Ford Galaxy Alternator Problems Nightmare

[TERMINATOR]

I have a ford galaxy 2.3 ghia on a 51 plate.

recently the car broke down on side of a motorway .

i had driven 50 miles to my destination in very wet and windy weather through lots of puddles.

having parked up and returning to the car some 3 hours later i started the engine back up to be greeted by the display indicating 'alternator workshop' .

i thought foolishly that i would be able to make it home before it needed seeing to however that was not the case.

gradually upon departure all my electrics started failing one by one heated front screen first followed by interior lighting and windscreen wipers etc the car ground to a juddering halt just short of the motorway and would not start up again it kept displaying 'alternator workshop ' and the battery light was on.

i had the car recovered at great cost the recovery man said it was alternator packing in.

after 3 days i had a mechanic out to it and he duly diagnosed a faulty alternator....

the alternator was reconditioned (or so we thought) and brought back the following day

the alternator was put back on and the belt replaced as well .

started the car back up and low ad behold he same message 'alternator workshop' reappeared on the dash

the mechanic scratched his head and did some voltage readings off the battery he then said the battery was shot.

he ordered a new battery and came back the following day with the new bosch silver calcium battery and replaced it.

started the engine and guess what the fault was still there.

once again he scratched his head and said to leave it with him.

2 days later he came back to have a look at the car he said the fusebox between the battery and alternator looked a bit toasty and said it needed replacing ,he ordered the part from ford and he came back the following day and replaced it.

switched the ignition on and yes the fault is still there .

thats where I'm up to he said he is unable to fix the car.

i have consulted various auto electricians ,ecu-doctors etc all regarding the problem and they all say different ,2 auto electricians refused to take the job on saying it could be a nightmare.

the edu doctor said it wasn't the ecu as this alternator doesn't have the smart charge system

the mechanic did reveal that although he had the alternator reconditioned as he thought the workshop where he had it done told him that it wasn't the original unit as they didn't have time to do it .

the car has been briefly checked for earthing problems short circus and dodgy wiring by the mechanic he also plugged it into the car computer and 3 codes were present however unrelated to the problem .he cleared them off but they have reappeared since then 

i am at a complete loss as to what the problem is but what i have noticed is that the problem does not occur when you first start the car up...once it reaches engine temperature and you turn ignition off and restart the car on comes the 'alternator workshop' on the display and also the battery light.

any pointers please? car is currently off the road as i can't rely on it

[SilverBeast]

Did the mechanic replace the cable between the alternator and the Battery Junction Box when he replaced it.  The Battery Junction Box;s fail and melt as the crimps on the end of the cables are poor, causing them to overheat and damage the fusebox  It is a common fault.  The first cable/crimp to fail is likely to be the one between the alternator and the fusebox as that draws the most current (150Amps top one as you look at it).  The next is the next one down which takes the power from the Battery Junction Box to the Fusebox in the cabin by the drivers right knee.

 

The cable between the BJB and the alternator should have been replaced and/or a section cut out and replaced.  New cables should have the crimp soldered to prevent future failure.  Look at this thread which you may find useful.  If you run the car and the cables into the fusebox heat up then you are dropping voltage before it gets to the battery and the system will see this as a problem.  Check the voltages at the alternator and the battery as described in the link.  If there is a significant difference between them then I that will indicate the cable is the problem.

 

I suspect your original failure was caused by the crimp on the cable to the BJB.

[TERMINATOR]

well thank you for taking time to respond first of all and off course your input.

 

the wire running from the alternator to which you refer also has a little blue wire running alongside for the bulb is the one that is enclosed within a plastic case that splits apart to expose the wires?

if it is then yes we removed that cable and had a good look at it could not see any damage so we put it back however thinking about it now the crimp you refer to i did not see what i did see on the end of the cable was quite a lot of grey / silver solder over the end of the cable the solder went back an inch and a half on the cable , 

it did not look as though this was terminated like that at the factory so perhaps this was a previous repair ?

well the cable is quite thick and it only just reaches the alternator so shortening is not an option i suspect , can you tell me where the cable ends? it seems to snake under the engine slightly and I'm not sure where it comes out.

would it be easier to extend that cable or just replace entire cable? 

i hope were talking about the same cable - thanks

[xavier]

silverbeast, is that also a problem for the petrol variants rather than diesels?

 

One question from me, what were the 3 codes?

[TERMINATOR]

@xavier im afraid i cannot remember the codes ...this saga has been dragging on since the 23rd of december and the car has been mostly sat in drive during that time I've had quite a few breakdowns

[SilverBeast]

silverbeast, is that also a problem for the petrol variants rather than diesels?

 Couldn't say for sure, but if it has a battery junction box too and the alternator fuse is 150A there is no reason that it wouldn't do.  The cable to the Passenger Compartment fuse box is likely to route the same as in the diesel and take a similar amount of current. As the crimps on these fail too I'd say it is more than likely that they will have.

 

the wire running from the alternator to which you refer also has a little blue wire running alongside for the bulb is the one that is enclosed within a plastic case that splits apart to expose the wires?

if it is then yes we removed that cable and had a good look at it could not see any damage so we put it back however thinking about it now the crimp you refer to i did not see what i did see on the end of the cable was quite a lot of grey / silver solder over the end of the cable the solder went back an inch and a half on the cable , 

it did not look as though this was terminated like that at the factory so perhaps this was a previous repair ?

well the cable is quite thick and it only just reaches the alternator so shortening is not an option i suspect , can you tell me where the cable ends? it seems to snake under the engine slightly and I'm not sure where it comes out.

would it be easier to extend that cable or just replace entire cable? 

i hope were talking about the same cable - thanks

It does sound like it has been repaired.  Obviously I have a diesel so the cable routing is likely to be different.  My alternator is in front of the engine at the drivers side so the cable drops down from the Battery Junction Box and saraight to the Alternator.  Here's a thread from when I repaired mine.  It doesn't seem to be letting me upload pictures at the moment, so I can't show you where it connects to the Alternator.

[TERMINATOR]

my engine layout appears to be similar ,i have examined the cable from the alternator again the one that leads to the battery junction box and it appears to be ok theres no burn marks or any damage apart from where it connects to the alternator . theres a great big lump of solder on the end of the cable about 1 inches long ,i cannot see the crimp because its encased in solder .

the opposite end at the fuse box looks fine .im not quite sure i understand your procedure for testing to determine whether it is this lead or not , could you perhaps enlighten me a bit more?

i have booked the mechanic back on wednesday morning to do the job for me .apparantly the wire is called 'the alternator auxiliary cable' by ford who charge