VX motor cutting out

[Ven7]

G’Day All,

Up to now any problems I’ve had with my 16 V Vauxhall 2 liter fuel injected 1994 Caterham HPC have been minor but now I have a baffling one, can anyone help?

 

Last Sunday I drove it around a fair bit and had no problems, everything normal, I drove it home and parked.

On Tuesday I started it and it coughed and spluttered on what sounded like one piston for about five minutes before the rest of them came to life.

I keep it in an open sided carport and due to the huge amount of rain we had the previous day, I thought it was just a bit of condensation in the electrics that would clear up once the engine got hot.

That was not he case because as I drove down the hill, it would cut out as if the ignition had been switched off. It would fire up again, by itself, but then repeat the cutting out every 100 yards.

I noticed that the fuel was quite low and thought that might be the problem. I filled up at the service station, at the bottom of the hill and headed off with fingers crossed.

It started up well and all appeared normal (for about a mile) until I turned around and headed back up hill.

As soon as I gave it some accelerator, it started cutting out again. I found I could stop the cutting out by only using small amounts of accelerator and traveling at low speed.

Yesterday I removed the plugs (they were all very clean) and checked cable connections (all appear solid and dry).

I am now leaning towards the theory that my problem could be fuel rather than electrical, maybe a blocked fuel filter. What baffles me is how it got blocked whilst parked.

I went for a short drive yesterday to see if the problem had gone away as mysteriously as it appeared but it still persists.

On a short drive of about 10 minutes the engine got very hot. The temp gauge was normal but the cam cover was very hot to touch (no fuel feed thus very lean?).

I don’t want to go rushing off, fiddling with the wiring if the problem lays with the fuel supply, hence this letter.

Has anyone had a similar problem and what did you do to fix it?

All suggestions eagerly awaited. Regards Mark Lander.

 

[16vastra]

if it cuts out, not splutters to a stop i would say its more on the ignition side rather than fuel and would 1st off try another dizzy cap and rotor (mine have a habit of dying every 12 months so its now a serviceable item lol)

the cam cover does get quite hot and i see where you are going, but not too sure its related

 

thats where i'd start anyway, if you are thinking fuel, just check that fuel is being pumped in and then try a new pump relay (have a habit of dying as well on the standard setup)

[David Chesney]

I had a similar problem with my VX, although mine has carbs, not sure of the sequence but after trying new plugs, leads, distributor cap rotor arm and coil pack the fault was still evident. Removed the ECU and there were signs of water ingress, fortunately I picked up a second hand but unused ECU which resolved the fault.

 

Would also recommend buying genuine VX parts, the pattern leads and distributor cap where crap and introduced another fault.

 

Would also suggest checking Alternator wiring, my tacho would flicker when the rough running was apparent and cleaning and recrimping the wires solved this.

 

David C L7DWC

[Ven7]

G’Day 16vastra and David,

Thank you for your replies. I have been waiting for a mate of mine to get back from England as he was picking up a bunch of 7 bits for me (including an Astra manual) and I was hoping that the manual would give me a few clues as well. Not to be however as he could not locate a manual. I have another mate coming over next month, any clues as to where I should send him for a manual in London?

16vastra I think you may be correct, suggesting ignition but with regards to the distributor, where is it mate? I don’t want to sound like a Wally but I don’t think my motor has one. It’s got an electronic ignition and I presume all sparking commands come out of the large flat aluminium box (ECU?) to a small square arrangement bolted to the back of the head behind the right hand cam (it has no shaft connecting to the cam but that’s where the plug leads come from). There is a small die-cast housing bolted to the back of the head behind the left hand cam (and connected to it, as far as I can see) that I presume contains some kind of rev sensing bizzo (it doesn’t look big enough to have a rotor in it). It’s quite difficult to trace the wires as they disappear into a loom and sprout out everywhere. As for a dizzy cap with points and rotor etc, I see nothing that looks like the ones I’m used to. I have the little ring bound Caterham manual that came with the car but the wiring diagram has no mention of an electric fuel pump (most odd as I’m sure the pump is run from the battery, not solar). Your suggestion of the pump relay sounds promising but as there is no mention of the pump in the wiring diagram, where is it? There are two relays under the bonnet and another four (I think) below the fuse box in the cockpit (these are the ones that fall out when I hit a big bump).

David, you seem to agree with 16vastra, as to the cause being electrical. Also you speak of a distributor that I can’t locate (maybe I should post a photo of the motor and you guys can educate me). I’m a bit worried by your suggestion of a fault in the ECU as I have Buckley’s chance of getting one over here (Venezuela). Am most interested in your suggestion of poor alternator wire connections, as the fuel gauge has been flickering, lately. I remember, with not much fondness, of the weird things my 1275 MG Midget would do with just a loose earth to provoke it. I hope that is the fault as I can fix it with no need to import parts, just a lot of patience involved.

Thanks again guys, looks like I have a pleasant weekend of unplugging, checking, cleaning and crimping ahead of me (when I would much rather be blatting up the Andes with the girlfriend). At least I can put the tele nearby and listen to the Monza F1 (fingers crossed for Mark Webber and Justin Wilson). Cheers, Mark Lander.

 

[rjc]

Does this black box under the dash have MBE 906 written on it by anychance ? If so I think the ECU has expired.

 

The black bits on the back of the inlet cam side of the engine is a twin coil pack to supply the spark to the plugs on the signal from the ecu. One does cylinders 1 and 4, the other 2 and 3.

 

The original equipment MBE 906 ECU is known to be unreliable (see separate thread - VX Misfire) and typical symptoms are very poor running and loss of spark to cylinders 1 and 4. Result the car runs like it's got square wheels.

 

The solution is a new ECU and a 3d ECU which gives independent throttle position input as well as engine speed gives a noticable improvement over the basic ECU.

 

Regards

Rowland

 

 

[Ven7]

G’Day Rowland,

Thanks for your advice. I am checking all the wiring connections on the 7 as I am writing this.

The only black boxes I can see under the dash are relays for the horn etc. Bolted to the top of the passenger’s side foot box (my car is left hand drive) is a tin box with MOTRONIC stamped on it and a sticker that has BOSH, GM 90 358 384 and the letters PT on it. It has a bar code with 0 261 203 019/020 written above it. A thick wiring loom plugs into it and has three rows of pins, totaling 55 pins.

Is this the ECU and is it a good one or the unreliable one you spoke of?

 

Regards Mark Lander.

 

[rjc]

Bosch Motronic is as good a make as any and is not the one I was thinking of.

 

Your unit will incorporate a number of sensors around the engine including things like throttle position, engine revs, air temp and pressure and will also control the fuel injection through the injectors on the throttle bodies.

 

More often than not the ECU itself proves very reliable although they don't like getting wet internally as Dave says above. Check for water ingress into the ECU box but be carefull not to damage the unit by doing so. The ECU itself is very sensitive to static electricity and is easily damaged. Some reprogrammble ECU chips can be wiped by exposure to sunlight / UV. Find out whats in there before you open the box !

 

However problems with this sort of unit usually stem from a sensor failure or injector malfunction or blockage. The trick is to find out about the unit and how it works. Try the internet and find the Bosch Motronic site. You should be able to find out about the unit and what it's input and output signals are from there. There will be a contact number at the very least.

 

Then inspect the engine and find out where all the sensors are fitted. The throttle potentiometer should be attached to the throttle bodies opening mechanism, the engine rev sensor is usually fitted into the block underneath the thermostat housing and above the alternator. Air temp and pressure sensors can often be found in the intake filter housing. Finding these things is usually easy once youv'e determined what you are looking for.

 

Having identified the various bits and pieces run the engine and check each one in turn and this way you can quickly trace the problem area. An electrical test meter is usually very useful about now, see if you can borrow one if you haven't got one of your own.

 

If you ring Haynes Manuals they will usually send the various parts of old manuals you need for postage. I got my copies of the astra 16valve engine

from the Astra GTE manual in the post for free.

 

Also remember someone somewhere fitted this system, have you tried contacing who you bought the car off to see if they have any history of the engine management system. ?

 

Good Luck

 

Regards

Rowland

Having located the sensors and identified

 

 

[Steve Kirk]

Mark,

 

You mention that the car is an HPC injection. I think this is aka the "VXi" which is what I have too. I've been having this same problem with my 95 VXi for some months now - see the photos here for comparison, do they look familiar? I've not solved it completely yet, but am getting there so maybe this info will help.

 

The problem only happens occasionally, but I've realised over time that it's always after the car has been caught out in a bit of rain. Twice the car has refused to start, firing erratically but never properly starting, to the point where I've had to get the AA out. The first time they couldn't fix it at all because the engine kept flooding, so they sent it to Caterham (where, annoyingly, it started and ran perfectly first time). The AA had tried everything - battery, fuel delivery, wiring, spark plugs, etc. Second time the AA got it going after about 30 mins, and it ran rough for a few miles but then suddenly was fine and has been fine since. From memory the "fix" the second time was unplugging and replugging the throttle position sensor, so maybe this had some water in it? I've arrowed the TPS on the photos above.

 

Bear in mind that what looks like a fuel problem can actually be electrical in an injection car, e.g. maybe one of your injectors is not working because the electrical signal isn't reaching it.

 

Although I haven't proved it by fixing it yet, my theory is that the wiring harness for the injectors is particularly susceptible to problems when it gets wet. Water definietly does enter through the bonnet louvres and sit on the wiring/manifold/engine - you've only got to take off the bonnet and look after it's rained. This wouldn't happen with most cars because they do not have louvres, so their engines and wiring remain pretty dry. I think with the Caterham, the water sits on the wiring and over time it finds it's way inside the electrics, causing problems with injectors or sensors. E.g. if this switches an injector "on" all the time, then this will flood the engine, which happened repeatedly on my first breakdown; shorting a sensor will mean that the ECU gets confused by bad or non-existent data, and the engine won't run right.

 

Also, I don't think that the quality of the injector wiring harness is that brilliant - some of the wires appear to be slightly too short, which puts the wiring and connectors under mechanical tension, and the insulation does not appear that good. I'm thinking of stripping mine and re-making it if the problem persists, to make sure all the wires and insulation are 100%.

 

I think this theory is backed up by the fact that after my car was sent to Caterham on a low loader after the first breakdown, it worked fine when it got there - possibly due to a good hour of wind en route having dried things out under the bonnet? Also this explains why it ran better after I had driven a few miles after my second breakdown.

 

On thing to check when you're having the problem is the red warning light on the dashboard between the oil and water gauges. I am told by Caterham after some investigation that is an ECU warning light (not oil pressure or ignition as I had assumed previously). This light was on during my second breakdown, and went off when it was fixed. Caterham say that this light indicates that there is some kind of engine management error, which could be in the ECU itself, or in the sensors that talk to it - it's no more specific than that. After hearing that, I wanted to plug the car into a diagnostic unit at a garage, but AFAIK this is not possible using the Caterham harness, even though the diagnostic equipment is avaialable vauxhall dealerships (the engine is after all a bog standard Astra GTE 16V lump).

 

Re your comments about cam cover - these do get very hot. Hard to say how hot it should be, but put it this way, it's too hot to lean on it when topping up with oil when it's been on a run.

 

PS A chat to the friendly man in my local car spares shop resulted in me buying 2 things: silicone grease for electrics, for putting on the connectors/contacts to keep water out, and a spraycan of a lacquer type stuff for coating the ignition wiring. Yet to find the time to apply these everywhere, but will do soon, fingers crossed. Meanwhile if the car is parked outside I put a car cover over it.

 

PPS the Motronic ECU in your car sounds like the same one I have as far as I remember. I've had a look at mine externally and it appears OK - no water around it or any obvious signs of damage. I'm not sure how you check for water ingress without opening it though, as mentioned by others in this thread. One thing you can check is that the big block connector that connects the ECU to the harness is not wet, and is snugly plugged in.

 

Steve.

[Mike Biddle]

Mark, I had exactly the same problem with my VX one day after washing it! The Bosch system as fitted to the standard Caterham HPC is very vunerable to this.

 

If you have a local Opel or GM dealer they should be a ble to plug in their diagnostics. I had another problem at one stage and the local Opel dealer traced it to the airspeed sensor in the intake.

 

Later I junked all that stuff and went to Throttle bodies and an MBE ECU, much more reliable!

 

Good luck, Mike.

 

 

[Ven7]

G’Day Rowland, Steve and Mike,

I can cheerfully announce that the 7 (Colin) is back on the road and running better than ever, at least I think so but it could just be that I am so relieved to have fixed it. All of you were correct with your diagnosis of the ECU and saved me bags of time changing fuel filters and the like so thanks very much.

Steve, yes, my motor is identical to yours, thanks for the photos. I have saved them and can use them to show future problem areas.

Now for “true confessions” or maybe I should say “don’t try this at home”. Just after writing to Rowland, I removed the ECU so as to be able to get at the connections and ensure that they were clean and dry. When I turned it upside down, I noticed that someone had opened it previously. Venezuelan auto electricians (an insult to the trade) can be somewhat “agricultural” in their approach to problem solving and rather heavy handed. It was obvious that it had been opened because the “electrician” had not bothered to bend some of the retaining tags back down. This prompted me to open it and see what evils lie within.

If any of you have one of these ECUs, can you tell me if it should have some rubber seal or gasket between the lid and base as it doesn’t have one now. The first thing I discovered was some non-standard wiring coming from the pins and disappearing under the circuit board. As it ran before, I concluded that this wasn’t the problem but I decided to replace it when I get a chance. Should I go for the same unit or can you recommend a better one? On top of the circuit board and around the pins, I could see the “salty” kind of deposit you get when water has got in. It was I fairly heavy coating and I presumed that it was causing a short or two. Now for the “don’t try this at home” bit.

Living in England, you have access to all kinds of spares and resources at almost any hour. I don’t so drastic situations require drastic measures following the “I’ll either fix it or f$&% it” logic. Using a toothbrush, the small brush that came with my electric shaver and a can of WD40, I set about scrubbing all of the deposits off. I then wiped the board as dry as possible and reinstalled it. The car fired up first pop and runs smoother than ever.

Obviously this is not the recommended method of dealing with sensitive electronic equipment and the problem will reoccur but for now I am back on the road. Any suggestions for a replacement ECU will be greatly received (and an estimate of the price).

Thanks again for your help. Regards, Mark Lander.

 

[richardhomer]

For replacement ecu you should try DTA. Their web site is www.dtafast.co.uk.

Their equipment has proved to be 100% reliable when compared to all others I have used.

System available for VX.

 

Richard Homer

[rjc]

If it works..... .

 

I'd just seal the unit against water ingress using silicone sealant. Any hardware shop has a tube and use the stuff for sealing baths and sinks, it makes a good and powerful seal.

 

I've heard good things about DTA and a lot of Brit garages use MBE ECU's. But if yours is working don't jump in until you need to. Hopefully never !!

 

Pleased you're back on the road.

 

Regards

Rowland

 

 

[Steve Kirk]

An update on my car. Seems pretty likely that the root cause was water in the ECU, as with Mark's. Thought I'd write it up in case this helps anyone else in future.

 

The problem re-emerged for the third time on Sat after having washed the car on Fri followed by a very light 5 min rain shower. To cut a long story short, I tried to get it going myself but had precious few tools so reluctantly called out the AA again. The AA man was superb - he spent over an hour and methodically went through everything with great patience until he solved it. Luckily a previous job of his had been in a VX dealership so he had good experience on these engines.

 

Before AA arrival I had unplugged all engine electrical connectors and dried/WD40ed wherever possible. Left bonnet off in sunshine to dry things out as much as possible but still no joy.

 

Symptoms:

1. Engine turning strongly but not firing (occasional cough only).

2. Strong smell of petrol, suggestive of flooding.

3. Testing for spark using inline telltale light on no 1 plug with engine turning - sometimes signal present, sometimes nothing.

4. Testing for signal to injector 4 using tell-tale light when engine turning - 12V present, but switching was sometimes not working.

5. Three black spark plugs, one light brown, suggesting mixture problems (note the car had just done 290 mile trip so would have expected light brown colour on all 4). Plugs not wet with fuel though.

 

At first the AA man suspected a dodgy harness connection. We checked a few connections but it was puzzling because both fuel and spark signals seemed dodgy. In the end we noticed that the tell-tale light he had plugged into injector 4's harness connection was going on and off every few seconds at random when the engine was not turning, as was the "engine management" warning light on the dashboard, even when we were not touching anything. This special type of mayhem could only be the work of an ECU..... Strangely there was no external evidence of water having got into the ECU, as the case appeared dry outside and no corrosion was evident, but the AA man was convinced this must be it. On opening the case it was clear that water had got in - there was a tidemark of dried dust/dirt on the circuit board, like Mark saw in his, and a few drops of water inside the case. There was also water under the case, on top of the passenger footwell. The join between the ECU case's base and lid were showing signs of corrosion. The circuit board itself appeared dry at the time, but nevertheless the AA man took it from the case and dried it using the heater in his van for a few mins, then gently brushed off the dirt. Reassembled, then the engine fired on the first click of the starter. It starts perfectly on the first click every time now.

 

Since then the engine has run smoother than ever and feels like it has more power. Unfortunately though the fuel consumption has increased. A worthwhile tradeoff though. I've yet to check the plug colour but am hoping that all 4 plugs will be light brown.

 

Incidentally the AA man said that water in the ECU was not uncommon even in the original VX saloons. He said he has seen ECUs swimming in water, yet when dried out they would work perfectly again!

 

He suggested sealing and re-siting the ECU, which I will certainly do. Basically the problem with the Caterham installation of this ECU seems to be that water runs down onto the top of the passenger footwell, and because the seal between the ECU case's base and lid is exposed at the bottom of the case, and sits directly on the top of the footwell, the water gets inside the ECU case. I was amazed that the case is not sealed against this - not even a rubber gasket.

 

My plan now is to seal the case with silicone, then remount it raised above the footwell using some spacers, so that it doesn't sit in a puddle. Hopefully this should fix this problem once and for all.

 

PS can anyone suggest a reason why completely sealing the ECU would be a bad idea?

 

[Ven7]

G’Day Richard, Rowland and Steve,

Thank you all very much for your help with the ECU. All is running well and no signs of a repeat episode despite the heavy rain we have been having lately.

I was very interested to see that someone else seems to be having the identical problem.

Steve, I was considering sealing the box with a home made rubber gasket or silicone but was concerned about condensation building up and causing the same problem.

The only solution I have thought of, so far, is to place some of those little packets of moisture absorbing crystals in the case. I have heaps lying about from all sorts of instruments we have purchased. I think they should be glued to the lid so as not to rest on the board and maybe start a fire.

I haven’t done this yet so don’t know if it is a practical idea but figured that it would be worth a try, if the problem comes back. Regards, Mark Lander.

 

[JonP]

Hi Guys

 

Just had the same problem on my '96 VX, thanks for the tip, cleaned ECU circuit board and now no problems. Definitely a top tip before delving into the wallet.

 

Incidentally this has also fixed my erratic idle problem which was with the car since I bought it, so worth doing even if you don't have serious problems.

 

 

 

JonP

 

No longer Sevenless....!

[Steve Kirk]

Mark: re sealing the case, I too was wondering whether condensation could be an issue, which was partly why I was asking if anyone could see a problem with sealing the case. On balance though I don't think this is a problem, because at a guess I would say that air flow through the ECU case must be minimal whether sealed or not, so condenstaion would happen whether or not sealed. The problem seemed to me to be more that liquid water gets through the gap between the two halves of the case.

 

I don't have crystal sachets so won't be including those this time around. If problems arise later I'll look at it again. I'm also planning to do a hose pipe test (over the bonnet, not the ECU!) afterwards to see if I've fixed it; recently the slightest fall of water on the bonnet has meant the car won't start. Fingers crossed.

 

Can anyone with other (non-VX) ECUs comment on whether they are sealed, and whether condensation is a problem?

[Ven7]

Steve,

It sounds as if yours is more of a problem than mine.

Mine is mounted on some thin rubber strips, about ¼ of an inch thick, that are stuck to the top of the foot well. If you don’t have these and the box is sitting flush on the foot well, any water that falls there will find it’s way into the ECU.

I don’t think there is much of an option to mount the ECU vertically but it may be worthwhile investigating (could allow water to simply drain out?).

Best of luck because I know how frustrating it can be, especially if it is a nice day for a blat. Regards Mark Lander.

 

[Steve Kirk]

Mark

 

Just noticed here that your ECU appears to be Bosh Motronic 2.8 from the 1993-95 Vauxhall Cavalier/Calibra/Vectra rather than the Astra. I had always assumed it was an Astra GTE item, but maybe not. I haven't checked mine but will have a look, armed with camera and come back with pictures.

 

Incidentally that site sells remanufactured ECUs. I phoned them up and a remanufactured one is 275 quid (exchange). They will also run a full diagnostic test for 32 quid if you can post the unit to them. They advise that these ECUs' cases were never sealed although the circuit boards are lacquered and sometimes they were covered with a plastic membrane. I asked about sealing the case and their response was that these things can get quite hot so it might not be advisable to totally seal the case.

 

Steve

[Harry Flatters]

Steve,

 

For what it's worth, the mounting problem must have been spotted at CC 'cos my car had the Bosch ECU mounted on quite tall ali spacers on top of the passenger footwell.

 

Glad it's sorted

 

*arrowright*Harry Flatters *arrowright*

AKA Steve Mell of Su77on Se7ens and Joint AO - Surrey

[Sheds Moderator]

CC have obviously learned from this, the K ECUs are on legs with the MFRU underneath. Result - no ECU problems, but MFRU notorious for causing problems...

[Steve Kirk]

Interesting - thanks. Notice now I look at my CC parts CD the spacers you are talking about. Just what I had in mind. Will have to give CC a call tomorrow. Slightly curious how with legs that long the ECU is not a bit wobbly!!

 

MFRU = ????

[Steve Kirk]

 

PS Mark, I checked my ECU today and it has the exact same part numbers on the case as yours. So I don't think the ECUs for these are from Astras - they're from Vectra/Cavalier/Calibra cars.

 

[Harry Flatters]

Surprisingly the ECU bolts down quite firmly with the spacers

 

*arrowright*Harry Flatters *arrowright*

AKA Steve Mell of Su77on Se7ens and Joint AO - Surrey

[JonP]

Hi All,

 

Seem to have revitalised this thread!

 

I think part of the problem is that the ECU board is NOT varnished, least not my ECU. Normally I would have expected to see some kind of 'conformal coating' on the electronics assembly, certainly the Volvo ECU I looked at had such a coating.

 

Electrolube manufacture suitable CCs, available from CPC/RS/(Maplin possibly) as an aerosol, and a coating of one of these on the back of the PC board would seem a belt and braces fix. Agreed the most sensible thing is the spacer approach....my 96 ECU mounted flat on the top of the footbox guaranteed to get wet.

 

Wouldn't recommend totally sealing the box because short of welding up the edges (!) you are bound to get moisture inside which cannot escape and will lead to corrosion and further problems.

 

Confirm box is Motronic 2.8 from Calibra etc, but many ancillary parts common with Astra Mk2/3.

Motronic 2.7 seems similar but doesn't have knock control.

 

Recommend changing the main ECU relay (larger of the two) as recommended in previous post, seemed to make a small improvement to general running. VX part number 90378651

 

Finally as a quick test all is OK, temporily connect the black and brown/white wires in the diagnostic socket which is next to the 'octane plug' immediately above the ECU on the bulkhead(use the pair opposite the fixing clip), turn on the ignition (do not start the engine) and the ECU warning light on the dash should respond with one flash, a brief pause and then two flashes. This code will continue to repeat as long as the ignition is on. The flash sequence indicates code 12 which is all clear, no injection faults logged. If you get anything other than this then the system has a potential problem and needs to be checked in more detail. Remove the temporary diagnostic connection before driving the car.

 

The Gunson box available from Halfords provides a switch for connecting the above wires and a full list of expected fault codes...for £19 its expensive for a switch and some wire, but worth it for the code list and other helpful hints.

 

 

 

 

 

JonP

 

No longer Sevenless....!

[Steve Kirk]

JonP, Thanks - there's a couple of gems of advice there.

 

I had always thought there must be an ECU diagnostic connector on the harness, but had been told by a couple of people in the know that there wasn't one on the Caterham harness. In fact I only recently discovered that the engine warning light was on the dash - it's undocumented in my manual, and even CC had to check to confirm that's what it was when I phoned them about it.

 

I looked at my car today and think I've identified the connectors you were talking about. Could you please check that I've got the right end of the stick: with reference to the items marked A,B,C and D on my photo (click here for the photo):

"C" is the 10-pin connector that contains the brown/white and black wires you are referring to, which normally lives in socket "A".

"D" is the 3-pin octane plug that you refer to, which normally lives in socket "B".

 

Now you have drawn my attention to these connectors, I've noticed that sockets A and B appear not to be wired up at all, therefore they appear to be rivetted to the scuttle simply to provide a place to "park" plugs C and D....? This does suggest that they are for diagnostics. Are these where a VX dealer would plug in their full diagnostic equipment?

 

Jon, I would be intested in hearing what other data I can find out from these connectors, you sound like you might know a thing or two. For example, can the dash warning light communicate more than one error code if the ECU has logged a history, what is the octane plug for, and can you read data when the engine is running? Rather than go into that all here, could you please point me towards a source of more info on this subject?

 

Thanks again

Steve