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1

Omega Electrical and Audio Help / These damn Xenon Headlights - total cr@p

« on: 14 March 2011, 20:33:56 »

Having messed around with a couple of pairs of second hand headlamps in order to repair the adjusters with the excellent aluminium repair kit I was rather thwarted by the joke chroming on the reflectors. Out of 4 headlamps (2 pairs) everyone had some evidence of peeling (one quite bad). Well in the end as I had not paid very much for them (99p for one pair) I decided to bite the bullet and order a shiney new set from dear old Mr Vauxhall (after all GM is bust and they need the money ).

Items ordered and on back order to Germany (no surprise there really).
Today items finally arrive two shiney new Xenon projector headlights in nice sealed boxes straight from the GM Europe parts warehouse in Russelhiem.

Open boxes admire contents for a couple of minutes then realise that the nearside lamp has a broken adjuster (just like the one on my car) 

You just couldn't make it up brand spanking new headlamp and the adjuster is already busted 

I can now understand why they call GM American Leyland 

Item now on back order again 

 

Worse still they tried to tell me that the price is now going up and I think they were expecting me to pay the difference in price for a replacement item 

Do these clowns really expect to be in business making cars in 10 years time? 

I give up I really do 

2

Omega Electrical and Audio Help / Headlamp bulb question

« on: 13 March 2011, 11:10:31 »

I was reading through a load of information on a very informative US car lighting website run by a chap called Daniel Stern. He goes very thoroughly through pretty much every type of major brand bulb on the market rubbishing many (mainly the ones with a blue tint) but highly recomments a slightly hibred Osram 65w bulb which uses an H9 filament on a H7 base. Mr Stern points out that this bulb is not strictly road legal but makes the point that it is presently the most efficient H7 bulb on the market and does go into quite a lot of technicle detail. I just wondered if anyone had ever tried and fitted a pair of these things as a high beam bulb to go alongside HIDs. It appears it is a rather popular upgrade on non HID Passats and BMW's. I would be interested in anyones comments or experiences and have pasted a link to a UK supplier purely for illustration. 

  http://www.phoenixautobulbs.co.uk/pr/h7-super-bright-65w/

3

Omega General Help / HID Xenon Headlamp question ?

« on: 07 March 2011, 18:11:55 »

Does anybody know if the reflector and chromework from a facelift HID Xenon headlamp will fit into and is interchangeable with a mini facelift one. The reason I ask is that I am trying to put together a good working pair with the replacement aluminium adjusters. I managed to get a replacement pair off ebay for the princely some of 99p which are good apart from the chrome on the reflectors which is peeling slightly. Having spoken to Steve at Omegaspares he has reflector parts in stock but only for facelifts. Would they fit a mini facelift lamp neither of us are sure? These 99p specials did however come with all the trimmings - ballast pack (one only a few months old) bulbs and even the washer pipes so I can't really complain 

4

Omega General Help / Xenon projector crack of doom

« on: 13 January 2011, 21:43:02 »

This afternoon I changed a blown sidelight bulb on my old but still surprisingly tidy 98 Elite 3.0 manual and noticed that the internal lamp lens (on the nearside) was rather loose which I would assume means that the adjuster arm has broken. Am I correct in thinking that to remove the lamp assembly due to the large charging unit on the back for the HID the front bumper has to come off. I am aware that a repair is possible with an aluminium part but wondering if it was easier simply to source a replacement unit. Failing that given that I'm not overly impressed with the HID's anyway would it be possible to fit cheaper but more reliable halogen units and junk the complete gubbins that the Xenons require. 

5

Omega General Help / Rear Door card trim removal

« on: 14 January 2010, 11:13:15 »

Hi everyone,

I need to remove the rear doorcard on a 98 Elite as it has become detached from the long plastic piece that it hangs on the door with. It looks like the adhesive has failed causing the card to rattle and flap when the door is closed. My perhaps rather silly question is how does the plastic piece on the interior door handle prise out? I have never before removed the rear card only a front one where a similar piece also has to be prised out from the bottom or you break the catch at the top. I would be grateful for anyones previous experience as I'm not convined Vx parts would be able to supply another if I break it and its putting up a bit of a fight. I dont want to force it the wrong way.   

6

Omega General Help / Rattle solved but ......

« on: 04 June 2009, 20:07:46 »

Hi,
My 1998 3 litre Omega recently developed a annoying rattle at idle which I've traced to the heat shield/outer casing of the offside catalytic converter which is rather badly corroded and therefore coming loose. I've temporarily solved the problem with a jubilee clip which has cured the rattle for now but I suppose the only permanent fix is a new pair of cats as both of the outer heat shields are pretty corroded and crumbly even though there is no actual exhaust leak. The inner pipe actually appears fine and the cats themselves are working OK. Anybody done this replacement job recently and have any idea of the likely cost. Thanks in advance for anyone with any experience of this task or advice.   

7

Omega General Help / Strange light rattle

« on: 02 June 2009, 18:25:38 »

I wonder if anyone has any suggestions with this little problem. On the day that GM declared itself bankrupt (ie yesterday) my Miggy has delveloped a slight light rattle from the bottom of the engine somewhere which sounds like a loose heatshield. However the odd thing is that if I swich off the Climate control it stops. Switch on the climate control and it starts again. It seems to come from the bottom of the engine somewhere on the offside and cannot be heard inside the car only when you get out and listen. A/C is working perfectly with nice cool air. Anybody got any suggestions on this one?  Many thanks in advance.

8

Omega General Help / Clearing Climate Panel Errors -- --

« on: 07 May 2009, 21:08:34 »

Hi,

Its been a while since I've paid a visit here and very glad to see the forums still motoring along.

If I could just ask a quick question of the knowledgeable residents on here.
I've been recently having erratic climate control problems always blowing cold and hard after running for a while. I suspected the sampler fan and have replaced the panel with a second hand unit and the problem appears solved. System now seems to work OK and the sampler fan is sucking. Only problem now is the panel shows an error -- -- on both displays on shutdown. Will this problem eventually clear after X number of start ups or will I have to submit myself to the dreaded main dealer for a tech 2 reset.

Interestingly the fan on the defective unit appears to work very eratically they seem to have some weird drive electronic problem.

Many thanks - Mark

9

Omega General Help / Soft touch switches

« on: 29 September 2008, 22:19:31 »

Has anybody found a way to easily remove the soft finish coating on the interior centre switch panel switches? The finish on these things really is a joke in terms of practical durability. Just holding or touching the switch cover is enough to start it peeling making the interior look tatty like an old minicab. Underneath this quick peel finish it seems to have a perfectly good shiny black finish if only you could easily get off the clear rubber yuk that’s been applied over the top. Anybody managed to successfully remove the joke finish?  

10

Omega General Help / Cabin Temp sampling Fan

« on: 22 September 2008, 17:43:58 »

Hi Has anyone got any experience of replacing the cabin air sampling fan (with a Maplin one) in the digital climate panel (1998 model) as I have a misbehaving climate control. It has the classic symptoms of the fan going dodgy. Climate control will run fine for about an hour or so but then suddenly go into cold fast blower mode. You then have to overide it with the manual Hi setting and the car becomes an oven. The choice then boils down to freezing cold or boiling hot  
If the car is left parked for a few hours all returns to normal till another long journey. I understand its the poor electronic control on the panel fan thats to blame so buying a second hand unit is likely to swap one faulty panel with another. Anybody who's carried out this job able to explain whats involved. Does the new fan need to be soldered in and where do you connect it etc. Given the number of cars with climate control this seems to afflick I'm surprised theres no "how to" idiots guide for people like me . I was thinking of getting a second hand unit to have a go at modding to avoid the risk of thrashing the one thats presently fitted   Any advice gratefully received.        

11

Omega General Help / Omega Elite coolant smell

« on: 27 February 2008, 19:51:22 »

Hi, I've got something of a smell of hot coolant noticeable when you get out the car after a journey but no obvious coolant loss at the coolant reservoir. My wife has noticed this for some time as she has a rather more acute sense of smell but I could never really smell it. However finally I can now smell it as well. My initial feeling was a hose or the HBV but looking tonight in the dark with a torch after returning home it seems a little wet under the drive belt flywheels. Is this likely to be the water pump that’s beginning to let go ? Car is a 3 litre V6 with 70k miles that’s had the cam belt changed twice during its life last time 18 months ago at the main dealer (but no water pump change = bugger). I’m still a little puzzled by the fact the coolant level in the reservoir is not noticeably dropping but the smell is there and in the dark with a very bright LED torch the wet at the bottom of the engine is easier to spot. Top rear of the engine and hoses look dry. Bottom beneath the drive belt wheels looks wet    Any of you experienced guys out there got any advice/comments before I get a garage to take a look. Many thanks in advance.    

12

Omega General Help / Car Underbody Resealing

« on: 12 July 2007, 01:03:12 »

Since the old Omega’s last MOT which was passed with an advisory notice re rust on the nearside chassis leg (subsequently repaired for £30 cash by the local MG/Spitfire classic restoration workshop) I’ve been thinking about getting the whole underside resealed as the under body protection generally is looking somewhat passed its best.
However there does not seem to be any longer an abundance of garages specialising in this line of work anywhere. I found only a handful searching the internet and none exactly local. Anybody out there had their Miggy under body resealed and could anybody recommend anywhere. I think this is definitely a job for leaving to a garage with the professional equipment for blasting off all the dirt before a thorough reseal, if only I could find somewhere. Anybody out there got any experience of this as I think the top shiny part of the car is a lot better then the horrors lurking beneath    

13

Omega General Help / Passed MOT but received advisory note

« on: 17 June 2007, 17:32:26 »

Well my old 1998 Elite 3 litre passed its MOT successfully once again, but this year I got my first advisory note “Corrosion N/S/F chassis leg by suspension cross member mounting”. Unfortunately I had left the car with the test centre so when I collected it the tester had gone home so I couldn’t speak to him in person. Having jacked up the car this afternoon I must admit I could see nothing immediately obvious. Anybody had this one before and is it anything to worry about? Other then that the faithful old girl is running superb  .    

14

Omega General Help / Auxiliary Fan Question

« on: 06 June 2007, 15:28:22 »

I have a 3 litre V6 model which has just had the air conditioning re-gassed everything fine however it appears that one of the two auxiliary electric fans (front nearside) in front of the A/C radiator is not coming on. Are both the fans meant to come on simultaneously as only one appears to be working? All fuses appear to be OK.  The fan on the right side comes on immediately but nothing from the left one.  What’s the best way to isolate the problem to the fan or its controller? I assume they are both meant to come on together.
I should be grateful for anyone with experience of this.  

15

Omega General Help / Pollen filter drain blocked

« on: 03 December 2006, 18:17:43 »

Anybody know the best and easiest way to unblock the drain hole underneath the pollen filter housing. I managed to find a nice large reservoir of water up to the bottom of the pollen filter which I have siphoned out. Below this a large amount of accumulated silt covering the rubber bung which I presume is where the water should drain out. Despite a bit of prodding it still appears blocked  . Is this rubber bung the top of a tube ? and can it be removed for cleaning ?  Any suggestions from others previously afflicted with this problem gratefully received.