[simon_g]

My brother in law has had the exact same issue with his 2010 Insignia and he too was told it was the software update. He’s had that done and it’s still faulting saying it’s overheating so next plan is to change the sensors. He bought a cheap OBD that he carries in his car so he can reset the fault and carry on when it happens!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Bagpuss. I've also got a cheap scanner. I've not had to use it for this problem yet.

The RAC Tech said that this is a common problem.

Forgot to mention - my car is an Astra so there's less room in the engine bay to remove the sensor (not sure if it's easier on the Insignia).

 

[simon_g]

Thanks Bagpuss. eBay seems like a good place to buy -

Pardon our interruption...

this one is £38.95+£4.40 postage.

S.

 

[simon_g]

Does yours have a second sensor as well, if it does then it may be sensor 2 thats faulty not sensor 1, you need to look at both sensors live data reading, i had one recently with this code and sensor 2 was reading wrong.
If you do replace sensor 1 you will need to remove the fan to remove the sensor, dont be tempted to bend the sensor to get it to fit, it will damage the internal core and cause premature failure.

Hi Andy,

I've not checked to see if another sensor (sensor 2) is present but looking briefly I can't see one (another sensor is shown as being somewhere on the left side of the engine - there's a diagram above).
The RAC Tech's OBD said sensor 1 and I could see that this sensor was showing that the exhaust temp was 400 degs (it wasn't). After reset, the sensor gave a more reasonable figure around 150 degs. I don't remember seeing any info for a sensor 2, just the voltage and temp.

I really didn't want to remove the fan. I wonder if I can remove the bolts for the fan housing and flex forward the fan to give me the extra inch needed to remove the sensor. There is already some "play" in the fan and housing. I can't imagine that Vauxhall Mechs remove the fan as that's a lot of work just to fit the sensor.

Thanks Andy,

S.

 

[simon_g]

Got an update on this - it takes a Vauxhall garage around 45 mins to replace the sensor. For this they remove the fan. The price for this work is approx. £200 (this is with the 25% discount from the Vx service club membership).

If I can find out how to remove the four fan cowling clips (trying to see these on a 2.0l Diesel is difficult) the cowling can be raised by 10cm or so which will then allow removal of the sensor.

The fan cowling on an Astra J is the same as the Chevy Cruze as well as other vehicles.

Once I've removed it I'll photograph/video the replacement of the sensor.

If anyone out there has a photo of the fan cowling clips so I know how to remove them, I'll be very grateful. I've been looking at 2nd hand cowlings on eBay but none have detail of the clip fastening and several are broken which is concerning.

Best Wishes,

S.

 

[simon_g]

Tried to remove the fan cowling- not too bad, four clips, two of which at the bottom of the cowling stop it from being pulled upwards.

The big problem is removing this shield (not sure what it protects)...

because without removing it, the fan cowling can't be removed enough. this shield is held on by two bolts (there are two nuts holding on the part inside it). These bolts are 10mm and captive. If I try to remove them they'll probably round off. On the part side, there are two rubber washers which are not easily removed.

Anybody else come across this problem?



Thanks.

 

[simon_g]

Thats the boost control solenoid, its mounted on rubber with a thread either side and the nuts always seem to seize, the only way is to rip the rubber mount if the nuts wont undo although they will take some twisting before they give.
The picture in this link will show you how its all constructed, number 9 is the rubber mount,.....

TURBOCHARGER VACUUM SYSTEM OPEL ASTRA-J

TURBOCHARGER VACUUM SYSTEM OPEL ASTRA-J

opel.7zap.com

Andy, thank you so much for your messgae and the link - you may have just saved me a lot of depression and a fair few quid too as I was thinking about defeat and considering taking it to Vauxhall.
I soaked the bolts in Plusgas before I finished so possibly they'll be looser tomorrow. I was thinking about why, if they were captive botls, did they have a bolt head on the back side - now I can see the answer. The nuts nearest the engine were easy to remove. The nuts on the more exposed side were stuck fast. I had considered cutting them away.

Thank you so much again. I'll take some photos for others when I finally do this work.

Very Best Wishes,

Simon.

 

[simon_g]

The other sensor that Andy is on about is after the DPF in the exhaust system, if you have an undertray you will need to remove it to get to the sensor and its connector. On my insignia with the same engine I have the lambda and 2 gas temp sensors. You can remove them and put a multimeter on to test them--should be about 200 ohms (cold) or there abouts, just remember that the readings will be different with different temperatures - - Dave

Good to know info - thanks Dave!

 

[simon_g]

Well I finally replaced the sensor mounted in the DPF.

Looking at it, I probably didn't need to remove the boost solenoid. There's no way the fan cowling can be removed on this engine without removing a lot of other parts. In the 45mins that Vauxhall say it takes them for this operation, they can do that amount of work. They probably do what I've done - loosen the cowling which gives a lot more play to be able flex it forward and then remove the sensor.
Here's some hints for doing this work:

Jack up the car. If you keep on the wheels but raise it so you can get under, it will give you enough space to release the cowling lugs.

loosening the fan cowling:

It's "hooked" in by 4 lugs to 4 "U" brackets. There not evenly spaced around the cowling so to locate them follow the shape of plastic moulding to find the lugs at their ends...

The top lugs are not secured into the U brackets but the two bottom ones are and are difficult to see if you don't know what to look for...

With the cowling loose and out of the U brackets, there should be a lot more flexibility in it.

The sensor is released with a 17mm open ended spanner. It's only tightened to around 33 ft-lbs (not tight).

Use a suitable lever (in my case, a 4ft 2"x1" piece of timber), to firmly push the cowling towards the front of the car...

this should give the amount of access needed to remove and fit a new sensor. It is possible to do this on your own (I did) but another pair of hands is useful. I found that levering the motor body without freeing up the cowling feels like something will break -it's very tough and things could slip causing damage. Remember that the radiator is only around 15mm from the fan so go gently!

Once the sensor body is out, disconnect the connection. Remove the connection from the metal bracket it's mounted on..

then disconnect the join by gently levering up as well as pushing on the plastic tab on the connector (I found that there's just not enough movement for the tab to work as it should).

The old and the new (below). I don't recall bending the old sensor so it was either done previously or it's easily bent. The new one went in without problem. Note the new one has a heat shield on the wire.

Fitting this took me around two hours but only because I'd intended to remove the cowling and removed the boost solenoid and wiring clips, so it should take around an hour normally, depending on locating the lugs and freeing up the cowling.

My vehicle has covered approx. 124000 miles. Not sure if this is the first replacement of this sensor.

Hope this may be of use for someone. If you need any extra advice feel free to message me.

Best Wishes,

Simon.

 

[simon_g]

Well I finally replaced the sensor mounted in the DPF.

Looking at it, I probably didn't need to remove the boost solenoid. There's no way the fan cowling can be removed on this engine without removing a lot of other parts. In the 45mins that Vauxhall say it takes them for this operation, they can do that amount of work. They probably do what I've done - loosen the cowling which gives a lot more play to be able flex it forward and then remove the sensor.
Here's some hints for doing this work:

Jack up the car. If you keep on the wheels but raise it so you can get under, it will give you enough space to release the cowling lugs.

loosening the fan cowling:

It's "hooked" in by 4 lugs to 4 "U" brackets. There not evenly spaced around the cowling so to locate them follow the shape of plastic moulding to find the lugs at their ends...
View attachment 92765

The top lugs are not secured into the U brackets but the two bottom ones are and are difficult to see if you don't know what to look for...

View attachment 92766

With the cowling loose and out of the U brackets, there should be a lot more flexibility in it.

The sensor is released with a 17mm open ended spanner. It's only tightened to around 33 ft-lbs (not tight).

Use a suitable lever (in my case, a 4ft 2"x1" piece of timber), to firmly push the cowling towards the front of the car...

View attachment 92767

this should give the amount of access needed to remove and fit a new sensor. It is possible to do this on your own (I did) but another pair of hands is useful. I found that levering the motor body without freeing up the cowling feels like something will break -it's very tough and things could slip causing damage. Remember that the radiator is only around 15mm from the fan so go gently!

Once the sensor body is out, disconnect the connection. Remove the connection from the metal bracket it's mounted on..
View attachment 92768

then disconnect the join by gently levering up as well as pushing on the plastic tab on the connector (I found that there's just not enough movement for the tab to work as it should).
View attachment 92769

The old and the new (below). I don't recall bending the old sensor so it was either done previously or it's easily bent. The new one went in without problem. Note the new one has a heat shield on the wire.

View attachment 92770

Fitting this took me around two hours but only because I'd intended to remove the cowling and removed the boost solenoid and wiring clips, so it should take around an hour normally, depending on locating the lugs and freeing up the cowling.

My vehicle has covered approx. 124000 miles. Not sure if this is the first replacement of this sensor.

Hope this may be of use for someone. If you need any extra advice feel free to message me.

Best Wishes,

Simon.

Could you not have taken the slam panel off, released the top radiator mounts and tilted the fan and radiator assembly forward?

Hi KcK, I don't know is the short answer. I did think about the bolts and screws on the slam panel. There is a YT video which shows a guy with (I think) a Zafira who removes the radiator bolt on the left side and then levers the rad forwards but he does say that this requires some force.

Looking on an exploded diagram, there are three screws securing the fan to the cowling which should be accessible from the engine side but I couldn't see these (if I could then I would have removed two after first replacing the usual screw with longer one of the same thread so that it would drop forwards into the space between rad and cowling. I would have then been able to have retrieved and aligned it.

Hope fully it won't have to be replaced again but if it does, I'll look at the slam panel.

Best Wishes,

S.

 

[simon_g]

Hi Simon, i want to change the EGT sensor, but i have faced the same problem with the fan. Do you have viber or whatsup application where we can chat more and help me solve this problem?

Thank you!

Hi Dolarot, sorry I don't have any of those. I do have Line ( if you know it:

LINE: Free Calls & Messages – Apps on Google Play )

Re: the fan - summer temperatures are going to allow the plastic cowling to flex even more so should be a good time of year to do this work (and you won't be shivering!). Just go easily with "persuading the cowling forward. Us a fairly long (I think I used a metre at least - 4ft) piece of 2x1 and gently applied force and only until I had the room to slip in the end of the sensor.

The locating/securing lugs were difficult to see but just study the photos and even take a look at the parts photos on eBay - I found these useful. Loosening the cowling does give the "play to be able to do this job. There may be a different way - I'm not exactly sure what the Vx techs do about this job but to complete it in 45mins there's no way they remove the rad.

I'll keep an eye out for your reply.

Best Wishes,

S.

 

[simon_g]

Hi S,

Thanks for the quick reply. First im happy because this is only post that I found on google related with this problem. Do you think I should loose all 4 clips or 2 is enough? How much space is needed to be made for the EGT to come out, around 1cm or more?

Sorry for my bad english im from Macedonia

Thanks again bro!

Здраво повторно Доларот,
Вашиот англиски јазик е одличен! Нема потреба да се извинувам.
За отстранување на кукавицата - има само 2 клипови на дното на кукавицата. Отстранете ги обете овие клипови, а потоа кукавицата и вентилаторот ќе се подигнат нагоре. Removeе ви требаат приближно 3 сантиметри (мислам дека) за да го отстраните и поправите сензорот.
Дали разбравте сè во мојот претходен одговор? (На пример, парче дрво 1 x 2 е 2,5 х 5 см, рад = радијатор). Те молам, извести ме ако не и ќе го напишам подобро. Најдобри желби, S.

Hi again Dolarot,
Your English is excellent! No need to apologise.
About the removal of the cowling - there are only 2 clips at the bottom of the cowling. Remove both of these clips, then the cowling and fan will lift upwards. You will need approximately 3cm (I think) to remove and refit the sensor.
Did you understand everything in my previous reply? (For example, a 1 x 2 piece of wood is 2.5 x 5cm, rad = radiator). Please let me know if you didn't and I will write it better. Best Wishes, S.