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[jay99]

Hello and here's the story

My dad bought an omega for £600 as a temporary measure as his car was knackered and he was looking for a new one with the intention of passing it down to me when I passed my test.

Now I have it and it simply is god awful. He did not look after it (not even a service or anything) and always drove it really rough and now I have to deal with the consequences. It is a very nice car and its very comfortable (apart from the cassette player from the olden days) but difficult to park because its so long and I've already crashed it into a bollard which resulted in a big dent on the back door.

I've done some research on it and its a W reg 2000 Omega 2.0 litre ecotec manual GLX. Its a facelift model with basic features.

Here are the problems:
It keeps misfiring and the engine light is always on, I've been told its the coil pack but I'm not sure. I took it to a mechanic who replaced a spark plug and the engine stopped juddering but dosen't really help.

When I press the accelerator a loud noises appears to come from the exhaust and the way I would describe the car is that it stutters and bangs and when the revs go up it appears to smooth out. I have found a way round the problem which is to feather the throttle and it runs ok but when a hill approaches it seems to stutter and bang. I've replaced the backbox (which split in two and had a massive hole in it) but the problem is still there.

It cuts out when idling or sometimes when going round a corner. the revs sometimes go down under one and sometimes come back resulting in a squeaking noise from the engine or cuts out completely.

It absolutely drinks fuel, no other way to put it.

You may ask why am I keeping it and the answer is that it never seems to break down and it keeps on going no matter what. It still works day after day and gets me to where I go. As an 18 year old I literally have little money and buying a new car would outweigh the cost of repairing it.

I have done a number of repairs to it recently. A new GM backbox which cost £60 including fitting. A new radiator and cooling fan (my fault as the cooling fan stopped working due to me fiddling around with the fuses and I decided to continue using it and forgetting to keep the heater on which resulting in the radiator exploding) Cost £330 including a service and oil change. Thankfully my dad paid for this.


Any ideas on these problems?

Thanks
Jay

[chrisgixer]

Hi Jay.

Does sound like a missfire. Its quite easy to replace the plugs, and the leads aren't expensive. Should be able to sort it with minimal cost diy.

But the smart thing to do would be to read the engine ecu for fault codes first to confirm the actual faults as the ecu sees them first.
There may be a cam sensor fault the 4 pots seem to suffer with.

But see what the 4pot owners here say.

Welcome to Oof.

[Andy B]

Hello and here's the story ....

Welcome to the forum. 
Have you tried the 'paper clip test'? http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=90479.0 That'll give you a clue as to why the management light is is.

[Mr.OmegaMan]

Hi and Welcome Jay to OOF 

Probably GLS rather than GLX I'd imagine.

Plenty of help on here Omega related and much much more 

[dbug]

Welcome to OOF mate 

Does sound like a misfire, but, as advised, get the codes read.  Good luck with it

[TheBoy]

As others have said, read the codes. Look in Maintenence Guides section for Paperclip test. A post 1996 2.0l should use the OBDII type codes (but is NOT OBDII compliant!!).

[VXL V6]

The stalling issue could be a failing cam sensor (as it's a 2.0) but as said, a code clear followed by reading of the persistent codes would be the first point of call.

It would also be helpful if you put your location in so we can advise who may be local.

[bago]

where you from jay there might be aq member with a code reader near you willing to help

[Mr Gav]

It sounds to me that you have a weak spark which would explain why it misfires under load but feathering the throttle gets round the problem and it would also explain the high fuel consumption. I would change the plugs and leads as these are relatively cheap and by the sounds of it the car could do with them, and get the codes read to highlight any more problems.

[jay99]

it seems to flash 10 times, then 3 times' then 4 times, then 10 times again and repeats itself.

but i've tried to read the codes but the codes that are given on the website are unclear and only seem to be 2 digits, I've recorded a video which shows the same thing but wont upload for some reason.

This morning the car would switch on but would turn off and I could not accelerate to keep it going. This coupled with a whining noise which I presume is the fuel pump. It kept turning off but I got it going eventually and when it warmed up the problem disappeared.

First thing i'll do tomorrow is get the plugs changed which should be easy as there are only four of them and they're quite cheap. The leads are next but I'll need a quote to go ahead, are leads coil packs?

Thanks
Jay

By the way Its been difficult to post as the verification images are very hard to read!

[Andy B]

it seems to flash 10 times, then 3 times' then 4 times, then 10 times again and repeats itself.

but i've tried to read the codes but the codes that are given on the website are unclear and only seem to be 2 digits, I've recorded a video which shows the same thing but wont upload for some reason.

 ......

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=90583.0

P0340       Camshaft Sensor Incorrect Signal     

...., are leads coil packs?

 ......

No, leads are HT leads. You have a DIS pack, ie Distributorless Ignition System with HT leads from it to the plugs. Later 2.2 cars have coil packs that plug directly on top of the plugs so don't have HT leads. 

[jay99]

Thanks Andy for your help. What does this mean and how can it be fixed and how much? The car can sometimes turn off but this isn't a massive problem just clutch down and turn the key and its working again.

The problem is when you put the accelerator down or go up a hill and it feels like its choking and chugging. When I replaced the backbox the problem did not go away but improved and there are still a few holes on the pipe connecting the box to the pipe. Could this be a problem?

Just to confirm I don't have a coil pack but leads. How much would the leads cost to replace? Would it solve the choking and chugging that seems to stop the car from accelerating?

Thanks
Jay

[Andy B]

Thanks Andy for your help. What does this mean and how can it be fixed and how much? The car can sometimes turn off but this isn't a massive problem just clutch down and turn the key and its working again.

The problem is when you put the accelerator down or go up a hill and it feels like its choking and chugging. When I replaced the backbox the problem did not go away but improved and there are still a few holes on the pipe connecting the box to the pipe. Could this be a problem?

Just to confirm I don't have a coil pack but leads. How much would the leads cost to replace? Would it solve the choking and chugging that seems to stop the car from accelerating?

Thanks
Jay

First off change the cam sensor http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=90628.0 (the 2.0 & 2.2 are near identical, so the job will be pretty much the same) and go from there. Bite the bullet & buy from Vauxhall though.

You have HT leads, they're the long black 'wires' that go to each spark plug. 

[jay99]

by the way I've read up on the problem and can't rev above 4500 so confirms the suspicion.


But due to lack of funds Its at the bottom of the list as revving over 4500 and acceleration isn't important. How much would the leads approximately cost to change and parts? Would a cam sensor significantly imprive fuel consumption?

[Andy B]

..... Would a cam sensor significantly imprive fuel consumption?

Probably because the car will be running a load better. It's been a while since I bought HT leads (& I bought 6 + a king lead ... the one from the dizzy to the coil) but OE Vauxhall's are scandalously expensive. Maybe a set from a breaker here  You might not even need them yet, just change the sensor first & see how you get on.