Intermittent problem for the clever people

[VLACS]

Good People
I found a fault, and I can't believe that I cannot find any mention of it in any forums.

In an effort to protect VLs from people that do stuff wrong, holden saw fit to include a 'Reverse Polarity Relay'.

The idea is if someone puts the battery in the wrong way round, and puts the big red clamp on the blue/black terminal, and the black clamp on the red terminal, then this relay operates and open circuits the injectors and one power feed to the ECU.

In the life of the car this relay should never operate.

What it meeans though is that all power to the injectors is via this relay.

It is mounted behind the battery in a good spot to get splashed with acid when the battery gets washed.

Mine was lying loose when I bought the car, and I did the right thing and screwed it back against the mudguard. (Didn't know what it was at that stage).

I was checking stuff, and going over the circuits, as was suggested in this forum, and found mine had a problem. (See attached photos).

It has now been replaced with a piece of 2.5mm wire with two spade terminals as a temporary measure.

This morning it ran the best it ever has :yeah:

I think this check/test should be included for all to read, but I don't know where it should go in the forums.

I have also fitted a single LED, O2 operation detector, that can be made using less than $10 worth of new bits (cheaper if you have some electronic experience/bits). It is ON when the injectors are in 'shutdown' (coasting above a certain number of revs), OFF when in OPEN LOOP (Flooring it), and FLASHING when in CLOSED LOOP (when the ECU is tuning for economy). This is indicating that my O2 sensor is working fine until it has heated right up. I will investigate this further, but I think I will need a new O2 sensor.

I now feel I can get onto some other niggly problems that are annoying me.

Does anyone know anything about the heater hoses?

i knwo if you go to a mechanic the **** heads rip you off.
what do you need to know?

 

[hz2vl]

Hi, thanks for the response.
About the heater hoses.
1. Is there an easy way to get to the hoses? Take the intake manifold off? Take the starter motor off, and attack from below? Some other way?
2. Is it hard to replace the fitting in the block, and how likely is this to be needed?

I can just see where the leak is, near the block, and I want to have a plan before I start pulling bits off.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tasmaniak]

Dude.....that relay....wow...yeah....slight problem... *long low whistle*

 

[hz2vl]

Update info (could my car be jealous??)

MyVL is much better, but still a bit intermittent, though there is a pattern forming.

Appears my VL doesn't like my wife :whistling
drive all week.. no problems.
go for a drive on the weekend with wife and kids in the car, sometimes wont start, or stops going up the first hill.
Wife gets out of car and starts to walk home, (she wants the exercise, and it is less than a km). She gets 50m away and the car starts and run fine :embarrass
This has happened a couple of times now.

Reverse Polarity relay update:
had a bit of a look at the wreckers yesterday, and it seems not all VLs have this relay.
Don't know if it was certain batches, or what
anyway if you car has one, check it. a couple at the wreckers had signs of bad corrosion.

 

[hispeedvp]

jesus im gonna check all my relays now.
heater hoses?
what are they
lol, what do you need to know?

 

[VLACS]

my car has one. any idea what the other 2 boxes next to it are