1 litre vauxhall corsa 1999 - MOT failure

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
View Threaded
Sat 31 Jul 2010 10:58
1 litre vauxhall corsa 1999 - MOT failure - doghead

car failed MOT test on imissions readings as follows.

Fast idle ; CO max 0.30% 0.94% fail

second fast idle ; CO max 0.30% 0.63% fail

Natural idle ; CO max 0.50% 5.78%

since the fail i have dipped the oil level and it is well above the max on dip stick !

i cant afford mechanics fees so i am trying to sort it myself but dont understand what these figures mean, are there any clever people out there who can advise me

thanks

Dave

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 31 Jul 2010 12:38
1 litre vauxhall corsa 1999 - MOT failure - bathtub tom

When was it last serviced?

What do the plugs look like, black?

Air filter?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 31 Jul 2010 16:51
1 litre vauxhall corsa 1999 - MOT failure - doghead

hi

plugs air/oil filter changed about 9 months ago, i am in process of changing again before next mot.

air filter needs change but not too bad condition

plugs dry and look ok

oil looks quite clean but has had bad oil leak (relief valve, now ok no leaks) since last service so lot of new oil added to top up

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 31 Jul 2010 12:42
1 litre vauxhall corsa 1999 - MOT failure - jc2

Dead cat?? Possibly fouled by being overfilled with oil.

Edited by jc2 on 31/07/2010 at 12:43

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 31 Jul 2010 18:46
1 litre vauxhall corsa 1999 - MOT failure - piston power

Service it new oil and filter, air filter, fuel filter, plugs then get it up to running temperature and take it om motorway.

When on motorway drive it like you stole it! that means take the engine revs up high through the gears you may see some smoke out your exhaust this is commonly known as " Italian tune up".

This will do it the world of good do this for approx 15 miles and come back, it may run much smoother and those figures may have dropped quite a lot.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 31 Jul 2010 23:53
1 litre vauxhall corsa 1999 - MOT failure - bathtub tom

Just a thought, is the Lambda sensor doing its job?

There's a way of measuring it, but damned if I know what, perhaps Haynes might help.

Have you checked its connection?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 1 Aug 2010 07:45
1 litre vauxhall corsa 1999 - MOT failure - madf

Your car is overfull of oil and burning it.

Drain some so the level is at max.

Then an Italian tune up.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 4 Aug 2010 06:10
1 litre vauxhall corsa 1999 - MOT failure - 1litregolfeater

Those figures might look high but I don't think they are, I would suspect your second (post cat) O2 sensor is faulty.

Could be a dodgy cat but they seem robust.

Could be engine failure but the OP reports good plug condition. With poor oil control rings (which is common) the plugs and pistons would appear oily.

Get it plugged into some form of diagnostic equipment.

Op-com off the bay comes from China for £25 but takes a fortnight.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 4 Aug 2010 09:46
1 litre vauxhall corsa 1999 - MOT failure - jc2

Would a 1999 have a post-cat sensor?.Normally only required for EOBD.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 11 Aug 2010 00:25
1 litre vauxhall corsa 1999 - MOT failure - 1litregolfeater

You're right, it'd have to be a Corsa C that only came in in 2000.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link