help please... engine electronics light in Corsa

mini_huny_money

Morning folks

wonder if someone can help me. I have a Corsa 02 plate and tthe control indicator light for engine electronics lit up on Thursday night.

I stopped the car as soon as I could and the light went off, started the car back up, no light, so continued to drive on to work,

Same thing happened yesterday, comes on and when I stop and re start the engine it goes off, problem yesterday was that I was on a road where I was unable to stop safely for a few miles (roadworks) so had to continue driving and the light stayed on.

Now that I've checked the manual and it says

consult a Vauxhall dealership to have the cause of the fault eliminated.

I'm just going to ring around a few garages for prices but was wondering , have I damaged the engine by continuing to drive the car.?????

The manual also says In some cases the fault can be eliminated by switching the engine off and back on again

but how long can I continue to do this for.....till the end of the month, till payday.........vain hope I bet

Thanks for any advice

jaydeeuk1

if the engine still seems to running smoothly, then I'm guessing an oxygen sensor. I ran mine for while like that. just meant the fuel mixture was different to what it was supposed to be (too rich in my case). A garage will be able to confirm in about 5mins. Cost about £90 from memory on my old vauxhall parts lanos.

mini_huny_money

Thanks for that, if I can get as much info / possibilities before I speak to garages then I might, just might, come across as if I know what I'm talking about !!!!

thinking more about it.....and getting more and more worried. The engine "feels" different IYKWIM and also, the first time time it happened.....even though I switched the ignition off, the engine still kept running. Surely that can't be good

Premier_2

It could be something simple like jaydeeuk1 says, but the issue is that if you continue to run the engine, you might start to cause more damage.

e.g. if the mixture is too rich, you could end up poisoning the cat.

Best to get the fault rectified asap. Have you a credit card? You could then pay it off at the end of the month without interest.

greyteam1959

Go to an independent garage probably a lot cheaper......ask them what they will charge for locating the fault.....it might only be £20....fixing it might be the bigger cost but ask before they go ahead and fix it then you will not have a nasty shock

mini_huny_money

Thanks guys

I do have a credit card and will use if I have to, but the wee garage I usually use prefers cash !!!!

My daughters fiance is going to have a look at it later this afternoon and see if theres anything obvious first.

mini_huny_money

Just phoned the garage I use and to check it out it will cost £30. I just assumed I'd have to use a Vauxhall garage for diagnostic testing


I'm taking it in on Tuesday. He says I can drive it and it might not be anything very much, maybe just an electrical fault.

Fingers crossed, again thanks

greyteam1959

There you go then Money Saving !!!!!!!!!!!

Wig

STOP PRESS!! I will write you a reply soon, please come back and read it before shelling out any money.

In the mean-time if it is the orange 'spanner/car ' light it's not going to be too bad for the car and may not cause any harm, if it is the orange 'engine symbol' light then it is emissions related and could be causing damage.

mini_huny_money

Wig wrote: »

STOP PRESS!! I will write you a reply soon, please come back and read it before shelling out any money.

In the mean-time if it is the orange 'spanner/car ' light it's not going to be too bad for the car and may not cause any harm, if it is the orange 'engine symbol' light then it is emissions related and could be causing damage.

Thanks Wig

Its a yellow car/spanner light,

Is the engine control light.....stupid question......, does that looks like a lit up engine ?????

In the manual it says that might damage the catalytic converter but it definitely is the spanner one thats lit

Wig

This may not work as your car is 2002, this works for corsa 2003 onwards, but you may aswell try.
*** What I do, before doing this is to remove the brake bulbs from the rear, so they don't get too hot and they don't flatten the battery, ***

You could do this after confirming if the process works or not for your car.


1. get in car close door

2. press brake pedal down to floor and accelerator pedal also down to floor & hold them both down. - brake pedal won't go down if you have pumped it, if this happens, start car, to release the pressure in the brakes - turn off car (and remove key) and hold down both pedals again.

3. Put key in ignition

4. Keeping both pedals to floor, turn ignition key till dash lights up - do not start engine

5, Hold everything as it is, and watch the car/spanner light it might start flashing after about 5 - 10 seconds
10 flashes = 0
9 flashes = 9
8 flashes = 8
7 flashes = 7
6 = 6
5 = 5
4 = 4
3 =3
2 = 2
1 = 1

codes are written in 4 digits and either start with a 0 or a 1 eg
0220 = throttle control motor

after each group of 4 there is a slight pause before the next fault. It can get very confusing and you may have to start again a number of times to get them all written down.

6. After you have got them all disconnect battery for a few minutes (careful you know what the radio code is and how to input it before doing this) reconnect the battery, all codes should now be cleared, you can check this....by doing the procedure, and the light should not flash.

7. If removed - reinstall brake bulbs - Start car, drive until light appears. Stop car & turn off, check the codes again.

8. Look up all your codes especially the most recent one(s) the one after clearing the codes.