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[Koomorph]

Hello everyone – new member here but have been reading a lot of the site. I think my Omega is suffering from a faulty crank shaft sensor – and hope you guys may be able to advise.

Bought an Omega 2.6 CD Auto (2002  reg, 81K miles) privately yesterday and on the way home the car cut out as I was doing about 40 on the south circular…. Engine would turn over but wouldn’t fire. With the ignition on (and when cranking) the electrical fault light was displayed on the dash (car with a spanner).
Tried several times over 10 min period but still wouldn’t fire – so had to call recovery.

When the AA arrived, we tried to turn her over again – and she fired up! Typical!.

So the guys said he would follow us home in case it happened again.

Car drives and idles smoothly, no issues there and seems to run absolutely fine – electrical fault light had disappeared and there were no other fault lights displayed when running… so off we went….

Then, 10 mins after resuming the journey, she cut out again when stationary at some traffic lights. Wouldn’t start (but turned over, same electrical fault light on dash) – so AA towed about 300 yards to a more convenient place. He said he thought it may be some sort of overheating issue/or a sensor thinking it’s overheating (even though coolant temp was well within limits – can’t remember exactly but below 85 – so when (15 minutes later) she fired up again – he said to put on the heating at full blast on High as that would draw some heat away from the engine and see how it goes.

Sure enough – we managed to get home (45mins later) without the car cutting out at all – again, smooth drive/idle/no warning lights on the dash……. and then I remembered the seller of the car actually did have the heating and fan on full blast when we were going for a test drive!! Didn’t think it too odd as it was freezing yesterday (like today!).

So having done a lot of investigating on this and various other VX sites – based on the symptoms above, the culprit does seem to be the crank shaft sensor. However, does it sound right that it seems to fail more when the engine is hot – and seems to be fine (so far) when the heating is on full blast (i.e lowering the engine temps by a couple of degrees probably?)

Could it be a faulty temp sensor (or other sensor) causing the cutting out and not re-starting?

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated – car is a lovely drive and really happy with it – except this irritating (and dangerous if you’re going quickly!) fault.

Thanks in advance

[Jimbob]

Hello & Welcome 

Certainly sounds like it could be.

To confirm,

do the 'pedal trick' test.

this can be found in the clickable link in my signature.

this will give you any fault codes, and exactly pinpoint the problem 

[Elite Pete]

I would try the brake pedal test first and see if there are any codes stored, oh and welcome to the forum

[Koomorph]

Thanks very much guys - apprecite the advice - wasn't aware of the pedal test. I'll try the test later today hopefully when the snow thaws out a bit!

Thanks again

[Koomorph]

Thanks for being patient with me guys - a lot of things going on before Christmas - but managed to do the pedal trick today - took a few goes to make sure I got the numbers right (they flash quick!  ) - so here they are with the first one being:

P0335 CrankshaftPosition sensor "A" circuit malfunction

So does that pretty much verify the fault - and need to replace I guess?

Others that popped up:

P1612 Immobiliser No Or Wrong Signal Immobiliser
and
P1613 Immobiliser No Or Wrong Signal Immobiliser

P0230 FuelPumpPrimary Circuit High/Low/Open

P0560 System Voltage High/Low/Malfunction Input

P1700 Service Vehicle Soon Request from Transmission Control Module

I'm guessing the 560 might just signify a flat battery at some point? But why would there also be an immobiliser fault and what could the fuel pump primary circuit issue be?

Any guidance on these would (again!) be appreciated indeed!
Thanks again! 

[3.2omegaestate]

The other stored codes may be old codes from a previous owners use.

Replace the crankshaft sensor, get all the codes cleared by a chat with a code reader (probably tech 2 as there are transmission ones)

Drive it and see what is then stored by using the pedal trick.


HTH

 

[goonv6]

I think that I am right in saying that some of these are connected and I believe that they are not in chronological order so these may be old faults not wiped from the system. (Don't shoot me if I'm wrong)

[Andy H]

Given the number of codes I would check for loose or broken fuses and earth leads before condemning anything.

[Rockhampton]

Thanks for being patient with me guys - a lot of things going on before Christmas - but managed to do the pedal trick today - took a few goes to make sure I got the numbers right (they flash quick!  ) - so here they are with the first one being:

P0335 CrankshaftPosition sensor "A" circuit malfunction

So does that pretty much verify the fault - and need to replace I guess?

Others that popped up:

P1612 Immobiliser No Or Wrong Signal Immobiliser
and
P1613 Immobiliser No Or Wrong Signal Immobiliser

P0230 FuelPumpPrimary Circuit High/Low/Open

P0560 System Voltage High/Low/Malfunction Input

P1700 Service Vehicle Soon Request from Transmission Control Module

I'm guessing the 560 might just signify a flat battery at some point? But why would there also be an immobiliser fault and what could the fuel pump primary circuit issue be?

Any guidance on these would (again!) be appreciated indeed!
Thanks again! 

My 2.6 Auto threw a P1700 at 82k, and never again.... it's now cleared from the ECU itself (only to be replaced by others!) May be worth checking the transmission fluid level when you get chance.

[Jimbob]

I would be changing the crank sensor, and ignoring the rest if it is fine after that.

If you can get them erased, so much the better, can see what, if anything returns.

[Psychoca]

I don't know if it is the same on the V6, but, my crankshaft sensor problem was down to the starter motor being loose and corrupting the signal from the crank sensor.  Making this assumption, could be causing the electrical fault as there is also the bad earth...

Just a thought...

[Koomorph]

Thanks everyone for the really speedy replies - as I'm not to hot on the "electrical" checks (where to even start to look for a bad earth etc...) I might invest in a new crankcase sensor and see how that goes.

The part number listed on the forum trade prices spreadsheet for a 2.6 is 2.6/3.0/3.2: 90540743

However there is an ebay ad for apparently a genuine VX sensor for the 2.6: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330387640848&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

This part number on the ad is different - 90492006

How can I make sure? Call Vauxhall and quote the reg/Vin?

Thanks loads again!

[Elite Pete]

I would replace the crank sensor with one bought from a Vauxhall dealer that way you know it is genuine, there have been many on the forum who have bought off ebay or suppliers selling supposedly genuine parts which have packed up within a few weeks.

[Koomorph]

Ok, thanks Pete - I'll give VX a call on Monday and see what they say about the part and the price. With Christmas round the corner it may have to wait a little to actually buy and fit it. 

Not really driving the car much at the moment anyway (espeicially since it stopped on the drive home from buying it and wouldn't start for nearly an hour) - and mainly bought it for my dad who is an older chap and won't need to drive it anywhere much over the next couple of weeks.

Just a question - could there be any relation to having the heating on full blast (and the fault not occuring due to engine running slightly cooler). It could be coincidence but seemed to do the trick when driving her home from buying her - didn't cut out once.

Many thanks to everyone again - this site has SO much useful info and members are incredibly helpful. 

[Koomorph]

Slight update to this – not directly related to the sensor – but thought I’d mention it here and also – I can start a new post though if moderators would prefer this?

I took for a short drive today and upon returning noticed that there were some small patches of oil in the place she had been parked since we drove her home from buying her. Not loads but certainly noticeable, covering about 8” square.

From where they are it looks like they have come from the back of the engine somewhere. I haven’t been able to get her up to see exactly where – but now I have alarm bells ringing that I’ve bought a car (which was meant to be fault free!) that is going to cause me (and more so my poor dad!) a lot of trouble…

I’ve checked under the oil filer cap and there is some mayo coating on the back of the neck of the filler tube.
Dipstick oil is very clear however – but could have been changed recently – no bubbles.
The coolant level does seem a little low however in the expansion tank – about half full.
Car drives very smoothly though, nothing lumpy… didn't overheat on the drive home (although I wasn't giving her loads of beans and it was a very cold day).

Is there an easy way to check that it’s the cam gaskets rather than a cylinder head gasket?
If I’m told where to look, I can have a poke about and relay any info back here.

Or maybe are there any members in the south east area that for a small fee I could ask to check her over and confirm – hope it’s not the worst as it’s a lovely car, really nice to drive, lots of services from Vauxhall and in genuinely excellent condition.