Spanner Warning Light Stays On

[Englishman]

04 plate 2.2 Direct Design Auto : returned from trouble-free 500 mile four day break early on Friday evening and parked up. Tried to start car 3 or 4 hours later and good turnover but no ignition. Car started on 3rd attempt but Spanner warning light came on and stayed on. No other warning lights on. Car ran fine with no apparent 'problem' apart from warning light.

Next day, disconnected battery for a couple of hours but warning light came back on and stayed on after hesitant startup. Short journey then restarted and another short journey with no spanner warning light. Next journey Spanner warning light returns and stays on throughout. Car still runs well on all journeys.

Is a local stealer diagnostic the only way to get any insight into the problem ? Does £80 (ish) sound the typical charge ?

[DNS]

Noooooooo!!!!!

Don't do that, PLEASE!

Buy an OBD scanner from eBay, like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Diagnostic-Sca...item1c16c14a88

£20 will tell you exactly what the fault is and you'll have it for future use.

I carry mine in the car at all times, it's a god-send, I've checked out problems for loads of friends with my cheapy scanner from the Bay.

Let us know what code comes up and someone will help you out.

[DNS]

I just noticed that scanner will not work with CAN vehicles (at 04 plate, I don't think yours is full CAN), but if in doubt this will do the trick

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LATEST-UNIVERS...item19b6744be1

[valhalla]

having the same problem has above and just ordered one of these
to plug into my lappy just wondered if i would have been better buying a hand held/stand alone model or is then one with the lappy software more informative the link below is the one i have just purchased


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ELM-327-USB-1-...item19c4ff4eaa


p.s its a vectra c 02 plate

[alcutler]

having the same problem has above and just ordered one of these
to plug into my lappy just wondered if i would have been better buying a hand held/stand alone model or is then one with the lappy software more informative the link below is the one i have just purchased


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ELM-327-USB-1-...item19c4ff4eaa


p.s its a vectra c 02 plate

Dont think this will work with Opel / Vauxhall cars - you might get some info but it doesn't even list these cars in the Ebay listing. Get an Op Com (genuine of course!) - use mine all the time and get good results. Hope I'm wrong -be interested to know how you go on .

***************Sorry - just read the rest of the Ebay listing and it does say Vauxhall cars so you may be in luck. I bought a more expensive version of OBD 2 reader and couldn't get any info when connected to my 04 1.9 cdti Vectra - Hope it works for you !!!!*********************

[valhalla]

no probs m8 did exactley the same thing until i looked down the listing
after doing some more searching on here and doing the brake/accellerator
2 clicks of the ignition thingy to get the enguine light to flash on/off to get the code looks like its the crank shaft sensor
but i will wait untill the item arrives to double check

[alcutler]

no probs m8 did exactley the same thing until i looked down the listing
after doing some more searching on here and doing the brake/accellerator
2 clicks of the ignition thingy to get the enguine light to flash on/off to get the code looks like its the crank shaft sensor
but i will wait untill the item arrives to double check

The seller sounds pretty helpful as well, offering advice and a refund if not happy - so if it is no good for Vx you can have your money back (although they are very good on other makes of cars so may be worth hanging onto.
Good luck with it anyway!

[Englishman]

Thanks for the advice.

Quick follow-up queries -

1) Is it OK to continue to drive the car on shortish journeys for a week or so if all seems to be running fine but the Spanner warning light stays on ?

2) What are the key differences between, say, a U480 Reader, an ELM 327 and an OP-COM ? How can I be sure I'm getting a genuine OP-COM ?

3) Valhalla : Is a faulty crank-shaft sensor a big job ?

Thanks

[DNS]

Thanks for the advice.

Quick follow-up queries -

1) Is it OK to continue to drive the car on shortish journeys for a week or so if all seems to be running fine but the Spanner warning light stays on ?

2) What are the key differences between, say, a U480 Reader, an ELM 327 and an OP-COM ? How can I be sure I'm getting a genuine OP-COM ?

3) Valhalla : Is a faulty crank-shaft sensor a big job ?

Thanks

1) Yes, but take it slow and steady.

2) Genuine is a damn lot more expensive!

3) As far as I remember, its not bad at all.

[valhalla]

remember m8 i only found out the crank shaft sensor in mine was making the spanner light come on it might be a differant sensor or something else in your case have you tried the pedal trick to count the flashing enguine light it worked for me heres the link

http://www.vectra-c.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81742