Vauxhall Vectra problems-anyone help?

[Hartge220]

My father drives an X reg Vectra SRI & has recently noticed a problem, car starts & drives fine but after approx 20 mins the abs & tc warning lights appear on the dash & at the same time the speedo stops working , car still drives ok but he is understandably worried, especially about the abs light. Anyone have any idea what it could be??

He'll be booking into an independant Vauxhall garage in Surrey (any recommendations close to Walton on Thames?) for a diagnostic check soon, would like to steer clear of main dealers if possible, I'm sure they'd charge an arm & a leg.

Thanks for any possible help

[Davie]

Speedo takes a signal from the n/s/f ABS sensor so that could be the place to start checking. Could be any number of things from a faulty sensor, wiring issue, cracked or corroded ABS reluctor ring (on the driveshaft) or indeed could be something a little more involved/expensive such as a control unit. The upside is, diagnosis is farily easy with a decent OBDII scanner and parts are relatively inexpensive. He hasn't fitted new tyres to one axle or single wheel has he? That used to be a common issue, more so at speed however. As for the garages, can't help there but Vauxhall Masterfit are pretty competative of failing that, any reputable auto electrician.

[The Wookie]

Sounds like a faulty speed sensor, either wheel speed or vehicle speed (i.e. gearbox if it's separate).

Strange that it would only fail after a certain distance/time, could be a wiring issue, or could just be that the sensor is marginal and is succumbing to heat or something...

[s m]

ECU for the ABS

[Trevelyan]

My Vectra did this, it turned out to be a fairly straightforward sensor problem. From hazy memory I think it was the crankshaft sensor which got replaced. Be warned though that this was only discovered after I ignored the problem (it used to clear after stopping and restarting the engine) until the car refused to start one day and ended up being taken to a garage on a low loader. The EMS won't let the engine fire without the correct signal from the sensor apparently...

[Davie]

Trevelyan said:

My Vectra did this, it turned out to be a fairly straightforward sensor problem. From hazy memory I think it was the crankshaft sensor which got replaced. Be warned though that this was only discovered after I ignored the problem (it used to clear after stopping and restarting the engine) until the car refused to start one day and ended up being taken to a garage on a low loader. The EMS won't let the engine fire without the correct signal from the sensor apparently...

The engine sensors won't effect the ABS, although a failed mass air flow meter can sometime cause the ESP/TC light to come on along with the engine management light.

[Hartge220]

Thanks for the help so far guys, much appreciated,

I'll ask him about getting the tyre fitted

I'm not the best mechanic in the world & wouldn't be attempting to do the work myself, so was really just hoping for advice before he books it in to get looked at.

Cheers

[Davie]

Clarify if the engine management light comes on too? If so, it's pointing towards the ABS ECU which is bolted to the side of the ABS pump. If there's no engine management light, then it's pointing towards the n/s/f ABS sensor/wiring/ABS ring. Chances are it'll be a sensor but either way, you'll be able to pick up a sensor and/or an ECU from a breakers for next to nothing. If you have a volt meter, you can check the sensor is working (or not) yourself.

This site is worth a look, even if you stick it into a garage... least you'll have an understandaing of what they're looking for and what can go wrong

http://www.topbuzz.co.uk

And more specifically...

http://www.topbuzz.co.uk/maintenance/testing_abs/t...

[Prof Prolapse]

I think you need to get the codes read personally. Blinding checking sensors, ECUs doesn't strike me as very efficient.

Buy an OBDII code reader for £15 from eBay. "ELM" one works fine for the Vectra and thousands of other cars.

[Davie]

True, but given only the n/s/f sensor has anything to do with the speedo and in this case, the speedo also fails when the ABS warning comes on... I'd be checking that one first.

[Prof Prolapse]

Davie said:

True, but given only the n/s/f sensor has anything to do with the speedo and in this case, the speedo also fails when the ABS warning comes on... I'd be checking that one first.

Yeah you're probably right. You get used to having a reader to hand all the time I think.

[Hartge220]

Just spoken to dad, last time he had tyres was over a year ago (long before this problem came up) & definately no EML light.

Sounds like he's booked it into an independant Vauxhall garage in Sutton, Surrey called Fergussons. I'll be going over there with him just to make sure. Thanks again for all info, poor old fella has got it into his head it'll be costing mega bucks to fix, from your info here it 'might' not be too costly (fingers crossed).

[Davie]

If it is a sensor, I'd imagine somewhere in the region of £100 to diagnose, supply and fit at an independant. It's an easy enough DIY job plus a second hand sensor can be had for pennies from a breaker.

These guys are good should you fancy having a go yourself/need to source parts.

http://www.autovaux.co.uk/LoadPortal.aspx?cnum=44&...

[redjag27]

Hi, probably a bit late but maybe someone else can benefit..my 2000(x reg) SRi has just had the same problem. TC and ABS lights on, no EM light, no speedo. Replaced rear hub and ABS sensor, replaced cam sensor and still no joy. Finally found a garage with a code reader/diganostic reader (??) that would actually communicate with the car,found the NSF wheel sensor at fault. New part on it's way, via ebay, for less than 15 quid. Almost scrapped the car through frustration! Part to be fitted for 30 quid but has cost me much more trying to find the fault and rectifying things that didn't "need" to be done. Thanks to the garages that diagnosed the WRONG faults, you are all morons and I won't even take my wheelbarrow to you in future! I was even told it would be the ABS pump which would've been over 500quid to buy and have read on forums that it's an 8 hour job!!! CHECK THE NSF SENSOR FIRST.....BEFORE YOU TRY ANYTHING ELSE.....Good luck..