Every now and then the engine warling light comes on, then a minute later goes off again.

Can anyone teel me what types of things I should check, to see if theres a problems, it drives fine and no funny noises - I'm loathed to pay a garage to poke around though!

Its a 98 Vectra 2.0 16v SRi by the way! Cheers in advance for any pointers

I had that in my vectra, it could be anything. Mine used to jolt, then the engine light used to come on.

You can take it to a vauxhall garage who will charge you £50-£100 quid to stick it on a diagnostic computer. That will tell you whats wrong but not anything else. I chose to ignore mine and never had any problems, it never got any worse.

Might be cheaper to get AA relay cover and ignore it. Don't quote me on that tho!

If you're a member of the AA or RAC ring them first. They usually do hav ediagnostic software, and for members they sometimes prefer to take preventative action than the more-costly rescue that may result in it going un-attended to :thumbsup:

I am tempted to ignore it as a sharp bang on top of the dashboard seems to clear it sometimes, so I wonder if its a wiring issue.
:suspect:

We have ahad a couple of problems with various lights on our Vectra, my hubby took it to a place near Bernard Road, think it is A C Autotek or something like that and he hooked it up to his computer and found what the problems were, in most cases there were none. It cost either £10 or £20 can't remember but still cheaper than taking it to an approved Vauxhall Dealer.

If a bang on the dash sorts it then its just a dodgy connection.

I'd ignore it for now.

If it blows up at some point in the future soon though, don't hold it against me... :)

I've been told you can buy cheapo fault code readers from Halfords. Not sure if the make is Gunson's.

Take it to D L motors on rutland road.Get it tested may be nothing.But better to pay a few quid and find out rather than a couple of thou.for a new engine.Had same prob with omega turned out to be just a senser playin up..:cool:

My husband's granddad had a mysterious light winking at him on his dashboard and he was rather disturbed by this... so he covered it up with gaffer tape so it wouldn't distract him.
It was actually to indicate that he'd got his fog lights on ALL THE TIME and was dazzling drivers across Woodhouse.

Get it tested! On advice from my son, I ignored an irritating periodic warning light - as the performance of the car was not affected.

Broke down on the motorway eventually. Cost megabucks to repair. :cry:

My warning light use to come on then go off like yours - it turned out to be I needed brake fluid which I found out when my brakes failed!!!!

Check coolant levels. If theyre low and you dont do anything about it its not nice.

Originally posted by floyd77
Every now and then the engine warling light comes on, then a minute later goes off again.

Can anyone teel me what types of things I should check, to see if theres a problems, it drives fine and no funny noises - I'm loathed to pay a garage to poke around though!


:D I'm glad to see another car driver who knows so little about how they work!!

I never try to do any work on my car myself for very important reasons...

I once tried to change two broken brake lights on my Nova. I used the wrong lights, and whatever way they were wired meant that every time I braked, my headlights flashed! (No kidding).

I also once wired in a new stereo to my mums car and it caught fire over night.

Originally posted by dawny1
My warning light use to come on then go off like yours - it turned out to be I needed brake fluid which I found out when my brakes failed!!!!

My warning light used to come on also.

I took the bulb out! SORTED :thumbsup:

check engine oil level + brake fluid and water levels

don't vectra's have seperate warning lights for most of those things?

Well, I didnt expect such a response!

I will take it to get it checked if its only about £20 from the place on Rutland rd.

I'm glad to see another car driver who knows so little about how they work!!
I once tried to change two broken brake lights on my Nova. I used the wrong lights, and whatever way they were wired meant that every time I braked, my headlights flashed! (No kidding).

I also once wired in a new stereo to my mums car and it caught fire over night.

Hey, im not that bad!! :hihi:I've done lots of work to cars and only ever slightly set one on fire:roll:
I'd already checked the levels etc, and couldnt see any other obvious problems - the problem is the engine warning light is a complete enigma, it could be anything - or nothing!
Thanks for your help folks!

Take it to Vx and get then to check it for error codes, not familiar with teh inner working of Vectras (hate them ,sorry!) but if it's got a ECU chances are it'll have stroed an error code and can be checked in 2 minutes by a Vx chap with a gizmo - and for free, I'd hope. :)

I had the engine management light on my vectra for about 3 months. I finally decided to get it looked at and took it to Vauxhall garage. They charged £42 and sorted it in 20 minutes. Apparantely there had been an unplugged wire/lead in the engine.

I've had this recently in my car, and when I looked in the manual, it was saying that the car needed its regular service, not for any fault in particular.

I'm not saying this is the case with yours but just check your manual.

If not, I know a bloke who has a diagnostic machine, he's obviously a lot cheaper than the dealership, and he's reliable too. Let me know if you want his details at any point by PM.

Well I was just going to ignore it as it was very rare and intermittant - but did some more investigation and while that light is on, your engine runs on 'safe mode' meaning you cant rev too much, loss of performance etc and also uses loads of fuel - I've also since noticed that the light does not go off when I bang the dashboard so that must've been coincidence.

So bit the bullet and the car is currently being looked at by Hartwells on Savile st. After a couple of searches on here that looks like it may have been a mistake!:o but its right next to my work so its easy.

We'll see how it goes - £42 just to look at it though!

I had this on my 51 Clio

They charged me £95 to stick a computer on it and £3 to change a spark plug. It turned out that my ECU (Engine Contol Unit) was faulty and needed programming or summat. They did the cheapest repair. Im told if it come son again its gonna cost £400 for a new ECU and about £90 labour :mad:

Ok - they've called me and said I need a new knock sensor - £120 (including the original £42)

So that looks to be about £80 give or take to buy and install this sensor:o

Anyone know of any independant vauxhall garages???

We have an intermittent warning light on a 'Seat' - in the handbook it says it indicates a 'pollution issue' and to take it to the service garage. Thing is, It's just had a service :(

Has anyone noticed that when your car comes back from the service garage, about a day later something else starts to go wrong :suspect:

Originally posted by floyd77
Anyone know of any independant vauxhall garages???
Walker and Cutting in Rotherham - On the main rd through Therpe Hesley, but further on. But the guy used to be a service manager at hartwells :suspect:

I took mine up there and he sub contracts re-programming back to hartwells :mad:

I think I'll carry on using my favourite garage in Peterborough :roll:

go to l.c motors on grange lane near ecclesfield ask for liam he does all my work and he wont rip you off whats more he his a vauxhall accredited spanner man phone 0114/2453505 dont go to the dealer hope i'm not too late in giving you the info not been on for a while

mine did this,it was the fan belt needed adjusting, dont know why it caused the light to flicker but it did

engine management? maybe a blockage, £30 to be sorted if so.

Mine was doing the same, I took it to my son- in- laws garage.It was the air flow sensor.

There is obviously an issue.... whether it be a faulty earth or connection....ie damp seeping into your console from your windshield seal.... common fault on the old Vectras or your oil level is low ( light usually comes on at low revs) I assume it is a red light.

You need to get it checked out though.... find a garage with a Tech 2 diagnostic system and they can put your mind at rest.... no other diagnostic system will do..... a tenner for a hook up is more than reasonable to assess any problem and you can take it from there.

Pity you don't live on the wirral.

mine did this,it was the fan belt needed adjusting, dont know why it caused the light to flicker but it did

Fan belt drives the alternator as well and if its slipping its not charging your battery and in turn not supplying adequate power to the system in general and is a fault that can put you out of action especially in cold weather when the battery displaces its charge so much quicker.... :D

Glad to be of help. lol.