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[Gibbo486]

Hi

I am new to this club and sincere apologies if this issue has been raises before. I have looked at the various topics but couldn't find one relating to this issue.

I have just bought (or on the process of buying) my mates 2001 Y reg omega 2.6 v6 CDX saloon. It's just done 85k miles. He bought it 18 months ago and has had 22k relatively trouble free motoring with it.

He said that the coolant needed topping up every 4-6 weeks but it was only minimal and he couldn't see any leaks and I can't either.

A couple of months ago the engine management light came on and he said it was running irregularly on idle so he had a diagnostic check done and they said it was the air flow meter. He had that replaced and all seemed well. A couple of weeks later the engine management light came back on again but it was running ok apart from occasionally it would just cut out when going to idle after driving.

Since I have had it for last couple of weeks I have noticed that the car runs ok when on motorway and temp is sticking at normal (around 85) but when it is dark I have noticed smoke coming from my car showing in the headlights of cars behind but I can't see smoke during daylight hours. That said when I get to my destination after a longish motorway journey (30 miles) the car runs really rough at tick over and cuts out a lot and quite a bit of smoke from exhaust. A greyish colour

When I get in it later and start it, it starts on the button and again goes well on motorway although lumpy on tickover. I have noticed a fair bit of mayo on oil filler cap and neck of filler spout on the inside but no trace of any on the dipstick.

Could the management light mean a problem with another sensor and would it cause problems as discussed.

Apologies for long winded explanation and any advice/recommendations would be gratefully received

[Entwood]

Hello and Welcome

First thing to do is the "pedal trick" to get the codes... no other action required yet .. as it would all be guesswork !!

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=90581.0

have a go at that then tell us the results and we'll move on from there .. random diagnostics followed by random part changing = waste of time ... lets attack the problem in a logical manner

[feeutfo]

Welcome to OOF.

As Entwood says. First thing is to read the codes engine codes as the link.

Read the codes and post them up. Probably misfires caused by oil leaks from old cam covers filling the plug wells. Cam covers gaskets are a service item on these almost.

But read the codes first, see what's upset it.

Was it a genuine maf ?

[Gibbo486]

Hi

Many thanks to you both for a quick reply. Have done the accelerator test and it gave two sets of codes as shown below

10 1 7 3

10 1 7 10

Is that good or bad news ?

Thanks once again guys

[Entwood]

Decode can be found here for future reference ..

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=90594.0

P0170 Fuel trim malfunction (Bank 1)
P0173 Fuel trim malfunction (Bank 2)

These codes mean that the fuel mixture is weak/rich on both Bank 1 and Bank 2 this is often caused by an intake air leak or sensor fault such as throttle position sensor or air mass metering.

Intake leak ... check by spraying around LIGHTLY with carb cleaner whilst the engine is running, if the engine note suddenly changes you have found the leak as the cleaner is sucked in and burned as unmetered fuel

Throttle position sensor can be cleaned I believe although I've not done it myself

Air mass meter also called the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor you have recently replaced ... was it a genuine vauxhall item as pattern ones may fail early ?? (as Chris intimated ..   )

HTH 

[feeutfo]

Guessing pattern maf. Bosch only. Search the part no. It's used on a few vehicles.

Or a breakers here might help.


Check for air leaks in the inlet first though, just to be safe.

[Gibbo486]

Thanks guys and thanks for the link.
Looking at the receipt for the diagnostic check and replacement maf it doesn't actually say. The total bill was £190 and the maf was £63 but I suppose that means nothing. Will get some spray as you suggest and try the leak test and get back to you.

Can't thank you enough for your help thus far

[Gibbo486]

Just had a look at what I think is the maf and it has Bosch on the pipe that the wire block goes in to

[dbug]

The sensor itself sits within the pipe - possible that new sensor swapped into original pipe and may be pattern

[Gibbo486]

You are probably right. I looked again and sensor part is shiny and black but pipe is dirty

I looked on ebay and see that fault code readers and resetters are only about £15. Would it be worth getting one of these or will that only throw up the same codes. I'm not brilliant with cars and need mine to get to Heathrow and back every day and was wondering if it would harm the engine much using it for a few days until i can discover what needs replacing

[Entwood]

You are probably right. I looked again and sensor part is shiny and black but pipe is dirty

I looked on ebay and see that fault code readers and resetters are only about £15. Would it be worth getting one of these or will that only throw up the same codes. I'm not brilliant with cars and need mine to get to Heathrow and back every day and was wondering if it would harm the engine much using it for a few days until i can discover what needs replacing

The codes you have will go as soon as the problem is rectified

The pedal trick reads exactly the same codes

ergo .. no external reader/resetter needed

It sometimes is worth unplugging the MAF (the fault light will stay on) and seeing if the car runs any better .. it often does .. so "proving" that the MAF is faulty ... new MAF then sorts things out ..

Worth a try ??   

[Gibbo486]

Tried that. As soon as I unplugged the maf it hardly ticked over and as soon as I plugged it back in it ran much better so I guess the maf is probably ok so back to the drawing board I guess.
At least that has eliminated one possible

[Gibbo486]

I spoke to my mate who had the maf replaced. He said the maf was replaced then within two days the fault light came on for a day or two then went off for about two weeks then came back on and stayed on and has been on for last 8 months but as car was running ok apart from occasional cutting out at idle he didn't bother

In light of that do you think it could still be a faulty maf. I did disconnect it but the car hardly ticked over and was very rough and ran better when I reconnected it

[TheBoy]

I'd be interested in what the long term trims are. Plus the MAF readings.

Ever pass Brackley, Alton (Hampshire) or Nottingham?

[Gibbo486]

Is that brackley near Bicester ? I do visit relatives in redditch and go via A41 and m40. I'm at a loss by what you mean by trim etc