Ignition Problems On 2005 Mk2 Galaxy

[RichSa]

Hi All,

 

Yesterday our Ford Galaxy had problems starting with what appeared to be a flat battery. We hill started it and it worked fine. This morning I tried to start it and again the battery appeared to be weak. I took it to Halfords who checked the battery and alternator with their computer and said  they both appeared to be fine but I bought a battery charger as they said the battery was a little low. After about 5 mins the battery charger reported the battery as fully charged and my multimeter said just above 12 volts.

 

Next I checked for a short by checking the current usage. My meter read about 70mA after a few minutes of connecting the battery which to me didn't seem to extreme (although is maybe a little high from what I have read). Anyway I removed and replaced the fuses to check which would affect the current consumption and the only one which seemed to affect the current consumption was the one marked as "Alarm Supplies, interior lights, multi-function modules".

 

I cleaned the battery terminals and connectors and connected them back up and now.........it's even worse. When you turn the key in the ignition without starting the car it clicks audibly and the dashboard display flashes for about 5 seconds. When I try to start the car it just clicks rapidly. I have attached a video or one can be found here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/20657917/IMG_1573.MOV

 

Any ideas?

 

Kind Regards,

 

Rich.

[sparky Paul]

Sounds like your battery is knackered to me.

 

70mA drain is not a lot, in theory a fully charged 60Ah battery would take over a month to discharge at that rate.

 

Fully charged should read 12.7V, anything below 12.5V is flat. One of the handiest things I ever bought was a small battery and alternator tester,  with LEDs to indicate the battery status & charging state, it was only a few quid but has been worth it's weight in gold.

 

Avoid bump starting it as you can damage the catalytic converter.

[RichSa]

Thank you Sparky Paul  for your help. This morning I tried jump starting it from my Fiesta and it started up first time.  I've bought a new battery and it got me to Guildford....AND BACK without the need to physical assistance.

 

Thanks again,

 

Rich.