Hello! New Owner here, and problems from the off! Please help!!!

J

Jags C20LET

Member
Hi All,
I bought a 2001 1.4SE on Thursday off a mate at work.
I test drove it and was made aware of the very minor issues with it.
I drove it around all Thursday with zero problems.
As it's not insured atm, it sat in the rain since.
This morning I found the alarm going off and the fob not working at all.
Oddly, the fuel filler flay was open(?)
The car still opens all doors on the blade (excuse me if I use the wrong terminology as I'm a lifelong Vauxhall owner).

The car starts with no obvious issues, but when turned off I see a red oil can, headlight symbol, sodding bong noise and the car wont lock on the fob.
I put a litre of oil in, so it's probably overfull now.
The battery compartment and rear carpet is wet (actually sodden, dripping wet).
I disconnected the battery and that didn't help.
Is there a loom junction back there?

I replaced the fob batteries (only one fob seems to work), helped a bit.

I removed the carpet and dried all the metal I can see.
Now it seems to have dried out, the car is absolutely fine again.
No starting problems, no messages, fob is fine, all the interior lights are working.
I checked under the passenger seat and its all good and dry (ecu, ccm, fuse, relays, etc).
What's going on?

Also, the end of the dipstick looks like its missing and the stick wont locate in the holder (keeps popping out).
The carpet is dripping dry in the bath.

I bought this car as a replacement for my trusty, basic, but absolutely reliable 22 year old Vauxhall Nova.
Much more of this and it's going to be WeBuyAnyCar.com for the A2.

I'm waiting on my VAGCOM cable to be delivered to clear a light for the EGR valve after it was changed, but atm, there's no problems.

Basically, whats with the alarm, messages, fob, and soaking carpets?

Any help would be fantastic.

It lookslike I have the same issues as this user...
http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?24150-Electrical-gremlins-on-late-2000-1-4SE-petrol

Thanks
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi Jags C20LET, welcome to the club.

I'd suggest you've got two problems here.

Given that you've got a 2001 A2, it'll have the unreliable Q-type central convenience control unit. This piece of electronic trickery is the cause of your alarm, lights, fob and fuel cap issues. There is absolutely loads of info on the forum about this issue. I'd suggest you do a search for CCU (or CCCU). Also search for 'Lau', as this member is able to repair dodgy CCCUs.

The second issue is with the vents behind the rear bumper. The seals on these perish, thus letting in water. This water invariably pools in the battery compartment and the rear foot wells!

If you do decide you're fed up with the wee thing, offer it here before going to WeBuyAnyCar, as knowledgeable forum folk can fix all its issues.

Cheers,

Tom
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: chb
Thanks Tom.

I'd suggest that it's damp related as It'd be reaaaaly bad luck for the CCU to suddenly go iffy, and the ok again with the soggy level in the boot?
The previous owner didn't mention any of this, and he wouldn't purposely sell me a lemon.

Does the CCU play up then fix it self, and then play up again?

Once again, Thanks for the help, it's really appreciated.
 
Jags C20LET said:
I'd suggest that it's damp related as It'd be reaaaaly bad luck for the CCU to suddenly go iffy, and the ok again with the soggy level in the boot?
The previous owner didn't mention any of this, and he wouldn't purposely sell me a lemon.

Does the CCU play up then fix it self, and then play up again?
Click to expand...

The water would have to rise a long way up before the CCCU was affected, so I doubt the water is the cause. The Q-type CCCU in 2001 A2s is notoriously unreliable, and yes, they do behave very erratically when faulty - some days you'll find they work perfectly, then they'll start to play up again. That it started to behave after you dried the carpet is probably a coincidence.

Cheers,

Tom
 
.another question.

Indeed the car is fitted with 8Z0959433Q 00006495B4. Will a 8Z0959433F 00006495B3 be a straight swap and not loose any functions? I understand that the F is the replacement part.
 
Cheers for the chart Tom.
I'm gonna sort the water ingress and clean all the carpets. I'l suck stick the CCCU in a polythene bag, suck the air out of it and seal it incase it could be moisture in the unit.
 
Last edited:
Jags C20LET said:
Cheers for the chart Tom.
I'm gonna sort the water ingress and clean all the carpets. I'l suck stick the CCCU in a polythene bag, suck the air out of it and seal it incase it could be moisture in the unit.
Click to expand...

Try and put the CCU in a sealed tub of rice overnight. That should draw out any moisture. :)
 
manhattan$ said:
Try and put the CCU in a sealed tub of rice overnight. That should draw out any moisture. :)
Click to expand...

Good idea that, nice one ;)
My VAG-COM cable turned up today :) I cleared the old EGR error light.
I scanned the CCU and it listed a loaaaad of errors. I cleared them and one keeps coming back, saying that the module is faulty :(
 
Hi All, I removed my rear bumper today.
Not a massive job, just a pain to find all the screws that need to be removed.
I took loads of pics and will post a step by step when it's all back together.

As described, remove wheels, remove arch crap-liners,
There's 3 screws under the crap-liner on the NS and 2 on the OS. These secure the bumper to the wheel arch...remove them.
Remove all the screws on the bottom of the bumper.
Carefully pop off the top plastic cover on the bumper, pushing the little tabs to release the cover, remove all 6 exposed screws.
You don't need to remove the silver trim.

I removed all the grommets I could see and silicon'd them back in too.

The drivers side vent had a cracked securing clip and pretty much came out in my hand.
What's the best way to seal it?
There's no foam that I can see, just a rubber seal.
It was thinking of splatting a goodly amount of silicone on the seal and refitting it.
I have some really good Dow-Corning stuff that's miles better than regular bathroom sealant.

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: chb
Removed vents, disassembled both, silicon'd every joining surface.
Silicon on the rubber seal and body aperture, refit, smooth the silicon overspill.
Allow to dry.

left out in the rain for 1 week with the bumper removed, carpets are now dry as a bone.

TtN2BRf.jpg


wif3Io7.jpg


gVg2r7J.jpg


RfyaJCJ.jpg


EZy4G7S.jpg


Kbop7XY.jpg


oblNK5u.jpg
 
Last edited:
Yeah, really useful, I love photos of this kind of thing. Know your enemy and all that.
Thanks
 
Jags C20LET said:
You're welcome. I'm a photo junkie. I have literally hundreds of photos of my Astra GTE.
Click to expand...

Please post them as an album on the albums option on here, (I could see the red Astra in one of the shots above!)

I posted pictures of my V8 taxi on an album, they don't have to be A2 related.

I like to see other people's cars, it is often an inspiration for new ideas (although in some cases it can be an example of how NOT to do it, equally helpful) ;)

Steve B
 
Birchall said:
Please post them as an album on the albums option on here, (I could see the red Astra in one of the shots above!)

I posted pictures of my V8 taxi on an album, they don't have to be A2 related.

I like to see other people's cars, it is often an inspiration for new ideas (although in some cases it can be an example of how NOT to do it, equally helpful) ;)

Steve B
Click to expand...

Hello.
I've uploaded some pics to the gallery for those who are interested..

http://www.a2oc.net/forum/album.php?albumid=467
 
murdo said:
Very impressive. I'm transported back to my late teens when this was coveted in equal measure with the XR's and of course the rich persons version the GTI. ;)

The car looks in great order. How original is the body?
Click to expand...
Thanks murdo.

She was fitted with a Zender wide arch kit for some years and then I removed it all and returned it to standard.
She's had new full sills, front wings, rear quarter panels, and a door.
She's got a Cavalier Turbo engine and 6speed 'box.
Lowered on OZ wheels, big brake conversion, limited edition leather.
I fitted a larger intercooler and hand made all the pipework.

I'm an electrical maintenance technician by trade, but am also a bit handy with the spanners, so I can do most maint stuff.


Basically, she's my pride and joy.
 
Right, just had delivery of a 2nd hand Q CCCU for £46, will plug it in an check it with VCDS tomorrow and hopefully program it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top