Fault: Spanner with car on dash

[dolf.peeters]

Guys,

I know that people are constantly asking about this but I have this famous light on my dash when I switch on the ignition and goes out when the engine is tunred on.

The manual mentions a few reasons:

1. automatic transmittion issue - have a manual, so not the issue
2. catelityc(?spelling?) converter - car would struggle to run according to the manual - car is running fine, so not the issue
3. Last one mentions as water in the diesel filter, this error was on the dash prior to service and is stil there since - fuel filter was done, there is deffo no water in there - not the issue

my mechanic plugged the car into the computer ... no previous or current errors????

Any one have any idea's what else could be causing this?

[john_k_sri]

That symbol is designed to indicate that an error code has been stored. There are literally hundreds of different codes and associated problems that could cause the light to appear. The manual only mentions a few of the possible problems.

The light will stop appearing after about 30 engine restarts, providing the problem that caused it no longer exists.

However 'spurious' errors due to a momentary software 'glitch' can happen, and these are meaningless if they don't recur.

Have you noticed anything different about how the car is running?

[m8internet]

If it is only coming on before starting the engine, I wouldn't worry about it

If it comes on when the engine is running then there is clearly a sensor needing replacement, but it can be left to next service

If the engine goes into safe mode then it needs replacing ASAP

I do agree, the EMS does tend to be rather "smoke alarm" and puts this light on at anything it doesn't like
Everytime I saw this I would book the car in, but by the time I got to the dealership there would be no codes stored
A trick I was shown was to disconnect the MAF, which then forces a fault code
Reconnect the MAF, then leave the car for at least six hours, which then clears ALL the codes!

[Silver Vectra C]

my spanner n car has been coming on since the winter ,i think my glowplugs or something might need replacing ,car runs fine though

[dolf.peeters]

If it is only coming on before starting the engine, I wouldn't worry about it

If it comes on when the engine is running then there is clearly a sensor needing replacement, but it can be left to next service

If the engine goes into safe mode then it needs replacing ASAP

I do agree, the EMS does tend to be rather "smoke alarm" and puts this light on at anything it doesn't like
Everytime I saw this I would book the car in, but by the time I got to the dealership there would be no codes stored
A trick I was shown was to disconnect the MAF, which then forces a fault code
Reconnect the MAF, then leave the car for at least six hours, which then clears ALL the codes!

thanks guys.

whats an MAF and where does one find it?

should stored error not show up when the car gets plugged in?

Thanks

[m8internet]

MAF - Mass Air Flow Sensor
This is the BIG square on the offside of the engine bay, on the pipe between the front headlamp and air filter box
With the engine running, disconnect
The EMS light will now be on
Reconnect, then switch engine off
Remove key and leave for at least two hours (six hours is recommended)

Error codes are only stored for about 20 key starts
However you can "fool" the EMS into thinking a fault has been fixed by creating a new one and then resolving it, it then deletes all the others

[Jamesx81x]

I am currently having the same light come up but it did it last year so i know what it is.

With mine soon as i hit 80 it comes on and the engine loses power. Wheni had it done last year it was down to a tiny little hose on the fuel injector that had split losing its vacum. I also had it on a previous vectra(lucky for me).

Only thing now is to find what is causing it to split seen as i only had it changed last year.