95 Galaxy Not Running Smoothly

[Guest joinerman]

:angry: just purchased first ever galaxy , when i picked it up i noticed it wasnt very pokey ( 2.0 aspen ) but it took many miles of driving to realise that it was not running quite right ,at low speeds in like 4th and 5th gear is when you can feel the full extent of the problem best ,it is lumpy ( jerky ) like it aint firing right this can be irradicated just by increasing or decreasing the fuel (accelerator ) slightyly but it is so mild many would miss it .

so i read a few forums and decided to disconnect the M A F and went for a drive ,, the results were that the jerky problem seemed to have been erased the acceleration seemed to be a bit quicker but a whole lot more irratic . :o so what do you think as it is pointing at two plusses and one minus and i cant afford to experiment with the M A F i need to be quite sure many thanks :D

[Guest MATT jr]

if disconnecting your MAF sensor improves performance, you need a new MAF sensor.

 

and you wont believe the difference!

 

MJR

[seatkid]

Check plugs and leads first. Also check out coil pack(s) for any sign of external arcing. Next, the air filter then look at lambda probe (with emissions check) then MAF.

[Guest joinerman]

Check plugs and leads first. Also check out coil pack(s) for any sign of external arcing. Next, the air filter then look at lambda probe (with emissions check) then MAF.

hi many thanks for that , now i have put in new plugs , leads seem ok , coils seem ok also swapped the m a f sensor for another one and the intake air temperature sensor for another one (not new) but the problem is still exactley the same so i think we can cancel them out what next any ideas ????? anyone help me on this pleeeease .

[dipsomaniac]

the only way to be sure the leads are ok is to fit good quality new ones. if that still doesn't correct the problem some kind soul on here maybe able to read any fault codes. If no codes are stored then it could be an injector problem.

[chevron169]

Worth checking that the plug at the end of the wire from the from the lamda sensor is properly located ie. press the two halves of the plug together, this worked wonders for me. It hardly moved when I checked mine but it cured a problem I'd had for 5 years !

[Guest joinerman]

Worth checking that the plug at the end of the wire from the from the lamda sensor is properly located ie. press the two halves of the plug together, this worked wonders for me. It hardly moved when I checked mine but it cured a problem I'd had for 5 years !

hi many thanks but what is a lamda sensor and where is it ta again

[chevron169]

Worth checking that the plug at the end of the wire from the from the lamda sensor is properly located ie. press the two halves of the plug together, this worked wonders for me. It hardly moved when I checked mine but it cured a problem I'd had for 5 years !

hi many thanks but what is a lamda sensor and where is it ta again

 

It's a sensor that's screwed into the exhaust and measures the oxygen content of the exhaust gases then feeds this info back to the ECU. To find it run the front of the car up on ramps, crawl under the car you'll see a cut out in the engine cover towards the rear and the exhaust pipe. The lamda is round here it'll have a wire coming of it. Trace the wire back up into the engine bay towards the front of the car and you'll find a plug connection, this is the one that can come apart slightly. Squeeze it together. Costs Nothing !

[Guest joinerman]

:huh: Ok guys here we go ; done the squeezing wires together on the lambada sensor ,,, swapped the M A F sensor no joy ,,, swapped the oxygen sensor still no joy ,,, brand new plugs no joy ,,, new leads no joy im no mechanic but something tells me a garage might have worked out cheeper but still needs fixing so still listening to ideas. on reflection on more driving time the worst performance is from 2000 revs to 3000 revs , shall i change the lambada sensor ???? and what else,,, ?? :wacko: please carry on helping come too far now to turn back surely their cant be much left to do !!!!

 

Worth checking that the plug at the end of the wire from the from the lamda sensor is properly located ie. press the two halves of the plug together, this worked wonders for me. It hardly moved when I checked mine but it cured a problem I'd had for 5 years !

hi many thanks but what is a lamda sensor and where is it ta again

 

It's a sensor that's screwed into the exhaust and measures the oxygen content of the exhaust gases then feeds this info back to the ECU. To find it run the front of the car up on ramps, crawl under the car you'll see a cut out in the engine cover towards the rear and the exhaust pipe. The lamda is round here it'll have a wire coming of it. Trace the wire back up into the engine bay towards the front of the car and you'll find a plug connection, this is the one that can come apart slightly. Squeeze it together. Costs Nothing !

 

 

:26: Ok guys here we go ; done the squeezing wires together on the lambada sensor ,,, swapped the M A F sensor no joy ,,, swapped the oxygen sensor still no joy ,,, brand new plugs no joy ,,, new leads no joy im no mechanic but something tells me a garage might have worked out cheeper but still needs fixing so still listening to ideas. on reflection on more driving time the worst performance is from 2000 revs to 3000 revs , shall i change the lambada sensor ???? and what else,,, ?? :huh: please carry on helping come too far now to turn back surely their cant be much left to do !!!!

 

Worth checking that the plug at the end of the wire from the from the lamda sensor is properly located ie. press the two halves of the plug together, this worked wonders for me. It hardly moved when I checked mine but it cured a problem I'd had for 5 years !

hi many thanks but what is a lamda sensor and where is it ta again

 

It's a sensor that's screwed into the exhaust and measures the oxygen content of the exhaust gases then feeds this info back to the ECU. To find it run the front of the car up on ramps, crawl under the car you'll see a cut out in the engine cover towards the rear and the exhaust pipe. The lamda is round here it'll have a wire coming of it. Trace the wire back up into the engine bay towards the front of the car and you'll find a plug connection, this is the one that can come apart slightly. Squeeze it together. Costs Nothing !

ok found it done the sqeezing all ok but no improvement shall i change it

[Guest Eatontoomanygalaxys]

Not dure if you have sorted the problem yet but mine does a similar thing. it hesitates at around 2000 RPM surges etc. Sometimes stalls when sitting on tickover.

 

Now I have a Ford technical DVD and on it under poor driveability it states that early Galaxys before a certain serial number need to have the ECU reprogrammed or replaced to iron out poor driveabilty

 

I have not gone this far yet, just putting up with it for now.

 

Will look up and cut/paste the info if you wish.

[johnb80]

If it's happening at light throttle openings eg constant speed in top gear, have a look around the EGR (Exhaust as Recirculation) system. The valve admits exhaust gas into the inlet manifold (mad but true) to lower the combustion temperatures. Typical symptoms are it feels hesitant at constant speed, accelerating will stop the hesitancy and the car feels quite sluggish. The valves are able to stick closed or open or simply leak, renewal is the best solution.

 

Regards - JB

[Guest 3.5bullet]

The valves are able to stick closed or open or simply leak, renewal is the best solution.

Regards - JB

 

 

 

 

is it not possible to just blank off the erg valve? or at least to close it down via vag com? i see a lot of erg valve blanking plate available for japanese cars on ebay, i've read about blocking the valve off on some cars by inserting a ball bearing into the erg valve pipe work to shut it off in order to stop the engine smokeing ;) is something similer or possible on a galaxy?

[johnb80]

You can't shut it down via vag com, if the valve isn't working, physically broken, jammed etc how could it suddenly close under software control? You do as you suggest, blanks off the openings or block the pipe somehow. It wont stop or cause an engine to smoke though, it's usually done because of driveability and the theoretical slight increase in performance.

 

Regards - JB

[Guest 3.5bullet]

You can't shut it down via vag com, if the valve isn't working, physically broken, jammed etc how could it suddenly close under software control? You do as you suggest, blanks off the openings or block the pipe somehow. It wont stop or cause an engine to smoke though, it's usually done because of driveability and the theoretical slight increase in performance.

 

Regards - JB

 

 

ok yes i accept that if the valve is already u/s you wont be able to control it via software, but if you have a fully operational valve can you close it down, or limit it's operation? i've read on a couple of the vw tdi forums that doing this the can help reduce the possability of the inlet manifold gumming up? and improve performance slightly! is the same possible on the petrol engines used in the galaxy range?

[johnb80]

Just pull the pipe off the diaphram at the top, theyre usually operated by vacuum. You should plug the pipe that you disconnect because it will induce an air leak when EGR is called. I doubt this will help, software rarely goes wrong, the valve is in horrendous working conditions i.e. hot exhaust on one side, cold inlet on the other.

 

Regards - JB