We look after a lot of Vauxhalls at Kent Car Craft, whether it be for general servicing and repair, or finding faults on these very popular and overall very good cars.

This week was no different, and for me it was a busy week for Vauxhall diagnostics including the following jobs:-

– a juddering Vectra with an intermittent misfire. Vauxcom showed a misfire on cylinder 3 and using our Pico oscilloscope we could record several signals whilst driving the vehicle, catching a fault with the multi plug connection on the injector. We found a bulletin with a repair kit for this multi plug and once replaced, the car drove without a hiccup!

-a non-start Corsa with a failed camshaft sensor circuit. Vauxcom found a fault code for the camshaft sensor, but you cannot replace a sensor on a fault code alone. We confirmed the fault with the Pico oscilloscope. We do not fit parts that are not required. If the engine timing had jumped this code could have been logged, replacing the sensor would not cure that!

-a non-start Vivaro with a failed starter motor. The ignition switch was faulty and not returning correctly, causing the starter to remain engaged and burning it out. Simply replacing the starter alone would end up in another failed starter and a customer unable to get to work/get home.

-a non starting Zafira that had already been to another garage for a month, longer than the customer had driven it, and was presented to me with a list of parts that had been replaced already. Once I had checked and rectified several poor attempts at a repair, I was able to diagnose a faulty diesel pump within a couple of hours.

The job on the Zafira was a perfect example of why customers are wary of garages. The previous garage clearly had neither the knowledge of the system on the vehicle, the data or the tooling required to correctly and efficiently diagnose the fault. They had played what is commonly known as ‘parts darts’, throwing common failure parts at the car until something fixes it, without actually diagnosing the fault.

A month without the car and a bill for unnecessary parts and labour, or two hours with me and a proven fault. 

If anyone would like to discuss with me why they should bring their car to us, feel free to call me on 01843 587376 or email at [email protected]. I’ll be more than happy to explain how using a garage without the correct training or equipment is a false economy.