door doing when it doesn't start

if you find the battery is ok and going off what you have said so far I would be inclined to think Immobilizer, ie key or reciever.

 

Good luck I wouldn't worry about feeling a chump I think we have all been there at some stage (much prefer feeling the mrs though)

Oh, so you know my Mrs! (joke) Thanks for that. We have two keys, so will try the other one. I went out & bought a new battery yesterday as I found the old one completely discharged, & so far no problems have occurred (however,in the past it has gone a number of days between problems). When having starting problems the red LED in the drivers door is blinking constantly. Initially it started & died very occasionally, then would start on second attempt having died about once or twice a week It then took about 10 attempts to start it ran for a split second before dying but would eventually start

and run perfectly. Each time it tried to start it turned over briskly. In the last week it has turned over sluggishly without firing & after a few attempts has died with nothing happening when turning the key. A jump start has worked instantly with the GLXY ticking over & running sweetly.

Hope the new battery will help the problem. I keep seeing references to relay 30/27. I'm not sure if this would cause the problems I have been experiencing. The 2.8 V6 has been great fun, but if I can't put this starting problem to bed, I may have to think about offloading it which would be a shame.

Thanks again for your advice

[frogeye]

Hi,

Whilst I feel sorry for you, I am also glad that someone else is experiencing the same kind of intermittant immobilizer problems that I am - I'd be very interested to hear how your diagnostics progress. I've had my Mk2 2.8 for about 6 months and still not got to the bottom of this one. For me it usually happens after the car has had a short run and the engine is warm. If I pause when turning the iginition key (before engaging the starter) and observe the door led, if I gat the rapid flashing then the starter won't even turn, if all is clear then the car starts first time - however if I turn the key straight round to engage the starter with no pausing, then the engine starts without a problem although I still get the rapid led flashing (sometimes!)

 

After one of these incidents (which have become significantly less frequent since having replaced the engine temperature sensor (both of them?), radiator temperature sensor, thermostat and water pump!), and the LED calms down after its one minutes worth of flashing it should then flash some coded message at you for the next 10 minutes or so - mine is 3 short flashes followed by one slightly longer flash. I'm still not too certain what this indicates but it could be due to a poor transponder signal/reading (I've only got one key!!)

 

One trick I found that use to work quite often after a failed attempt was to remove the key from the ignition, listen for the afterrun pump to come on, let that run for 30-40 seconds and there would be a click from the relay/fuse area and then the car would start with a problem and no flashing lights.

 

Do please let me know how this pans out for you, and whether your new battery sorts things out for you

 

Good luck

Frogeye