ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
View Threaded
Sun 2 Dec 2012 15:30
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - had_enough_of_cars

hiya guys, at a real loose end. Could really do with some help. i have a ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg.
form the begiining.
i was driving on motorway and then power went. everything stopped and got it to side of road. Tried starting it and it turned over nicely but no firing up. The aa came out and kept trying and they found there was no power to the fuel pump switch (ineartha). towed it to a ford dealers in bishops stortford and they had it for 18 days. They removed the aftermarket alarm and checked the relays. the car now doesn't even turn over but this could be the battery cos nothing works in the car now. After 18 days they wanted to charge me £1800 for diagnosis fee. told them to swivel as they hadnt diagnosed it. got the car back home and searched online. Relay 30 kept coming up so i ordered one and replaced it. charged the battery up after it being dead for 2 monthes. The fuel pump now makes a sound but still not turning over. Theres power to the starter motor and i gave the coil a little knock but still nothing.
Tried jump starting and no turning over. Tried bump starting and nothing again. Ford left all the fuse box hanging down so i can get to all the relays. checked them all, all the fuses are fine. checked cables, fine. Had a look at the ignition barrel and it seems it has been changed. as turn the key one click, two click and then third click makes a spark sound.
I.m literally at a loose end and really don't want to get rid of the car as its not worth much scrap and its the first car i really enjoy driving. Please any advice or help would be greatly apprteciated. Thank you and look forward to the replies

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 2 Dec 2012 18:54
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - elekie&a/c doctor

I think you will find that the fuel injection relay is a common fault on these causing non start.It is relay #109 located within the frame of the cabin fuse/relay box.Cost is around £15.hth

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 2 Dec 2012 19:34
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - had_enough_of_cars

okay thank you, would this make the car cut out whilst driving then. i'll have a look online and order that relay or is there a way to test this relay first

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 2 Dec 2012 19:41
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - elekie&a/c doctor

This will certainly cause the car to cut out.Locate the relay and you will find a VW part # printed on the top.I would buy from main dealer,it is cheap enough.hth

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 2 Dec 2012 19:45
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - had_enough_of_cars

okay gonna have a look now, is there away i can overide this relay to double check before buying it.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 2 Dec 2012 19:59
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - had_enough_of_cars

there is no 109 relay. i have 143, 114, 135, 149, 2x 100's, 30 and 167.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 2 Dec 2012 20:21
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - elekie&a/c doctor

This could be an earlier model .Are there fuses along the bottom row and also smaller fuses up the left side of the fuse box,or are the fuses only along bottom row,with the relays above with 12 locations available .?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 8 Dec 2012 07:47
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - had_enough_of_cars

the fuses are along the bottom row with smaller fuses up the left hand side.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 3 Dec 2012 18:11
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - mickeybo

The main engine control relay on these fires up the injectors plus the ecu & a few other components. The ecu unit on these has 104 terminals to check this relay it would be best checked at key on at ecu terminals pin no's 71 & 97 The fuel pump relay can be checked out at key on ecu terminals pin no's 54 & 40 Hth Regards Mickeybo

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 8 Dec 2012 07:46
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - had_enough_of_cars

thank you, i'll have a look.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 8 Dec 2012 12:31
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - injection doc

I have been racking my brains as had something similar before on one of these apart from the normal fuse box problems & just remembered what i found.

On the earth terminal of the battery I think you also have a blue and black cable attached to an eyelet that also bolts to the earth terminal. That cable earths the injection/fuel pump relay, has it broken off ?. If you cant see a black and blue stripped cable atteched to the earth terminal have a look around to see if its dropped off and is laying down near the battery. Long time ago but seem to remember it caused me some grief finding the fault as i inherited it from a garage that had already tried to fix and left that cable off and tucked under the battery.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 8 Dec 2012 13:01
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - had_enough_of_cars

okay i'll have a look.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 10 Dec 2012 09:23
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - had_enough_of_cars

hiya , on earth terminal i have no blue and black cable, just two blacks and 3 browns. had a look and nothing has dropped off, power to the pump and i can hear the pump working, but no start. no ticking over or anything. Thanks

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 10 Dec 2012 10:33
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - had_enough_of_cars

right, got it turning over, checked relay k191 or 185 (cryptotransponder) i over rid the relay and it started turning over. there wasn't enough battery to fire so i will try it again later. Can anyone explain what it is as i have no clue what it does or what for. Also if this went would it just cut out the car whilst driving. i'm not sure it would because the car was turning over when first broke down.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 10 Dec 2012 18:10
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - elekie&a/c doctor

Iam getting a little confused here.In the original post ,the car cut out, would not restart ,but cranked over no problem.This is classic efi relay 30 fault.Should be located bottom right of relay block above relay 167,in a green plastic holder.This is a 5 pin relay.4 standard size and 1 small pin.Cannot see any reference to k191 or 185.(using Ford workshop manual).Does this car have auto transmission?hth

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 11 Dec 2012 14:47
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - had_enough_of_cars

hiya, the car cut out originally and it was turning over, took it to ford who had it for 18 days, they couldn't find the problem, when i collected it, the car would not turn over and this is where my problems started. they have made it worse somehow andthats what led me to where i am now.

I changed relay 30 as everyone said that was the issue. after i changed it there was still nothing working. underneath it was relay 167 when i bridge the connections 87 to 30, the pump starts up where as it wasn't before. The k191 or 185 was the crypto transponder relay and replaced that relay and it started turning over. Now the fuel pump runs and it turns over but not starting up. checked the plugs and theres a spark and the starter motor is fine. the car doesn't have automatic transmission.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 3 Dec 2019 18:08
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - Disgruntledgalaxyowner

hiya guys, at a real loose end. Could really do with some help. i have a ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg.
form the begiining.
i was driving on motorway and then power went. everything stopped and got it to side of road. Tried starting it and it turned over nicely but no firing up. The aa came out and kept trying and they found there was no power to the fuel pump switch (ineartha). towed it to a ford dealers in bishops stortford and they had it for 18 days. They removed the aftermarket alarm and checked the relays. the car now doesn't even turn over but this could be the battery cos nothing works in the car now. After 18 days they wanted to charge me £1800 for diagnosis fee. told them to swivel as they hadnt diagnosed it. got the car back home and searched online. Relay 30 kept coming up so i ordered one and replaced it. charged the battery up after it being dead for 2 monthes. The fuel pump now makes a sound but still not turning over. Theres power to the starter motor and i gave the coil a little knock but still nothing.
Tried jump starting and no turning over. Tried bump starting and nothing again. Ford left all the fuse box hanging down so i can get to all the relays. checked them all, all the fuses are fine. checked cables, fine. Had a look at the ignition barrel and it seems it has been changed. as turn the key one click, two click and then third click makes a spark sound.
I.m literally at a loose end and really don't want to get rid of the car as its not worth much scrap and its the first car i really enjoy driving. Please any advice or help would be greatly apprteciated. Thank you and look forward to the replies

Hi... having the same issue. Did you manage to fix it?

I have tried various things.... to the point I've managed to get it to crank but not with the key alone.

Replaced all the relays, fuses, checked all the earth connections, fully charged the battery, etc etc.

What I ended up doing to get it to crank over it by wedging the key in the crank position, disconnecting the plug from the starter motor that appears to receive signal from the key, connected my light screwdriver to the + terminal of the battery and tapping on the connector in the plug, at which point my screwdriver flashed but failed to stay on unless I connected it to ground or - terminal of battery. Upon reconnecting the plug to the starter. The engine cranked. Upon cranking I thought... "aha! Perfect it works." So proceeded to try it with the key alone and it didn't work. The only way I can get it to crank is by recreating the same thing that got it to crank on the first place. So upon cranking i decided to check for spark... no spark... so all together. I have a galaxy that won't crank by the key, won't spark and thus won't start....

So I refer to my original question, did you manage to fix it? If not... doesn't anyone have any idea how I could fix mine?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 4 Dec 2019 00:10
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - Avant

We haven't heard from the original poster since 2012 so he's unlikely to reply now. An independent Ford specialist might be your best bet.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 4 Dec 2019 01:02
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - elekie&a/c doctor
As a follow on , there should be a red security led on top of the drivers door or in the time clock. What sequence does it flash when you first turn on the ignition key?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 4 Dec 2019 13:32
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - Disgruntledgalaxyowner
As a follow on , there should be a red security led on top of the drivers door or in the time clock. What sequence does it flash when you first turn on the ignition key?

It literally just flashes... it's a continuous flashing rather than a sequence flashing. But pretty fast. Barely half a second between each flash.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 4 Dec 2019 16:35
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - elekie&a/c doctor
Correct operation of the led is ignition on, steady for around 3 secs , then off. If this is not the case, then there is a possibility there is a fault in the immobiliser circuit . Are you sure the immobiliser chip is present in the key?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 9 Dec 2019 09:33
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - Disgruntledgalaxyowner
Correct operation of the led is ignition on, steady for around 3 secs , then off. If this is not the case, then there is a possibility there is a fault in the immobiliser circuit . Are you sure the immobiliser chip is present in the key?

I hope so... speaking to the local ford dealership and service centre, they said the chip would be in the remote part of the key... I always thought it was in the key head. There is no chip present in the key head but it looks like there is one present in the remote part of the key.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 9 Dec 2019 21:50
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - Big John

Immobilizer reader coil issue?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 10 Dec 2019 22:05
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - Disgruntledgalaxyowner

I have a donor car of same make, model and year that runs fine but bodywork is in p*** poor condition. How easy would it be to switch all the modules over and would I need to reprogram anything? Hoping it can just be a case of switch over the immobiliser/ECU modules and the key chip.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 10 Dec 2019 22:41
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - elekie&a/c doctor

That is one option . You will need to swap the engine ecu and immobiliser box ( if fitted) ignition key lock barrel and reader. If everything is matched, then no programming needed. Access to the ecu is a pain , you may need to remove the dash . However, after all that work, i'm not convinced this will solve your problem.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 11 Dec 2019 10:52
ford galaxy 2.3 ghia t reg - galaxy won't start. going crazy and need help - Disgruntledgalaxyowner

That is one option . You will need to swap the engine ecu and immobiliser box ( if fitted) ignition key lock barrel and reader. If everything is matched, then no programming needed. Access to the ecu is a pain , you may need to remove the dash . However, after all that work, i'm not convinced this will solve your problem.

How about if I was to purchase a key reprogrammer, and just swap the chips over? Less work and if it doesn't sort then surely it'll be something to do with either the reader or the immobiliser box.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link