service vehicle soon warning. is it the oil pressure sensor?

[commo tech]

hey everyone

i have been fitting fog lights to a mates vz s ute the install went fine but after the install was complete it continues to flash up the "service vehicle soon" display on the dash. during the install i did have the battery disconected. we also were at one stage using the ecu earth (just infront of the abs module) as the earth point for the fog lights

i havnt been able to have a look at the car myself as im in sydney this week for work, i have been in contact with him and trying a few things like disconecting the battery to reset the ecu fault still active.

he says that it beeps at him when he comes to a stop which is consistant with the oil pressure sensor fault on other related threads. my only concern is that its a bit odd to have the oil pressure sensor fail after having the battery disconected.

any advice would be much appreciated

[Luke52]

Why didn't you just use the pre-wired factory fog light plugs?

[Calaber]

It's a VZ so the oil pressure switch is the most likely culprit. They seem to be a very unreliable component - is there a VZ around that HASN'T had this switch fail? It could just be coincidence that it chose to fail now, or you might have done something that has set the warning light off. Have it diagnosed by someone with a Tech 2 to see what error message appears.

You shouldn't have to go to a Holden dealer and get ripped off. My local Ultratune has the necessary gear and is extremely reasonable with his charges, so check to see if the same thing applies around your way.

[heyitsEnricoPallazzo]

I have disconnected the earth you referred to for exactly the same purpose. The only way I rid myself of the error was with a scantool.

Pre wired fogs on VZ's are about as rare as rocking horse droppings.

[Luke52]

Pre wired fogs on VZ's are about as rare as rocking horse droppings.

Er, no they're not. I was told by Holden that all VZ models came with the same wiring harness out of the factory. What's used, and what's tucked away is just dependent on the options that came on the vehicle.

The plugs and wiring were all there when I fitted my foggies, all I needed to buy was a new headlight/foglight switch. When I was tinkering on a mate's VZ, he had the same plugs hidden away behind the front bumper as well.

[heyitsEnricoPallazzo]

Are you saying the climate control, ESC, Four channel ABS, traction, footwell lighting and sundry other wiring is all installed on my exec? I can tell you it is not.

More than likely the fog loom came with some models (yours) and entirely without (mine and the OP).

[jhomsie92]

Mine is doing the exact same..

[commo tech]

thanks for the quick response guys
i will have to get the fault codes read off to see what it is before i start throwing parts at it a mate of mine has a scaner at his work, im a mechanic myself but as i work at a volvo dealership i don't have a scan tool at my disposal.

to clear up another thing this car did not have fog light wiring from the factory, its a matter of pot luck if u do or don't have the wiring there. its the same story with earlier models vt, vx ect

[doms1]

More than likely oil pressure switch,cheap part and is 2 min job

[richardpalinkas]

just wondering, mine flashes the service vehicle soon but only on occasions. what can happen if the sensor/ switch is not replaced?

[88GreenVN]

just wondering, mine flashes the service vehicle soon but only on occasions. what can happen if the sensor/ switch is not replaced?

Not sure - but if the oil pressure is really down you can kill an engine in no time. Second hand switch cost me $70 - cheap fix and stopped the wife from worry.

[Torquative]

with the fog light wiring thats right. My acclaim had the wiring, a car never designed to have foglights from factory.

The SX6 Adventra, complete with fog light cutouts and bracketry in the front bar, had no wiring, neither does our VZ Equipe.

As for the SVS warning I never realised or paid attention to that. Is it possible to clear it same way at the service reminder? I had Service something soon pop up 2 days ago, but I just cleared it that way through the arrow keys on the dash.

I was told by Holden that all VZ models came with the same wiring harness out of the factory

their idiots then.

Ive been through enough VZ dashs and wiring looms now to know thats a load of croc. It used to be true back in the VS day (some of those even had the entire BT1 wiring pack with wiring running up the pillars for flashing lights), but no more.

If they even looked at their service manual it lists the different spec cables.

[doms1]

Not sure - but if the oil pressure is really down you can kill an engine in no time. Second hand switch cost me $70 - cheap fix and stopped the wife from worry.

I paid $55 for a new 1 from holden,guy said very common fault

[scud3805]

G'day Mate i had the exact same issue the" SVS "warning signal kept popping up Cranbourne Holden (very honest) told me that there are only 2 options that can be the fault 1. the oil pressure sensor or 2. Your computer software may need a upgrade. Yes the oil sensor is cheap (genuine holden $70 ) and easy to do BUT the ONLY!! way you can erase the "SVS "signal is with a Tech 2 unit and most WILL charge for that service as they are a business not a charity at a cost of around $60 i was charged $180 for the job which i thought was reasonable or if it was a software upgrade it would of been $120 bill
Cranbourne Holden weren't the only Holden dealer to advise me what the problem could be they were Barry Bourke Berwick and Booran Holden Dandenong both said the same thing but were to expensive compared to Cranbourne
So end of the day its upto to you on which way you go Good Luck

[richardpalinkas]

u dont need a tech2 to get rid of the message, u got ripped. the message dissapears once the car is off. also if that doesnt work, disconnect the battery so that it clears the fault

[heyitsEnricoPallazzo]

The SVS message is exactly that, just a message- it does not give an indication of the fault.

It would appear from other posts that if this message was generated by say, the oil pressure sensor. It will reset of its own accord if fixed etc. It also appears from my own experience and others that if other faults generate this message (SVS). You will need at least a scantool to erase the fault code and hence the SVS message.

Looks like a heirachy of control depending on the fault logged.

End transmission.......beep.

[Calaber]

Enrico is correct. If your oil pressure sensor is the cause of the SVS message, once you replace the switch, the message disappears. You do NOT need to get a Tech 2 to clear it, and it's not like the normal service interval warnings - you can't clear it on the trip computer. You have to fix the fault to get rid of the warning (assuming that the switch is the cause of the message in the first place).

[scud3805]

I think some of you people are not understanding what the initial issue is the"SVS" warning light is appearing up on the dash which indicates that there is a fault ... what fault??? if you like and if you have heaps of cash change everything that you think that needs changing or or get a Tech 2 unit to diagnosis the fault and only change that, which is what i did and for that service there is a fee and fixed with no issues or as someone has said "ive been ripped off " you tell me were i could have got it done cheaper and NO HASSLES here in Melbourne and i will be glad to go and have it out with Cranbourne Holden. But one thing i will say i want ACTUAL FACT no hearsay JUST THE FACTS Thanks looks like i'll be getting a refund

[rusty748]

I had the SVS warning coming on when ever the car was at idle I replaced the oil pressure sensor in about 2 min once I bought a 27mm deep socket and the sensor. The warning cleared on its own. The sensor cost me $70 from Burson Auto parts (formerly Motor traders) in Adelaide

[richardpalinkas]

well according to the holden techs, they usually say its either one of 2 things,

1. oil pressure sensor
2. firmware upgrade

so if they charged you to replace the oil pressure sensor, then charge you again to clear the fault, then you have been ripped off, as there is no need to clear the svs soon message, as it disappears as the problem is fixed

if they charged you to use a tech2 first to diagnose the fault, then they replaced the sensor, then yea fair enough u should pay for both services they done.

[scud3805]

To RichardPalinkas im not going to carry on about this any further but all you are doing now is agreeing with exactly what i been saying in my last post thats what ive been saying , the Tech2 unit is used first to diagnose the fault then the repair is done thats how its normally done... learn to read the post correctly before passing on your uninformed opinion and then agreeing ..because the forum his here to help people with problems not create confusion

[Phyco]

To RichardPalinkas im not going to carry on about this any further but all you are doing now is agreeing with exactly what i been saying in my last post thats what ive been saying , the Tech2 unit is used first to diagnose the fault then the repair is done thats how its normally done... learn to read the post correctly before passing on your uninformed opinion and then agreeing ..because the forum his here to help people with problems not create confusion

Unless you are confusing the terminology, a Tech2 should not have been required. An $80 OBDII Diagnostic Tool would be able to tell you that it was the Oil Pressure Sensor/Switch causing the problem (I can confirm this from personal experience), and if you were charged $180 for the entire job you would have been cheaper off buying the Diagnostic Tool and the Sensor/Switch then installing it yourself. Only a minor difference in cost, but still the less paid to Holden Service Centers the better.

[richardpalinkas]

BUT the ONLY!! way you can erase the "SVS "signal is with a Tech 2 unit

maybe proof read what you post, you said that yourself, all i said was that you got ripped if you paid for them to remove the svs message because there is no need for it as it removes itself

[richardpalinkas]

btw, im pretty sure ive been on here long enough and helped many people on this forum, mr i have only posted 23 times...

[Calaber]

You really don't need a diagnostic tool to know when the switch is stuffed. All you have to do is unplug the wiring connector from the switch and look at it closely. If it's covered with oil, and oil is leaking out the end of the switch, it's stuffed and is sure to be the cause of the error message. The switch has a very weak diaphragm which ruptures and permits oil to soak the printed circuit in the head of the switch, and to leak out into the wiring connector.