Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (1998 - 2004) - 51 1.4 engine light

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
View Threaded
Sun 15 Jun 2008 20:08
51 1.4 engine light - singlemother
hi can anyone help me. my engine light had been on for a couple of days an the car was shuddering ,so i took it to my local garage who put it on the diagnostic machine where it found 6 faults so thay scrubbed the faults hopin it was a error but the light came back on after an hour . so they said it was a faultand that i needed an erg valve which was done an new oil filters but the light came back on so thay said it needed a coil pack which was done on friday which cost me £255 all in an to my horror today my light has came back on i am taking it back to garage tomorrow i feel let down as i dont know much about cars can yous help me as i feel i have paid money that i have not got for nothing thanks Rhonda
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 15 Jun 2008 21:46
51 1.4 engine light - Screwloose
Rhonda

Not much to go on there; any chance of getting the exact code numbers that they found at each stage?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 15 Jun 2008 22:34
51 1.4 engine light - singlemother
hi there i will ask them for the codes tomorrow an let you know thanks
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 17 Jun 2008 18:22
51 1.4 engine light - singlemother
Hi there, sorry I never got straight back to you. I took my car back to garage, he couldn?t believe the light came back on so he plugged it in again and it came up with misfire 3rd cylinder, so he wiped the code hoping that would be it, but as you?ve guessed it came back on 4 hours later. What does this mean? Thanks.

{shouting amended, and some punctuation added to make for easier reading}

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 17/06/2008 at 21:24

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 17 Jun 2008 20:04
51 1.4 engine light - Screwloose
It means that he's an idiot who's completely out of his depth. There's no point in clearing a code without curing the cause.

Misfires after changing the coilpack are often spread terminals in it's plug - they were modified on later models.

Edited by Screwloose on 17/06/2008 at 20:08

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 18 Jun 2008 13:20
51 1.4 engine light - singlemother
hi ther just back from garage where an electronic engineer looked at the car he said i needed a new ecu and that it had to be re programmed and only vauxhall can do this can you tell me if this is correct and how much do you think it would cost thanks rhonda
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 18 Jun 2008 14:01
51 1.4 engine light - Screwloose

What did he find that led him to that decision? Without any details; it's impossible to form any view?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 18 Jun 2008 18:47
51 1.4 engine light - DP
I agree with Screwloose. You don't just replace an ECU without a firm diagnosis to back up the decision. In any event, ECUs can be tested and repaired rather than replaced.

ECUs are also pretty reliable unless they've suffered water ingress or been damaged by the failure of a separate component. When was the last time you had to replace a household appliance because of an electrical board failing? It's always the motors, switches and bearings that go rather than the electronics.

Edited by DP on 18/06/2008 at 18:48

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 18 Jun 2008 22:24
51 1.4 engine light - topbloke
erm dont won't to rain on your parade but ecu's do indeed fail changed one yesterday in fact z18xe with constant missfire and are quiet common on this engine, the early vauxhall ecu's are not testable and as such then not repairable,how ever back to the ladies ecu without hard facts as to what has been done to diagnose that the ecu is u/s trouble codes etc then i can't make a comment as to whether a new ecu is required, i think that personally they are guessing, please ask the garage for written confirmation as to what has been done and post all the details regards TB
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

10 warranty myths exposed

Here’s how to sort the fact from the fiction when it comes to car warranties.

Cheap Car Warranties

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