NEWBIE A few questions!!!

[badders1954]

Hi all having just bought my first galaxy a 2.3 mk2 auto i have had to sort out some problems with suspension  parking sensors and rear washer however i have just discovered a couple more odd things

1; heated rear window does no appear to work the switch does not light up at all have checked the fuses all ok ?

2; is there any way to turn off all the interior lights when tailgate is open my old audi used to time out after a few minutes should the ford do this ?

3; need to have the drivers seat base retrimmed any one know where i can get this done around the oxford area?


sorry to ask so many questions but we all have to start somewhere

Many thanks for the help so far johnnyroper

badders

[johnnyroper]

Rear window switch I would pop it out and make sure it is connected first as you have checked the fuses.

Only way is to turn them off completely I don't think they time out.

Probably better sourcing a replacement from a breaker I would say as more than likely cheaper and easier than having re trimmed

[badders1954]

switch is fine  and has power to it seems like relay not operating will have to check it out with the fluke when i get chance.

cant turn off the lights in boot area so i guess i will have to fit an isolating switch somewhere seems like a very poor design to me as i spend a lot of time at bike (motorbike that is ) rallys using the boot are for sitting in and tea making

all the seats in scrap yards have the same problem as mine ie; worn bolsters/covering or are wrong colour and are not cheap!!!!

used to have an old guy locally who did this sort of thing for about fifty quid a seat unfortunatly now retired might have to learn myself 

[johnnyroper]

Yes sounds like need to check out with a fluke see what's going on,have you checked wiring condition in rubber boot between body and tailgate?

Oh right sorry I misunderstood thought you was referring to interior lights not boot light. Either a switch to isolate or just unplug them?

Is it just the foam on bolster worn then or is cover also worn? Mine had worn foam so I managed to re pack it with some foam and spray glue,even managed to do in situ by removing the plastic trim and lifting cover up.

[badders1954]

thanks yes its just the foam gone may try your trick i can get foam locally
theres no power to switch so dont think its tail gate wiring wiring
am goint to look at fitting a timer to interior lights there a kit you can buy on ebay if it works will let forum know and do  a write up on it in case its usefull to someone


thanks

[johnnyroper]

Nothing to lose by giving it a try with foam.

Oh right in previous post you said you had power to switch? If there's no power to it I would imagine it's not the relay as the switch with energise the relay for the screen heater. I would be looking more at fuse/wiring between switch and fuse.

[badders1954]

May have confused the issue with my rear screen heater so ill start again because its a real puzzle
switch does not light up when pressed
fuse checked all ok and has 12v on it both side
switch checked has 12v to it
swapped switch for known working one no difference fault still there
checked feed to relay 12v present when switch operated on/off
relay does not click or make any attempt to latch
relay swapped for known good one no difference
as far as i can tell there is only one 12v feed to relay? should there not be two feeds one from switch and one to feed heater when relay turns on
if i wire up the old switch and relay on bench both work beautifully switch lights up and relay engages
but in the car Nothing!! even if 12v feed to window is missing i would expect relay to engage

cor trust me to have an awkward fault still thats the story of my galaxy even the parking sensors didnt have the common fault nor the rear washer

[johnnyroper]

Yes relay should have 2 feeds in to it when switch is turned on,one from switch and the high load input which gets sent tore at screen when relay energised.

Well only one thing it can be stopping relay energising,must have lost its earth for coil,have you checked the Earth on other side of coil?

As for the loss of feed at relay i would be double checking fuses,what fuse did you check already and what was amperage of it? The one for screen heater should be a high rating.

[badders1954]

have double checked all the fuses and none are blown will do further checks at weekend when i have more time did a quick earth continunity check and all seems ok


badders

[johnnyroper]

Off top of my head without circuit drawing I don't know if the switch switches and earth of live for the relay. Some do earth some do live.

Best get your fluke out and have a check of continuity from switch to relay etc..

[Chrispb]

What relay are you checking?
The heated rear window relay is soldered to the GEM board inside the plastic case

[badders1954]

SOLVED!!!!!

as i have already said i must have an odd galaxy as it has none of the stock faults but I'm getting there

heated rear window is now working having checked all the fuses f 51=f 19 off the top off my head and the relays which are soldered to the board (stupid idea)  and continuity tests on wiring i was getting nowhere so in desperation i change the complete fuse box and hey presto everything works fine so i guess there must be something wrong internally as new fuse box is running all the old ones fuses and relays
I should say parts swapping is easy for me as i have another galaxy which has fully working electrics its just got a hole the size of Kim kardashians arse in the block where 3&4 con-rods made a break for freedom i acquired it for a project i was thinking about to do with a Volvo t5r engine and box however as i seem to be nicking all parts to fix my daily driver could end up a parts car

On another post about parking sensors Jonnyroper suggested i check the rear washer pipe as it parts company in the footwell flooding the electrics i have checked it (another lousy design) it has been replaced with one continuous length of hose from pump to spray nozzle i have also rewired the alternator/junction box to avoid the burning fuse box problem by splitting the load and using new soldered leads basically the alternator now charges the battery direct via a separate 150amp inline fuse.

sorry to ramble on but am slowly learning to love my galaxy as it suits my needs well its just that whoever designed it needs a kick up the rear and sent back to school

[Chrispb]

 

[Mirez]

Good work!

Just FYI the interior lights will time outo after 10 minutes from the last door state change. Ie each time a door is opened/closed the timer is restarted so if you are valeting then open all the doors and the tailgate the the start and don't close them.m

[badders1954]

I have a problem then as my interior lights stay on they do not time out even after an hour!!

[Mirez]

Humm what year is yours? Some of the very early Mk2's still used Mk1 electronics so if it's an X or Y plate that *might* explain it BUT afaik the timeout was on all cars including the Mk1.

[badders1954]

both are 2003 and ti,e out does not work on either car i just assumed time out wasnt fitted

[Hej-Hej]

For the boot light to power off, just work the locking mecanism in the tailgate with your finger, to trick the car to think the tailgate is closed. In order to unlock it for the tailgate being able to close again, just pull the handle as when you open it, then the lock pops out again
Thats the way im doing on mine.. Can take a picture if needed?