Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 3 cyl

[P3ety]

Hi all,

I own a 'S' reg Vauxhall Corsa 3 cylinder. Recently and unfortunatly the head gasket went on it whilst driving on the motorway. As my father is a decent mechanic he fixed the cylinder head (had it skimmed and so on)and rebuilt the engine succesfully.

Now we come to the problem. When trying to start the engine off the key, it tries to start without success...just turns over. The car will start immediatley with a slight push and has done on several occasions. The camshaft and crankshaft sensors have been replaced, ignition coils have been checked. Fuel is getting to the plugs as it starts with a push, and no fault shows on the engine diagnostics...No engine management light appears.

We are at our wits end with this...Can anyone help????

 

[johnb80]

Double check that all cables have been refitted especially the heavy earth cable to the engine (if removed). Try connecting a jump lead from the battery -ve to the engine block and see if it will start then.

Regards - J

 

[P3ety]

Thanks mate,

Will give it a try and let you know...

 

[stuartinlancashire]

A mate of mine had a similar problem with a Polo a few years ago, turned out to be a fault with the imobiliser.

 

[P3ety]

Na....the earth connection didnt work...still the same. Does this car have an immobiliser as standard???

 

[^neo^]

If it goes with a push but not on the key then id be looking at something like the coil ballast resistor, or maybe even the ignition switch itself.

 

[P3ety]

Right folks...update on this car

After trying several things the car eventually sometimes started off the key. It turns over and after about 10 -15 seconds fires up and runs ok. Now we noticed that whilst the car is turning over the engine management light is on but when it starts it goes off. Another spare key came with this car but does not have what looks like to be a chip in the bit that you hold. When trying to start the car with this key, it just turns over and the engine management light flashes constantly...

Anyone experienced anything like this before?

 

[^neo^]

It may just need the ecu resetting.
If it wasnt firing im sure you were unplugging and plugging things in left right and centre trying to get it running.
If this is the case the ecu will be full of faults causing your problems.

 

[P3ety]

Is a laptop req for this mate or can it b done yourself???

 

[^neo^]

Doesnt have to be done with a laptop, just buy fault code readers from halfords that will do the job.
Ideally you want a friendly back street mechanic who will probably charge you a tenner tops to read and reset the codes.

 

[jonnyfishing]

It could be the immobilizer malfunctioning,I think your cheapest option is to go for a diagnostics check as previously suggested.The systems can only be reprogramed/reset using dedicated diagnostic equipment.

 

[P3ety]

Right...Cheers chaps.

Will give that a go.

 

[Chap]

http://www.topbuzz.co.uk/info/fault_codes/fault_codes.htm

^^this page will tell you how to read the engine codes

For Vauxhall specific help, try here:
http://www.migweb.co.uk/forums

 

[jonnyfishing]

To read the codes( as above "flash codes" ) you need to check that you have a terminal in No,6 of the 16 pin diagnostic plug if not it can only be done with code reader display equipment. (ref. Autodata)