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[Mart280]

Hi guys, I've had my Omega just under a month and have a problem, last night I started her up and the EMS light started flashing, I didnt have a clue what it meant then and gave the engine a rev and it went out, I did about 6 miles and the car was fine.

 I went out this morning on a couple of short journeys and had forgotten about the EMS light flashing briefly last night, the car was running great, however when I started her this afternoon the EMS light was flashing and didnt go out but stopped flashing but stayed lit, I had a look on the forum and did the pedal trick and had 0300 and 0304 error codes, which as far as I can make out is misfire on pot 4.

 I am not much of a mechanic and had a look at the spark plug removal guide and think I can probably manage that, although I think I 'm right in saying that pot 4 is on the passenger side and is a bit more awkward to get to, do you think it could be something as simple as the spark plug, I love my Omega but I really should have bought something like a Mondeo, I didnt realize how hard they can be to work on and being almost broke most of the time (got three kids) doesent help, any advice appreciated.

[Andy B]

A transerve engined Mundane won't be any easier to work on than an Omega  :-?
You could have afault as simple as a duff spark plug, but it could also be a failing coil pack ie the bit you've taken off to get to the spark plugs (no HT leads on your car  )

[Mart280]

Thanks for the help, if it is the coil pack how much am I looking at and can I replace it myself ?

[V6 CDX-er]

Ah, sounds like out Omegas share the same problem, (although it's number 6 that I have the missfire on).

Have a read of this thread and it should be giving you plenty to get your teeth stuck into;

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1298410459

A couple of quick questions for you. When were the cam covers last changed?
Are you loosing any coolant?
Do the fans still blow nice and hot?
When were the spark plugs last changed?

If you do change the plugs yourself then they all are dead easy. You will need a u/j to get no;6 out though, and the plugs may have been put in 'dry' (no lubricant), so they do make some un-nerving noises when coming out. Be gentle but firm and you should be alright. Also dont put them back in 'dry', use a little copperslip on the spark plug threads.

[V6 CDX-er]

Thanks for the help, if it is the coil pack how much am I looking at and can I replace it myself ?

From Vauxhall they are silly money, but I believe that they can be bought from Bosch (or Bosch stockists) directly for a lot less.

The job is pretty straight forward for a novice, (erm, that's me as well). The only 'specialist' tools that you will need is a selection of female Torx sockets, a male Torx socket for the dis-pac bolts, (T40 or T45 IIRC?) and a decent low-reading torque wrench. Halfords do a good 3/8th's drive one for £69 that is calibrated to +/- 1%.

The hardest part of the job is likely to be getting the old dis-pacs out, as there is a certain knack to it.

If you have a look in the maintinance section then there is a thread on how to remove them.

if you want to know how good / bad a novice found doing that job, (erm, me again), then have a read of a thread entitled "Getting her back to tip-top" in the Omega Gallery section of this website.

Good luck   

[Mart280]

I dont think I am losing any coolant, when I had the bonnet up today (looking for HT leads and plugs and coming away slightly baffled  until I looked on here) the coolant level looked ok

the car gets nice and warm inside and the blowers seem ok but the windscreen mists up a lot

The guy I bought the car off said the previous owner did the cambelt at 123000 and it is currently at 135000, the engine looks nice and clean no signs of any oil leaks.

[V6 CDX-er]

All good signs then those Marty.

[Mart280]

Just so I dont get to confused is the Dis pack and the coil pack the same thing ?

[V6 CDX-er]

Just so I dont get to confused is the Dis pack and the coil pack the same thing ?

yep.

[Mart280]

All good signs then those Marty.

Thats good, I am checking out your thread in the Gallery now, thanks for the help.

[Andy B]

Just so I dont get to confused is the Dis pack and the coil pack the same thing ?

yep.

Kinda
When people here refer to a DID pack they generally mean one for a 2.5/3.0 ie for a car with HT leads like ...... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VAUXHALL-OPEL-OMEGA-VECTRA-V6-COIL-DIS-PACK-0221503017-/380260977362?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5889520ad2

When you come across the term coil pack, it's generally for a 2.6/3/2 ie a car with NO HT leads like ........ http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VAUXHALL-VECTRA-OMEGA-SIGNUM-2-6-3-2-V6-COIL-PACK-2-4-6-/120681960974?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item1c1934960e If you replace your passenger coil pack, make sure you get the correct one. Driver's (1 3 5) is different from the passenger (2 4 6) side. 

[Mart280]

Thanks Andy, how much in percentage terms would you say my problem is either the spark plug or coil pack.

[Andy B]

Thanks Andy, how much in percentage terms would you say my problem is either the spark plug or coil pack.

Change your spark plugs first, they're cheap.  and as suggested look for signs of the cam covers leaking & filling the plug wells with oil. But if you have 0300 & 0304 I wouldn't be surprised if you needed a coil pack. 

[Mart280]

Thanks for the help so far guys it is proving invaluble but I need a bit more 

My mate next door helped me today and we followed the guide on here and took the passenger side coil pack off, the spark plug wells were full of water which must have been happening awhile because after cleaning it all out the area is quite rusty.

The coil pack itself was in a bit of a state with cracks in it here and there and the gasket or seal was broken in a lot of places, we took pot 4 plug out which was a bit black but looked ok.

I did a bit more searching on here and after cleaning the plug up we put the coil pack back using sillicone sealent, she started up and seemed to be ticking over fine but the EMS light was still on.

WE went for a quick spin and although the car was running much better it was still missfiring although it was more intermittent, yesterday it seemed to be misfiring all of the time, what I want to ask is if I replace the coil pack should this cure it, if it does I will then tackle the water getting in problem, blocked scuttles ?

Also I did the pedal trick again and still only get 0300 random misfire and 0304 misfire on pot 4

[Squatch]

Definately change the coil pack as it sounds like it's in a bad state. That should cure the problem!