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[octanejunkie]

As the title suggests, i'm having an issue with my Omega.
1997 2.0 16v manual.

Sometimes i'll start it, and it'll run sweet as a nut with no issues whatsoever.

Sometimes i'll start it, and the EML light comes on. Idle becomes slightly erratic, and the car drops in power. There will also be noticeable pops or backfires coming from the exhaust on up changes.

My code reader won't read the codes from a car this old, so i'll have to do the paperclip test.
On an Omega of this vintage, am i looking at double digit codes or four digit codes?

When the car is cold, is it normal for the the pump to be whirring for a bit down behind the bumper on the passenger side?

Any ideas??

[Gaffers]

It sounds like an intermitent problem with proper cylinder combustion so I would be suspecting something related to either the spark or the fuel delivery.  My money is on the former.

Check the plugs, plug wells (for water and oil, it does happen on the 4 pots too) dis pack and HT leads.  Judging by the intermitent nature I would suspect a lead is on it's way out as a plug, well or dis pack issue would be more omnipresent.

As for the pump noise, which one are you talking about?  PAS?  if it is noisy then you may have air in the pump which needs to be flushed out by doing a few left to right full-lock turns of the wheel (engine running of course)

[octanejunkie]

Doesn't feel or sound like its running on three, just general "wooliness".
The pump i'm referring to is the secondary air pump i think, down near the passenger front wheel.

[Gaffers]

Ah the SAI!  You can take it out and bung up the holes with old AA batteries.  Most of us have

Maybe it doesn't sound like it only firing on 3 but from what you describe it sounds like  mis-fire.  Especially as you said it was down on power.  With those symptoms that is where I would be looking first

[tigers_gonads]

Backfire is unburnt fuel so i'd check the plugs / HT side first 

[octanejunkie]

Well, the code i got up was "0340" which is, i think camshaft position sensor.
I had a look under the bonnet, and it looks like someone has been there before. On the wiring to the sensor, it looks to have been chopped and remade. When i went online looking for sensors, i came across a few that come with a piece of wiring harness. Perhaps that's what's been fitted here at some point.
Today when i started the car from cold the eml came on. I did a short journey, stopped, wiggled the wires around a bit, restarted it and the light went out and the car ran ok... Dodgy connection perhaps? In my past experience on other cars, when camshaft sensors go tits up they normally stop working when the engine is hot, and give hot start problems.
Has anyone else had cam sensor problems, and how did they manifest themselves?
The connections where the wiring has been split appear to have been done well, and neatly with glue filled heat shrink.
Advice please??

[tigers_gonads]

Not a 4 pot man but I believe that a dodgy cam sensor on these can cause all sorts of weird happenings 

[minifreek]

There are 2 types of cam sensor on the X20XEV engines - early and late...

1 is the square plug, the other is the later oval plug which is what has possibly been changed...

The connectors on them are usually quite goos so I'd be looking at reconnecting the wires myself rather than rely on someone else's handywork TBH especially glue filled heat shrink....?

Also the general lack of power can also point towards the MAF sensor too, but as you say the wiring might be loose on the cam sensor Id be getting that sorted first...

[Temetsy]

Sounds just like my v6 before I replaced plugs, leads and DIS pack. Really rough idle, shooting to exhaust like crazy and the power.. Felt like you sticked 3pot 1L engine to german Tiger

[octanejunkie]

Well in case anyone was wondering. Minifreek got it right. The cam sensor had been changed to the version which requires the wiring to be modded. Connections were not great which is what was causing the fault.
No further issues!