Pcn Unit

[danchip]

A warning light came up on the Dashboard of my vauxhall vectra, so i took it to the garage and hey ran diagnostics on it and it came up with an error code reffering to a PCN unit.

The guy at the garage said he doesn't know what this is and will ahve to do more investigation.

Does anyone know what a PCN unit is?

[chas2008]

In a word no, not come across that one before..have you the error code ??

[Spannerfiend]

For starters, I'd be very worried about a garage that doesn't know what this is.
How old is your Vectra? If it was made after 1996/7....there will be what is called an OBD socket somewhere on it, usually hidden under the steering wheel, under the glovebox......your manual will tell you.
Your garage will have plugged an OBD reader into this socket, and IF there is a fault, it will have generated a 'fault code'.
This fault code will then, in almost all cases, tell the 'technician' and I use that word lightly, what the problem is.

More investigation usually, in garage speak, means Big Fat Bill while they poke around trying to find a fault ( which they don't know what it is)....while YOU foot the bill.

Look up OBD scanners. You can get a half decent one for very little money these days. I have an EBay one that cost me £14 and has paid for itself 10 times over. A scan data main dealers can cost £75/90 these days.......and even they often can't find the fault.

PCN is probably a Vauxhall code system, that's all.

My advice would be to check out a Vauxhall forum on the web, before you surrender your car to a garage who, by the sound of it, haven't a clue what they are on about.

What warning light has come on anyway. Often these lights just need a reset, which again somebody on a Vauxhall forum will know how to do. Sometimes it's as easy as disconnecting and reconnecting the battery.

My daughter had a Citroen Saxo. Airbag warning light was on. Main dealer wanted £80 to go under the passenger seat, unplug a green connector, count to 10, plug it back in again and that was it. Ford wanted £80 to 'reprogramme' a key for me. A simple sequence of inserting the key into the ignition, and turning it a specified number of timed to specified positions was all it needed. Cost...nothing. Both thanks to forums.

Hope it helps. :-) Don't let garages rip you off.