Insignia P03A7,P03A3 PSG's troubleshooting

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gregs303
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Insignia P03A7,P03A3 PSG's troubleshooting

Post by gregs303 »

Hi all, I've got few questions about troubleshooting pressure sensing glow plugs on 2011 Insignia, A20DTH.

Symptoms are EM light on and loss of power.
After connecting to diagnostics 2 codes were found.

P03A7 Combustion chamber pressure sensor Cylinder 2 Differential pressure too high.
P03A3 Combustion chamber pressure sensor Cylinder 2 Sporadic fault.
KTS Fault code screenshot
KTS Fault code screenshot
Next I've checked live data parameters on idle,
Cyl 1 average 3.8 MPa
Cyl 2 average 3.3 MPa
Cyl 3 avarege 3.9 MPa
Cyl 4 average 4.1 MPa
Combustion chamber pressures KTS
Combustion chamber pressures KTS
Yes, cylinder 2 looks lower than other 3.
Left with possibilities I've decided to scope it versus starter current to eliminate low compression, but before this was done quick voltage check.
PSG wiring identification
PSG wiring identification
Signal wire voltage was 0.6 V with KOEO.
Ground 0.125 V
Power supply 5 V
Relative compression with PSGs cyl 1 and 2
Relative compression with PSGs cyl 1 and 2
Here is original capture, sorry can't upload as normal.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9tZ5k ... sp=sharing

Next capture is with engine running on idle, see below.
Engine idling
Engine idling
And original ps data file
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9tZ5k ... sp=sharing
From frame 11 something changes on both signals, can anyone help me to correctly understand this waveform ?

Thanks in advance.
Greg

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Robski
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Re: Insignia P03A7,P03A3 PSG's troubleshooting

Post by Robski »

so............. have you ultrasonically cleaned the plug yet or swapped cylinders or replaced it & moved onto the next job ?

gregs303
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Re: Insignia P03A7,P03A3 PSG's troubleshooting

Post by gregs303 »

No, I haven't done anything except scoping the signal, I've got no evidence this plug is at fault.
I had very little time with the car and it is no longer in the garage.
I've been looking online to find some information about the waveform but all I can find is glow plug manufacturer's pdf documentation with all the specs etc.

KimAndersen
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Re: Insignia P03A7,P03A3 PSG's troubleshooting

Post by KimAndersen »

Hi there

This document might help you in your trouble shooting of your Insignia car.

What Robski is saying about cleaning the PSG may be the answer to your troubles, if you read the document, where the root cause to this problem seems to be soot contamination on the pressure sensor glow plug.

You may also need a reflash of the ECU. :wink:
PSG_GLOWPLUG_DTC_INSIGNIA.pdf
Glow Plug Pressure Sensor - Insignia
(15 KiB) Downloaded 5129 times
Regards
Kim

gregs303
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Re: Insignia P03A7,P03A3 PSG's troubleshooting

Post by gregs303 »

Thanks, very interesting approach by Vauxhall.
I wonder if there has been any revisions to this bulletin.
At the moment I'm trying to find the way of correct interpretation of waveforms, If the car will get back to me I'll try to take another capture with crank sensor and injector currents.

gregs303
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Re: Insignia P03A7,P03A3 PSG's troubleshooting

Post by gregs303 »

I hand the chance to see this car back, codes still present so I decision was made to replace the glow plug with new one Beru part.
After fitting new PSG one of the fault codes came back straight away, P03A7, it cleared but after running the engine on idle it was coming back.
I had no choice, took it for road test, EM light wasn't on and engine was performing good so it was taken by customer.
Now the funny thing.
Yesterday this car came back with EM light on and complaint for loosing power etc, plugged it in again and P03A7 still present as well as new code for air flow meter performance.(Sorry I havent got the code number at the moment)
Anyway the problem was very common issue on these engines, split turbo hose between intercooler and air intake pipe.
I've replaced the hose and road tested the car, plugged it in to check the codes and there was no codes stored.

Again, I didn't have much time but I've scoped this cylinder this time DC voltage vs injector current to see sensor's reaction for fuel injection.
PSG Insignia idle.png
Attachments
Vauxhall_Insignia_2011_Diesel_20150529-0001.psdata
(1.03 MiB) Downloaded 1035 times

Dave Hill
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Re: Insignia P03A7,P03A3 PSG's troubleshooting

Post by Dave Hill »

Quite expensive these glow plugs, so it is worth a bash in an ultrasonic bath (As Robski suggested)

Here are some photos to stimulate the thought process. .. . .

Image

Here is the same plug after a couple of minutes of ultrasonic cleaning . . .

Image

Image

Rav
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Re: Insignia P03A7,P03A3 PSG's troubleshooting

Post by Rav »

Is there anyway of preventing the soot build up and is there anyway of cleaning the glowplug chambers?

Checho
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Re: Insignia P03A7,P03A3 PSG's troubleshooting

Post by Checho »

Did the ultrasonic bath helped?

gregs303
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Re: Insignia P03A7,P03A3 PSG's troubleshooting

Post by gregs303 »

Hi all, its been a while since I had this car in and to be honest the only fault I have rectified was split turbo hose.
It is possible that the cylinder 2 combustion pressure was slightly lower because of split turbo hose, this car never came back to me after I've replaced the it.
Thanks
Greg

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