Ford Galaxy (s Reg-1998) Won't Start!

[lewlog]

Okay, so this is a problem thats been bugging us for over a month.

It all started when one day, my Dad tried to start the car and go to work as normal.

Instead of starting the engine just turned and turned and turned and turned without fireing at all. Obviously, this needed fixing. So, we took it to a mechanic who said that the temperature sensor was showing up as the temperature being miles below freezing (-400?). So, he replaced the temperature sensor and said that the problem still wasn't solved as the engine was running rich. Therefore, he for some reason decided to reinstall the original temperature sensor.

 

Got the car back, it ran for a few days before failing to start again. So, we took it to a different garage who had it for months, including over Christmas. They sent the ECU for testing, that came back fine and they eventually came to the conclusion of disconnecting the LPG system. The car came back and worked fine for about a week. This morning, nothing again.

 

What the mechanics did confirm last time that the problem was excessive amounts of fuel going to the engine (10x more than neccesary) and therefore flooding the engine. What we don't know is whats causing the flooded engine.

 

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Lewlog

[H-man]

Hi,

 

Do you have any spark when this happens? Similar thing happened to mine, when it didn't start it didn't try and fire, there was absolutely nothing, just turned over. Next day it would fire up with no problem. It turned out to be a dodgy relay connection under the steering wheel. Worth taking them out and putting them back in, or giving them a little wiggle when you try and start it.

 

H-man

 

 

 

 

Okay, so this is a problem thats been bugging us for over a month.

It all started when one day, my Dad tried to start the car and go to work as normal.

Instead of starting the engine just turned and turned and turned and turned without fireing at all. Obviously, this needed fixing. So, we took it to a mechanic who said that the temperature sensor was showing up as the temperature being miles below freezing (-400?). So, he replaced the temperature sensor and said that the problem still wasn't solved as the engine was running rich. Therefore, he for some reason decided to reinstall the original temperature sensor.

 

Got the car back, it ran for a few days before failing to start again. So, we took it to a different garage who had it for months, including over Christmas. They sent the ECU for testing, that came back fine and they eventually came to the conclusion of disconnecting the LPG system. The car came back and worked fine for about a week. This morning, nothing again.

 

What the mechanics did confirm last time that the problem was excessive amounts of fuel going to the engine (10x more than neccesary) and therefore flooding the engine. What we don't know is whats causing the flooded engine.

 

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Lewlog

[lewlog]

Hi,

 

Do you have any spark when this happens? Similar thing happened to mine, when it didn't start it didn't try and fire, there was absolutely nothing, just turned over. Next day it would fire up with no problem. It turned out to be a dodgy relay connection under the steering wheel. Worth taking them out and putting them back in, or giving them a little wiggle when you try and start it.

 

H-man

 

Ok, thanks man. Relay 30 - read lots of articles regarding the infamous relay 30, bit of a troublemaker from what I gather. However, Dad's just been on the phone to the garage and unfortunately, it may not be as simple as this. They think that Relay 30 was the first sort of thing they replaced - taking that that's the main fuel pump relay, correct? What they also said is that a fault with Relay 30 normally causes a lack of fuel getting to the engine, not an overdose. Whats happening they said is that one or more of the injectors are sticking open, causing the engine to flood. What my Dad has said is that when he tried to start it this morning, it almost started the first time, but then therew was nothing thereafter. This inclines me to think that the ECU is detecting that the engine is flooding and therefore stops it from fireing for safety reasons for the engine and the people in the cabin.

Any ideas would really be appreciated.

Thanks,

 

Lewlog and Family

[seatkid]

Relay base connections possibly become loose (stretched open) or connections underneath are loose.

 

Requires a strip down and check all the spade connectors are secure.

[lewlog]

Relay base connections possibly become loose (stretched open) or connections underneath are loose.

 

Requires a strip down and check all the spade connectors are secure.

 

Right... okay thanks, sounds interesting. Would this be causing the injectors to stay open and the engine to flood though? As apparently thats whats happening. Its just worrying me that the car is going to be irrepairable as its been in and out of the garage(s) for over a month to no avail. I'm keeping my hopes up but the garage still seem to have no idea what it could be so I really don't know where they're going to go with it from here. Dad tried to start the car again this morning but the battery is now running down as its been tried to start a few times and he reckons that if it had a bit more power, it may have started today. However, even if intermittent, this problem is pretty big and I believe the garage are coming to have a look at it and possibly take it away today.

Again, any ideas would be much appreciated.

Will update you shortly when we get any news.

 

Thanks

[big_kev]

Relay base connections possibly become loose (stretched open) or connections underneath are loose.

 

Requires a strip down and check all the spade connectors are secure.

 

Would this be causing the injectors to stay open and the engine to flood though?

 

Yes it would,

 

If there is no spark then the engine will flood.

 

The correct starting procedure is throttle pedal to the floor (and keep it there ) turn key to start engine.......pumping the pedal will flood it again.

 

If the engine does not start there is no spark occuring......which is likely to be the original problem......however this could be down to just wet, dirty plugs.

 

The fact that it worked fine for a weak does make it most likely to be a dodgy electrical connection either relay or similar.

[frogeye]

Hi,

 

Have you checked what the LED in the drivers door is doing whilst this is failing to start - it could be an intermittant immobilizer issue.

 

Frogeye

[lewlog]

If there is no spark then the engine will flood.

 

The correct starting procedure is throttle pedal to the floor (and keep it there ) turn key to start engine.......pumping the pedal will flood it again.

 

Okay guys, mechanic came out yesterday and he indeed followed this procedure (accelerator pedal right to the floor, hold it there, start the engine...) and the car started. It's been starting ever since which is great and now in theory, does this mean that the next time it doesn't start, all we need to do is floor the accelerator pedal and turn the key and it will start?

 

Thanks in advance.

Lewlog and Family

[big_kev]

There may still exist an intermitant lack of spark problem which may have been the original issue.

 

There may still be a dodgy relay or other eletrical connection.

 

However main thing is that it is working again.

[lewlog]

There may still exist an intermitant lack of spark problem which may have been the original issue.

 

There may still be a dodgy relay or other eletrical connection.

 

However main thing is that it is working again.

 

If relay 30 has been replaced which I think it has, which other relays could it be?

 

Thanks

Lewlog and Co.