1994 Cavalier LSi C20NE (was C18NZ) Work-horse

[Robsey]

The details have just come up on the internet.

The car bombed...

Reason(s) for failure
Parking brake lever has no reserve travel (3.1.6b)
Windscreen has a sticker or other obstruction encroaching into the swept area by more than 40mm outside zone 'A' (8.3.1e)
Offside Stop lamp not working (1.2.1b)
Registration plate lamp not working (1.1.C.1d)
Offside Rear fog lamp not working (1.3.2b)
Rear fog lamp tell tale not working (1.3.1b)

Advisory notice item(s)
Power steering pipe(s) or hose(s) has slight seepage near pump (2.3.3b)
Both front tyres worn to zero on inner edges
Offside rear tyre worn on both edges
Nearside Rear Tyre worn close to the legal limit (4.1.E.1)

Totally shocked about the lights as these were all working last I knew...
Very confused.
And the obstruction can only be my screen mounted video camera that is tucked high up to the left of the rear view mirror.

Only thing I was expecting was excess hand brake travel.

Gutted!!

On the upside - no mention of emissions - lol.

[ilovedmymantas]

The car bombed...Gutted!!

Don't be disheartened, It's not that bad really....
you already expected the handbrake.
The other problems seem minor, with your electrical knowledge. You should be able to fix them without too much effort

Windscreen has a sticker or other obstruction encroaching into the swept area by more than 40mm outside zone 'A' (8.3.1e)...
.....The obstruction can only be my screen mounted video camera that is tucked high up to the left of the rear view mirror.

My cam sounds around the same place as yours, luckily I've never had a problem at mot.
I'm all for strict mot over a lax one, less surprises that way later on but It should be for more important things than a camera.
He could have removed it for the test but he chose not to. It's an unnecessary blot on your mot I'd think.
First paragraph of method of inspection
http://www.ukmot.com/manual/8.3/Windscreen
Your tester seems especially strict so I'd be re-assured that nothing was mentioned about emissions or bodywork.

I'm surprised by the tyre wear though, were they random part-worn or high mileage? Fronts sounds like a tracking problem?

[Robsey]

Probably tracking...
Although car always felt spot-on.

Probably explains a lot of my poor mpg.

Tyres have been on the car for a few years though.
Before the restoration, I was doing 20k miles a year.

Plan was to get the alloys refurbed and fitted with new tyres once the tyres on the existing steel rims were getting low.

Hmm - it appears that there is no time like the present.

I am sure my rear fog tell-tale is a wiring issue.
It failed on this about 5 years ago.

Always have a few spares in a box somewhere.

What is frustrating, is that I have a big Haribo tub full of bulbs... 10 of each variety.

It is my own fault... I was so obsessed with the economy and emissions that I let simple stuff like rear bulbs get missed.

Agreed about preferring a strict test.
When sorted, I can be comfortable in the knowledge that the car will be proper safe when I pick it up.

[Robsey]

The obstruction was not my camera...
I spoke to David briefly today.

Harsh as it may seem, it was "stuff hanging from the rear view mirror".

The lad is doing the timing belt today.
David was concerned about the engine mount... don't know why, unless he means the power steering pump that is attached via the front mount.
We shall see.

He reports that it is all small niggly stuff and nothing to worry about.

[Robsey]

Small update...
Timing belt done and brakes all sorted,
but still plenty of niggly bits to put right.

So Friday will come and go, with no Cavalier to be seen.

I did say no rush to the mechanic, and to take as long as necessary - and this is simply what he is doing. Fitting jobs in between other cars on his forecourt.

It is amazing how motivation plays tricks on you.
Since about September, I have not been too fussed with the car overall.
Just doing what is required.. or at least what I thought was required.

I have not had the car since first thing Tuesday, and my head has been swimming with the jobs that I "want" to do - and I have been frustrated because it is not here to work on.
Sometimes the mind of a lazy sod like me, takes great pleasure in winding me up.

As for the front mount bracket - it was indeed where you split the mount to replace the alternator multi-vee / serpentine drive belt.
But as I expected, there was no drama here. All done without any reported issues.

[ilovedmymantas]

Plan was to get the alloys refurbed and fitted with new tyres once the tyres on the existing steel rims were getting low.
.....it appears that there is no time like the present.

Ouch..painful on the wallet all in one go but I think once you've seen your car the way you wanted it after the restoration, (and after all you've spent) you'll think it's worth it. I'm sure it will give you a little boost in return.
Can you get them done quickly or will they be the holding up the mot?

What is frustrating, is that I have a big Haribo tub full of bulbs... 10 of each variety.

That might be the problem.......the Haribo bulbs are well-known for premature failure -the heat from the filament melts them faster

....Harsh as it may seem, it was "stuff hanging from the rear view mirror"..

The mind boggles. Furry dice or shrunken head

So Friday will come and go, with no Cavalier to be seen.

I miss mine as soon as I've dropped it off I worry about the work being done because I can't do it, for now, and the only way to be sure it's right is DIY.

I did say no rush to the mechanic, and to take as long as necessary - and this is simply what he is doing. Fitting jobs in between other cars on his forecourt..

At least you appear to have a garage you trust.
After a bad experience with a local garage( the person booking knows F all about cars!) the cynic in me says that might mean no more care goes into the work, they just charge you full rate while putting more profitable repairs first.
I don't mind that as much with my chosen mechanic, he only charges £36 ph Inc.!
Maybe there should be a tier system- go beyond the quoted day - charge a lower rate. It should be like postage, pay less for 2nd class?
Just a thought..
Good It's nothing to worry about

[Envoy CDX]

Small update...
Timing belt done and brakes all sorted,
but still plenty of niggly bits to put right.

So Friday will come and go, with no Cavalier to be seen.

I did say no rush to the mechanic, and to take as long as necessary - and this is simply what he is doing. Fitting jobs in between other cars on his forecourt.

It is amazing how motivation plays tricks on you.
Since about September, I have not been too fussed with the car overall.
Just doing what is required.. or at least what I thought was required.

I have not had the car since first thing Tuesday, and my head has been swimming with the jobs that I "want" to do - and I have been frustrated because it is not here to work on.
Sometimes the mind of a lazy sod like me, takes great pleasure in winding me up.

As for the front mount bracket - it was indeed where you split the mount to replace the alternator multi-vee / serpentine drive belt.
But as I expected, there was no drama here. All done without any reported issues.

It'll come good in the end. However regarding the lazy mind. I know that feeling far too well, especially as now it is "someone else's fault" that you can't work on the car. It's a horrid feeling.
Just gotta plan one job a week I find, if you feel like doing another after completing the planned one great, if not then you're still achieving something.

I think I will have around 300 cavalier related jobs to do when a certain job comes off in the next few weeks.

[Robsey]

It will keep you out of trouble my friend.

Sussed out my inner sill cover problem.
There are no metal retaining clips fitted.
D'oh - ha ha.
I will have to look in my box of bits to see if I can find any.

[Robsey]

To cover your questions.

Alloy Wheels -
I did actually promise these to EnvoyCDX, however Gary insisted that I used them as his car is a long way off yet.

The tyres are all advisory items, so the garage will let me do them in my own time.
So thankfully the alloys being sorted will not hold up the MOT from being issued.

The Haribo box of bulbs - I know what you mean, but hey they double up as a tasty treat when I get a need for a sugar boost.

My obstruction is nothing exciting...
I have a crystal angel and an air freshener hanging from the front mirror.
Without bringing the mood of my threads down, the angel is for my friend Dawn who died from muscular dystrophy 10 years and two weeks ago-ish.
One of the few people in this world who was allowed to call me Robbie to my face (she was a scouser).

[Robsey]

Update on my saga.

Emissions are not okay on my car.
The garage was "creative" to get it through the MOT.
The official term was " we had to jiggle it, otherwise there is no way it was going through".

But the main issue is cold emissions.
The car is running far too rich when cold but fine when warm.
Not quite a mis-fire but "running heavy", whatever that means.

There is a spare Bosch engine ecu temperature sensor in the car.
So he may try changing that tomorrow.

He is going to try a code reader on it too, but I know that nothing will be stored.

I also confirmed to him that fuel consumption was naff too.

On the upside - the car has now got a 12 month ticket. Yayy.

[Mk3alan]

Could it be one's temperature sensor playing up telling ECU it's colder than it really is?

Alan

[Robsey]

It is a pattern part.

I have a new Bosch one in my spares box in the car.

[Robsey]

And the car is home...

Garage was still unable to narrow down the cold start emissions.

At cold start, the CO is as high as 9%.
30 x the prescribed amount.
The hydro-carbons are close to normal.

As the car warms up, the lambda sensor, idle control valve and air flow meter all do their job perfectly well and the emissions come close to normal.

So in his words "it's over to you Rob" as I will have a lot more time than him to investigate the possible causes.

So any ideas why the CO% is through the roof, and the HC% is quite normal at cold idle.?

I plan to refit my old throttle position sensor on Sunday and both new Bosch engine coolant temperature sensors.
Fingers crossed.

[Robsey]

All I can see is this article from Smogtips.

https://m.smogtips.com/failed-high-carb ... ide-CO.cfm

Which says for high CO content, one of the causes that ties in with my suspicions.
A defective throttle position sensor will confuse the ECU into thinking the vehicle's operator is demanding more or less fuel, when neither is really neccessary. Most often a faulty TPS will cause high CO, as an engine's ECU always prefers to send more fuel rather then less, in an effort to avoid a lean fuel mixture and subsequently higher engine temperatures.

If the snow eases on Sunday (in about 10 hours), I hope to test this theory by refitting the old throttle position sensor.

I only changed it originally because of a slow warm idle.
A new idle control valve sorted that, but I have no idea if the old tps was still faulty but masked by the icv fault.

Update -
No rectification work carried out today... too damn cold and windy.

Looking through my purchasing lists, it appears that my last Engine ECU coolant temperature sensor was an original part from one of the Vauxhall specialist suppliers.
The throttle position sensor is just a generic pattern part, so hopefully refit the old / original part tomorrow lunch time.

[Robsey]

Okay - the saga continues.
I have tried all sorts today during my work lunch break.

Fitted my Bosch throttle position sensor in place of the generic "Mega"-something branded item.
No change in consumption etc noted.

I then moved onto random unplugging of various bits...
Air flow meter, idle control valve, engine ECM coolant temperature sensor, Octane coding plug...
Even the lambda sensor.
All but the lambda sensor put on the engine fault light.
As you know the lambda (oxy) sensor is ignored until the car is warmed up.

None of the above unplugging operations provided a situation where nothing changed (suggesting a faulty part)... except the ignored cold lambda sensor.
Or any level of improvement - unplugging any sensor that is being monitored should cause a "bad" reaction, otherwise there would be no point fitting the relevant sensor.

So the long and short is - I cannot find the cause of the cold high CO issue and reduced mpg / increased gal per hour figures.

Totally flummoxed just like the garage.
Other than this lot, the car drives, starts, accelerates and idles smoothly and readily.

[Robsey]

Now - something possibly unrelated.

When the car came back from restoration, the clutch was super heavy... after months of investigation, it was found that the clutch cable was damaged where it came through the bulk-head.

I am wondering if anything has happened during the restoration that has yanked the clutch cable enough to tear the plastic sleeve that guides the cable through bulk-head.
Perhaps the engine has slipped or dropped whilst the front sub-frame was removed for refurbishment.





And if so - has similar damage happened to the ECU / injector loom.?
Just a thought.

This is no slur on anyone involved in the resto... just a query.
It is just a coincidence that the running / emissions have always been problematic since then... just like the clutch had been.

[Robsey]

Looks like I may be pulling the whole ECU / Injector loom out of the car in May, so that I can bell-out all the indevidual wires from the ECU to the sensor pins.

A slow tedious job to look at 55 wires, but a necessary evil, if it can potentially lead to a cure.

[ilovedmymantas]

I thought you had it sorted there
You've renewed a bucketload of electronic parts, which made me think of something else, perhaps mechanically linked.
Could the throttle cable be too tight ( or loose like the clutch)? Would this give a false reading to the throttle position sensor ?
It was too tight on my 20seh.
Old school elimination again-have you tried without the air filter

Best I can offer, apart from this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IUtl6J5F5s

Hope it's helpful

[Robsey]

Hi fella,

Yep, I have checked the cable for slack and freedom to move.

Everything moves freely, there is a small amount of free-play in the cable, and on over-run, my fuel computer jumps to 999.9 miles per gallon.

So functionally everything appears right.

Test meter wire checks - thanks for the video, it does show how to do the tests without killing the ECU or sensor.

Always the preferred option.

More head scratching required - ha ha.

[ilovedmymantas]

Good luck

[Robsey]

And the end of the tether has been reached...


Got into the car this morning, fire her up and was welcomed by a whirring noise from the engine bay.
My first thought is that a bearing had failed on either the power steering pump or the belt tensioner roller.

A look under the bonnet presented me with a small puddle of fluid.
Aaaarghhhhhh!! - chuffin' cars!!

A replacement pump would have been easy... but the god of Cavalier land decided that he would make the challenge a bit more challenging for me.

I have a corroded / perforated power steering pipe. Bugger !!

Very bad timing as our other car is going in on Monday for it's MOT, service and clutch / dual mass flywheel kit.

So now I need to find a place that can make up new pipes as they appear to be obsolete and unobtainable.

[Mk3alan]

Oh dear, corroded pipes do seem to cause problems, brake, power steering etc. I know it down to cost but I am sure if quantities of (say) kunifer pipes were used the cost would come down.
Cars just a few years old seem to suffer almost as much as older ones with advisories or fails at MOT time.

Alan

[Robsey]

As if to take the mickey, my new Bosch Lambda sensor arrived today, but I cannot test it until the power steering is fixed.



I did see some hoses on ebay, but they were all for 1.6 engines - pah.

I was surprised to see that C18NZ and C20NE hose parts don't all share the same numbers.
Strange as I know my C18NZ plumbing fitted my C20NE engine fine and worked perfectly well.

[cavalier1990]

And the end of the tether has been reached...


Got into the car this morning, fire her up and was welcomed by a whirring noise from the engine bay.
My first thought is that a bearing had failed on either the power steering pump or the belt tensioner roller.

A look under the bonnet presented me with a small puddle of fluid.
Aaaarghhhhhh!! - chuffin' cars!!

A replacement pump would have been easy... but as it is me, the god of Cavalier land decided that he would make the challenge a bit more challenging.

I have a corroded / perforated power steering pipe. Bugger !!

Very bad timing as our other car is going in on Monday for it's MOT, service and clutch / dual mass flywheel kit.

So now I need to find a place that can make up new pipes as they appear to be obsolete and unobtainable.

Robsey

Sorry to hear those pipes for power steering have finally gone, mines are looking the same way and I am trying to find a solution before they breach. I can't imagine it's beyond the realms of possibility to get ones made up. However one of the problems is many places can only make them up with reference to the old pipe, which might be a bit tricky to get off, with all the bends going round up down and under things.

I wonder if maybe a vectra pipe could be modded to fit perhaps, or a corsa/astra maybe?

[Mk3alan]

Can new pipes be made from nylon pneumatic pipes?
Not looked but do they have compression fittings on the ends of the existing pipes? If so it might be the way to go.

Alan