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/

I think there are some problems with the site. Unfortunately it needs admin (gteuk) to fix them but he does not come on the site often and has not been on it since last October. People trying to join the site are stuck on Validating so there have not been any full members since last November which is why the site is quiet. I tried to change my email address nearly a year ago but it has not sent a validating email or it sent it to my old email address which no longer exists, so I am stuck on validating. Fortunately it did not stop me continuing to post or moderate the site.

I hope this is it now since you have spent a lot trying to fix the problem.

The device connected to the egr is an electro valve that operates the egr valve when the ecu tells it. It opens/closes to provide vacuum from the vacuum pump to the egr valve. You might be able to test it by disconnecting the egr vacuum pipe and seeing when you can feel a vacuum at the egr side. If it is not air tight at times then maybe it is faulty. Plugging the egr side might give the same result as blanking the egr. Just leaving the pipe open would let a lot of air in to the vacuum system causing poor braking and affecting anything else that uses vacuum. If any of the vacuum pipes are in poor condition and are leaking then they can also give symptoms of an egr fault. The crank sensor either works or not and if not, then the engine would not run. They tend to starting failing as they get hot but will work again as they cool down. This is from the C5 Common Problems topic: 20. EGR fault codes, engine hunting/pulsing, blocked dpf. 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

When you come to check the LDS fluid level, drop the suspension to minimum height and then switch the engine off. Then slowly slacken the LDS tank cap and there should be a release of air pressure. The fluid should be just at the bottom of the tank neck strainer. If there is no pressure then it is probably a sign of a leak. I think the total volume of LDS fluid is about 5 litres.

When this has been mentioned on here before, the tank has split but you could check to see if a hose at the bottom of the tank has blown off. Has the tyre place said they will pay for the damage since it is their negligence for not knowing about your car and the need to raise the suspension and slacken the tank cap ?

Maybe there was 6 mm of friction material on the pads when you bought the car and at the same wear rate you would expect there to now be 4 mm which could still be ok for some time. However, the build up of brake dust could have made the pads a bit seized so the wear rate is now higher than before, even though you hardly use the brakes. I would still do the measurement checks yourself, just to see if the garage is trying for a bit of work. At 44k miles though many cars will be on replacement pads/discs, they are not difficult to diy replace either and a garage might do them in an hour. Looking at my records, our 2007 C4 at 46k miles the front discs were down to mimimum, our 2011 C4 the front discs/pads were replaced at 44k miles, our 2003 C3 front discs/pads were replaced at 36k miles, our 2010 C3 the front discs/pads were replaced at 16k miles. All replacements were since the discs were down to the minimum thickness, rather than the pads being down to their min. Discs seem to wear a lot quicker now asbestos is not used in the brake pads. You could still go back to the supplying dealer and see if they will replace them or give you a discount since you were not expecting them to need replacing so soon.

When you start the car does the engine management fault light come on to show the bulb is working ? It should light as the dash lights up and then go out a few seconds once the engine is running and all the sensors have shown normal values. Unplugging the MAF and finding no difference might suggest the car is already in limp mode. Whether the MAF is the problem (or its wiring/connector) I do not know, live data would be needed to see its values. Just thinking of any odd things that could limit power, is the exhaust ok and not blocked ?

Welcome to the forum. 40k miles is good for a set of pads and discs to last but it depends on how many times the brakes have been used rather than the distance covered. Cars used for mainly long trips will do more miles before they need replacing. On a C3 we bought I had to replace them at about 16k miles and 4 years, a year after getting the car. The previous owner must have done a lot of round town driving and worn them out. Usually by the time the pads are worn down the discs will also have worn down to their minimum thickness so it is normal to replace both at the same time. Now it is impossible to say how worn the pads/discs were a year ago and your driving may not be the same as the previous owner. You might be using the brakes more often per mile than before so the wear rate could have increased. However, you could look at the service records to see how the brakes were at the previous services, our dealers give a print out which lists the items checked and includes pad wear. You do not need to have the pads/discs replaced just because the dealer advises it, they might just be wanting some extra work. They will give a recommendation on whether they think they will last to the next service at the service interval mileage (could be 12 to 20k miles depending on the engine). You can always measure the parts yourself but a micrometer will be needed to check the disc thickness. New discs have a thickness of 26 or 24 or 22 mm (depends on the model/engine) with a minimum of 2 mm less, measured away from the outer wear ridge. New pads have a friction material thickness of about 12 mm with a minimum of about 3 mm - if the garage is saying 90% worn that will mean the friction material may be down to 1 or 2 mm - you can get a quick idea using a torch to look at the pads through a wheel and seeing how far away from the disc is from the inner edge of the pad metal backing. The metal backing is about 6 mm thick if you want to measure from the outside of a pad to the disc - at 90% worn the garage must be suggesting about 7 or 8 mm from the outer edge of a pad to the disc.. You would also need to check the inner pads as well as the outer ones in case they have worn more. Something to bear in mind. Servicing of brakes is not part of the normal service so at 4 years old your brakes have probably never been serviced and could be a bit seized up with brake dust. On our cars, I remove the pads every year or 2 depending on mileage and give everything a good clean.

Was the MAF you put on a Citroen one or a copy one since sometimes copy ones do not work that well ? You could try unplugging it to see if it runs better in limp mode.

According to the parts diagrams the AC dryer is a cartridge that is under a cap at one end of the condenser. On vehicles with an extra condenser and fans on the roof there is also a separate dryer there. You can see the parts diagrams if you register on service.citroen as an other professional non emergency services and as a member of the Citroen Owners Club. Use your VIN (VIS) to left once on to find your vehicle and the air conditioning can be found under Electric Unit, Comfort and Convenience http://service.citroen.com/do/changerParametres - you might need to select your language first. You do not pay to see the parts diagrams but you can pay to see the workshop manual procedures. If you look at the diagrams it might help suggest where there might be a leak such as seals or maybe the relief valve. For the pressure to remain for a few days though any leak will be small. As well as the dye some of the oil might leak out so you could look for that but it will probably be colourless oil. When the air con is running, some parts get hot, others cold, the oil is circulated and the compressor turns - these may change the leak rate when compared to a nitrogen pressure test.