Ford Galaxy Information/Entertainment Screen Not Powering Up

[Doug99]

Hi All,

My daughter has a 2017 Ford Galaxy Titanium 2.0 diesel Mk3(?) and suffered a flat battery recently.

Previously, she was experiencing problems with the touchscreen as it would not power up. A workaround by pressing 2 buttons on the panel would then power it up.

Yesterday, the car would not start and AA confirmed a flat battery. On charging up, the car would start ok but the screen is now permanently powered down and the previous workaround does not work.

Could this screen problem and flat battery be linked? I have tested the battery and is showing 12v when engine off and 14v when running. There appears to be no voltage drop caused by an electrical problem anywhere when car is switched off.

The battery was never disconnected so don't think it would need a code. The screen is permanently blank.

I have checked the owner manual and the whereabouts of any fuse to check is not obvious.

Any thoughts?

Cheers All

Doug

 

[Belle427]

may be a coincidence but its not uncommon for one to drain the battery if faulty.

 

[Burnerman]

I think there could be loads of guesswork with this one, but maybe a call to BBA-Reman or ecutesting could be worthwhile.......both firms are very obliging over the phone.
I guess you've checked all visible fuses near the battery?
John

 

[Old Salt]

Looked on another forum and their advice was…..

”Disconnect the negative lead from the car battery and leave it off for 30 minutes. Then reconnect the battery lead and wait 10 minutes before turning the ignition back on.”

Got to be worth a try.

 

[Doug99]

Pulled the radio fuse which tested good. Refitted it and the Sync3 system including radio run up correctly. Fingers crossed it was a lock up caused by the flat battery.

 

[Doug99]

The Sync3/Radio has gone blank again.
It was working ok for a couple of days, then nothing.......again.
It seems that pulling the fuse is discharging some capacitance in the circuit which clears the fault, then after a period of time it builds up again to shut down the Sync3.
A typical intermittent fault which will be a bugger to diagnose.

Any thoughts guys/galls ?

 

[Belle427]

Try a battery disconnect to reset first but it sounds like a case of looking to see if Ford have some sofftware updates available or a bit of googling to see if its the unit at fault.

 

[Diver Fred]

Does the vehicle do lots of short stop/start runs?

I'd disconnect the battery overnight; if you can, charge it at the same time. When the battery is reconnected leave the radio/touchscreen System Off for at least an hour on a run. Then with the engine running power the touchscreen/radio up and do not change anything for at least minutes after the system has stabilised.

I wouldn't be surprised to discover the touchscreen system has either a rechargeable battery or Li-Ion cell in it somewhere which has discharged as it now six years old.

 

[Doug99]

Does the vehicle do lots of short stop/start runs?

I'd disconnect the battery overnight; if you can, charge it at the same time. When the battery is reconnected leave the radio/touchscreen System Off for at least an hour on a run. Then with the engine running power the touchscreen/radio up and do not change anything for at least minutes after the system has stabilised.

I wouldn't be surprised to discover the touchscreen system has either a rechargeable battery or Li-Ion cell in it somewhere which has discharged as it now six years old.

The car is used mainly for daily school runs (2 miles). If the battery is disconnected, will I need a code for the radio?

 

[Diver Fred]

I don't know Fords/VW's. Certainly my Honda once the battery has been off it only needs the power on switch operating once the engine is running and the entertainment system will 're-initialise' without needing a code as it 'talks' to the car central computer.
If the handbook can't help then ask a friendly dealer ( if there is such a person).

Low voltage (less than 2.2 volts per cell) can cause odd problems. How old is the battery? If it's been replaced has it been coded to the car? Is the battery the same or larger capacity than original?