Vectra CD 2.2

Hi All,

Well, I bought the above motor (for those of you who recall my original
posting asking for guidance) and I owned it for 3 weeks before getting rear
end shunted.

The car has since been in for body repairs and for the garage to carry out a
number of jobs which were agreed upon before the sale and some which I have
found since the sale. I took it back from them on Monday evening -
supposedly fixed to their satisfaction. I disagree on a number of points
and wonder if any other group members have experience of similar problems?

The car is a late "Y" and has 44k on the clock.

1) I commented that the radio seems to hunt very regularly for RDS
station(s) and I lose parts (say 2/3 words) in an interview or conversation
quite regularly in a rather short journey to work. The garage say that they
have replaced the antenna amplifier in the antenna mount and it is OK - I
say it is only marginally better. - Anybody and clues as to what might be
wrong or how to check to see if the amplifier has been replaced/is working?
The radio is a Philips CCDR600 - also the CD player jumps/skips during
extended usage - any clues here?

2) The engine seems erratic in acceleration - I can seldom induce wheelspin
even at junctions / corners - accidentally when trying to move off in a
hurry. More often than not the car seems "sedate" (read average) and then
on other occasions seems to "go like the wind" - I seem to recall that when
I read the sales brochure that it was / is supposed to have a 0-60 of 8.5
secs - that's reasonably quick! I don't really want the speed, but I do
need to know that the car is functioning correctly and that I can control
the car / judge overtaking distances correctly etc. Last night the engine
almost faltered to a stop at a major road junction, but has not done it
since. - The garage say that they have upgraded the engine management
software to the latest edition.

3) There is a "snicking" in the gear change - may be the gate or synchro -
but it doesn't feel "clean" and leaves me a little concerned over the
clutch/gearbox. Are there any checks I can do to see if there is a problem?
The garage say that they have checked and re-aligned the linkage.

I wonder if these are common problems and if there may be others I am likely
to encounter?

Thanks for any help and your views.

Regards

Robert

 

See comments in text:

Was the radio miss-behaving before the shunt? Sound like the aerial
amp/lead/connections are still faulty. You might need to speak to a PROPER
auto electrician with radio fitting experiance.
On the CD front it sounds like the laser pick-up is faulty or needs
cleaning/re-lubing (not a job for the faint hearted - proper repair guy
needed).

Does the engine managment light come on? If so there is a fauty sensor -
camshaft position or crankshaft position most likely. Pergaps it's the old
idle valve. Does this engine have one?
You don't mention wether it's a petrol or diesel? Oh hang on 0-60 in 8.5
secs - that's the petrol . . . .Suspect collapsed or partly blocked rubber
fuel lines if there is no engine managment light.
My 2.2DTi does 0-60 in 10 seconds, 50 mph and definatly does not feel a
sluggard.

Can't make much of a comment on the gearbox mine (so-far!!) is fine. Other
than maybe the last 44K were hard driven and that the clutch is well on the
way out ? ? ?

My 2.2CDx

 

Hi

Do you live in a mountainous area? It could be loosing the signal.

What CD's are you using? Mine plays up with home copied ones but plays
originals okay. I've read elsewhere that with copies a lot depends on
the make of the CDs.

The only real problem I've had with mine is the two large door mounted
speakers are well past their best. I took one out and it looks like
there's been water leaking onto it and damaged the cone.

Traction control? Not sure if you can turn it off on yours. I think
Vauxhall removed the switch on later models?? (mines a 'W' 2.5 cdx). Is
there a button on the dash with 'TC' on it? If there is press it and a
'TC' light will come on on the dash. This means the traction control is
off. If you can't turn it off watch the dash as you floor it and see if
the light flashes . If it does it's the traction control taking over.

 

Thanks for the comments, Dave
The car was exactly the same before the shunt, it is just that the garage
had not done and still have not done what they said they would do at the
point of buying the car. Granted that they had attempted some work, but it
has had little effect on the problem areas.
The car problems, to the best of my knowledge, have not resulted from or
been affected by the accident.
The car is petrol.
The radio reacts as if it is deaf, I get the hunting and I suppose as much
or maybe more to the point - the radio RDS/EON/TP does not produce traffic
reports very often at all. The cars that I was swapped into whilst mine was
in for repair were giving traffic reports from all over the place! (Maybe a
touch too much <))) ).
Regarding the CD the garage say they have had it playing a while with no
problems -granted I do record my CDs - just in case somebody takes a liking
to them, but they play OK on the home system(s).
I am not too sure what to expect from traction control or how it reacts to
comment if it might be that kicking in.
I'm not too sure if it has an idle valve - I guess it must have some kind of
arrangement. No engine management lights on.
Maybe it's time to see just what they should have done on the 40k service
and what they have missed or ignored.
They scratched the ashtray when valeting the car prior to sale , promising
to change it. They did - eventually when pushed and promptly scratched the
plastic on the gear tunnel cover in getting the old one out! - I despair!
Thanks for your input
Regards
Rob

 

Getting warranty work done, particularly cosmetic work, can be a right PIA.
I'm convinced that either the radio/lead/amp is faulty to give you such poor
reception. You might need to remove the radio (make sure you have the code)
and check that the aerial has been connected up correctly. Garages often
remove radios from cars on the forecourt because they get stolen, they might
not have refitted the aerial properly. Does the radio condition match the
rest of the dash cosmetically? The original good radio might have been
swapped for an older faulty one.
Just had a thought - some CDx's were fitted with a Philips radio with a
built in GSM phone (as mine is), has someone bodged in any old radio and
bodged the aerial connection?
On the CD side is it a Philips unit? Mine is and it plays any CD I chuck at
it. Occasionally I get a jump if I hit a very rough bit of road or don't
spot a pothole.
Can comment on the traction control as the weight of the 2.2 DTi lump stops
the wheels loosing grip - hence no traction control!!

 

Colin, many thanks for your reply,

I live in Lincolnshire where hills are certainly not the norm <)) and when
comparing my radio to all the others in the vehicles I have driven -
Vauxhalls & Fords - whilst mine has been in for the body repair, mine is
definitely lacking on sensitivity. RDS Traffic programmes are a loss!

As I have said in my reply to Dave, I record CDs for the car to prevent the
originals being removed if the vehicle is broken into, but it does not seem
to happen all the time - just when the player has been playing a long time -
Oh and I was on the move - I suspect when the garage carried out their check
it was done in the workshop.

I have no "TC" switch on the dash, but do have the "TC" light on the dash
when I first switch on - I don't recall seeing it whilst I was driving, but
perhaps I will have to pay closer attention. Somebody at work commented
that I could remove a fuse to disable the "TC" - any ideas what else that
might disable?

Many thanks for your help

Rob

 

Hi

You could try move down here to S.Wales. At least you'll have a good
reason for the loss of signal ;-)

Have you tried an original ? I would definitely rule out a copy
compatibility problem.

Try and find a nice wet bit of road, stop the car, give it a bit of
'welly' and drop the clutch. The TC light should flash quite a lot and
you should get a smooth pull off. To be honest I find it unnerving when
I'm trying to pull out of a junction pretty sharpish and the car just
seems to sit there doing nothing.

I've got no idea on that. You could try asking on
http://forum.vectra-sport.com/discus.cgi They seem a pretty helpful
bunch.

 

My 2.0 DTI astra suffered from sluggish / gone like wind / sluggish
.... The one day 3 weeks after i got it it suffered lift clutch at idle
in first hit 3000 RPM turbo kick in fly to 6000 i changed to second
and it nearly stalled, 2 weeks in a VX garage and after they did about
£2500 worht of sensor changing / management swaps they found it was
the fuel pump (made me happy they spent that much on the car) Im
saying yours in the same but try some injector flush / feul cleaner
may just be a blockage casuing iratic fuel supply.

As for the sterio a good trick is take the stereo out tape the ariael
cable to the back of the unit to make sure its not going to come loose
and try searching for stations etc if it all works good and you get
traffic reports (should be every 30 mins / on the hour) then bobs
your grannies sister.



S