Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[0795omega]

i have 2 omegas a 97 2.5 cdx which ive had for 5 years and have loved every minute of it putting on a mesh grille/improving the bodywork/adding full leather trim and adding 17" mv6 alloys it looked great! recently had a decent second hand autobox put on as its was slipping badly and covered a without hitch 700 miles in a week,i swap it every other week for my mv6 which i park outside the mother in laws house in a rather nice street in torquay,as no room at my home ,then when at work sat night had a phone call from my mrs saying police had been round saying the cdx was a burnt out right off!! i promptly left work to see it and talk to c.i.d. admiting i leave it unlocked as such a good street and incase alarm goes off in night not to disturb anyone! the fire looks to have started on the drivers side under bonnet as all off side front of car badly burnt,but doors backwards o.k. interior not burnt just dash top melted/windscreen gone,no-one was at home at the time of fire 6 hours after i parked it so a kind couple of gardners working up the road called the fire brigade and police to deal with it and obviously they contacted me through numberplate,im in half a mind to think its melicious as was running a1/no smells of burning while driving e.t.c. why should it suddenly catch fire 6 hours after being parked? when i also know for a fact the people up there were getting the hump about me swapping them round up there even though as stated its outside the mother in laws place! as some nosy devil said to her 3 weeks ago that cars not taxed,which of course it was,anyway its been recovered to a compound and will have to contact my insurers mon morning about it,the c.i.d. say it will be checked to see if melicious or not all in all a very sad end to the finest machine ive ever owned and ive had a lot!!

[RobG]

i have 2 omegas a 97 2.5 cdx which ive had for 5 years and have loved every minute of it putting on a mesh grille/improving the bodywork/adding full leather trim and adding 17" mv6 alloys it looked great! recently had a decent second hand autobox put on as its was slipping badly and covered a without hitch 700 miles in a week,i swap it every other week for my mv6 which i park outside the mother in laws house in a rather nice street in torquay,as no room at my home ,then when at work sat night had a phone call from my mrs saying police had been round saying the cdx was a burnt out right off!! i promptly left work to see it and talk to c.i.d. admiting i leave it unlocked as such a good street and incase alarm goes off in night not to disturb anyone! the fire looks to have started on the drivers side under bonnet as all off side front of car badly burnt,but doors backwards o.k. interior not burnt just dash top melted/windscreen gone,no-one was at home at the time of fire 6 hours after i parked it so a kind couple of gardners working up the road called the fire brigade and police to deal with it and obviously they contacted me through numberplate,im in half a mind to think its melicious as was running a1/no smells of burning while driving e.t.c. why should it suddenly catch fire 6 hours after being parked? when i also know for a fact the people up there were getting the hump about me swapping them round up there even though as stated its outside the mother in laws place! as some nosy devil said to her 3 weeks ago that cars not taxed,which of course it was,anyway its been recovered to a compound and will have to contact my insurers mon morning about it,the c.i.d. say it will be checked to see if melicious or not all in all a very sad end to the finest machine ive ever owned and ive had a lot!!

Classic case of powersounder self-combusting.
Have you still got your MV6 to use or did it sell on the bay

[albitz]

Yep - plenty of info and warnings on the forum about powersounder.Several cars have been known to self combust in the same way. Remove it from your other car or the same will happen to it at some point too.

[0795omega]

car was unlocked though! also never have heard the alarm go off on it in 5 years, hazards flash when leave sunroof open at times and wind goes past the sensors but no siren sounding,dont know if its still posible though?

[RobG]

car was unlocked though! also never have heard the alarm go off on it in 5 years, hazards flash when leave sunroof open at times and wind goes past the sensors but no siren sounding,dont know if its still posible though?

Sound like PS was disconnected by previous owner but left in situ. Over time the button cell batteries degrade, leak out onto the PCB and cause the "self-combustion"

[VXL V6]

Doesn't really matter if the car is locked or not, the acid leaking out of the powersounder batteries will eventually short out the pcb with it's un-fused 12V supply direct from the car battery....

[barclay03]

Similar area, slightly different problem...my wiring caught fire whilst driving

[Kevin Wood]

I'm really sorry to hear this.

It's the batteries in the power sounder that leak and then sometimes short out and start a fire. Doesn't matter if the alarm is set or not, sadly.

I would remove any power sounder that's more than 5 years old.

[0795omega]

right thanks,just wished id known about this problem,  then would have ripped it right out of there to save her this awfull end!!

[The Red Baron]

what a shame mate, ive a bucket full here ive ripped out tbh.

[marrus69]

gutted,guess what im doing next, mine has been giving the 4 beeps.

[omega3000]

I'm really sorry to hear this.

It's the batteries in the power sounder that leak and then sometimes short out and start a fire. Doesn't matter if the alarm is set or not, sadly.

I would remove any power sounder that's more than 5 years old.

Sorry to hear that about the car        One job that needs doing pronto .

[MrMoffat]

i have 2 omegas a 97 2.5 cdx which ive had for 5 years and have loved every minute of it putting on a mesh grille/improving the bodywork/adding full leather trim and adding 17" mv6 alloys it looked great! recently had a decent second hand autobox put on as its was slipping badly and covered a without hitch 700 miles in a week,i swap it every other week for my mv6 which i park outside the mother in laws house in a rather nice street in torquay,as no room at my home ,then when at work sat night had a phone call from my mrs saying police had been round saying the cdx was a burnt out right off!! i promptly left work to see it and talk to c.i.d. admiting i leave it unlocked as such a good street and incase alarm goes off in night not to disturb anyone! the fire looks to have started on the drivers side under bonnet as all off side front of car badly burnt,but doors backwards o.k. interior not burnt just dash top melted/windscreen gone,no-one was at home at the time of fire 6 hours after i parked it so a kind couple of gardners working up the road called the fire brigade and police to deal with it and obviously they contacted me through numberplate,im in half a mind to think its melicious as was running a1/no smells of burning while driving e.t.c. why should it suddenly catch fire 6 hours after being parked? when i also know for a fact the people up there were getting the hump about me swapping them round up there even though as stated its outside the mother in laws place! as some nosy devil said to her 3 weeks ago that cars not taxed,which of course it was,anyway its been recovered to a compound and will have to contact my insurers mon morning about it,the c.i.d. say it will be checked to see if melicious or not all in all a very sad end to the finest machine ive ever owned and ive had a lot!!

What bad luck,  but I'm unsure if the Insurance Company will pay out if it was left unlocked

[omegod]

I have said it before and will say it again, can we have a sticky or a running banner to warn newbies about the danger of these and the need to remove it pronto, must be a dozen members have lost cars this way and some very near misses with them going up on driveways/next to houses!

[I_want_an_Omega]

i have 2 omegas a 97 2.5 cdx which ive had for 5 years and have loved every minute of it putting on a mesh grille/improving the bodywork/adding full leather trim and adding 17" mv6 alloys it looked great! recently had a decent second hand autobox put on as its was slipping badly and covered a without hitch 700 miles in a week,i swap it every other week for my mv6 which i park outside the mother in laws house in a rather nice street in torquay,as no room at my home ,then when at work sat night had a phone call from my mrs saying police had been round saying the cdx was a burnt out right off!! i promptly left work to see it and talk to c.i.d. admiting i leave it unlocked as such a good street and incase alarm goes off in night not to disturb anyone! the fire looks to have started on the drivers side under bonnet as all off side front of car badly burnt,but doors backwards o.k. interior not burnt just dash top melted/windscreen gone,no-one was at home at the time of fire 6 hours after i parked it so a kind couple of gardners working up the road called the fire brigade and police to deal with it and obviously they contacted me through numberplate,im in half a mind to think its melicious as was running a1/no smells of burning while driving e.t.c. why should it suddenly catch fire 6 hours after being parked? when i also know for a fact the people up there were getting the hump about me swapping them round up there even though as stated its outside the mother in laws place! as some nosy devil said to her 3 weeks ago that cars not taxed,which of course it was,anyway its been recovered to a compound and will have to contact my insurers mon morning about it,the c.i.d. say it will be checked to see if melicious or not all in all a very sad end to the finest machine ive ever owned and ive had a lot!!

What bad luck,  but I'm unsure if the Insurance Company will pay out if it was left unlocked

+1

[Jimbob]

classic powersounder, seen many times unfortunately...
here is the thread when it was on my own driveway...

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1259433462

[GastronomicKleptomaniac]

Gutted to hear that.

[tunnie]

Yup, batteries in power sounder probable cause. Exactly reason why its removed in all of ours, just not worth the risk.

[YZ250]

I know it's well documented on the forum here, hence why mine is removed, but does anyone know if Vauxhall have ever put out a warning regarding this.      I appreciate that it happens years out of warranty but surely they must have been made aware of it at some point. After all, one could go up in smoke inside one of their workshops. Maybe they just kept quiet and hoped that nobody would spot a pattern forming. 

[henryd]

I know it's well documented on the forum here, hence why mine is removed, but does anyone know if Vauxhall have ever put out a warning regarding this.      I appreciate that it happens years out of warranty but surely they must have been made aware of it at some point. After all, one could go up in smoke inside one of their workshops. Maybe they just kept quiet and hoped that nobody would spot a pattern forming. 

I think other Vauxhalls used this power sounder as well although you don't seem to hear of any issues with them

[GastronomicKleptomaniac]

I think other Vauxhalls used this power sounder as well although you don't seem to hear of any issues with them

Depends where it's sited, one supposes - if it's less susceptible to water ingress...

[I_want_an_Omega]

The powersounder has always been an issue for Vx. In 1996 I took delivery of a brand new 3.0 Elite estate and within months of delivery the blooming thing was starting to have a mind of it's own.

My local dealer escalated to Vx as replacement units followed suit. Seemed that the issue at that time was water ingress which would cause the thing to go off all by itself - the only way of stopping it was to remove it.

Basically a bad design to have un un-fused feed anywhere  - other than the feed to the starter motor, are there any others at all in the vehicle? I have a spare fuse box so might see whats involved to get to the "other end" of the offending wire.

[Kevin Wood]

Yep. Unfused feed is the main problem, I reckon, although I've not yet seen a power sounder that has been caught early enough to prove it.

But.. The permanent live feed to the sounder is fused only by an 80 amp maxi fuse in the PDS box on later Omegas, and not at all on early Omegas.

The power sounder batteries probably don't have enough energy in them to torch the whole car, but enough to cause a fault in the permanent feed, which then burns out the wiring back to the next weakest link, and starts a big enough fire to write off the car.

I too would like to know where the supply originates (small bit of damage under the dash indicates, in my mind, that it comes from near the cabin fuse box rather than straight from the PDS box). An inline fuse holder there would make me feel a lot better about having a power sounder fitted.

[0795omega]

quick update,my beloved cdx went off to the scrap yard today after the insurance companys offer was declined by myself as a total joke, your paying in installments for your policy sir and it only started in march and by the way if you claim youve lost all your no claims bonuses as a fire is classed as your fault as we havent a third party to claim off!!  insurance is, ive allways said a total waste of money/just need it to get a tax disc! took 3 of its nice alloys off as only the o/s front one got black,didnt look distorted but dont think id trust that wheel again,the exhaust off for my 3.2 as it was quite new/radio/cd changer,vauxhall mudflaps+ irmsher badges etc really sad seeing it just getting pushed around in the yard by a resident ape on a forklift,wouldnt say that to his face though as he was enormous!! when i got home after unloading the bits lifted the bonnet on my mv6 to remove its power sounder,and guess what a previous owner had all ready removed it cool,i wont be loosing anymore omegas to this wretched little box.

[ozzycat]

hi mate
it shouldnt make bany diferance that you have only paid 1 or2 months on your insuranse t6hey should pay out the full market value you will not loose allyour ncb only one part to loose it all you need 3-5 claims in 2 years
so get on to them and get your moneyhope this helps
                                     ozzycat [kevin]

[GastronomicKleptomaniac]

hi mate  you will not loose allyour ncb only one part to loose it all you need 3-5 claims in 2 years

Depends if it's protected.

[Kevin Wood]

hi mate  you will not loose allyour ncb only one part to loose it all you need 3-5 claims in 2 years

Depends if it's protected.

Most insurers only step it back a couple of years even if not protected.

I'm also confused by the instalments comment.  Does this mean that unless you happen to claim on the last day of the policy they won't pay out? I would check the small print of the policy carefully. If it's comprehensive cover why does it make any difference how many instalments you have made - assuming you are not cancelling the policy? Sounds to me like they are trying to fob you off. If there's not something in your policy terms to this effect I would be straight to the insurance ombudsman.

EDIT: Unless they are cancelling the policy due to the write-off and deducting your remaining premium payments from the settlement? It should be your choice to cancel the policy, though. You might just want to transfer it to another car and continue to pay the instalments.

[GastronomicKleptomaniac]

hi mate  you will not loose allyour ncb only one part to loose it all you need 3-5 claims in 2 years

Depends if it's protected.

Most insurers only step it back a couple of years even if not protected.

I'm also confused by the instalments comment.  Does this mean that unless you happen to claim on the last day of the policy they won't pay out? I would check the small print of the policy carefully. If it's comprehensive cover why does it make any difference how many instalments you have made - assuming you are not cancelling the policy? Sounds to me like they are trying to fob you off. If there's not something in your policy terms to this effect I would be straight to the insurance ombudsman.

EDIT: Unless they are cancelling the policy due to the write-off and deducting your remaining premium payments from the settlement? It should be your choice to cancel the policy, though. You might just want to transfer it to another car and continue to pay the instalments.

It is a minefield - could well be that the muppet in the call centre is making up reasons why the settlement is so low. Rather than "market value for an old two-ton Vauxhall is about 27p and half a smoked mackerel, deal with it"

[tigers_gonads]

Hope i'm reading this post right here 

If you are paying monthly for your policy, you have entered into a HP agreement for the payments only.
As soon as your policy is active, be it one hour or 11 1/2 months into the policy, you are fully covered as long as you have been honest with the company and all details are correct in the schedule.

The company will try it on with you over what the car is worth.
Its upto you (if you disagree with there valuation) to say so and refuse the offer.

Ok, you left the doors unlocked but at the end of the day, the car was not stolen or broken into.
The fire was caused by a probable electrical fault on the power sounder which caused a fire under the bonnet. This is covered by all motor policys from TPFT upwards 

If the insurance company have removed or scrapped YOUR car without your permision, that is theft 
If the insurance company have removed or scrapped your car without a price been agreed with you first, that is THEFT.

No claims ................. if you had full no claims, you will loose 2 or 3 years worth.
If you had protected those claims, you keep them as long as you don't have too many claims in one year.  (2 or 3 iirc)

[0795omega]

it was just t.p.f.t cover with unprotected no claims,they said id have to pay them £289.00 to begin then they take the car away and id lose my wheels on it e.t.c. and all my no claims bonuses 21 years worth!! so thought sod it i will get it taken to a local scrappy and see what i can salvage,its not so much about money as ive spent thousands on it in 5 years and know id never get any of it back,just totally gutted to have lost such a fine car to a little black box going up!

[Lazydocker]

Some insurers underwrite their own payment plans. If this is the case it is often in the small print that in the event of a claim the premium must be paid in full (was a major point of contention with Norwich Union in the past for my Sister in Law ) but even so, they shouldn't remove all of your no claims for a fire claim

At the end of the day, the OP has chosen the route that he is happy with so that's all that matters. TBH, I doubt I'd claim if I was in the same situation

[tigers_gonads]

it was just t.p.f.t cover with unprotected no claims,they said id have to pay them £289.00 to begin then they take the car away and id lose my wheels on it e.t.c. and all my no claims bonuses 21 years worth!! so thought sod it i will get it taken to a local scrappy and see what i can salvage,its not so much about money as ive spent thousands on it in 5 years and know id never get any of it back,just totally gutted to have lost such a fine car to a little black box going up!

Fair do's mate, sorry your life has turned to sh*t 
Just for the record, i'll be unplugging my tinker tomorrow when I replace the coilpack 
Thats if it ever stops bloody raining 

[Elite Pete]

I would also be concerned that because you've contacted your insurance company and told them about the fire they might hold that against you when you insure something else even though you haven't made a claim

[I_want_an_Omega]

I'm a bit confused. Ok, so you haven't actually claimed from them - so have you just cancelled the policy and then scrapped the car? That's the only way I can get my head around this.

Did you get the cats off before weighing the car in? I got about £70 each for the last set of cats I sold.

Hope you have better luck with the MV6.

[0795omega]

yes just cancelled the policy and scrapped it thats right,mv6 is insured with different company thankfully! the cats i let the scrappy have as i wanted all the rest of the exhaust for my 3.2.