Hi all, I'm not sure if I have a problem or not on my 2005 galaxy ghia. When starting after a day or two the engine turns over slightly slower, it's not that I doubt it will start because it always fires up without question. I put a new battery on it 18 months ago which is the biggest I could fit into the space, think its an 019 so plenty big enough. My concern is that I've done the parasitic draw test which is fluctuating between 0.07-0.1 which would suggest it's actually twice the current it ought to be, I've checked everything obvious inside the car but trying to find a draw of 0.03 amps is going to be almost impossible by my reckoning. As for the slightly sluggish starting I think that's likely to be the fact the 2.8 24v is a big lump of iron to get spinning especially when cold so my question is should I be trying to get the sleep state draw lower or is that an acceptable amount?

Well, let's say it's a 100Ah battery. At a rate of 0.1A you will draw 2.4Ah per day. Now that is indeed quite high, but it is our high end estimate after all. Plus, after a fortnight sitting there doing nothing, you'll only have drawn 33.6Ah or a mere third of the battery's capacity.

So, even with that parasitic draw, you should be fine starting the car even after a fortnight of not using it.

So after just a day or two, it shouldn't even be noticeable.

So I suggest that's not the problem here.

Maybe the oil's too thick or the starter motor is wearing out or something like that?

What state is the glovebox in? I'm fairly sure that if its not properly shutting that it may leave the light inside on?

Thank you for you take on it, I wanted to see if I was missing something in my test but I think I've just landed on a slightly high result. I did keep the meter on while trying different scenarios including opening the doors which I can do as I've replaced every bulb inside the car with led's so the draw from them only came to about 7 amps. I also dropped the bonnet so I could lock it as the alarm doesn't like the bonnet open, on locking the car goes straight into sleep state at that 0.7 but it does flutter up to the 0.1 but I can't see what's causing that, again it could be the alarm pulsing a signal. The car did a decent run yesterday of 40 miles so the battery would of taken on a decent charge, my usual usage is far from ideal being mostly 5-10 miles at a time which won't be helping especially with the demisters and heated seats on. Even so I checked the battery before starting today and it was on 12.3v which is kinda low, the battery otherwise seems healthy and the alternator is pushing 14.3v so that's not at fault. It's one of those things that winter is sure to take advantage of and give you problem on a cold wet day that you really could do without, hence the checks before that can happen. I'll report back if anything else turns up, thanks again for you feedback as it's always good to have another set of eyes on it 👍

Quote from: brianh on November 17, 2022, 10:58:59 PMWhat state is the glovebox in? I'm fairly sure that if its not properly shutting that it may leave the light inside on?

Funny you should ask that as the light never worked, I took a look today and the bulb was missing and the switch floating free. I guessed the switch was probably broken but looking at it it's not. So I think where it clips in could be broken as it had a dab of glue on it, so I'll have to get the glovebox out to see where its supposed to sit. Not having taken it out of that place I have no clue where its supposed slot in, any idea how the glovebox is removed?

My glovebox fell out when I was trying to remove it to access the heater fan a few weeks ago. The interior dashboard of mine is very much past its best - there are a few bits of trim that aren't really attached anymore. If i get chance tomorrow will have a check in the daylight and see what I can suggest.

I'd also try unplugging the clock in the dashboard. They are known problematic units anyway if its it the usual Ford one and that will be active all the time. Its not unknown for them to either fail to keep time accurately, or even end up going backwards. Fairly sure they have also been pointed towards causing a blown fuse as well.

On the sluggish starting, what oil are you using as well?

Hi, the clock is not plugged in any longer as I was tired of the damned thing going backwards. I know they have budgets and margins are thin but that one item is the cheapest bit of tat they could find, I use the clock that's on my media centre. The glovebox isn't a huge deal as of all the cubby holes it's probably the least useful so least used, I'm just a stickler for if it should work then I'm determined to make it right.
I service the car myself every year in which it covers no more than 6000-8000 miles, fortunately I still have some trade contacts so it gets the best of everything as much is reasonable. The oil I've settled on is Petronas Syntium 3000 5/40 which far exceeds the specs of that engine 20 years ago but isn't too far advanced to wash the seals away. I also treated it with Liqui Moly Ceratec this year and as a sceptic of aftermarket treatments I wasn't expecting much but I really am very impressed, it occasionally had a slight tappet tick from cold which has now gone but more surprising is the fuel economy is between 5-10 % better. Given that I'm on mostly urban driving I struggled to see 18mpg whereas now it never drops below 20mpg, frightening numbers I know but car-big engine plus my wife's 200 kg wheelchair I consider that reasonable. So I don't think I've got anything really wrong with it, it's more likely to be my perfectionist temperament.

Yeh, I don't think the parasitic draw is the issue here. Possibly the battery is faulty? Have u tried a different one? Even if the voltage reads fine, the CCA could still be low. But could also be a weak starter motor perhaps? 5w40 oil meets spec so should be fine. All that Moly stuff would do is thin it down so that's not the issue either. Try jumping it from another car, do u get the same issue then? If not, then try starting it with a battery from another car (not jumping). If the problem happens then, then it is either the starter motor which needs a bit more voltage or the battery which needs to be able to deliver a bit more CCA (or, as they say in France, it would be "La batterie").

Top tip: if you experience the issue whilst in Holland, which is a sub-region of "The Netherlands", point at the bonnet and proudly exclaim "De batterij!" and they will know precisely what you mean.

It is a container consisting of one or more cells, in which chemical energy is converted into electricity and used as a source of power.

 

Photos of the glovebox

As far as I can tell (mine is missing the top flap as its broken) there are two hinge points at the bottom - these appear to pop out (one of mine is broken so hard to tell for sure) most of the keeping it in place seems to be done by the two curved bits either side.

Mine pretty much falls out when opened. The dashboard really isn't in a great state in mine unfortnately so its probabbly not the best to go by.

Incidentally replaced my starter motor today - and discovered in the process that the fault with it was not so much worn out brushes (though they were worn) but the cable that runs from solenoid to brush assembly was rotted through and fell apart on investigation. Couldn't be seen until I had it apart, but it fell apart quicker than Liz Truss' leadership as soon as I'd got the two bolts holding the starter together. Yours being a 2.8 will have a different starter, but I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't the same sort of issue, or a corroded earth lead, particually if it comes and goes. Difficult one to do much about until you find something specific in the way of a fault, or it stops working completely.

20mpg doesn't bear thinking about, especially as the 2.8 is supposed to use super unleaded as well.