Climate Control

[Guest ANDY FITZGERALD]

:lol:

DOES ANYBODY HAVE INFORMATION ON CLIMATE CONTROL (SINGLE ONLY)

DOES ANYBODY HAVE EXPERIENCE OF THE STANDARD MALFUNCTION FLASHING SYMBOLS IN THE CLIMATE CONTROL LCD CONTOL PANEL AFTER TURNING THE IGNITION ON. AS DESCRIBED IN THE FORD OWNERS BOOK THAT COMES WITH THE CAR.

COULD A MALFUNCTION INDICATED PREVENT NORMAL ECON MODE AND THE MAIN BLOWER FAN FROM WORKING.

IF SO I CANNOT BELIEVE FORD COULD DESIGN A SYSTEM THAT LEAVES ONE WITHOUT THE MAIN BLOWER. FOR THE SAKE OF AN ASSOCIATED ELECTONIC SENSOR OR OTHER SUB SYSTEM COMPONENT FAILURE.

ONE COULD LIVE WITHOUT CLIMATE CONTROL COOLING FAILURE, BUT NOT THE MAIN FRONT BLOWER GOING DOWN. (CHECKED THE FUSE, ITS OK) IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE ONE CAN DO ASSUMING THAT THE BLOWER IS OK WHAT COULD CAUSE THIS.

I AM FRUSTRATED BECAUSE I CANNOT DEMIST THE WINDOWS WITHOUT IT. IT IS DIFFICULT TO EVEN REACH THE WINDSCREEN TO WIPE IT WITH A CLOTH WHILST DRIVING.

I HAVE OWNED THE GALAXY FOR ABOUT A MONTH NOW, I KNOW THAT THE DEALER HAD THE CLIMATE CONTROL LOOKED AT AND REPORTED THAT IT WAS NOT BLOWING COOLED AIR PRIOR TO PURCHASE, DUE TO A LACK OF USE.

IT HAD BEEN WORKING OK AND THEN I STARTED GETTING THE INTERMITTENT MALFUNCTION FLASHING IN THE DISPLAY, HOWEVER IT WOULD ALWAYS RIGHT ITSELF AND BE OK.

I KNOW THAT THE SYSTEM DEPENDS ON TWO SENSORS (ONE ON THE LEFT OF CONTROL PANEL, AND ON FRONT CENTRE DASH) DO THESE SENSORS EVER PACK UP, HAS ANYBODY EVER REPLACED ONE, IF NOT ASSIDE FROM THESE SENSORS WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST COMMON MINOR REASON FOR THE C.C. MALFUNCTION FLASING IN THE DISPLAY.

I UNDERSTAND GAS LEAKS ETC CAUSE IT, BUT IS THERE NOT A MANUAL BLOWER (NON C.C SYSTEM THAT REMAINS IN OPERATION) IF MALFUNCTION IS DISPLAYED IN PANEL.

I HAVE TO TAKE THE CAR IN NEXT WEEK UNDER THE SECOND HAND WARRANTY, (THEY ARE NOT A FORD DEALER) SO I EXPECT A FAIRLY AVERAGE SERVICE.

BUT IT SEEMS SO FRUSTRATING IF IT IS SOMETHING MINOR.

I AM A CAPABLE PERSON WITH AN ENGINEERING BACKGROUND AND AM EAGER TO FIND OUT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, I AM WONDERING IF THE ELECTRONICS PLAY THE KEY ROLE IN THE OPERATION OF ITEMS LIKE THE AIR BLOWER. AS MENTIONED I AM A LITTLE PUZZLED...

[HJT]

WHOOAA. DON'T SHOUT. WE CAN ALL HEAR AT THE BACK :lol:

[Guest yurir]

Hi Andy,

 

Unfortunately the Climate Control is very complex. Have a look at the posting by Ivor_E_Tower at

 

http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/Forum/index.p...ate,and,control

 

which will give some idea of the amount of sensor data the control unit is processing.

 

Do a search a "aircon OR (mate AND control)"; you'll find quite a few useful posts.

 

One thing that a few people have found causing the flashing is a seizing motor on the little fan in the console, that sucks cabin air in to sample its temperature.

But blower failure have also been caused by the blower control modules failing.

 

If you're serious about DIY, the first thing to do is get the Haynes book and the Ford TIS CD-ROM ( there are a few on Ebay), to have some idea of where everything is.

 

Best wishes,

Yuri.

[Ivor_E_Tower]

When my CC went down, the ECON mode still worked - this is the "non-ac" mode and should result in the temperature setting being used as per a "normal" hot/cold temperature lever or dial. The fan motor should also work. If you cannot get the fan to work, or get ECON to show on the display panel after the flashing has stopped, then there is definitely a problem with your system.

Non-availability of cold air due to the system not being used much - your dealer is talking out of an orifice that is not his mouth! After nearly 3 weeks of inactivity whilst we were on holiday, my Gal's system blew cold air within seconds. Similarly on my parents' car (Volvo 850 estate) which is frequently left unused for weeks when they are not at home, cold air emerges from the vents within seconds of starting up and switching AC on.

[Guest JIMSTDI]

sometimes i forget im shouting i forget to turn the caps lock off lol :lol:

[Guest ANDY FITZGERALD]

:lol: THANKS FOR YOUR REPLY, (SORRY ABOUT MY UPPER CASE TEXT INPUT)

I CAN GET THE ECON SYMBOL IN THE DISPLAY TO APPEAR AFTER THE INITIAL MALFUNCTION FLASHING HAS GONE, AND THE READOUT APPEARS AS IT WOULD WITH THE SETTINGS AS LAST USED, BUT THE BLOWER IS JUST DEAD.

I HAVE TO SAY THE WIFE IS NON TO PLEASED, AS SHE PAID FOR THE CAR, I AM ANNOYED THAT SUCH FAULTS CAN LEAVE ONE WITHOUT A MEANS TO EVEN DEMIST WINDOWS ETC. I THINK IT IS VERY POOR ON THE PART OF FORD THAT THEY HAVE MADE THESE SYSTEMS TOO COMPLEX FOR THEIR OWN GOOD.

THERE ARE HORROR STORIES TO BE READ REGARDING C.C. AND AIRCON PROBLEMS. I FEEL FORD COULD DO MORE TO HELP SOLVE CUSTOMERS SUFFERING WITH NAGGING PROBLEMS, IN SO FAR AS PROVIDING MORE INFORMATION TO OTHER GARAGES AND SPECIALISTS ABOUT THE SYSTEMS USED.

IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THE CHAP CHARGED WITH THE TASK OF LOOKING AT MINE NEXT TUESDAY MORNING HAS NOT HAD ANY EXPERIENCE WITH GALAXY CLIMATE CONTROL MODELS, I WISH HIM LUCK, BUT HE HAS BEEN VERY HONEST, AND ADMITTED THIS TO ME, ... TODAY

HOWEVER, ONE IS LEFT WONDERING WHY THE DEALER FROM WHOM I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE IS ALLOWING THIS GARAGE TO INVESTIGATE THE FAULT, I WOULD NOT WISH TO CRITICISE THE POOR CHAP, AS HE AT LEAST SAID THAT HE HAS THE COMPUTER FAULT FINDING MACHINE BUT WAS UNSURE IF IT COULD DO THE SAME JOB AS THOSE AVAILABLE AT FORD DEALERSHIPS.

ENOUGH SAID.

REGARDING YOUR COMMENT ON LACK OF USE IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE AN ACCEPTED FACT THAT IF THE SYSTEM IS NOT USED FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME, SEALS WILL/COULD DRY OUT THROUGH LACK OF LUBRICATION LEADING TO FURTHER PROBLEMS, ie: (GAS ESCAPE ETC) WHY DO YOU SAY OTHERWISE ?? I WOULD GLADLY FOREGO CLIMATE CONTROL AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME AS LONG AS I HAD A BLOWER THAT WORKED.

 

I SUSPECT AS SO MANY OF THESE PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN REPORTED ACROSS THE V.W. FORD AND SEAT RANGE, THERE IS A VERY SUSPECT QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEM AT WORK ALLOWING DODGY COMPONENTS THROUGH. OF COURSE THIS DOES NOT RULE OUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE COMPONENTS BEING INSTALLED IN THIS SYSTEM ARE CRAP PERIOD. AND THAT THE QUALITY CONTROL MERELY SPOTS THE WORST OF THEM. THIS HAS TO BE A BIT SILLY AS I LIVE A STONES THROW FROM THE MG ROVER (FORMERLY AUSTIN ROVER) FACTORY IN LONGBRIDGE BIRMINGHAM.

THEY USED TO BE THE KINGS OF DODGY CARS AND COMPONENTS, ARE FORD CATCHING UP FAST ??

FORD NEED TO GET A GRASP OF THIS FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM ADDRESS IT AND THEN MAYBE THEY COULD JUSTIFY CHARGING TWENTY ODD GRAND.

FOR A VEHICLE WITH SUB STANDARD ELECTRICS, THIS JUST DONT SEEM RIGHT TO ME... COME ON FORD !! GET YOUR FINGER OUT, YOU TAKING THE P.

REGARDING MG ROVER I AM FULL OF ADMIRATION FOR JOHN TOWERS AND HIS RESCUE PACKAGE, IT IS UNFORTUNATE BUT I CANNOT SEE HIM KEEPING THIS FACTORY ALIVE, LONG TERM. HE IS SCALING DOWN,DOWN.... THEY HAVE NO SERIOUS MONEY OR MODELS TO BOAST OTHER THAN THE VERY RETRO 75 AND THE ENTHUSIASTS MG SPORTS MODELS, THE 45 AND 25 ARE REHASHES, THANKS TO THE PREVIOUS OWNERS BMW, STRIPPING OUT THE 4 WHEEL DRIVE TECHNOLOGY AND MINI BRAND. THEY ARE MAKING A GREAT EFFORT WITH BUILD QUALITY BUT THE BIG PICTURE DONT LOOK GOOD FROM LONGBRIDGE. THUS IT IS SAD THAT A GIANT SUCH AS FORD CAN SEEMINGLY GET AWAY WITH MURDER AND DO WHAT IT LIKES.... AND TAKE CUSTOMERS FOR IDIOTS...

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Seals drying out is a different story - won't happen in just 2 or 3 weeks and it will take some time for all the gas to leak out from dried selas anyway.

If your fan is dead, there is probably a circuit board somewhere with resistors (or equivalent) on it, to give different motor speeds. I once had one of these go on a Honda - it was mounted on the side of the blower unit itself, so the airflow from the fan blew over the resistors to keep them cool (but not cool enough as they burnt out!). If it's this sort of problem, it should be relatively cheap and easy to fix, assuming that the PCB is fairly easy to get to.

Don't forget that Ford do not make the Galaxy - it's a VW design made by VW under a joint venture with Ford. Don't blame Ford for the poor aircon system design or reliability - this is a VW issue!

No quality control system will sort out a poor design - quality assurance and quality-input-to-design will address this together with full validation and verification testing (I am a QA "expert" by profession with nearly 5 years automotive experience; now working on spacecraft propulsion systems).

Automotive suppliers have been greatly squeezed by the manufcaturers over the past decade - cost cutting takes the lead; supplier prices are expected to drop each year and something has to give; supplier senior management find ways of altering specifications of purchased items without notifying the manufacturers.

As to MG Rover - very sad, but if you had met some of Rover's middle and senior managers some years back, it is no surprise as they really should not have had their jobs - I am sure that I could have done better than most of them. No doubt MG Rover is still in crisis - their latest small car is made in India (City Rover) and as you say, they have no "proper" money to invest in new models - the deals with China Brilliance for the next medium-sized cars came to nothing. I wish them luck - they will need it.

[Guest ANDY FITZGERALD]

:lol:

Thanks for your reply !

I agree with everything you say, the design needs to be sorted out, do they have any plans to do this ??

However, even if they did, I guess its not much use to existing owners, who must keep there fingers crossed and hope they dont have any problems with their Galaxy system.

Regarding my problem, as I have the TDi, it is fitted with a secondary blower in the rear N/Side compartment, this is still working, and to be honest does a good job of warming the interior.

I also feel that it is a minor sub component that has taken the blower down.

What do you feel with regard to non FORD garages general knowledge of the systems used, furthermore, are you happy to have your vehicle maintained by a non FORD garage. Do the larger garages have the specialist test equipment required to fault find.

As TIME is MONEY I guess FORD may work out a better proposition, I will be suggesting to the dealer from whom I obtained the car to use FORD if the guy currently charged with the task has no joy. I will be providing him with all the feedback I have received from your good self and other users.

I Have just purchased the TIS CD Rom as I am the kind of guy who likes to get to know the vehicle I am driving. I have an old school friend that owns a garage and of course he would be an ideal person to be looking at the vehicle, however I feel without the computer fault tester or some in depth technical information on the Galaxy, he would be at a great disadvantage... Would you agree ?

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Fortunately I live near a big Ford garage that does have some experience of working on Galaxy aircon systems (even if it took them 3 visits to sort mine out due to parts problems etc).

I'd phone around your local Ford garages and use whichever one gives you the most confidence that they have experience of working on Gal a/c systems.

If you can find an independent aircon specialist, do the same - if they say that they have experience and have the necessary fault-finding software to interrogate the vehicle computer, then fine. If not, go elsewhere.

Hope this helps.

Ivor

[Guest ANDY FITZGERALD]

:lol: Thanks for the advice Ivor,

still got the LCD malfunction flashing, on ignition turn on. I am at the mercy of the garage from whom I purchased the vehicle as they are initially putting it in for electrical checkout, but as previosly mentioned I have reservations about the garage`s experience with CLIMATE CONTROL.

I will Just have to keep my fingers crossed I suppose. I do hope the second hand vehicle warranty covers the problem though.

I will keep you posted.

 

Thanks, ANDY

[oioisavaloy]

I had this problem some months back, when checked over by my aircon mate, he reported LOW gas.

Therefore regased and turned the Key Hey presto no flashing !!!!

 

worth a try...

 

SAV

[Guest SA Intruder]

Alright Perry??

 

LONG time!

[Guest dmc]

the display flashes when the module picks up a fault code from certain parts of the ac system.

this will not prevent your blower working.

 

i suspect that either your heater resistor or blower motor have packed up,and this is the fault that the module has picked up.

 

whether your car has climate control or a basic heating system,this would still prevent the fan from working.

 

when/if the fault is cured,the module will need to be cleared of all fault codes using the ford diagnostic computer(or simular)otherwise the display will continue to flash.

 

hope that helps.