paul.h

Welcome to the forum. Some ideas based on our C4 and C5 but I had a look in a C8 handbook on the service.citroen site but that did not help: - if the remote is used to unlock the doors, can they all be opened from the outside - if not then maybe a second push on the remote unlock button may be needed. On some Citroens the locks can be set via the radio menu so not all the doors unlock on the first remote push. Also when using the remote to lock the doors, a second push on the remote lock button will deadlock the locks. - the locks can be set to auto lock when about 6 mph (10 kph) is reached and will unlock when an inside door handle is used to open a door - trying an outside one will not work. On our 2011 C4 only the front door locks unlock if a front door handle is used leaving the back and hatch doors still locked until the remote is used to unlock them. To activate the auto lock, the dash door lock button is held on for a few seconds until a message is given whilst the engine is running. To deactivate the auto lock, again hold down the dash lock button. I have moved the topic in to a subforum since ones outside of one do not show after a few days and are then difficult to find.

Welcome to the forum. Is your car the new shape C5 and presumably left hand drive ? We had a recent topic where a new shape C5 was raining in at the front and this was believed to have been the result of a replacement windscreen not being fitted properly. See this topic http://www.citroen-owners-club.co.uk/citroen/topic/21321-passenger-footwell-water/

In a 2005 brochure for the C5 and as John states, leather was only an option on the exclusive and heated seats were only with the leather seats. The leather was dark grey or beige if the car was blue, ganache or green. Similarly in a 2007 brochure, except the green has gone and been replaced by nocciola. In a 2003 brochure for the mark 1 C5, all exclusives had leather seats but heating of them was an option as part of the SE pack which included sat nav and a sunroof. The beige leather came with cars that were oriental blue, hurricane grey and black.

If it does not improve you could try a switch cleaner next time, which may be better at removing dirt across any contacts in the switch.

Welcome to the forum. We had another post this week where a loss of power was also due to leaves, but these were blocking the air inlet to the air filter.

Welcome to the forum and thankyou for the fix.

I had a Saab with heated front seats and from memory, each seat had a dash switch which included a temperature control/timer and in each seat there was a thermostat. You are probably best to use an ignition controlled supply (maybe by using a relay or just a smart relay so no need to wire in to the ignition) so the heaters are not left on and then just use a fused supply to the existing heater switches on each seat. In my 2007 C5 handbook it lists the heated seat (even though it does not have them) as a G fuse of 30 amps for each seat from the G fuses 39 and 40, so direct from the battery via a maxi fuse - but there must be a relay somewhere since it says the seat heaters only work with the engine running (or you could use a smart relay as used in towbar wiring which works when the voltage is about 13 volts). So any wiring needs to be at least 30 amp rating. Example smart relay https://www.towsure.com/product/SelfSwitching_Combination_Relay

If it does not cost anything then it must be worth a try. The reverse switch though would not need the engine running to check it, the lights would work with the ignition on so the dash lights up but without the engine started. I think the speed is taken from the gearbox differential on your van.

'Yes that was my post' - sorry, I should have noticed this. You have not mentioned if there are any fault messages, the engine management light is lit, if there is more smoke than normal from the exhaust or if the temperature gauge is showing normally. Possibilities for the latest problem could be anything and you seem to have eliminated the air flow meter by disconnecting it (this should have made the car run worse if it was ok and run better if it was not ok). You could drain the fuel filter a bit to see if there is any water in it, try a different garage for the fuel in case it was a bad batch, check when the timing belt was replaced in case there is a problem with it (the C8 has a known problem of them failing early) and if possible have a look under its top cover to check its condition. Check any hoses/pipes for leaks/damage/splits. Check the inlet pipe to the air filter for a blockage such as leaves. Check the exhaust for excess smoke in case it is the egr valve. Then you are probably back in to a diagnostic check. If you do not have a code reader it may pay to get one that does some live data such as this from Gendan http://www.gendan.co.uk/product_FXNT200.html (only £38.95) or a Lexia to put on a lap top.

No, I just had a look at the Citroen service box procedures for removing the parts. A 'radio removal tool' google search will show the type of tools needed - the blade type if the radio has slots or the U shaped wire type if it has holes in the corners. You possibly may not need to disconnect the battery, especially if the key is kept out of the ignition lock, but lots of procedures say to do this for no obvious reason.

The timing belt frequency will be in the maintenance/warranty book which comes with the car. In the one with our 2007 C5, it has 10 years or 160k miles (for Citroen original parts), whichever is first for the 2.0 and 2.2 hdi but I would check your own book since the intervals may vary with model years. As a minimum you need to check the condition of the belt by looking for any oil leaks at that end of the car and if you can by undoing the top cover of the belt - on our previous mark 1 2.2 hdi (136 bhp) the cover could be prised back a bit to have a look. Whether you leave the belt replacement for another year is up to you, but if you are keeping the car for a few years it will need doing at some point. You can get an idea of the costs from the Eurocarpts web site, a belt/pulley is about £80, a water pump about £40, anti freeze probably about £15, an auxiliary belt and a couple of pulleys about £60 (since the belt has to be removed a new one is no more labour to fit). Parts from a Citroen dealer may be more. Labour seems to be about 4½ hours including 1 hour for the water pump/coolant. So probably about £200 for parts and £300 for labour. When I replaced the belt on our 1.4 petrol C3, the parts were about £300 from Citroen and it took me a day to do. The oil/filter change will be on top of this but about 5 litres of the correct oil will be about £40 and a filter about £10. If you do use an independant garage, it is possible they may take longer to do the work and hence have a higher labour cost so I would get a quote also from a dealer. There is also a special procedure to undo the crankshaft pulley (slacken/tighten/slacken or use heating to help) to avoid the retaining bolt breaking.

If the reverse switch has a single wire connector, all it will do is to earth its electrical supply when reverse is selected - you can check its wiring by pulling off the electrical connector and earthing it - if the reverse lights then come on you know the switch needs replacing. You could remove the switch and holding it to an earth point, push in its plunger to see if it works to put on the lights or check between its electrical connector pin and its body for continuity with the meter. If the switch has a 2 wire connector, you should be able to bridge the connector and the lights should come on if the wiring is ok. Again you could check the switch with a meter across its pins for continuity when reverse is selected or if you remove the switch, push in the plunger to see if it works. It is possible the contacts inside the switch have worn/become dirty or the plunger may have worn down so it is not pushed far enough to work. You may be right about the exhaust and may be just disconnecting it the loose bit can be removed. If the exhaust has been recently replaced it could also be a bit of loose exhaust cement which is often used to help seal the connections. On the speed sensor, if you give the engine bhp and number of forward gears, and if your van is a mark 1 or 2 Relay, it will be possible to say if the speed is from the gearbox or abs sensors (these are on the wheel hubs/brakes).

Welcome to the forum. On the C5 technical section there is a pinned note on Common Problems which will also help you look for other problems on a C5. The big problem here may be the dpf which may not be working / may be blocked / may have been removed / the eolys fluid may have run out, etc. It may just need replacing and the eolys fluid topping up (which will also need an ecu diagnostic to tell it it has been topped up or possibly on early cars its ecu needed replacing or low level warning messages will keep appearing). A working dpf is a requirement for the car to pass the MOT if it had one fitted when the car was new. To sort the dpf may cost around £400 at a dealer and until it is sorted due to the car needing to be up to MOT standard, it is likely any insurance would not be valid. The esp/asr fault could be anything and the fault codes would need reading to give an idea of the cause. Again there will be costs in sorting this out. The owner may have tried all sorts to fix this unsuccessfully and a list of them will help but some owners seem never to fix this fault. So the free car could end up costing many £100s to sort out. If it is a mark 1 C5 (2001 to 2004 model) you want then the 2.0 hdi did not have a dpf and for an older car with possibly high miles it could be a better option unless you could get a 2.2 hdi without any problems (but make sure the dpf is present and working).

To remove the controller, the procedures are to disconnect the battery, remove the radio using U-shaped wire tools or blade like tools, unclip the controller surround, detach the controller and pull it towards you so the connectors can be undone.

There was a post today of an anti pollution fault caused by leaves in the air intake/filter, so something new to consider. I am not sure about the vac solenoid since 2 parts are listed for the gas recycling circuit 1628LQ and 1628HC. If you have not yet registered on the service.citroen site so you can see the parts diagrams as a free service, you can do this as another professional and a member fo the Citroen Owners Club. http://service.citroen.com/do/changerParametres You need to use your VIN (VIS) and look under Mechanical, Engine Emission Control

The replacement interval is in the maintenance/warranty book that comes with the car but they do alter it depending on the model year. In the book with our 2007 C5 it gives normal conditions as 160k miles and severe as 108k miles or 10 years if sooner for the 2.0 and 2.2 hdi. So you should be ok for a few years providing the pulleys and water pump were also replaced.

Welcome to the forum. Citroen radios are coded to the original car and should not work on another unless decoded or recoded so whether the bleeping is due to coding I do not know. A dealer should be able to provide the radio code if you know the VIN of the original car and the code of your car. There are others who may be able to recode the radio than a dealer or it may be possible using Lexia diagnostic equipment and some members have said they may be able to help with diagnostics - see the C5 technical section pinned post - Diagnostic Help.

The Haynes manual seems to cover the cable replacement and adjustment. If you do not yet have a copy of Haynes then this post has a link to a previous member shenden's back up copy where some pages can be seen. http://www.citroen-owners-club.co.uk/citroen/topic/8163-haynes-manual-for-c5/

Welcome to the forum. Citroens procedures do not provide much help but when removing the exhaust or cat/dpf, they keep the flexi fastened to the cat and undo the clip at the front end of the flexi but no reason is given for this. If you have time, perhaps you could give a bit of info on the problems you have already sorted.

Have you read this post, where not starting was caused by water ingress and needing a new air bag module http://www.citroen-owners-club.co.uk/citroen/topic/21761-bsi-fault-help/ Did you need a new air bag module due to water ingress and if so was the cause of the water ingress cured ?

I have not used a Lexia but it is easy to look on the parts diagrams using your VIN (VIS). If you have not already registered on the service.citroen site, you can do this as another professional and a member of the Citroen Owners Club and the parts can be seen as a free service. http://service.citroen.com/do/changerParametres

It may go even lower in price since the oil price is at a 2 year low and Saudi Arabia has dropped their oil price (if I have got it right from the news). Next the gas/elec companies ought to drop their prices.

Welcome to the forum. If Telford is not too far for you then these people have been recommended http://www.citroen-owners-club.co.uk/citroen/topic/8773-citroen-specialist-in-telford-area/

This one on ebay shows the clips on the switch that will be holding it in. Once yours is removed, note the manufacturers part no. from it and use this so you get the correct replacement if you are unable to fix yours. This will be different to Citroen's no. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CITROEN-C5-MK2-2008-DRIVER-OFF-SIDE-FRONT-DOOR-WINDOW-SWITCH-96660257-/301196371155?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item4620b3e4d3

Welcome to the forum. Which engine do you have ? The 1.4 petrol is known for oil leaks from the head gasket and this usually appears on the outside at the front left corner as you look at the engine from the front of the car. The cause is a rubber seal in the head gasket where the oil goes through it in to the cylinder head and the rubber perishes. It is possible the oil could also leak in to the coolant since the oil is at a higher presure than the coolant. So, unless somebody has accidentally put oil in the coolant expansion tank, it looks as if the head gasket needs replacing.