Spineytoo

See my reply to another post on water in headlamp, today 18th November 2022.

I have a lot of condensation in the near-side headlamp in a 2014 Insignia Ecoflex. I Removed headlamp bulb and fed a plastic tube through the hole. I set up a hairdryer facing a metal funnel taped on to the tube. I played a B&D heat gun across the headlamp face and, with impatience, damaged the top corner of the headlamp. (see 04 picture, white spot at top-right of the headlamp) Eventually the condensation evaporated, but I am not convinced that the tube was blowing hot air into the front space of the headlamp because there appears to be a lens in front of the bulb position. I guess It might have taken 30 minutes. The near-side headlamp is cluttered with the battery box and earth cables. I should have tried to remove the other bulb - maybe that might have given, either better access for the hot air, or better escape for it. I left the hairdryer running for another 15 minutes before closing up. I see that a small amount of condensation has reformed at the edge already. Has anyone info on the internal construction of the headlamp? Is there access for air to the front space from the bulb position? Does the other bulb give better access?

I have just posted how to do it for an Insignia ecoflex, under Parking Sensor Repair. Might help - and it might not!

My parking sensors stopped working, front and back, apart from a occasional useless bleep. I noticed that one of the rear sensors was just a tiny bit misaligned, only a milimeter I guess. So I removed the bumper. The sensors are cylindrical and slip into a holder glued or plastic-welded to the inside of the bumper. I noticed that one side of the rectangular plate of the holder of the misalligned one, had slightly lifted away. When I pulled slightly the whole holder came away. I cleaned the surfaces, applied superglue and replaced the holder on the bumper, using the sensor to align itself in the hole. I tested it before replacing the bumper properly and was gratified to find it working, and at the front too. A Youtube video of a bumper removal for a same-year Insignia was useless, being totally different from mine. To remove the bumper, the rear lights must be removed, in order to be able to release the hidden clips. There are 3 plastic wing nuts holding the lights and it is necessary to be a bit brutal with the upholstery to get at them. It may not be necessary to disconnect the lamps if they are carefully hung into the boot - not really recommended - but the connectors are difficult to part. There are 3 torx screws under each wheel arch, and 3 more under the rear of the bumper. Then the bumper must be pulled out sideways on both sides to unclip the sides and the clips which were hidden by the rear lights need to be depressed to release them. Then pull the bumper backwards. The connector for the sensors and plate lights must be parted. It slides onto a clip to stop it flailing around. The pictures show the various clips, the sensor with its rectangular glued plate, the torx screws and their position under the wing, and the rear light with its wing nuts.

I had the "Service vehicle soon" message on the display. I measured the resistances of the four glowplug/pressure sensors (Between the centre connection and a convenient metal part of the engine.). Two were around 1.2 ohms, one read 3.6 ohms and one was open-circuit. I was horrified to find the asking price of the combined glowplug and pressure sensor was £120. I found a new OEM one on Ebay for £88.99. I replaced the open-circuit one and still got the "Service Vehicle soon" message. Not having a diagnostic tool, I could not verify if it was the glow or the pressure sensor or, indeed, anything else causing the warning. I bought another glowplug/pressure sensor and fitted it. After one more warning, the message disappeared. Job done. You do need a multimeter capable of giving reliable, accurate low-resistance measurements. I used "Copperslip" on the thread before screwing the new plugs in. I bought a 1/4" square-drive torque wrench on Ebay for £15.40. The settings were difficult to read and the markings on the rotating handle did not match the engravings on the barrel, making it very difficult to have any confidence at all of the actual setting. It is very dangerous to exert much more than 10 Newton metres torque either for removing or tightening down, as the top of the plug can be turned off leaving most still stuck in the cylinder. I was lucky, both mine unscrewed easily. (If you break one, think about ignoring it and relying on the other 3 plugs! Use penetrating oil and run the engine hot before attempting removal.) Another tip; the electrical connectors just pull off but are very stiff. Use a long thin screwdriver at the bottom of the plastic connector cover, twist and the connector pops up a few mm.

Thank you. I have discovered that the pressure sensor/glow plug is very expensive; obtainable on line for £98; I bought a brand new OEM BERU one from Ebay for £88.75. I have measured the resistance of the 4 glow plugs; 1.2, 4.8, open circuit, 1.2 ohms. So I replaced the open circuit one with the new one, which also showed 1.2 Ohms. The Service vehicle soon message still shows. The non-Vauxhall garage mechanic reported only 2 faults - both glow plugs. I found an unverified comment online which suggested that the ECU would show the warning if the pressure readings were out of specification as one would hope and expect. I don't know if the ECU OBD reader used by my mechanic would be able to give precise details of the glow plug fault, but it is likely that 4.8 ohms (and the reduced current) would be outside spec. I suppose I should bite the bullet and spend another £88. But the car starts OK as it is. BERU says that the use by the ECU of the cylinder pressures allows reduction of NOx and carbon in the exhaust by up to 90%. Very useful if true! When I owned a Skoda Octavia, I bought the Ross-Tech OBD appliance. What a pity Vauxhall has been so difficult about allowing owners to have their own diagnostic devices.

I had "Service Soon" showing over many weeks and thought the computer knew that I needed the oil changing! Seems it is just a fault indicator, and in my case, the error codes read by the garage said, two glow plugs were faulty. I have been looking for replacements and it seems likely that the correct parts are the combined glow plug and pressure sensor - much more expensive at over £30 compared with £7 for straight glow plugs. Does anyone know what the computer uses the pressure sensor data for? Does a faulty pressure sensor also trigger the "Service soon" message? What would be the consequence of fitting plain glow-plugs?

I had difficulty finding out how to access the stalk switches. First release the steering wheel, lower it and pull it out telescopically. The wheel needs to be turned 90° left and right to get access to two screws. The top plastic cover can be prised off, starting by lifting the tabs covering the screws and levering upwards - see photo. (The top cover clips onto the bottom cover.) There is a third screw centrally underneath the lower cover. (6mm socket needed for all 3.) The separate cover over the ignition switch needs to be prised off and manoeuvred out. The stalk picture shows it half out with one locking-clip seen on top. The white connector on the PEC attaches the cable going up the stalk for the rear wiper control; remove it before unscrewing the PEC. The stalk switches connect to the Body Control Module located behind the glove box; I was relieved to find that it was not the problem! The 3 positions of the wiper switch, Intermittent, normal & fast are encoded with resistors on the PEC, they are decoded by the BCM which commands the wiper relays. Sadly I had already ordered a replacement stalk from Ebay before finding the corrosion. It may yet come in handy!

Insignia 2014 diesel eco. The wipers often will not start, except by demanding wash, when they always work. After driving for a while the wipers start working, either using the intermittent selection or either of normal or fast settings, but changing a setting can cause the wipers to stop again and they may then start again after a while. The problem exists on all 3 setting positions, except for the wash-pull. Evidently power does arrive at the stalk switch. Rear wiper works OK. It is puzzling how a bad connection could cause this. I have been testing them while stopped - engine off. Is it necessary to be moving? Is the Computer involved with wiper control? When they work, the speeds are as expected, so the motor seems OK I succeeded in fixing the problem. The wiper stalk switch is removed by squeezing the plastic strips top and bottom and pulling it out of the housing. Unfortunately the release for the connector is out of sight underneath the switch so a bit difficult. The release for this connector is on the inner side facing the control column. There are two screws holding one side of the switch together, but this gives access only to the sprung plunger that holds the switch in the three positions. Taking it apart is unnecessary unless re-greasing is wanted. The other side of the switch can be removed by releasing the plastic lugs. This then allows the disconnection of a small connector and removal of the PEC after removing the screw. The main contact slider can then be removed, noting its orientation. In my case 2 of the contact prongs were corroded. The copper strips had pairs of marks where the slider stopped, which was worrying as it looked as though there might be holes. After cleaning and re-assembly the switch works properly. There is another contact slider, presumably for the rear wiper. I have more pictures of the repair, but they exceed the allowance.

I think I may need to replace a wiper switch on a 2014 Insignia ecoflex. I can't find a relevant YouTube video - any links please? How do I remove the plastic covers under the steering wheel? The wiper switch has become intermittent - sometimes it works after a very long delay. Wash & wipe always works. one-wipe works. Rear works. Intermittent and normal speed sometimes start after a few minutes, fast wipe hardly ever works. Is this a switch problem or some computer/CANBUS problem?