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[Tafty]

I have seen new cam sensors on EBay from as little as £8.88 plus P&P.

Are they any good as they seem very cheap compared to Vauxhall prices.

Any idea how hard they are to fit?

(Have to say - this site rocks!! The speed of responses and the helpfulness is outstanding!)

Its coz were all sad gits with nothing else better else to do on a Sunday evening  

Speak for yourself - some of us are still in their 30's  

[Taxi_Driver]

I have seen new cam sensors on EBay from as little as £8.88 plus P&P.

Are they any good as they seem very cheap compared to Vauxhall prices.

Any idea how hard they are to fit?

(Have to say - this site rocks!! The speed of responses and the helpfulness is outstanding!)

Its coz were all sad gits with nothing else better else to do on a Sunday evening  

Speak for yourself - some of us are still in their 30's  

I never mentioned age  :-?

[Jimbob]

Local Tech2's for ya...
Do you know Saltney, just outside Chester,

Roadrunners have one
MW Performance Have one
Both quite cheap, but not the best at using it.

Lookers at Sealand Rd or Deeside, want at least £70 to plug it in
Dickens in Wrexham is the best / and most reasonable dealer I have found, cost me £30 odd quid for software updates etc.

Enjoy.

[colinwilliams]

I have fitted the new cam sensor this morning (Sat) and all looked fine.

When i checked it af ter completion all the lights went out and every thing ran OK.

I checked the oil level 'cause I am going on hols next weekend and added about quater of a litre as it was in the middle of the marks.

When I went to go out in it about half an hour later,  the Exhaust Emmissions light, (looks like a little engine), and the other one which is an "!" in a square in the panel under the radio/clock, refused to go out after starting. The car is sluggish pulling away and in neutral won't rev above 4500rpm. I have stopped and started it a few times and run it for about 2 miles to see if it would go out, but so far no luck!

Whilst fitting the new cam sensor I noticed that the 2 rear plugs had oil at the bottom of the hole they sit in, (I assume the gasket wasn't sealing too well), so I mopped as much up as I could with kitchen towel and then removed the plugs, cleaned them and replaced them. Inevitably some oil will have run into the cylinder, but I thought this would burn off in a short while anyway. I fitted a new gasket with the can sensor anyway so if the old gasket wasn't brilliant this would cure the problem.

Anyway when I finished the job everything was fine - engine ran A1, all lights went out on the dash, so I went for a well earned cuppa. As I say, I went to use it 30 mins later and the other control light is now staying on!

I am desperate as I am supposed to be towing my caravan with this next weekend or the kids won't get a holiday!

Any suggestions please?

[Taxi_Driver]

I have fitted the new cam sensor this morning (Sat) and all looked fine.

When i checked it af ter completion all the lights went out and every thing ran OK.

I checked the oil level 'cause I am going on hols next weekend and added about quater of a litre as it was in the middle of the marks.

When I went to go out in it about half an hour later,  the Exhaust Emmissions light, (looks like a little engine), and the other one which is an "!" in a square in the panel under the radio/clock, refused to go out after starting. The car is sluggish pulling away and in neutral won't rev above 4500rpm. I have stopped and started it a few times and run it for about 2 miles to see if it would go out, but so far no luck!

Whilst fitting the new cam sensor I noticed that the 2 rear plugs had oil at the bottom of the hole they sit in, (I assume the gasket wasn't sealing too well), so I mopped as much up as I could with kitchen towel and then removed the plugs, cleaned them and replaced them. Inevitably some oil will have run into the cylinder, but I thought this would burn off in a short while anyway. I fitted a new gasket with the can sensor anyway so if the old gasket wasn't brilliant this would cure the problem.

Anyway when I finished the job everything was fine - engine ran A1, all lights went out on the dash, so I went for a well earned cuppa. As I say, I went to use it 30 mins later and the other control light is now staying on!

I am desperate as I am supposed to be towing my caravan with this next weekend or the kids won't get a holiday!

Any suggestions please?

Theres two of these......one in a circle with brackets around it and other is a cogged circle.
1st one means handrake is on or low brake fluid.
2nd one means autobox problem.

Tho i suspect its the later one.  :-/

Are you saying you changed the cam cover gasket as well?
If so have plugged all the sensors back in correctly......iirc you have to unplug the crank sensor to get the cam cover off

[colinwilliams]

Hi TD.

It is the one in a cogged circle which is the Auto Trans light.

It was fine until I fitted the new cam sensor!

I have fitted a new gasket but the only plugs I had to undo were the cam sensor itself at the front and the plugs/coil unit at the back. Other than that it was just a case of 10 nuts on top, 2 nuts holding the coil unit in place, 3 spring clips on the hoses and 2 nuts on the front cam cover to give enough room to remove the cam sensor nut.

I have done 40 miles this afternoon and they won't go off at all! The cars feel a bit lumpy, is sluggish and wont rev over 4500rpm.

I dont think the excess oil is an issue because the engine revs up ok without misfiring so I think the plus are fine.

[old cruiser]

Might also be worth a look at any connectors that are on the gearbox, unplug them and clean them out/ dry maybe you have some water ingress on these after all this wet weather we've had, just a thought anyway.
Cheers Pete

[colinwilliams]

I don't believe it!

I was really worried about the way the car was running with the new sensor in, so I cleaned the old one up by wiping it down with white spirit, and put it back in, thinking at least it was running OK before, even if the light was on on the dashboard.

Guess what? When I put the old one back in everything worked fine! Performance was back to A1 and all lights on the dashboard go out straight away! I have given it a run to see if it comes back on, but as yet I have not been able make the control light come on again.

I can only think that the old one was getting a bit grimey on the face of the sensor which goes next to the cam cog. Having cleaned it with White Spirit and removed the grime it seems to be working fine!

On the one hand, I am pleased it is working OK now, though I am not sure if it will last, could be days could be years.

On the other hand I am annoyed that having paid a lot of money for a new sensor and done the work to fit it, it doesn't seem to work properly.

I will keep an eye on it for now and see how it goes and whether the light comes back on. I will also see if I can get my money back on the sensor on the basis it didn't work in the way it should.

Many thanks to all who have given their time, trouble and wonderful advice.

[Taxi_Driver]

I don't believe it!

I was really worried about the way the car was running with the new sensor in, so I cleaned the old one up by wiping it down with white spirit, and put it back in, thinking at least it was running OK before, even if the light was on on the dashboard.

Guess what? When I put the old one back in everything worked fine! Performance was back to A1 and all lights on the dashboard go out straight away! I have given it a run to see if it comes back on, but as yet I have not been able make the control light come on again.

I can only think that the old one was getting a bit grimey on the face of the sensor which goes next to the cam cog. Having cleaned it with White Spirit and removed the grime it seems to be working fine!

On the one hand, I am pleased it is working OK now, though I am not sure if it will last, could be days could be years.

On the other hand I am annoyed that having paid a lot of money for a new sensor and done the work to fit it, it doesn't seem to work properly.

I will keep an eye on it for now and see how it goes and whether the light comes back on. I will also see if I can get my money back on the sensor on the basis it didn't work in the way it should.

Many thanks to all who have given their time, trouble and wonderful advice.

I was just going to suggest shoving the old sensor back to see what happens......so well done  

However.....i would take the obviously duff one back to vx (i assume thats where you got it from) and get a replacement.....as the one fitted at the moment....will probably start to fail again when the engine is hot. Mine was certainly duff.....i sent it to MarksDTM who took it apart.....i think he found a surface mount cap failing.

Bit worrying tho that vx even supply duff sensors.......tho i spose now and then a faulty one is produced in mass manufacturing.

Glad you found the problem  

[TheBoy]

Was it a Vx sensor? Pattern ones are known to be naff....

Cleaning old sensor won't make much difference (its a hall sensor), so still needs replacing...

[Krax]

Where can I faind the cam sensor on a 2.2 petrol motor. Photograph or sketch?
Krax from Sweden