Vauxhall Zafira Emission control light

lomasonhere

that is odd because most of the replies here say that is what it is and is not the same as the toolbox/spanner light, but yes, it does go via the ECU, that is what it is for. Stick a paperclip in the socket?! I will give that a miss thanks. I would also give a miss to any £20 gadget for messing around with things when the 'real' software starts at around £300 up to £1500 (the latter allows you to reprog the ECU.) But what real good is it simply knowing what the codes are? Argos sell 2 devices that can do that, but they cannot fix it.

petrolhead69

the light flashes for DPF regeneration and temporary high emission states on the diesels, but stays on for engine faults. the spanner light relates to non engine electrical faults on the canbus. Since this is a moneysaving forum I put that up as advice for others with zafira problems and it wasn't aimed at you so do whatever the hell you like but the £20 tool does the job of letting you know either what to check next, or help you spot a mechanic that is trying to !!!!!!!! money from you.
simple.

lomasonhere

thanks but the problem, especially mine, was with a petrol.

goldspanners

if its an emmision warning light then it could be a lambda sensor at fault.

lomasonhere

Such terms are meaningless to most people though and even if you suggest it to garages able to do something about it, they just sigh and plug it in to their machines anyway, and then can tell you anything they wish, such as you need a new ECU, how can you really argue with them? It seems to me that they will do what they can to get the most money out of you. It is about time cars had the software built in that lets you plug it in to a laptop, pinpoint the fault (not just via reading the ECU log) and actually show you where it is on a picture :-) what amazes me is the price of items that you know cost a few pence to make. My cavalier needs a new tickover control (the electromechanical valve thing) apparently one costs around £120! There used to be a book available that listed car parts that are common no just to models but to makers too with vast differences in prices. I recently bought a new lamp unit for my wife's suzuki and the garage showed me 4 identical 'factory' units, each made in a different place, and I asked what the difference is. Around 120% in cost and nothing else, he replied ...

goldspanners

lomasonhere wrote: »

Such terms are meaningless to most people though and even if you suggest it to garages able to do something about it, they just sigh and plug it in to their machines anyway, and then can tell you anything they wish, such as you need a new ECU, how can you really argue with them? It seems to me that they will do what they can to get the most money out of you. It is about time cars had the software built in that lets you plug it in to a laptop, pinpoint the fault (not just via reading the ECU log) and actually show you where it is on a picture :-)

i suppose they could put big red labels on things telling you what they are. or they could just assume that if your going to be under the bonnet tinkering with things you should have some kind of knowledge to know the difference between a lambda sensor and an idle control valve for example. and have half an idea where to locate these items. if you don't know what it should look like or where you should find it what chance do you have in actually fixing it?

if you want to see pictures of where things are then buy a haynes manual.

lomasonhere

goldspanners wrote: »

i suppose they could put big red labels on things telling you what they are. or they could just assume that if your going to be under the bonnet tinkering with things you should have some kind of knowledge to know the difference between a lambda sensor and an idle control valve for example. and have half an idea where to locate these items. if you don't know what it should look like or where you should find it what chance do you have in actually fixing it?

if you want to see pictures of where things are then buy a haynes manual.

Every part of the engine, as I assume you know, is controlled and logged in to a list by the ECU, there is no need to label them, it could further be done as I suggest. This is the tech information era is it not? It would also be easier to locate the things if they did not often have large No User Servicable Parts lids over engines :-) Oh I can find such items, but very often the pictures in haynes manuals are small and fuzzy, and mainly of clean engines that have never been used. Interactive haynes manuals on DVD? Now there's an idea.

charliegeorge4

zafira 51 plate 1.8 petrol...little over a year ago we had exactly the same problem.....running lumpy, lack of power, engine light on. changed a number of parts.....ie lambar sensor, cam sensor, egr valve, injectors, coil pack twice, ecu, reprogrammed, 3 garages later and a bill of £1700. main dealer changing lots n lots of parts and still not curing the problem. ended up being the mass air flow sensor for the price of £60. and 1 year later we have exactly the same problem!!!!!!!!!! all parts changed were genuine vauxhall parts!!!!!!!!!! would say that there is a major problem with this make and model and the dearships must know...... does make you wonder if they write a glitch in to the softwear to cause these problems.....

skintme_2

Hi.


Just had this problem on my 51 plate zafira. It you turn the ignition off 5 times it resets the ecu which should turn the light off. Hasn't come back on yet, might be worth a try??

merlie

yeah, check the oil level ... the same light comes on my dash and a quick check of the dip stick will reveal some topping up is required.