Vauxhall Vectra B facelift (1999 - 2002) - 2002 1.8 - Engine Management Light

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
View Threaded
Sat 4 Feb 2006 21:50
2002 1.8 - Engine Management Light - GazKaz
Hi all

I was wondering if someone could help me with a query.

The engine management light has been coming on intermittantely on my 02 plate 1.8 Vectra for around the last 3 to 4 months. It has no affect in performance when it is on.

I took it to a local garage with the right equipment to read the fault code for me and he said it came back with the code p1555 TPS Sensor. Now he said it could just be a blip, and that I may never get it again, so he cleared the memory for me. He also said that if it does come on again (which it has) in the meantime, it could be the Throttle Position Sensor malfunctioning and if it is the whole unit will have to be replaced, costing around £300! Apparently I can't just replace the sensor, I have to replace the whole throttle body!

As I said earlier, when the Management light is on, the car seems to run OK with no ill affects.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Gary.

{edited to use drop down menus that weren't available at the time this post was originally created}

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 11/02/2008 at 13:53

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 4 Feb 2006 22:53
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - bell boy
nice to hear you got a man that checked your codes, gave you a diagnosis and gave a long term probability scenario, all for the cost of a fault code read,what more do you want?
--
\"a little man in a big world/\"
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 4 Feb 2006 23:46
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - GazKaz
What more do I want?

Not some smart alec reply.

Someone who can give me a proper answer would be nice. Someone who has had this happen to them and could therefore offer constructive advice.

Got nothing better to do than to try and be funny eh?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 5 Feb 2006 08:47
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - Andrew Moorey (Tune-Up)
Steady Girls!
Your man is correct with his diagnosis, the throttle body failing is quite common BUT it is possible the ECU is failing and showing theThrottle body as the fault. We are seeing more and more of these ECUs failing purely down to the fact some muppet at GM thought it would be a good idea to move the ECU from its warm little nest inside the car and mount the ECU ON THE ENGINE!! My advice is to let the problem develop from an intermittent fault to a permanent one then get a proper diagnosis carried out. A new throttle body will require adapting into the system, its not a plug'n'play device.
Andrew
--
Simplicate and add lightness!!
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 5 Feb 2006 09:21
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - wemyss
Gary.. Ignore the above. The management light on my Vectra came on and ran in limp home mode. My small local garage?s reader suggested a wastegate solenoid but he was reluctant to change it due to the expense and with no guarantee of success.
My mates Vauxhall tech 2 reader suggested a MAF sensor but he said they often get false readings at work with these and they simply replace components until it works.
Main dealer had it for a week and they said it was the turbo and fitted a new one.
That was not the case and they replaced mine and eventually took it to a sister main dealer who found it was the CAT which had collapsed.
The car had lost power and was in limp home mode so had to be done but cost was £950.00.
After that bitter experience if the management light came on again (please don?t) and the car was running OK I would leave it until a permanent fault develops.
However I don?t know if it?s a MOT failure?
Just as I was about to paste this in from Word saw that Andrew Moorey had replied and he?s the man to advise on a technical basis.


Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 5 Feb 2006 10:19
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - GazKaz
Hi guys

Thanks for your great replys

I'll probably do as you suggest. There's no point in throwing money at it until a more permanent fault develops. Let's hope that it's something simple, when it does go belly up!

Thanks once again.

Gary
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 5 Feb 2006 11:31
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - bell boy
it wasnt a smart alec reply i said you got a straight forward answer to your problem and the man that gave it to you didnt waffle you and change lots of bits and give you a big bill he told you what the final outcome would probably be as well.
what more do you want?a magic fix?
--
\"a little man in a big world/\"
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 5 Feb 2006 11:54
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - GazKaz
No, I wasen't asking for a magic fix.

I was mearly asking for peoples opinions. We all know that it is not as straight forward as finding the fault code, replacing the part and all is happy. Reading the reply from alvin proves that it is not as straight forward as that.

As I stated in my last post, the last thing I want to do is to start chucking money at the problem. I would rather take on board advice from people in the know about what the best course of action to take.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 5 Feb 2006 18:01
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - Dynamic Dave
oldman, cool it please.

Apart from anything else, GazKaz wants to know if he can just change a sensor, or has to replace the whole throttle body. He doesn't want a lecture on the advice the mechanic gave him.

DD.

::removes moderators hat::

Gazkaz, looking around on a Vauxhall forum I frequent, I've seen it mention that giving the throttle body insides a good clean with carb cleaner can sometimes work wonders.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 6 Feb 2006 21:28
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - GazKaz
Hi Dynamic Dave

I'll give the throttle body clean a try. The car's done nearly 59K (regularly serviced), so it won't hurt to give it a go.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Thanks again

GazKaz
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 6 Feb 2006 22:49
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - markj2210
Hi,

I'm no expert but I do have a Vectra B(01) that had a similar fault to the one you described. Light would come on at random and sometimes stay on for ages. I was told by the main dealer that I needed a new throttle body. Kerching!

I got the guy who does my cam belt changes to look at it. Couldn't believe it! He took the cover off to expose the throttle body and you could see the black and yellow carbon deposits around the inside of the throttle, just under that disc thing that flips open.

He didn't have any carbon cleaner so he (literally) cleaned around the 'disc' with WD40 and a rag.

That was four months ago and I aint seen the light on since.
Just something you might want to look at?

Good luck.


Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 7 Feb 2006 19:35
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - GazKaz
Hi Mark

I'll certainly have a good poke around at the weekend to see if I'm getting the same as you did. I'm hoping that it is indeed something as simple as that, as a new throttle body is around £300, or so I've been told!

Thanks for your advice.

Gary.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 16 Apr 2006 17:36
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - GazKaz
Hi all

Just an update to my original post from a few months ago!

I did exactly as markj2210 explained and the EML has not been on since. It's been fine now for around 4 weeks. Result!

Thanks

GazKaz
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 11 Feb 2008 13:12
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - dunkthefunk
Hi
I would also like to thank Markj2210 for his helpful tip,my 2001 1800 ecotec had the same problem as he described and after a trip to the local garage they told me the fault code was p1555, throttle body,mass air meter, ecu etc all expensive items to buy,so I tried the clean up of the throttle body bit just in case , and guess what? ,no light now for almost a week.
Anyway thanks again , you saved me a lot of cash.



Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 15 Mar 2009 15:47
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - alig
Hi
I also had the problem with my 02 Vectra and have tried the cleaning and so far so good so would like to say thanks for the advice I really appreciate it.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 6 Aug 2009 22:09
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - ibbysri
Hi guys
I ve been reading with intrest as I was experiencing the same problem and had it diagnosed as throttle load sensor problem P1555 came up on the computer, Followed the advice on this site last wknd sat 1st Aug ,I took off the pipe from the air filter to the throttle body unit and cleaned it as mentioned quite a bit of gunk came out and GREAT NEWS the EML has not come on once!

Brilliant Thanks very much for saving me a lot of money!!!!!
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 19 Sep 2009 11:07
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - vectra1.8
Hello all !

Ive just joined this forum so i can thank Markj2210 !

You have just saved me a LOT of money mate, same problem , fault code read throttle body and mass air flow fault , was quoted over £500 to rectify , read this post and paid £1.20 for some carb cleaner , gave it a good clean and BINGO , NO ENGINE MANAGEMENT LIGHT

YOU BEAUTY ! ! !

Thank you thank you thank you !

saving me fuel as well as its been in safe mode while the lights been on !

i understand this is a very common fault on vectras so ........

SPREAD THE WORD !
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 9 Feb 2011 18:25
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - MRhotwire
im gonna give this a try as my vecty is doin the same thing [:)]
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 18 Aug 2011 13:28
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - lee24

Did this technique work as I have my vectra in a local garage with similar problem and would like some advice pls?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 18 Aug 2011 13:32
02 Vectra Engine Management Light - lee24

hi Mark,

Been trying to solve my vectra engine managment light problems and noticed you seemed to have had brilliant results from a very good solution. I would like to know if this method did solve the problem completely or was it a temporary fix? My problem is I am not sure whether it would hlep in the long term and I have 2 young kids to think about in this car. Any help and advice would be appreciated as car is currently sitting in garage workshop. Thanks in advance,

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 26 Aug 2011 11:51
2002 1.8 - Engine Management Light - tommo681

Ihave had the same problem with my 2001 vectra 1.8 for 2 months now. After being quoted £275 for a new throttle body i found this forum and thanks to Markj2210 !
my car is fine. God bless the internet.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 30 Jan 2012 20:06
2002 1.8 - Engine Management Light - The-Mechanic

Just fixed my wifes 2002 1.8LS Vectra with this fault. Take the throttle body off, get some carb cleaner (or use petrol and a cloth) and clean the carbonised gunk from the body above and below the butterfly flap.
Also a common problem is the idle air by-pass port gets blocked up (like this one was). When you take the throttle body off, you'll have a small bore rubber hose going from the rocker cover to the lower right hand side of the body onto a small brass stub. This allows air to by-pass the butterfly when on idle and it gets blocked easily as condensation builds up in the hose and dries / hardens, causing the blockage. I used a small straight pick tool (you could use a thin, strong steel wire or 2~3mm drill bit) and cleared it out by working it through the crud in the stub. Give it a blow out with compressed air and spray some carb cleaner down it to make sure its clear.
Bolt it all back together, check the fault codes and clear them and roadtest. If it was the same as mine, all should be OK with no hunting and the emissions light should stay OFF.
All the best,
Graham.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide