VXOC Astra-J/GTC

First off, please accept my humble apologies, i drive a 2011 Meriva B... and to make things worse, it's the one with the little 1.3 diesel engine too!! (A13DTE) 

But i want to do a few upgrades on it if i can, and this forum seems to have the best people who change things about and generally make things work where others say it can't be done.

I'd really like to upgrade the CD400 radio unit i have to one of the sat nav units with bluetooth etc, the ones with the colour screen in the top of the dash.. but i'm not sure if that is a touch screen used to program the sat nav or not??? 

reason being the display location on a meriva is much further in the dash than other vauxhalls, it's much nearer the windscreen, so a real arms stretch to operate if it is a touch screen, 
However the stereo controls are pretty low down, so the other option of fitting an aftermarket double din sat nav stereo means the screen would be awkward to look at whilst driving, hence why i'm thinking of going the OE route.

Anyway, would i need to find a nav/400/500 or similar from a meriva? or could i get one from another car and get the dash mounted screen holder part from vauxhaul to mount the colour screen??



I'd also like to have the mpg display/trip computer in my dash, i have the little 2 line display in there now, again, would i need a set of gauges from a meriva, or would some from a different car work once programmed in? 

I presume i'd need an indicator stalk with the menu button and twist thingy to operate the pages of the large display in the dash? 
i have cruise control buttons in the steering wheel... am i right thinking the indicator stalk with the menu button is also a cruise control stalk?? and if so, would that mess things up (having 2 sets of cruise control buttons)

If you went down the factory Navi you'd really want to look for a Navi 950 (has BT built in) it's not touch screen is controlled via the panel and a Navi950 has voice commands which come in handy.

In terms of parts if you are struggling to locate a Navi for a Meriva look at Astra as the controls are the same.

In terms of the clocks you could have the MPG turned on on the half display or you could go to a bigger screen (I'm the only person who offers this) the stalk is not a cruise control.
What type cruise control do you have as there are 2 types the flip switch and the push button with speed limiter. I would think you would need to fit a stalk with menu on it but I've not played with Meriva's as of yet.

The clocks are the same as the Astra.

Cruise control is the flip switch type,

i was getting confused seeing photo's of the stalk's with CLR/SET.. thinking that was for cruise... but i guess it's for the display.

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Damn, i did a reply about the navi units and that, seems it didnt send or something,

How much would it be if you were to source a Navi950, and remove my cd400 and put that in it's place, program it etc? it would need the display surround/mount (part number 13351355) most likely buying from vauxhall if it came from anything but another meriva B.

Can the navi 950 take a reversing camera? or is that another module to be added,

I do like the idea of those icebox units people have been fitting, but they don't do one for the meriva, closest is for the mokka with the display that sits up on the dash, but it's touch screen... and the meriva's display sits a little too far back to use the screen like that i rekon.



The instrument cluster, i have the most basic version, the smallest display... bottom is total mileage, then trip mileage, then a few icons in the lcd... the book with a i for faults, oil can, rear seat belt symbols etc,
i'd like to go to the full size display with the full readouts of things and all the mpg data (i have tried using my op-com to enable the mpg display, but this car dosent have many options in the op-com software, and using another car (astra) on it i managed to lose a few lights off the instruments (cruise control white light to show it's on but not active, the 'eco' shift light, ASR off light etc)

BUT, the meriva with this tiny engine has a rev gauge that red line begins at 4.5k, and 140 mph max on the speedo, all the instrument clusters i've seen on ebay with the large display are from 1.7 diesels, which red line begins at 5k, and go to 160mph... would that be an issue? i.e. can the instrument cluster's gauges read correct from my car... obviousely i'd never get the speedo anywhere near the end.. heck 100mph is a struggle (ahem, apparently)

Well, i've decided to give things a go with the instruments, got an indicator stalk with the bord computer buttons on it coming in the post, and an instrument cluster from an insignia... was the cheapest one on ebay with the full size lcd info display in it, rev counter should be fine... goes to 6k like mine does, just the red line is 500rpm later than mine, just the speedo i worry about, being a 160/170mph one, it'll either read right as the logic in the ipc will take the pulses and move the stepper motor the correct amount, or it will read wrong... where i can put my ipc's speedo face in it.

I am of course hoping it will work just by plugging it in, i know the mileage won't show till it's married to my car (tho op-com has an option to alter the vin number in the ipc i believe, maybe that will help??)

Problem is, i am in Chester for the time being, and could do with finding someone near me who can set it all up to my car... as a drive down to bournmouth is a bit too far for me atm (a good 250 miles) i'd do that to get a nav950 unit coded into my car, and was going to wait till i'd sourced one and then get an ipc and have it all done at once.

Andy lamb in ellesmere port/chester area might be able to do it, I'm sure he is a member on here, he has a page on Facebook called vxmods but you would need to ask him if he knows how to do it.

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buy the display, control box and front switch panel from a breakers yard, then get it wired up and coded to the car.

I retrofitted a Navi 950 intellilink and Rusty carried out the VCI for me, you would never know it was not factory fitted.

I have also retrofitted a reversing camera, but not had the time to pop down to Rusty to get it enabled. Hopefully get that sorted in March or April.

I contacted andy lamb about coding the CIM, but he says vauxhall wont allow it as it's an upgrade :( so i presume that's a 'your on your own here' reply.

i've heard of people like ***** and Rusty can do it... I'd use Rusty but he's 250 miles away from me.... if i was to get hold of a nav950 in the next few weeks, and if the insignia's CIM works and just needs coding to my car, i'd travel down to him.... thing is, i am the type who likes to make mods all the time, so i really need to find someone close to me who can do the things i can't do myself with my vaux-com...

adding extra wires is no problem for me (except all my wiring tools.. molex plug pins, crimpers, solder station, heat shrink, reels of cable etc) is in storage,

Anyway, the CIM and stalk should be here tomorrow, i'll soon find out what happens when i plug it in, i'm hoping i can use the vaux-com to enable the mpg and extra pages once the car has a CIM present that will accept those functions... unfortunately the meriva is poorly supported in vaux-com, so i'd have to be using it saying the car is an insignia or astra as that gets me the options then.

Doh!, i mean IPC not CIM.. getting modules mixed up,

IPC & Navi 650/950 I can do via the post.

It’s not as simple as coding to the car there’s more to it but easily done.


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Got a reply from andy... it's the TIS thing that means it's a ballache to change over an IPC,

i hoped my car was just old enough not to need the TIS thing, sure i read it was for 2012 and newer vehicles,

Thing is, now i'm thinking of getting one of those tech2 clones with the dodgy TISweb software... somebody talk me out of it, i've already screwed up my IPC with the vaux-com, my adhd means i like pressing buttons.


I want to do a navi950 upgrade, front and rear cams, IPC upgrade, tpms, power fold mirrors, wondering if it's possible to do the auto heating/aircon upgrade to the higher spec version (temp set on dial, not sure if i can get the dual heating.. that would be very handy, GF likes it blowing red hot, i like it blowing cool on me as i drive)
maybe the adaptive headlights, or at least the auto level and wash to have xeons... all this in a bloody 1.3 diesel meriva thats done 85k miles.... mind a ecu flash would be nice, when the turbos variable vanes stuck i loved the power i had when it came on boost.

Tech2 will not do what you want.

TIS is used on all vehicles from 2010 but it went fully online in 2012.

You will not get the IPC nor Navi working using a Tech2 nor will it work just using an MDI.

There is far more too it.

In terms of the IPC there is only 2 people that will do it that is myself & another member of this forum (Not Andy).

In terms of front cam I'm still working on it it's not easy, AFL is no longer supported by GM & I've yet to be able to test a work around out.
TPMS, Folding mirrors, IPC & Navi950 is doable.

As I have already said IPC & Navi can be done via post I do all Andy's Navi650/950's for him & I've done a fair few IPC for people now.

Thank you for that info,
i've got my IPC now, the stalk is coming tomorrow, i'm half inclined to nip out to the car now (it's dark out) and swap the IPC over just to see if it even powers up,

Thinking, if it works but just the mileage dosent show, i'd leave it like that till i can source a navi950, then make the trip down to get it all coded at once (unless the other forum member is nearer.. i am scarborough and chester based)

What';s the deal with the post thing... obviousely i send it to you, you read the eeprom and change it or put it in delivery mode... do i need to find someone here to marry it to my car then... or can it all be done so i just plug it in and it works after getting if back from you?

Decided to nip out and swap the IPC over, it works..... 

but as expected, it wont show the mileage... or count any trip miles untill it's coded to the car....

This is all i get when driving, speedo tracks properly... tho it's out more than my original... i.e. when doing 30 by sat nav, my original ipc showed 32, this one shows 35 and so on.

Obviousely it's thrown up a few fault codes.. i get:

B3902 - Incorrect Immobilizer Identifier Received
(00)  - Present

B3567 - Info Display Select Switch Circuit - Open
(04)  - Present

U0020 - Low Speed CAN Bus
(00)  - Present

Stored in the IPC page in vaux-com, and :

B3926 - Incorrect Instrument Cluster Environment Identifier Received - Malfunction
(00)  - Present

In the BCM, and of course it's showing the last car's vin number in the ipc page.... obviousely the B3567 is due to me not having the correct indicator stalk... that's coming tomorrow.

And i guess the last car had a few faults, as it's showing :



As well as service park assist (that'll be it not detecting a park assist module in my car) and one other, it's got the engine trouble light on all the time and the air bag fault light.
Then i get the expected 'washer fluid and coolant low... i want to add those sensors, not sure if they will be plug and play on the meriva tho.

BUT, this ipc has a few illumination led's that have bad connections, and i don't get the handbrake on warning lamp.. even tho it lights up in the power on test and vaux-com's all lights test.... this ipc also has no comfort window close trouble light.. but i guess that would show on the graphical display?? and no eco shift up light.. but i can live without that... gotta check yet if it's got a DPF regen light too, so i may well get another IPC that's more suited to my car.

Thinking of getting an IPC more suited to my car... hens teeth for the one with the large display it seems... found one for a petrol model... now i wonder... there may be a little chance there are the lights present for the diesel (glow plugs and dpf regen) ... but what about the rev counter.. i presume it will read on scale, which i think is upto 8k rpm, where as the diesels go to 6k,

What's the chance of changing some code in the IPC to tell it that it's got a 6k rpm gauge???... and i'd swap over my existing rev counter card

Ok in terms of the ---- for mileage it has been said you can end up locking the IPC if you drive it too much (But I'm not 100% if it's true).

In terms of the posting you send it to me & I'll send it back all plug & play.
in terms of error's you may find the
U0020 - Low Speed CAN Bus remains but it's nothing to worry about.

No you can't mess around with data etc. Your'd be better off with a drev set.

I would say TBH an astra 1.3cdti clocks would be better suited but it would mean no multi-line.

Got a little problem,
fitted the indicator stalk with the extra buttons on it today (menu, set/clr, up and down, to operate the driver display)
there's only 5 wires in my plug to the indicator stalk... assuming it's not multiplex, that'll be 'indicator left, right, high beam flash and high beam on.. and power.??

Do i need to add another 4 wires for the other buttons? and if so, which pins and where do i run them to (ipc or bcm)

Figured out i will need to add extra wires, compared the pcb of the 2 stalks, the one with extra buttons has another 4 connectors (one shares what i presume to be the common power)



Now... do these extra wires go to the IPC connector.. if so, what pins go where

This is the stalks plug, i've marked where the 3 extra wires need to be


Where do they terminate at the other end of the wires??

Am i right in thinking the wiring i need goes to the IPC plug? i've been reading that the washer and coolant low switches are conected to the ipc plug (because people bridge them out to turn the warnings off.. that's what i'd do for now, till i am back home with access to more tools to retro fit the sensors)

and seeing other IPC plugs they seem to have more wires in them... mine only has 8 wires to it.

I've put my original ipc back in for now, and i miss the big screen already.... i played with the vaux-com reading the display options on the ipc, tried changing one option and it refused to program, but i then pressed program with no changes made... it said it programmed... and now i've lost the white cruise control light, asr off and that on the 'new' ipc... tho the display said asr off and on, just the lights in the gauges get disabled by the damn vaux-com.

The level sensors go to the IPC but I think the stalk will go to the BCM I'll have a look.

Ok so you need to add the following wire from stalk to IPC.

Stalk pin 5 to IPC pin 28 wire 0.35 VT/YE
Stalk pin 6 to IPC pin 9 wire 0.35 BK/WH
Stalk pin 12 to IPC pin 10 wire 0.35 GN/WH

WooHoo, awesome , cheers for that

now to be a right pain, what connector pins do i need to use? i'm going to have to buy some pins online (i'm at my girlfriends helping her as she's broken her foot)
Wondering if someone like Andy Lamb would have those connectors on hand.. as he's close to me,

Once i get the stalk working, i'll decide if to keep the insignia's IPC i've got and send it to you (Rusty) or get another one slightly more suited to my car... was reading last night on some german forums, and someone has figured the eeprom holds the data that sets the rev counter and speeds scales, i.e. between petrol and diesels (6 or 8k rpm) and the 270 or 240 kph speedo... or mph one etc,

MIND... only reason i'm thinking of a more suitable IPC is for the DPF regen light... but i get a 'code 55' in my current IPC when that's happening, so i wonder if the insignia's DIC would say 'DPF regen, keep driving' or similar???

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Oh yeah, forgot to ask... what pins are the coolant and washer fluid low ones?

Are there any other connections to the IPC i may not have??

Andy should have some pin's.

The pinout doesn't show the level sensors but I guess they would be the same as the Astra.

Coolant is pin 6
Washer is pin 29

Both listed as not used on Merv.

Thankyou so much.

As the IPC i settle on will be from another car than a meriva (unless anyone knows the code in the eeprom that tells the rev counter to swep to 6k.. where i'd get the petrol merivas IPC with the full display) i'll have the low washer and coolant sensors enabled in the IPC.. washer bottle i am sure i will be able to add the float switch to... not sure about the coolant header tank.. that might be a meriva specific part.

I've got some wire (had to get 0.24mm wire.. but it's only momentary logic signals) and possibly some suitable pins... maplins aint what they used to be.. but hoping some computer pcb sockets with the uncrimped pins will work (just for testing i can push the un striped wire down the socket into the pin)

Now then... coolant and header tank pins.. to shut the ipc up for now, do they get shorted to earth or power? ... i.e which pin is the one to connect pin 6 and 29 to?

It works

The connectors i got fit the IPC end, but not the stalk end... so for now i've just pushed the wires in the relevent holes in the plug and cable tied them to the loom, havent done anything with the coolant and washer fluid sensors yet, as i ran out of connectors (i dont have my crimping tool with me that does these tiny connectors, so bodged them with wire nippers,

I defo want to make the loom better with the correct connectors in the plugs, also, the cable i got was thicker than needed (i thought it was thinner) i guess maplins wasnt selling it in mm... numbers/maths isnt my strong point, and run the wires into the engine bay for the 2 sensors/switches i will add at a later date.

But i get the feeling i'll be doing a lot of wiring when i get to adding more items to this car, as i suspect there is a poverty spec loom with just the minimum wires needed and not one extra... noticed the REC in this car looks empty, just a single large red with green stripe wire to a stud at the top, and nothing else in it.

Cool glad it worked.

In terms of the level sensors you ground them.

Can i ask what pin/wire colour is ground at the IPC plug please,

Looks like i'm out of luck with the coolant tank level sensor, ebay and "http://ecat24.com/opel/catalog/models/1/" show only a single header tank with no sensor option for the meriva... and it looks like it's specific to the meriva... even what i'd think was the closest one.. the zafira, is different, tho more research may show a header tank that's similar that i could make fit... OR, depending on how the sensor fits... i may attempt to fit one to my tank (if a screw in type i could use a nut on the back. but i bet they are bayonet fitting)

Tho i do recall reading about an issue where meriva header tanks leak and drip water onto an ECU....


Reading up on some german sites, there's something that plugs into the OBDii port and gets extra menu's on the DIC... oil pressure, temp and turbo boost etc, it takes the reading from the engine ECU and sends them down the IPC pin i believe. so that might be my next thing to get once the IPC is all wired and coded.....

i'm looking for a more suitable IPC on ebay, when i find one can i arrange to get it sent to you Rusty? then you can work you magic and i can pay you for your work and get it sent to me.

Done it, use a bolt behind the dash to short the coolant and washer switch wires to for now,

This car really has no extra wires... checked behind the interior light and there's no socket for the auto dim mirror and camera's/sensors... typical, auto dim mirror wont be hard to do, as it just needs power and possible a reverse signal (i presume to turn auto dim of when reversing?)

But the plan to add auto wipers and lights will mean adding extra wires.

I was under the impression reverse didn't make a difference to auto dim mirror as it on my dims when it detects light input ie headlights at night shining into it from a car behind your as that's what mine done.

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Gotya... just i remember reading there's 3 wires needed to the mirror, power, earth and reverse input, but i guess i can do it by taking power from the interior light circuit.

Yeah you may be right, rusty will be the man to tell you as I haven't seen a wiring diagram, I just can't see the purpose for the reverse wire though since it dims when it detects light.

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Black is Ground pin 16 on IPC.

I wonder if a Astra header tank would fit (not looked at mervia header tank).

Be the happy blue or something like that.

In terms of the auto dim it works when a car behind headlights are bright.

I can only think the mirror dosent auto dim when in reverse... perhaps if reversing into a drive with security lights.. they might trigger the dimming meaning it's hard to see the garage door or wall behind you.

Meriva's header tank is like this:
http://ecat24.com/opel/images/Opel/S10/F/40.jpg

There's a fuse or relay bank directly under the front of it.. it sits behind the battery, i recall an issue where these tanks leak and bugger the electrics below it, so i'm not sure i'll try and fit a low level sensor to the tank by drilling a hole and that... especially as they go through the bottom.

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I seem to have an almost empty REC in this car....





Just a single fuse with a red with blue stripe wire,

According to 'ecat24' the car was specified to have "SENSOR,PARKING PILOT SYSTEM" but the reverse sensor system is an aftermarket one... however, some time after i bought the car i found a piece of masking tape with blue spray on it down the small gap where a rear light met the body... so i'm wondering if the car had a rear end shunt,
they replaced the rear bumper and instead of repairing the factory reversing sensor system, they fitted a cheap aftermarket one instead.

Do all vauxhalls have the 'front parking sensor off' button on the dash even if that's not fitted (deffo no front sensors... but im thinking of fitting the proper vauxhall front and rear park pilot system at some point, and wondering how much wiring i will need to do.

Unless the old owner fitted the button for the fun of it, Vauxhall wouldn't that's for sure.

Gotya... that red and blue wire is in the fuse for the parking pilot system, it is taped into the loom that goes upwards,
the aftermarket parking sensors are wired directly to the reversing lights for power (wire ran into the boot lid to the actual bulb connector, rather than tapping into the relevent wire in the loom in the cubby hole)

There's no signs there's ever been any front sensors fitted tho, unless that's a replacement bumper also,

i know i am taking on far too many projects at once (a sign im going hyper/manic) but i'm thinking of getting the full front and rear parking sensor ecu and the sensors and loom and fitting it all... i presume that will need a vci code to activate... i want to fit a towbar and the factory wiring for that too, so am i best off doing the sensors and towbar at the same time so they get coded to work together?

Just thought of something about geting a different IPC than a meriva's one for my car... do astra's have the rear seatbelt status on them?? i.e. the meriva shows what seatbelts are buckled or unbuckled in the rear on the display,

i don't get them on the insignia IPC i'm using now (mind, i also don't get the front seatbelt warning light in the dash, nor the handbrake on light... so might be the ipc needs to be coded to my car to get them all working... but the insignia's IPC has a different layout of the idiot lights)

Navi950... does it matter which vehicle it came out of???

I can get one from a mokka, the screen mount will be different i know, and i'm sourcing a meriva screen mount.. also i notice the buttons are different... as in the mokka dosent have the vehicle buttons at the top of the radio buttons, for ASR off, parking sensor and in some vehicles the ecco button, would i be able to just source a button set from an astra or other vehicle that has the vehicle buttons at the top and make it work?? i imagin it will need coding to the main unit and screen?

and does it have to be a navi950 button set... all the navi's sem to have the same buttons, just in slightly different locations.

Parking sensors normally you will find the front wires are up to a point (on Astra's its the connector under the battery). Vauxhall sell the brackets to repair the holders on the Astra so would of thought you could get them for yours then just drill the holes and bond them.

In terms of the IPC yes some do some don't, They also need to be set-up and configured to have options turned on/off etc just getting a set & plugging it in (even after coding to your car) doesn't mean certain things will work.

In terms of the Navi you can get from any car but the Mokka buttons wouldn't work once programmed to a Astra/Mervia as the software / firmware is different.

been quiet lately, ran out of money after buying a towbar, CID screen and meriva surround/mount and an ipc from abroad, missed out on the navi950, just as well as i needed to replace one of the month old tyres the other day as i got a bloody thorn in it right where the tread curves to the sidewall... bloody strong thorns in wales.

You are right about the ipc locking if driven too much with a vin mismatch, opcom is showing 'odo lock' active now, swapped the original ipc back and mileage displays ok, not fussed as it's my test ipc from an insignia... my kph meriva one is sitting at my parents house waiting for me,

i got a copy of tis2web 32b, the last offline version, just covers my car nicely, and i spent a few nights reading all i could in it, and sure enough it says that after a certain distance with mismatched vins the ipc will lock, and even if the vin mismatch is subsequently fixed it'll need the tech 2 to remove the lock.... also read that the DPF regen is done on an algorithm, it says the differential pressure sensor is there for fault finding and dosent influence the DPF regen times!!!

this may just be the meriva B which has a single sample pipe sensor, so now i know why it comes on at the most awkward times... why can't there be a button to press when it wants to do a regen, that tells it 'i'm stuck in traffic in town right now, try doing a regen later'

Been wondering if to get a vcx nano.. MDI alternative to use with tis2web, but i've read they only allow online SPS, and i want to do it all offline, it seems my meriva being a 2011 model might just miss all that VCI nonsense.

In terms of the VCX Nano don't bother I've had countless cars in needing to be re-programmed due to owners using them. they freeze during programming don't complete the programming etc.

I brought the Ford version for the wife's car and even that screwed up on programming so it was a costly visit to our local ford dealer to put it right.

Doesn't matter if you fit something to your car that shouldn't be there SPS will throw a hardware mismatch back at you weather you use offline or online, and if a part has been programmed with newer software than V32B it won't reprogram it your'll be met with a software error.

Same thing with part number SPS checks the part numbers for parts fitted to the car if the part number is wrong it won't program and you'll be met with an error.

Grrrr, damn vauxhall, thanks for the warning about the vcx nano.

Wonder if i should just get a BCM from a car that has all the toys fitted, change the vin in the eeprom, and live with it moaning about modules missing until i can afford them and fit them (of course i don't expect it to be that easy)

Wondering... change the vin in the eeprom of the BCM to one that has the parts fitted, program it, then change the vin back... but i bet it wont play ball with the engine ecu having a mismatched vin.

Been thinking of getting a clone MDI... but wondering if i'd be better off with a clone tech2.

i've read that tech2's don't 'interogate' the cars modules as much as the MDI's do when sps'ing,

also, the way the tech2 sps works... read the car, connect to computer, load software to tech2, connect back to car, load software... inbwtween those steps it's possible to play with the software... with the right knowledge,

as my car is a 2011 meriva, it's diagnosed with tech2win anyway in globaltis, just uses gds2 to sps as tech2win cant sps,

am i barking up the wrong tree here

A clone MDI you have to be-careful with also they don't last very long.
As for the tech 2 I know it was replaced by the MDI & cars made afterwards have limited use of TECH2.

Also if you went down the MDI route you would need to pay GM to sign up then you would need to pay per hour of use.
You wouldn't be able to program the BCM IPC ECU (anything security related) until you've applied for enhanced access.

Very Interesting thread, Glad to see another Meriva owner on here.... Rusty is great at help and that....

Would the speed limiter switch work on the Meriva?

I've got everything on mine Cd500 navi with the bluetooth Front and rear parking sensors no auto lights and no rain sensing wipers... the next mod will be the dimming mirror as thats an easy one to tap into the power up there... but on mine there is no plug around for the sensors...

At some point i want to fit a tow bar and the proper electrics, was going to go to the dealer and see what i would need.

The meriva B is a strange car... part can bus, and uses Tech2 for programming, it never made it to GDS2 till the 2015 model year aparantly,

I've just borrowed some money and bought a clone tech2, my car being a S10 (2011) is covered by the last offline version of globaltis,

No idea with the speed limiter switch, if if was a meriva option then there may be a way to get it to work.. but the meriva dosent have a lot of things the astra's have, but other things it has they dont have...

The rear doors open backwards.. flex / suicide doors, so there's 3 locking mechanisms in them. proximity detectors in the inner handles and a load of electronic stuff monitoring them with a warning light in the speedo for a fault with them... globaltis keeps making big warnings about working on almost anything in the car can interact with the 'flex door' operation,

It says the flexdoor safety features must be thourghly tested after replacing any modules (drive faster than 4mph and make sure the rear doors inner handle disconnect (locking type noise) and the green light in them goes out and no flex-door warning light on the dash, make sure the rear handles re-engage when handbrake is applied and all that.

RE: the auto dim mirror...

Meriva's dont have that socket behind the interior lights astra's have, you need to run 3 wires up there if you want the full auto dim install.. power, earth and revers light input... to turn off auto dimming in reverse.

I have ran an extra wire for the rain sensor with my mirror loom i made up (needs power, earth and GMLan connections, power and earth are same as mirror ones)

i'm going to connect into the BCM plugs as if it were factory fitted, and when i get a rain sensor and auto light switch i will fit them and enable them in the bcm (hopefully, if the tech2 works.. if not i'll turn the car into a brick)

I have a tow bar and module, but not the wiring between the module and the car...

for factory fit, it's 2 wires to the rear fuse box (NOT a REC on these cars) (but that requires adding terminals to the fuse box... micro or junior power timer terminals) and a wire up to the BCM for GMLan connection (the low speed can bus that talks to the modules) also a connection to the brake light circuit... as that's not controlled directly by the can bus. and 3 earths.

then it needs programing into the car,

Tow module wiring:
http://www.ifz-berlin.de/ins_pdf/13333916.pdf
Tow bar fitting:
http://www.ifz-berlin.de/ins_pdf/93199864.pdf


btw, the meriva you need to take the front bumper off as part of installing the tow bar!!! lol... it's to remove some baffle pads in the grills that reduce airflow to the intercooler and radiator... i'll do that when i take the front bumper off to fit the parking sensors... my trailer is a little 350 kilo max load one (one of those duo trailers that come appart and store on their side on little wheels) so i doubt i'll overload the engine and need the extra cooling.. if i was towing a caravan then of course i'd remove the baffles straight away.


If i'm still allowed on this site now i'm buying my own tech2.... ( i promise i will NOT divulge anything i learn that rusty does as part of what he does here, i will not offer to do any work for other people or owt like that... unless having a tech2 is the only way a meriva B can be programmed and i get permission off rusty to do so... i'm based in the north east anyway... but this is his site and his knowledge has figured out how to do things vauxhall don't want you to do, and i have the utmost respect for him managing to figure these things out)


Anyway, if i don't get booted, i'll update you on how things go and what i learn as i play with my car, i've already done a little on the dashboard upgrade, but still have some issues to fix:

Speed limiter is a funny one on the J's it's the ECU that needs to be told it's there (which you can only do if GM supply a VCI code) which they are unwilling to do.

Towbar you need the towbar, module, new fuseboard & loom. When I fitted the factory kit to mine I used aftermarket towbar (As it was already fitted) brought the bumper to body loom from Vauxhall used module off ebay the last part of them loom with the 13pin plug I made myself as it was far cheaper than buying a Vauxhall one.

As to the programming for the J it's just a case of programming the towbar module the BCM doesn't need to programmed (same for Parking sensors).

RE fuseboard on the J's if you open the fuse boards inside you find 1-2 bits of metal which form's the contacts for fuses etc if one of the fuses you need is missing a bit it's a new board you add anything inside the boards.

You won't be booted from this site we aren't petty minded, If you want to offer your services on this site then that is fine but you would need to become a trader (£10 per year), I would strongly advise however if you do plan to offer your services you invest in genuine equipment rather than clones.

Your fuel is getting low BTW I'm fussy I don't like mine going below 1/4 of a tank pulling all the ***** through lol.

Cheers mate... i deffo don't plan on becoming a trader or owt... all i'd do for other people is simple things if they can't find anyone else.. i'd give them the tech2 and let them press the buttons, i'd only sps to my own car unless i was 120% confident the tool i have works safely... i've already got some mods i will do to it.. better power regulator and a direct USB connection replacing the rs232 port and max232 TTL chip.


When i bought the meriva it was screaming 'Refuel NOW!' so it's used to going low... i have let it get to the 'Refuel soon' warning once since... but only to see the warning in text on the uplevel IPC... i like to get as close to 600 miles on the trip counter for a tank of fuel before i refuel tho, so i do take it pretty low.


The meriva the rear fuse box is just that.. can add extra fuse takeoff pins to it, no electronics in it at all... and the trailer interface just needs the gmlan learning it's there.. to allow communication and do the rear fog lamp cut off when trailer connected (tho that is a german law requirment)... oh and the parking sensors need telling there';s a towbar, and the rear sensors de-activate automatically then trailer is connected (sensing the lights on the gmlan from what i can see in the diagram rather than using a switch in the 13 pin socket)


Did you find a place to buy that 12 pin round connector the socket plugs to... used on the flexfit system too... as my towbar didnt come with the car loom... i can buy the plugs for the tow module from RS, but not the plug for the socket loom.

I love making wiring looms up, but vauxhall used to many different plugs and sockets, im sure they used one or 2 types from every manufacturer just for fun,

Well.. i'll admit that i've screwed up, i got impatient and tried to manually de-solder the eeprom from the KPH IPC i bought from a european meriva (as uplevel meriva B ipc's seem rare as hens teeth in the uk)
and in the process i lost pin 7 (or pin 2) so i couldnt get a dump of it's contents and had a dead ipc.

So when my hot air rework station arrived a few days later i popped the eeprom off the original IPC with the low level display and put it on the uplevel euro ipc to see what would happen.

hot air is so nice to work with for this kind of thing... tho a surface mount tweezer soldering iron would be handy for the led's, as it's easy to burn them with the hot air (kapton tape ordered)

I was surprised the IPC started up... gauges all work, but i get so many menu's... like:



i believe the IPC thinks its now a petrol one, as i dont have the glow plug light anymore (it is a diesels ipc, and glow light worked before i destroyed it's eeprom) but notice the 'bio-power' meter for E85 bio-ethanol.

Battery level as a percentage? some things i get no readings for due to missing sensors i guess, but not sure why battery level wont show, tho it's usually voltage rather than percentage.


I also have to press the cancel button 8 times on starting the car, as i get these warnings:



Some items i will fit the parts for... but 4x4 i doubt will ever make it to my list of mods

oh, and airbag is i believe a stored setting in the IPC, there's 100% nothing wrong with mine, but the insignia's ipc did the same, and both IPC's are from crashed cars... i do only have 2 DTC's now tho, for security code not set in the ipc and bcm, so im hoping that when i can set them i can clear the airbag warning indicator and engine trouble light thats on.

Oh yeah... in the settings menu there's this!!!


Wonder what happens if i activate it? does it shut down all electronics for being jump started.. thinking how corsa's get their bcm and ipc corrupted when jump starting.. or does it up the revs and raise the voltage of the alternator for giving a jump start?

Then i noticed something i didnt think of when using a european IPC in a UK car... this is front and rear right hand doors open:



I guess the rear door open code is left or right, and the front is drivers and passengers,

Took it for a test drive and noticed that the speedo was reading low... very low.. but the needle wasnt catching on anything... it was linear, like at 50 mph on the digital speedo the needle was pointing to 30mph... then it twigged... i set it back to metric mode.. KPH, litres and all that, and the speedo needle jumped up to the right reading.

in europe they have only KPH markings on the speedo face, i swapped my mph dial face over as it lines up right... but when the IPC is set to imperial units, it points the needle at the number in mph.... so at 30mph the needle points to the 30... kph mark on the euro scale,

Very clever but very annoying for me... as i want MPH, MPG, miles and all that english stuff we wont let go of... but to do that the speedo needle will never go past the 70kph marking (honest officer)
The euro speedo goes upto 220kph (meriva 1.3 speedos stop 20mph shorter than other ones) so there's abut three quarters of the speedo face that will never be used.

Now if i put it in metric mode, the needle reads right, but i have no idea if using 5 litres per 100 kilometers is good or bad fuel economy, and i dont want to know i can travel 900kms to a tank full, i want to know how many miles i can go.

Not sure i can change this behavior, i've been told the needle movement is stored in the MCU and not the eeprom, i can hope there's a setting in Tech2 to say it's a uk speedo, but i wont hold my breath... so im likely back to searching for an uplevel Meriva 1.3 diesels UK spec IPC again :(

What the grey one inside the car?

You shouldn't need to remove the EEPROM it should read fine on the board.

Whats happened there is you have a corrupted EEPROM. I found all this out when playing around swapping eeproms from higher boards.

Did you say you had a 1.3 without S/S and Flip switch C/C?

(8:th-Mar-2018, 08:30:23)Rusty2009 Wrote: [ -> ]What the grey one inside the car?

You shouldn't need to remove the EEPROM it should read fine on the board.

Whats happened there is you have a corrupted EEPROM. I found all this out when playing around swapping eeproms from higher boards.

Did you say you had a 1.3 without S/S and Flip switch C/C?

Ahh, the grey 12 pin plug in the car... is sort of round, has different sized contacts in it, and is where the loom that goes to the exterior socket plugs in to the loom to the trailer module.

i have a china special eeprom reader.. don't laugh too hard... one of those £3.99 CH341a things, figured it reads 24 and 25 series ic's, the eeprom on the ipc being a 25L080 it'll do the job... but i couldnt get a reading either in circuit, or out of circuit in a sop8 quick release holder (i did get all 00's once instead of FF's from no chip present gets)

but i  didnt try soldering it to an adapter board as by that point i thought i had wiped the eeprom, so put it in the up level ipc just to see what would happen. 

I have some 25L080 chips coming in the post, and will try to get a dump again and clone it (if i have to buy a mini-pro to do it, then i will have to) then i want to wire in a remote dip socket... i'll put it at the top outside of the ipc case, and have a plug in eeprom that i can easilly remove, alter some bytes and plug back in to see what happens... the plan is to compare a few dumps of different ipc's, and try to see what does what in the dump. 

I'll have my tech2 by then so i may be able to fix this with that... but im still interested in learning what in the eeprom file does what to the ipc. 


My meriva is a 1.3 (A13DTE) flip switch cruise, non stop/start... i am not sure if other vauxhall ipc's have the warning light for the rear flexdoors, where the auto wiper light is on other ipc's... tho i wonder where the auto wiper light goes on meriva ipc's. 
[attachment=958]

My low level ipc also has a DRL on light below the right indicator light, but the uplevel one didnt have an led soldered on the pads there (nor to the shift light), i added the missing led's, but of course they dont light up... hard to trace the circuit without my magnifying lamp thing so see if resistors are missing.