Vauxhall Emissions Warning Light

vax2002

I would ask the garage to apply the fix the guy round here does, it works and once the codes and they can be dozens are cleared it does not return.
It involves cleaning the electronic throttle brass butterfly edges with carb cleaner or wet and dry if required to prevent it sticking and cleaning out the chambers.
as said by others, it sticks and opens up with a bump and throws the light of doom as it messes up the emissions every time.
Apparently a low tick over is a sign its sticking.
Or you can find the codes, change the sensors, it comes straight back on and end up selling the car having emptied the bank for what was a simple cleaning maintenance task.
Code readers can be great things, but in the hands of someone who does not understand why the fault occurred in the first place they are a novices and rubbish mechanics recipe for emptying bank accounts.
Often a code light does not mean the sensor is faulty, it means it is doing what it was designed to do, sense something is not right, shooting the look out wont help.

DaveW007

vax2002 wrote: »

I would ask the garage to apply the fix the guy round here does, it works and once the codes and they can be dozens are cleared it does not return.
It involves cleaning the electronic throttle brass butterfly edges with carb cleaner or wet and dry if required to prevent it sticking and cleaning out the chambers.
as said by others, it sticks and opens up with a bump and throws the light of doom as it messes up the emissions every time.
Apparently a low tick over is a sign its sticking.
Or you can find the codes, change the sensors, it comes straight back on and end up selling the car having emptied the bank for what was a simple cleaning maintenance task.
Code readers can be great things, but in the hands of someone who does not understand why the fault occurred in the first place they are a novices and rubbish mechanics recipe for emptying bank accounts.
Often a code light does not mean the sensor is faulty, it means it is doing what it was designed to do, sense something is not right, shooting the look out wont help.

Thanks. I've already paid to have various sensors replaced as an auto electrician advised that was what is causing the problem etc. In each time it never caused the problem at all. I must admit I am reluctant to have to pay upwards of £300.00 for a sensor especially if it doesn't cure the fault.

DaveW007

colino wrote: »

Makes sense it's the MAF (and thats not an oxygen sensor) as apart from the electrical code it throws out (if for example the wiring is broken or the MAF is disconnected) it rarely sends a clear message that it is itself faulty, but its incorrect signals causes phantom fault codes and poor running that can be badly interpreted as meaning something else. You then get into a cycle of replacing perfectly good components and the fault remains just because the tech hasn't a scooby what they are doing.

My car has always run very smoothly. Never let me down and always started first time. Only problem is the emissions warning light which is on constantly. Emissions are ok too as it has always passed the MOT.

DaveW007

Anybody know where I stand with regard to the Sale of Goods Act with my car?

The "fault" occurred 3 weeks after I bought it. It was "nearly new" and came with a 12 month warranty.

I took it back along with a letter stating I wanted it repaired or replaced.

The dealer assured me at the time that it was nothing to worry about as it is common with all Agila’s. I was advised that the only way to cure it would be to purchase a new ECU at around £1000.00. The dealer wouldn't accept the car back as they stated it wasn’t actually a fault as the car is drivable.

Paperbird

No they are not the same.
The ECU update is probably to have it accept a wider range of readings from the sensor before it puts the light on.
Don't worry about the MOT the engine light is not part of it. ( mine was lit when it was tested in April )

DaveW007 wrote: »

I'v had a call from the dealer and they have advised that a MAF sensor needs replacing and the ECU needs updating.

I'm not mechanically minded at all but is an O2 sensor the same as a MAF sensor?

If so this has already been replaced previously when the ECU was last updated and it didn't cure it!!!

Sirbendy

"Common Fault" is it? Odd that. I've had 3 Vauxhalls now and looked after a couple more that have not shown this.

My X reg Astra threw it on the day I bought it. Plugged in MY diagnostic system on my laptop, showed EGR failure. Took it off, jammed solid.

So binned it, and blanked the ports off. It's been through several MOTs with this mod declared, no issue, no emissions problems.

Yes, it's a sticking point, but it is on most cars. At some point. It's hardly a shocker, or a "critical" manufacturing defect.

As it happens, I can see a stored code in the Missus Skoda about an EGR valve actuation issue..it happens to them all, to a greater or lesser extent.

DaveW007

Just spoken to the Vauxhall dealer again. It is definitely a faulty MAF sensor as that is what the computer is saying!!!

Do I pay £300.00+ and have this done or am I throwing good money after bad?

I don't think there are any sensors left to replace!!!

s_b

As i said before, a maf on these that was faulty would make the car run like a pig.
Maybe just maybe it has /had a bad connection on the maf that they have found, but want some free rent by trying to sell you an overpriced new one?
£300 is too much, its even more than vauxhalls recommended retail, i think you can buy them for £159 if you are in the vauxhall trade club? (im not as i said i sent my badge back after constant orange glows appeared on cars that customers returned to me just like you)club,they take 5 minutes to fit by the way
i really cant see what more i can say to you because you are obsessed with someone fixing your car for free when the time long went for you to action this, but apparently vauxhall have offered a free code read as some kind of appeasement and hoped the peace in our times paperwork would have sufficiently kept you happy?


good luck:)

vax2002

The code read should be free, it is only there to help garages fix cars, its a 30 second proceedure so why should they charge a fee for "code reading"
They dont charge you to scan your cornflakes at the checkout, you dont need to know what the the barcode means.

On the MAF, this may surprise you but a lot of "main dealers" dont employ any mechanics, they employ technicians, basically fast fit part bolt on monkeys with a 4 week training course diploma.
I would want to know how they can guarantee that this is a fix, what have they done to eliminate the problem, have they substituted a MAF with another and the fault has cleared or have they just plugged in the code reader, rubbed some chins and decided its that.

colino

Anyone who has invested in his business deserves proper payment; especially when there are those that would be happy to get a free diagnosis and then go off and buy replacement bits somewhere else, probably ebay.
I've had veccies in the past that just mess about with their idles and others were practically undriveable and its turned out to be the MAF.