[pinkcalibra]

hi there, im a new member, a vauxhall hand through and through! :bananasmi I have 2 vauxhalls at the moment, an astra and a calibra, but its my astra thats causing me problems! :shame:
Its a 1993 mk 3 1.4i astra. I have had it 2 years, and it had a VERY intermintant fault, in that very occassionally it decided not to start, it turned over but wont fire. Leave it 5 mins and it restarted fine. this happened prob 5 times in 2 years. But the last couple of weeks it has happened daily, of course when i take it to the garage, it behaves! Worse than that it takes 20-40 mins to restart. Also on a couple of occasions it has cut out whilst driving along. It feels like the power just goes, then teh engine cuts out, try to restart and it just turns over and wont fire! Yesterday i fitted a fuel filter as my old one was old and filthy, but still no better! Narrowly missed breaking down on a very busy crossroads tonight!! (someone was watching over me there)
Its embarrassing :wub: but worse its potentially dangerous! :turd I dont want to spend hundreds on vauxhalls diagnostic machine to be told that they cant find a fault (i've worked in garages!) I am totally stuck and am sorry to say i dont have confidence in my vauxhall just now!!
Please help!! any suggestions would be gratefully received!!
Cheers Karen

 

[cav TD gls]

on a 93 model i would check the multi plug on the bottom of the distributor , 3 wires in it , i have seen these go a bit green & get a bad contact , costs nowt to check it out & see what you find.

 

[pinkcalibra]

thanks for that info, :Cool2: i will try get my car to the garage tomorrow and see "my mechanic" get him to look. I have been doing some searching, and have heard a lot of people saying the Coil pack, does that ring true for anyone???
cheers karen

 

[cav TD gls]

the 93 won`t have a coil pack , just a normal coil & distributor.

 

[pinkcalibra]

Pants!!!!! ah well i am just stabbing in the dark here will try the multi plug cheers
karen

 

[Fletty]

Might be flooding with fuel.
Next time it cuts out and wont restart, try taking out the fuse marked (FI) in the fuse box. If it then starts up ok then you know you have a fuel / air ratio problem.

 

[bigspj]

I had a similar problem with a mk2 astra 1.4 carb engine. turned out to be a bad connection on the ignition control module. Located behind the passenger headlamp by the coil, looks like a black box. Try easing it apart mine had 7 connectors inside cleaned them up put a bit of a bend on them to make better contact. Never any trouble after that. Is your engine fitted with this?

 

[dtm_chris]

Fuel Pump Relay?

 

[pinkcalibra]

Ok not too sure if my car has that, but my father in law has volanteered to change all my servicable parts, the obvious and non bank breaking stuff lol just to rule out anything really stupid! Havent drove my car since as im just to scared of where it will conk out! Of course everytime i go to my car it starts up just fine! :grrr I am filling in my people who know more about engines than i do with all the info im getting, and hopefully (fingers crossed) i will have wheels again! The calibras fine, great in fact but its too low to go on all roads! lol as soon as i get my parts fitted i'll let you know, unfortunatly i dont know when as it will need to work round my father in law and his work! :mmmm but any more suggestions will be greatfully received!! :Cool2:

 

[wonkypants]

check the dizzy cap and rotor arm contacts for corrosion and damp too....

alternator belt and earth straps might need looking at too...

 

[pinkcalibra]

hi again
ok my father in law changed my distributor cap and rotor arm aparantly it was pretty grotty! they also cleaned up all the electrical points etc. That was last tuesday, so far the car has run fine, but still scared in case, wont be happy till it has ran for a couple of weeks trouble free. Its behaved before then decided it wont run. I have also just changed the plugs and leads. So far so good, got it booked for its MOT on wednesday as well so that should be interesting :think I'll let you know, but for all the things it could have been if the cap and arm are my probs as wonkypants has suggested, I will be well chuffed, cos it aint cost me very much! :lmao: Although i reckon i may be due my father in law a pint or four!!! lol
I'll report my the end of the week and hopefully its a good report! Thanks for all the advice so far, its very much appreciated! :bananasmi

 

[Guest]

Fuel Pump Relay?

Be my choice :Cool2:
When it fails to start, check for EM light coming on with check lights.

 

[pinkcalibra]

Well the EM light doesnt come on when it wont start, it all sounds fine just wont fire!!! The EM light has came on when the engine cut out but it only came on for a second then it goes back to the non start situation!! :shame:

 

[Guest]

So, when it won't start, with ignition to position 2, bringing up check lights, the EM light doesn't come on with them?
If not, is the relay.

 

[pinkcalibra]

You know the saying "i spoke to soon" ?? well i did !!! not 2 hours after posting yesterday it cut out just as i was moving off, it did restart, but not for several mins! :shame: So you reckon the relay then Cally T?? Im still gonna take it for its MOT tomorrow (if it gets there) I'll take note of the lights if it happens tomorrow. But you know what its like, when you take the car to the garage with an intermitant fault the car is the best car on the ramps!!!!!!! :eh I'll keep you posted! But i must be honest getting more than a little miffed, just been offered an R reg Astra, but gonna wait till i get the MOT results of my mk 3! Cos at the end of the day i like my car, its solid no rust to speak of and it was generally a reliable car!!!! Until recently!!! :shake

 

[Fletty]

Did you try taking the FI fuse out when it won't restart?

 

[Guest]

You know the saying "i spoke to soon" ?? well i did !!! not 2 hours after posting yesterday it cut out just as i was moving off, it did restart, but not for several mins! :shame: So you reckon the relay then Cally T?? Im still gonna take it for its MOT tomorrow (if it gets there) I'll take note of the lights if it happens tomorrow. But you know what its like, when you take the car to the garage with an intermitant fault the car is the best car on the ramps!!!!!!! :eh I'll keep you posted! But i must be honest getting more than a little miffed, just been offered an R reg Astra, but gonna wait till i get the MOT results of my mk 3! Cos at the end of the day i like my car, its solid no rust to speak of and it was generally a reliable car!!!! Until recently!!! :shake

If it was an old 2.0 litre I'd say so, not heard of one go on a 1400 before.
Light will tell you.