We have a 2016 plate Ford Galaxy. We have had it for approximately 5 years.

 

Over that time, very occasionally (approx. once a year) it has not started due to a flat battery. On a couple of occasions, we have called out the AA. On more than one occasion, they have said that the current battery can hold a charge but is flat. The likely culprit being some form of parasitic drain. (The battery has also been replaced in the last 18 months).

 

The car doesn’t have any modifications. And no lights are left on around these episodes. However, in the lead-up to the most recent flat battery episode, while driving, the entertainment unit (radio) would sometimes turn itself on without anybody pressing the relevant buttons.

 

We took the car to a local auto electronics specialist, where they were unable to identify any cause for the parasitic drain. This was perhaps to be expected. Actually experiencing a flat battery is rare. But as we were going away for a couple of weeks, leaving the car and needing to make sure it started on our return – the auto electronics specialist removed both the screen and stereo unit. The car started fine on our return. And has been running fine for a month since. However, the car now doesn’t have a connected radio / CD player etc!

 

So, there are two issues:

1.      Trying to get to the bottom of this very intermittent parasitic battery drain issue.

2.      Sorting out the radio unit, which was occasionally turning itself on - and getting it fitted back into the car!

 

It could be that 1 and 2 are overlapping issues. But they may not be.

 

Any ideas about what we do about 1? (Would getting a FORscan unit help?)

 

In terms of 2, we could:

-          Get the current two units put back in, as is - and see what happens

-          Buy second hand versions of these units and get them installed

-          And of course, these units may or may not be the cause of the battery drain

 

Does anyone know:

-         If it is possible or useful to somehow reset or reinstall the software associated with the stereo and if that might stop it randomly turning on?

-         Is refitting the stereo unit in the car something that has to be done by professionals? Or is it something we can do ourselves? Having looked at youtube videos on Sync upgrades (which we’re not looking to do - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31PM4OEYssY) it seems fairly doable. Or are we mistaken. Any thoughts?

 

Sorry for the long and multi-layered post.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and comments.

 

Well it's taken two cups of coffee and a full packet of biscuits but I've finally finished reading your post 🤣

So you've owned this Galaxy for around 5 years. In that time you say that about once a year it's failed to start due to a flat battery. Meaning that this problem has only occurred 5, maybe 6 times in the time you've been the owner.

Personally I'd completely disregard any thoughts of a parasitic battery drain, and even if there was to be one you are only going to get one chance per year to find it. It's a 2016 vehicle, and by modern day standards should be due it's third new battery by now. I've no way of knowing the condition of your present battery other than you say it's 18 month old, which means very little given the unreliability of batteries these days.

If this was my car, I'd buy a new Yuasa battery of the largest capacity that would physically fit in the battery tray. I'd charge it first with a battery charger for a minimum of 12 hours (as per battery manufactures recommended good practices). Then fit to the car, not forgetting to immediately reset the Battery Monitor System (BMS) in accordance with the Ford procedure.

As regards the radio, while it was common on older systems that had a separate Bluetooth module to sometimes cause a parasitic battery drain, that is untrue with your particular model. Also you state the problems of it randomly turning itself on has only just started happening, while the issue of the random flat battery has been happening for the last 5 years. Personally I just reinstall the units and see how they perform.

 

Thank you @unofix.

A useful... and funny response.

Much appreciated.  

Hi all,

Thanks again for your advice @unofix.

It took a while to find the time to reinstall the units. Was waiting for a rainy day. And today is that day!

Have reinstalled the units (thanks to youtube) and everything seems to be working fine.

Quick follow up question. The 2016 Ford Galaxy (running sync 2) - does it have any useful secret diagnostic menus which give you any readouts which might be useful to monitor this issue? Either via sync or the instruction cluster. Or should I be thinking of getting an OBD-II reader and FORScan?

Thanks in advance.

Use FORScan with the vLinker FS cable.

On 4/7/2024 at 8:59 PM, unofix said:

FORScan (for use with Windows Laptop) : https://forscan.org/download.html

It's what many Ford owners use including some Ford technicians.

• vLinker FS, cable for laptop: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vgate-vLinker-Adapter-FORScan-MS-CAN/dp/B0952P4MLP

OR

• OBDLINK EX, cable for laptop: https://www.amazon.co.uk/OBDLINK-EX-FORScan-OBD-Adapter/dp/B081VQVD3F/ref=sr_1_5

For diagnostic use only:

• vLinker FD, for android phone: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vgate-Bluetooth-vLinker-Scanner-Diagnostic/dp/B08H82WC8L
• vLinker FD+, for iPhone: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vgate-Bluetooth-vLinker-Scanner-Diagnostic/dp/B08H8JHWP2