paul.h

Has it just started to do this or has it always done this since it sounds as if it may be normal ?

Thankyou for these tips, I have pinned the topic and changed the title slightly to help when searching.

On electric seats I think the lumbar mechanism uses electric motors and to get to it the back rest has to be dismantled. It might need a diagnostic to check it and maybe set it up rather than dismantling so a trip to a dealer might be needed. The lumbar mecanism broke on our 2007 C5 with manual seats and it was possible to fix this by lifting up the back of the back rest cover to get to the mechanism but I do not know if this is possible on later C5s.

Chances are it is a worn anti roll bar drop link and maybe it was not bad enough to fail the MOT or was missed. You could see if the link can be moved by hand or by using a lever but the best way to check is to undo one end of the link and if worn there will be a lot of play in one or both of its joints.

There was a problem with the database but this has been fixed by admin and the forum is now working again. There might still be some problems, members joined after June 2018 might need to join again and possibly there might be some topics lost.

Maybe its wiring connector is loose, there is something wrong with its wiring or the light needs replacing. To remove it unclip its cover and then undo 2 screws holding the light in place and undo the electrical connector. The light part number may be 6351EA but this should be checked using your VIN but it may be a dealer only supply. Replacement time is supposed to be 12 minutes so not a big job. For the MOT it might just be an advisory rather than a failure item since I think the high level brake light is not tested.

If you have the car handbook it will also tell you how to do it. The button on the speedometer has to be held on whilst the ignition is turned on just as far as the dash lighting up, just in case it was not clear. Once the digits have counted down to =0, you can release the button and then start the engine.

The height sensor might be a good place to start. On our 2007 C5 the suspension pump would sometimes kick in and raise the car slightly when moving slowly or just stopped. It was not dropping down much though when not being used. The other day I greased the height sensor arm ball/socket joints and now this does not happen and the ride seems a lot smoother. In my case it could be the arms were sticking a bit. Have a look at this similar topic in which it turned out the pump was at fault.http://www.citroen-owners-club.co.uk/citroen/topic/24488-rear-suspension-droops/

Good to see the car is now ok. I hope it did not cost much to fix it. If you need any future work on the car that needs it jacking up, such as tyre replacement and the MOT test, make a point of telling the mechanic to raise the suspension to max height first and then slackening the LDS tank cap until it is back on its wheels. Hopefully this will avoid any possible suspension problems again. Any work on our C5 that I have not been able to do, I have used a Citroen dealer since they should know what they are doing.

Good luck with the VW. You are still welcome to come back on the forum now and again and help out.

This topic has info on the pump fuse. Rather than a maxi fuse it is a fusible link. http://www.citroen-owners-club.co.uk/citroen/topic/23633-c5-x7-suspension-pump-failure-battery-fuses-list/

Another problem you may also have - If you have an electric handbrake then it might need to be calibrated using Citroen diagnostic equipment, unless your friend has already done this. Whilst being worked on, was the battery disconnected to stop the suspension moving ? If so it might help to do a battery disconnection/reconnection. There is a procedure in the C5 Technical Section Common problems topic. Sometimes this can self correct if left or the car used a bit but some simple things to check: - as noted above, can you hear the pump running ? - if you open and close all the doors does this cause the pump to run ? - you could try bouncing the car up and down. - have you checked the LDS tank fluid level with the suspension on low level - the fluid should be just covering the bottom of the strainer in the tank. - has the LDS tank split and leaked fluid since this can happen if the car is jacked up without first raising the suspension and slackening the tank cap to release any pressure. The cap should not be tightened until the car is back on the ground. - have you checked if the pump fuse has blown. It is a maxi fuse in a small fusebox near the side of the battery. It might have a red cover. - you could try jacking the car back up, use axle stands, disconnect the battery and then see if the height sensors have been damaged. You could also move the sensor arms to see if they are seized or even broken (common problem and new arms are available at little cost from Citroen). - whilst jacked up see if the wheels/suspension can be moved. Failing this you might need a trip to a Citroen dealer but I seem to remember a topic where a car's suspension corrected itself whilst going over bumps to a dealer. You might need to go there anyway to have the handbrake calibrated if it is electric.

Maybe the first things to check will be the anti roll bar drop links, then suspension joints and brakes in case they need the pads/calipers cleaning to remove brake dust.

I have always used a bypass relay on the towbar wiring to avoid any possible problems with the cars electrics. Then used scotch locks to connect it to the cars rear lighting wires. Many people do not like these and mess about soldering but I have had no problems with them and wrap some tape around the wiring to hold the loom together so they do not come undone. To provide an earth point I have simply drilled a hole, cleaned the paint off and used a nut and bolt to fasten the wiring to it. On our 2007 C5 I used the dedicated car's socket at the boot end but only for its 12 volt supply wire that comes from the dash fusebox, cutting it before the socket and taking it to the bypass relay. Since I was wiring for caravan towing this thick beige coloured wire was used for the supply for the 12S socket and I ran a second wire from the dash fusebox for the lighting 12N socket bypass relay. The fuse for the beige wire is not there unless one is put in, for your car have a look in the handbook to see which fuse it is - on our C5 it was from a permanent 12 volt supply, not ignition controlled. For lighting a 15 amp fuse shold be enough but for the caravan electrics 20 amp is normal. Attached a photo of the C5 wiring before tidying it up. There are some posts on here about towbars and wiring and an advanced search will find them. To find which coloured/numbered wires are for each light you will need to trace them back from one of the rear lights.

It is always good to hear excellent news like this, especially when the possibility of a blocked exhaust was only a guess since you had tried all the obvious things as well as ones from the diagnostic. I have modified the C5 Common Problems topic to include the things you have found out. 20. EGR, MAF fault codes, engine hunting/pulsing, lack of power, blocked dpf, blocked catalyst. Before replacing any parts, make sure the rubber hose connected to it or any other sensors do not have a small split since this can be the fault. See this post as an example http://www.citroen-o...low/#entry77310 Blanking off an egr valve fixed the hunting/pulsing for Gary 180259 http://www.citroen-o...909-c5-hunting/ It could also be caused by a blocked dpf http://www.citroen-o...ing/#entry95329 Lack of power, poor running, apparent MAF and EGR faults turned out to be a blocked exhaust catalyst in this non turbo diesel Berlingo. See this topic by heraldsteve http://www.citroen-o...engine-problem/