Hi,

I'm looking for some advice please!

I purchased a 2020 Galaxy 12 months ago, 24 hours after purchase, it wouldn't start, it had a completely flat battery, the dealership I purchased it from sent me to Kwikfit and they fitted a brand new battery.

In the days that followed the car started and ran perfectly, however periodically I would get a warning sound and a message that read "Charging System Service Now" this message would last seconds, and would leave a red icon of a battery on my dash display, sometimes the red icon would remain for the remainder of my journey and sometimes it would disappear after a few minutes.

The dealership took the car back and ran diagnostics and said that everything was fine and they had cleared codes.

Almost immediately after receiving the car back I got the same warning message, I reported it again to the dealership and they sent me to a Ford dealership workshop, Ford ran diagnostics, tested the battery, checked for loose/corroded battery terminals, checked voltage, tested the alternator and checked wires running from the alternator to the engine control unit and battery monitor, they reported back that everything was absolutely fine.

Within hours of leaving the Ford workshop I started getting the "Charging System Service Now" warning again, I reported it, and the car went back to Ford two week later, they ran all the same checks and inspections as they had previously done and reported back again that everything was absolutely fine.

At this point I had received the message that everything was absolutely fine from a technician at the dealership and two technicians from Ford.

Today and six months later, I still get the "Charging System Service Now" warning most days, and some days it can be several times during a journey, it doesn't seem to affect the performance of the car at all, and I have just got used to it, however, when my wife is driving the car it really freaks her out, and she gets worried that the car will abruptly lose power and become dangerous to drive. She wants me to get rid of the car purely due to the "Charging System Service Now" warning, however I am reluctant to do this as every other aspect of the car is great!

I wonder if anyone else has experienced this and if anyone has any helpful advice, tips or possible solutions!

Many thanks in advance!

SWP

On 6/2/2026 at 10:45 AM, SWP said:

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice please!

I purchased a 2020 Galaxy 12 months ago, 24 hours after purchase, it wouldn't start, it had a completely flat battery, the dealership I purchased it from sent me to Kwikfit and they fitted a brand new battery.

In the days that followed the car started and ran perfectly, however periodically I would get a warning sound and a message that read "Charging System Service Now" this message would last seconds, and would leave a red icon of a battery on my dash display, sometimes the red icon would remain for the remainder of my journey and sometimes it would disappear after a few minutes.

The dealership took the car back and ran diagnostics and said that everything was fine and they had cleared codes.

Almost immediately after receiving the car back I got the same warning message, I reported it again to the dealership and they sent me to a Ford dealership workshop, Ford ran diagnostics, tested the battery, checked for loose/corroded battery terminals, checked voltage, tested the alternator and checked wires running from the alternator to the engine control unit and battery monitor, they reported back that everything was absolutely fine.

Within hours of leaving the Ford workshop I started getting the "Charging System Service Now" warning again, I reported it, and the car went back to Ford two week later, they ran all the same checks and inspections as they had previously done and reported back again that everything was absolutely fine.

At this point I had received the message that everything was absolutely fine from a technician at the dealership and two technicians from Ford.

Today and six months later, I still get the "Charging System Service Now" warning most days, and some days it can be several times during a journey, it doesn't seem to affect the performance of the car at all, and I have just got used to it, however, when my wife is driving the car it really freaks her out, and she gets worried that the car will abruptly lose power and become dangerous to drive. She wants me to get rid of the car purely due to the "Charging System Service Now" warning, however I am reluctant to do this as every other aspect of the car is great!

I wonder if anyone else has experienced this and if anyone has any helpful advice, tips or possible solutions!

Many thanks in advance!

SWP

I recently had a similar experience with my 21 plate Focus T.X. - it transpired that the alternator had failed at just 1,990 miles.... 🥺

You may have an intermittent fault with the alternator charging / not charging, or less likely, but possible a wiring issue.

Ideally you need to check the output of the alternator when the warning light is illuminated to rule in or out whether the alternator is charging the battery or not.

1 hour ago, MONDEO TXS 2.2 said:

I recently had a similar experience with my 21 plate Focus T.X. - it transpired that the alternator had failed at just 1,990 miles.... 🥺

You may have an intermittent fault with the alternator charging / not charging, or less likely, but possible a wiring issue.

Ideally you need to check the output of the alternator when the warning light is illuminated to rule in or out whether the alternator is charging the battery or not.

Thank you for your reply and advice, its really helpful, I will check the output whilst the warning light is on!