24th Oct 2011, 18:47

If you go to the BELOW mentioned website, you can fix the problem of the electrics shutting down intermittently or without warning without spending any more money. Just use the simple idea of shorting out the correct points with a paper clip after restarting the motor. Then stop and restart the motor, and you should be OK. If the problem happens to occur again, repeat the process. After a couple of hundred kilometers/miles, it most likely won't occur.

If the link is dead, paste it in to your Explorer bar and do a search.

http://everything2.com/title/How+to+read+ECU+fault+codes+from+some+GM+cars

Good luck.

13th Jul 2012, 04:17

Hello.

Well 2 years ago I bought a Holden Vectra GL 1999 station wagon. At the time I thought "well it's a Holden, so it has got to be a good car". Turns out I was SO very wrong!!! So many problems...

First it was the speedo, next it was the air conditioning, and then after that, everything seemed to start crapping out on it! From oil leaks, water leaks, the car stalling constantly while driving, electrical features not working, boot doesn't open, the KM's wasn't working... I could go on for hours!

After spending nearly $2000 on this car, I have given up all hope as of today, as the car seems to be on its last legs!

I would not recommend this car to anyone; it is a death trap with all the problems it has!

29th Nov 2012, 18:14

Hi, I had similar problems with the engine running rough, lack of power, engine light on and misfiring. Error code was P0115 ECT sensor, and when we had a close look at it, it was loose and making a poor connection. If it is not the ECT sensor, I believe you may have an issue with PCM (Powertrain Control Module) that reads the ECT sensor.

27th Apr 2016, 00:42

I have a 1999 5 door Vectra with 260,000 km on the clock. It has been very reliable for me. The cam belt was changed before I bought it. I work on it myself, but it's mostly for preventative maintenance. It is extremely fuel efficient with great standard features and a joy to drive. Everything works great. I replaced the triple info display myself with a brand new one bought for $60, as when they get old, the ribbon cable inside them sometimes fail and they lose some pixels.

The only problems I have found with the engine have been engineered design flaws that I have fixed. I am not a mechanic, but know a lot about how things work. For example the idle air valve gets contaminated from oil fumes, because the cam cover breather hose aims right near it. Then when it gets hot, the oil in the IAC eventually turns to carbon, choking it up. Clean or replace your IAC and then add an oil catch can so the fumes don't go into the IAC and it should never happen again. There is also a small hose that goes from the cam cover to a small port just below the throttle body. This is a metered vacuum port to purge crank case vapours, and it always eventually clogs up with carbon. As part of regular maintenance, it should be cleaned with a very small 1.5 mm drill bit. Another issue is the heat from the engine bay eventually destroys the insulation on the crank angle sensor wire, leaving bare wires exposed to short out and stop the computer from getting a crank signal. I replaced the sensor and brought a heat insulator that wraps around the whole wire (permanent fix). It took 30 minutes to do and cost $70 for an OEM VDO sensor.

The cam angle sensor plug corrodes easily, causing a check engine light and poor power and economy (usually won't rev over 4000 RPM). I cleaned the cam angle sensor plug connection with emery paper and plugged and unplugged it a few times, then sprayed WD40 on the connections to protect them from corrosion. That worked a charm and it now runs as good as new. It took 20 minutes to do and cost zero dollars.

I don't think the sensors actually fail on these engines, it's just the plugs and wires need attention causing the faults.

The lights in the headlight switch didn't work and one was very dim. I soldered in warm white LED lights to match the dashboard instrument colour. Now all the symbols light up nice and bright. I also replaced all the dash/instrument lights while I had it apart to replace the triple info display.

I hope some of this information is helpful.

Cheers, Matty.