Opel Movano: DIY Diagnostic System (G9T, 2002)

Hello forum,
"Does anyone know of an affordable diagnostic system for an Opel Movano F9, model year 2002, or a Renault Master of the same year? What kind of interface is it? It's definitely not OBD2."

Right now, it's starting very poorly. I think it's the cold weather, but I'm still not sure.
The starter motor seems to be working pretty well. Still, I'm about to buy a new battery.
Can I measure the voltage at the terminal studs while the starter is engaged?
Idle voltage: approximately 12.49V.
Voltage "Ignition" on. Approximately 12V.
Voltage during the starting attempt: approximately 10V.

I can't find much information about these kinds of specifications, or are they not useful?
That would be too easy :-/

Thank you in advance for your tips and opinions.

Best regards,
Jörg

Hello,

"10V during starting is actually quite good. You could try a cold start with a fully charged battery connected in parallel as a test to definitively rule out that possibility."

Is the preheating system and compression working correctly?

Unfortunately, I can't say anything about the diagnostic system itself, but that information might help determine something about the temperature sensors. Is there perhaps a service manual available that lists the expected analog resistance values?

Hi Roger,
Thank you for your answer. Opel isn't really popular here .
So far, I haven't done anything except measure the battery voltage. I don't have a garage, or it's too small, so the bus is outside, and the weather has been terrible lately. That's why I'm doing some research first. I need to see if my son left me some jumper cables, and I'll test if they work by connecting them to my car.
After searching for a while, I found a company that offered a device for reading error codes for my engine type at a very low price (too good to be true).
They wouldn't confirm in writing that it would actually work.
I just read the answer.
I'll let you know if I find anything interesting about the Movano.
Best regards,
Jörg

Hi.

I also have jumper cables on hand .

Hi Rüdi,
Thank you for the offer. If necessary, I could walk over there .

I once bought a clamp meter.
According to my home's heating system, the temperature is 1.5°C. I think something should be preheating if the engine is that cold.
Während der Vorglühphase hab ich vielleicht 2A gemessen, was aus der Batterie gezogen wird. Da is nothing.
I'll leave it with the new battery for now. Tomorrow, when it's light, I'll check the fuses and/or try to get a glow plug control unit.
Best regards,
Jörg

That already sounds like a possible solution .

@Jörg:

And, is it running again?

Hi Roger,
No, unfortunately not yet.
I would have contacted him anyway, hopefully he'll be back up and running soon.
I'd be happy to provide an interim report.
Right now, I'm still dealing with a few other issues. Every evening after work, something else would come up.
This weekend, I didn't have much time, and there was also snow. Plus, my Movano is parked outside on the street.
From above, I don't see any glow plug control unit. I assume it's accessed from below. Maybe I'm a wimp, but I don't feel like squeezing myself under the car in the snow and mud .
I had hoped that the glow plug connectors in the Movano were connected to each other, so I could simply apply voltage from the top, where it's easy to access. Unfortunately, they are not connected.
So, I came up with a different plan. Yesterday, I got 4 glow plug connectors from a junkyard. I want to use them to build a temporary preheating cable harness, and use that instead of the original glow plug connectors. This way, I don't have to modify the original wiring harness.
I'm connecting the battery with a 70A fuse in series. Then I want to pre-heat it and be quick when disconnecting. I'm expecting an arc. If it starts then, I might add a 70A relay with a pre-heat button.
When the weather gets better, I'll lie down under it and try to find the right mistake.
Best regards,
Jörg

Quote:

So, I came up with a different plan. Yesterday, I got 4 glow plug connectors from the junkyard.

I want to build a temporary preheating cable harness with them and use them instead of the original glow plug connectors. This way, I don't have to modify the original cable harness.
If you don't know whether the glow plugs are designed for 12V, be careful! It's best to check beforehand with an online parts retailer what is installed in your vehicle, because there are also glow plugs for lower voltages that could be damaged by such an action. }

OK, thank you for the note!

Best regards,
Jörg

11V / 0.5 Ohm... should work.

Hi everyone.
So, it's working again .
Just now, I soldered the temporary wiring harness together using the other glow plug connectors and immediately tested it. After the second pre-glow cycle, the engine started.
I connected the other end of the wiring harness directly to the positive terminal.
There was only a slight fizzing at the battery. I had imagined it would be worse, and I had been quite apprehensive about the whole process.
Well, it's better to have too much than too little. There's quite a bit of energy stored in a battery like that.
I noticed something while doing that.
On the positive terminal, there's essentially a "Christmas tree" shape with several thick connectors.
They are all so close to the positive value, which means they must have the same potential.
I was surprised that there was a spark in one place but not in another. In one location, the glow discharge was 88A, while in another, it was not.
"Something's loose there. When it's light out, I'm going to take everything apart and see what's wrong."
With a bit of luck, I've found the actual error.
I'm reporting again.

What I haven't found yet is the glow plug control unit. I haven't been able to find anything when looking from underneath either.

Best regards,
Jörg

Hi.

Feel free to stop by if you need help; I'm in the barn working on something today.

Hi Rüdi,
Thank you for the offer .
Maybe I'll stop by to say hello sometime.
Best regards,
Jörg

Hi there,
Today, I installed a temporary solution, and I installed a glow plug control unit that I bought from a junkyard for 5 euros.
It didn't take 5 minutes. ***Running***.
I only had 2.7 volts at the spark plug (previously zero), but the motor was already warm.
An Opel employee told me last week that the glow plug controller is modulated and sometimes only provides 3V. He also said that these devices almost never break down and that the glow plugs are likely defective, often breaking off... actually, I could practically throw the engine away... yes, yes .
Oh, no one at Opel could tell me where the device was located. Neither could anyone at Renault. However, the master mechanic at Renault helped me search for it. We eventually found it. It was located behind the coolant reservoir. I had searched the entire area several times before and found nothing.
Complicating the repair was the fact that, while working in the dark and cold, I accidentally broke a plastic connector on the return line, right next to an injector, while trying to remove the glow plug connectors.
Luckily, there was a Renault Master van at the scrapyard where I could remove all the parts I needed.
Merry Christmas, thank you very much, and best regards to the forum .
Jörg.

Hello,

"However, this is already a very unusual fault for these engines. Normally, they don't require preheating even in sub-zero temperatures. The problem is usually that the fuel rail pressure isn't reached, so the engine simply doesn't inject fuel. Or is this still the older DTI engine?"