Astra egr valve.

[AndyR]

Well I had the engine management light come on again,  but this time it tells me that the egr valve is faulty.

Well the car came with one in a box that looked new. So after fitting yesterday morning. Yesterday afternoon we had a trip up to norwich and back to pick up daughter from her college . Car was more responsive,  and went really well. Until nearly home and it cut out. Pulled over and re started, and away we went. Got home,  and then 1/2 hour later went to go out again, and although the car started,  it just stalled as soon as Put in gear. So this morning I put old one back after a clean, and running fine again. So a New one is on order.

[Vauxhall Owners Club]

Shame it didn't work out of the box Andy, it may have been the incorrect part number for that engine?

Maybe worth posting it in the Parts For Sale section of this forum to see if its any good to any members

[AndyR]

The part number on the box does match others I've found online for my engine. Is there a way of testing it off the car?. 

When it was fitted, I did just over 50 miles, mainly duel carriage way, when I got home, and then tried to go out again later, it was still very hot to touch, and on removing the next day, it was stuck open.

Andy.

[Vauxhall Owners Club]

It should be capable of opening and closing when battery voltage is supplied to it but it is usually cycled via the ECU.

Try putting 12 volts to from the battery but careful not to short out anything directly back to the battery (risk of fire, explosion, etc)

[AndyR]

Thank you. I'll give it a try at the weekend.  I have a spare battery,  so I'll be using that one. Save having any short circuit problems with the car. I know they work on a similar basis to a thermostat.  

I will let you know what happens.  

Andy. 

[AndyR]

Well I gave the EGR a zap from a battery. And it jammed open. The only way to get it to shut was to tap it with a hammer, so I'm guessing that it's a non-runner. 

I did read that you can blank off the EGR valve, but leave it connected, and that it should give better fuel economy.

Well I gave it a try last week, and the results were to un-blank, and run with it connected properly. My fuel economy dropped through the floor, compared to what I was getting.

1/4 of a tank to go 52 miles.

Now running with EGR in place, and fuel economy is back up to where it was before. I shall run some injection cleaner through the system too, and hopefully that should clear out any residual crud. 

Andy. 

[Vauxhall Owners Club]

Hi Andy

Sounds like the EGR was jamming open which means you could either clean it in an ultrasonic bath or replace it.

I have previously used an EGR blanking plate successfully and always ensure that the EGR stays connected but the plate has a small hole in it to allow enough gas to flow to fool the sensor and not flag up the engine warning light.

But if. your economy and performance are where they should be then thats all that matters.
Always good though to keep the revs up through the gears as the engine runs cleaner in the long run.

I have this thought in my head that every car in Italy runs superb and nothing ever clogs up with the way they drive their cars

 

[AndyR]

I did give egr a clean out with carb cleaner, but I think the new one will be a vast improvement.  Here's hoping for some nice weather over half term so I can give it a good run up the coast.