Vauxhall Astra 1.6 2005 reg engine problems

Orion21

Orion21

Orion21

Associate
Joined
20 Feb 2006
Posts
343
Hello,

I was wondering if some knowledgeable motors people had any idea what the problem is likely to be with my Vauxhall Astra 1.6 2005 reg. I am not mechanically minded but I'll give all the background information as I know it.

This morning the engine warning light came on just after setting out to work, so I pulled over and restarted the engine and it disappeared but the car appeared to lack power and felt slower.

Then when I left work it still felt the same i.e. lack of power and the engine warning light appeared when I got to about 30 mph or so and flickered on and off constantly (no idea what that means), it stopped flickering when there was no acceleration and continued when there was. I stopped on the way home to get petrol as it was low and was wondering if this could be the problem (hopeful I know :P).

From the petrol station the engine warning light was on constantly between 0-30mph ish and flickered when above that / accelerating.

Does anyone have any idea of the likely problem and more scarily what I need to do to fix it and the cost? :(

Sort of hoping it sorts itself out over night and 'magically' works tomorrow, planning to check the oil level tomorrow.
 
Need to find out if there are any fault codes... Google paperclip test.

When were spark plugs last changed?
 
The engine warning light triggers limp home mode that's why it's acting sluggish/won't rev high and beware driving it in this state drinks fuel! don't attribute this behavior to the actual fault it might not be related. You need to get the code read, once that light triggers the ecu will store an error code of it's cause.
 
OP where are you based? I've got an opcom I can plug in to view any codes if you're nearby.
 
Northern Ireland, going to go try and figure out this test stuff and report back :P.

Is it likely to be an issue that could cause more damage if I drove the car tomorrow to work if the warning lights persist? I can then get it looked at somewhere on Saturday if need be, wish I knew a decent independent garage.
 
Could be something as simple as the crankshaft sensor, which won't really cause you problems to use the car but it will get worse and if it were that it'll eventually not even start. Also as I said limphome mode from that error light runs a richer fuel mixture!
 
Right that took a while, I did some pedal test thing (rather avoid the paperclip thing if I can help it, I'm that bad at this sort of stuff :P).

Got 2 codes if I understand it correctly ECN 130000 and 030300.

Do these mean anything? And what can I do to get them sorted?
 
Last edited:
130000 seems the be a fuel level warning/fuel sensor.
030300 suggests misfire cylinder 3.

Would check your plugs, maybe swap them and see if it comes up with the code for the other cylinder, then change the plug. Next step probably a new coil pack.
 
Strange, I've also had this on my Astra SXI 1.6 2007 recently! I have the engine light permanently on at the moment, and I've lost power as you describe twice in the past few weeks, but simply pulling over, turning the engine off and leaving it for two minutes before restarting it fixed the problem on both occasions... Nothing has happened since, and I'm not sure what to do now either!
 
Had a similar fault on my Astra G last year (1.6 16v twinport Z16XEP engine). Did the pedal test to find a misfire in cylinder 3. Changed the plugs as they needed doing anyway but still had the fault. Turned out to be the coilpack. Local garage (indy) wanted £168 just for the coil pack. Went on ebay got a OEM (Delphi) one for £67 delivered. It took 5 minutes to fit it and it's been fine ever since.
 
Last edited:
Got to work but lights still on like they were last night, kept speed low to avoid flickering of light (though this seemed to stop even with more speed halfway through my journey and the light just stayed on permanently).

Either tonight or tomorrow (to let car cool :P), I am going to give it a go and see how far I get with swapping the 2 middle spark plugs (1 of them has to be number 3 right? :P).

Depending on the spark plug swapping if the coilpack is likely to be the issue I might even give that a go as it seems to be part of something I will have to take off to get at spark plugs (probably easier to change than the spark plugs from the videos I looked at).

Does this look like the right stuff for my car: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAUXHALL-...GNITION-SET-COIL-PACK-AND-PLUGS-/230950817851 ? Even includes the spark plugs and looks like a seller that has sold a fair bit.

What kind of tools do I actually need, baring in mind I'm not a DIY person? I'm pretty sure there's a bunch of tools in the garage, and from videos it looks like some kind of spanner to get bolts off on what I think is the coil pack, yank that off (maybe unplug it at side too), then some sort of socket + wrench that I attach to the spark plugs and unscrew? Hope that's all there is to it :P

As it is an old car not worth major repair bills may just change car if it isn't likely to be a cheap fix, but unfortunately this will probably bugger the trade-in or webuyanycar valuation.

Thanks for the help and advice so far guys :).
 
I would get a OEM (Delphi) one unless you want to replace it again soon. There are loads of problems with non-originals reported over on the astra owners club forum .

Plugs should be twin electrode for the twinport engine although i have now put Bosche super fours in mine.

All you need to change them is a spanner or socket to undo the two bolts holding the coilpack down and a spark plug spanner or socket for the plugs. I would disconnect the wiring connector from the coilpack before removal.
 
Can't even get the cover off so far lol.

What is the ] shaped thing on the passenger side of the engine in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fev7zF4S9Q0 ?

How do I remove it or work around it? Wasn't expecting to see that there from the other clip I looked at and it's getting in the way, was expecting just a plug thing (which seems to be in the middle and under the ] shaped thing).

Don't want to disconnect anything I can't easily put back together.

Thanks for any help guys :).
 
Anyway to further update I went to 2 garages to try and get quotes, vauxhall and an independent garage I haven't used before.

They both want to do diagnostics first (I did tell them the codes I got from the pedal test), can their diagnostics tell them a lot more detail than the pedal test I did or are they just trying to get £30-60 for a 2 minute hookup?

Vauxhall are quotting about £400 in all including major service, coil pack and diagnostic (I get a 20% discount from a Vauxhall card which I've already taken off the price to get £400).

The independent estimated about £4 quid a spark plug and £60 for coil pack (not clear if this includes labour etc, probably not) but want to do the diagnosis before committing. But they did say that from what I said engine is probably fine (not old enough apparently) and that I shouldn't drive on it as the cat converter could get damaged due to fuel ruining an O2 sensor or something. It would probably be about £200 - 250 including service and diagnosis as well.

Given that the car is probably worth £2000 at best in reasonable condition and less as it is. Do you guys think it is worth paying for the repairs at one of these places? How much is it's condition likely to affect trade in value if I changed car?

I will look at that video and give replacing another try once car cools down again so tonight some time.
 
Join Astra forums, watch as many Youtube videos of it being done (or buy a Haynes manual). Do it yourself! you'll save a whack of monies and feel better for it :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom