paul.h

How will this work - you are not suppposed to use an untaxed car. So if you buy privately, hand over the cash and want to drive the car away it could be some time before you are able to tax it. You would not tax it before paying in case the deal does not happen (similarly the owner would not cancel the tax) and you would not want to leave the car in case the old owner and car disappears. Some info here https://www.gov.uk/government/news/vehicle-tax-changes It looks as if the Government will also gain an overlap in tax months if paying 6/12 monthly. I read on the Caravan Talk forum that in South Hams area disabled drivers who display a blue badge and also a low emissions tax disc now get 3 hours free parking vs 1 hour - without a tax disc this would be lost but I do not know if this happens elsewhere.

Was there a lot of smoke from the exhaust or in the cam cover if the oil filler cap is removed - I had these when the turbo failed on a petrol Saab. If you remove the air inlet pipework to the turbo you should be able to see if there is a lot of play in the turbo and check for missing metal bits. What were the symptoms on the C5 turbo when that failed ? Also could be loss of oil pressure to check (oil pump failure), camshaft problem/follower failure, crankshaft pulley, clutch/dmf problem.

On your towbar, do you not have 2 supplies - 1 for the lights and one for the fridge/battery/etc. Possibly the lights are taken from the Citroen trailer supply already in the back of the car and a fuse probably in the dash fuse box. The fridge will be the one direct from the battery and using a smart relay so it is powered when the engine is running, detected by a rise in battery voltage - the actual voltage could be adjustable. In my case I have a 12 volt 15 amp fuse supply for the lights and a 20 amp fuse supply for the fridge. Both effectively direct from the battery with smart relays. A 30 amp fuse is only needed for higher powered fridges.

Odd since it has the right part no. Here is another one but shows the value of going to a dealer. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-GENUINE-PEUGEOT-CITROEN-WATER-COOLANT-T-0242-86-/151241794858?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2336b6a52a

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to post any problems or join in and help others.

Welcome to the forum. The Maroc challenge looks exciting.

The high temp sensor in the end of the cylinder head is Citroen part no. 024286. A search on ebay gives this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citroen-AX-C2-C3-C4-SAXO-BERLINGO-XSARA-PICASSO-WATER-TEMPERATURE-SENSOR-NEW-/280892420209 but I usually prefer to buy parts from a Citroen dealer (using the car VIN) then you know it is the right one, even if it costs a bit more. It should be blue. The temperature gauge one green with 2 wires is part no. 1338A7 and on earlier cars it was a 3 wire one blue 1338A6. You can see the Citroen parts diagrams as a free service on the service.citroen site if you register as another professional, member of the Citroen Owners Club. http://service.citroen.com/do/changerParametres The high temp sensor can be found under Mechanical, Cylinder head, Cylinder head cover.

Welcome to the forum. You could try a message to member kenwatson who posted last year on the DS section. He has not been on the forum for some time, possibly since he seems to be the only member with a DS. The easiest way to send a message is to move the cursor over the member's name and then click on send message.

I would think these will be easy enough for the dealer to fix - the indicator could simply be a faulty bulb or connection and the fuel problem fault code will tell them what is wrong. The fault code will be stored until it has been deleted despite the light going off. The lack of power is probably the car going in to limp mode whilst the fault is present. Ask them for the fault code for your records and put it on here.

Our C3 fan would kick in on 3 bars and not get to the red apart from the 2 occasions. You could really do with a live data check on the temperature to see if the sensors are kicking in the fan at the right temperature. If the fan starts at red then that could be from the high temp sensor - which might be doing this at a low temperature due to a fault with it, but it just puts the gauge to red when from the other sensor it may only be on 3 bars. When cooling back down from red did it reduce the number of bars gradually or just jump down to 3 ?

Welcome to the forum. Which engine is the car and if you need any help/advice feel free to ask and if you can help others please join in.

In this Technical section there is a Common Problems pinned post with a procedure I use for disconnecting the battery. The aim is to let the bsi shut down before disconnecting it and then when connecting again to let it start up before starting the engine. There is also a pinned post with a bsi reset procedure but you may not need to do this much. Probably just need to disconnect the battery, do the fuse checks and then reconnect it following the procedure. Also look in the handbook to see what it says. I have always disconnected the battery before connecting a charger, then no risk of any spikes or high voltage messing up the electrics. Every time a door or other thing is used on the car with the battery connected results in the bsi starting up so if the voltage is not right it might give a problem. On the C5s I have found if the car is not used for 3 or more weeks the battery voltage may drop too low to start the engine and that the towbar relays have a small current draw which can reduce this to 3 weeks. So if the car is not going to be used for towing (or an MOT), I remove the towbar fuses. If you remove the towbar fuses this may have an impact on the eco mode time since if you have a voltage leak somewhere this will reduce the time.

Welcome to the forum. I would be tempted to wait for the MOT and if it fails on the steering you will be told why and if the garage does repairs, the cost to fix it. You may be better using a Citroen dealer who should be familiar with your vehicle, this also applies if you go for your second opinion. A quick look to see if there is any wear is to wobble the steering wheel and see if the front wheels start to move straight away - if not then there could be wear within the rack, the track rod ends, the rack mountings, the steering column joints. Also see if the steering lock works ok, the wheel bolts and hub bolts are tight. If you have a helper, get them to wobble the steering wheel whilst you put a hand around the various joints and see if there is any play felt. If the steering wheel itself can be wobbled about there could be play in its bearings/bushes or the retaining nut could be loose. Also there may be a sliding splined joint in the steering column which could need greasing or be worn - I vaguely remember having this on a Saab once and some grease made it smooth again. Other suspension possibilities could be front strut top bearings and any ball joints on them and wheel bearings and cv joints. You could try with each front wheel jacked up and see if it makes a diiference. Also check the front tyres for uneven wear which may indicate a problem.

As far as I know the air con should work again once the temperature comes down without needing any fault codes resetting. The cabin fan has to be on. If the air con refrigerant amount is low this will stop the air con working or it would quickly cut out. A low cost code reader will only read codes on the engine, to see any on the air con will need the dealer type Lexia.

When I did the temperature checks on our C3 using a code reader with live data, it showed the fan cut in at 96°C and then stopped when it had fallen down to 94°C. The fan is supposed to be a 2 speed one but I only saw/heard it at one speed and that seemed fast. When using the air con it would start and stop for short periods. The temperature gauge bars cover a wide range of temperature. 2 bars would light at 70°C, 3 bars at 80°C to over 96°C - it would not go over this when tested due to the fan cutting in. Keep an eye on the coolant level since it may take a few days for all the air to come out. If you are thinking of getting a code reader with live data we have a Gendan one which works ok http://www.gendan.co.uk/product_GCR25.html Other members on this forum have bought a Lexia diagnostic tool which does a lot of the dealer diagnostics and prices seem to be about £100. On the C5 pages there is a pinned post with some members who will help others with diagnostics.

Welcome to the forum. We've had clock resetting on a C3 and 2 C4s. The latest C4 (2011) at the last service had an update which fixed the resetting so it is a common problem that Citroen now have a fix for and maybe you need to go to a dealer. Maybe the alarm thinks a door, tailgate or bonnet is open. A neighbour had this on a Landrover and the bonnet alarm switch had failed but the dash display showed the bonnet open. If you go to a dealer their diagnostic equipment (Lexia) will say what is wrong. As a long shot, you could try removing the light new fuse and see if that resets everything. The handbooks seem to list dash fusebox C, fuse F9 30amp for the 12 volt sockets. I have deleted your similar post wrongly put in the Xsara forum.

Until the fan problem is sorted, if the temp gauge does go high I would use the cabin heater and blower on max and have the windows down. The C3 heater is one of the best I have come across so must be able to remove a lot of the engine heat. If you do your own maintenance there are a few points in here http://www.citroen-owners-club.co.uk/citroen/topic/14988-just-sold-vectra-for-c3-maintenance/ In it I noted that on refilling with coolant it takes some effort to get the air out:- If you replace the coolant it is very slow to refill and also get the air out without the header tank as shown in Haynes. I found that applying vacuum to the cylinder head air bleed hole and with the car slightly raised at the left side (where the bleed points are) worked. Vacuum was from a Mityvac brake bleeder with the bleed hose held against the air bleed hole but a syringe may do. On start up though I could still hear some air going round the heater for a short while. There was a post on the C3 subforum where somebody had air going round after changing the coolant.

I would be tempted to just turn up (with a friend often helps) and say there are some problems they need to look at. Have a written list to hand over. See if they will have a quick look so it can be booked in. Service managers will usually take a quick look so they know what may need doing and also you can suggest a test drive if a problem only shows then. I would also mention the windscreen and see what they say. They probably will not want to pay for a new screen. However my experience of buying cars is they make sure it is up to MOT standard and leave it to you to find any faults rather than pointing them out. You can look on-line at the MOT test guide to see if it is up to standard but probably the windscreen repairer would have said if it was not.

So the problem is that the temperature gauge is going to the max red and the fan is not cutting in. However, the fan has been proved to work by bridging a temp sensor and it must also be working a bit for the air con to work. You have not mentioned any signs of the engine overheating. Is the garage a Citroen dealer and the sensors that were replaced, are these the 2 temperature sensors at the end of the cylinder head ? The temperature sensors - one has 2 wires and does the temp gauge and should start the fan at 96°C, the other has 1 wire and just does a high temp alarm at 118°C and should then start the fan. High temperature will cut out the air con to reduce the load on the engine. Is the temperature gauge showing normal temperatures - should be 3 bars once warmed up - or is it going to max and showing red and how quickly does it go to red ? I had this on 2 occasions when our 2003 1.4 C3 went to red but the engine fan did run. First time I stopped the car and let it cool down. The second time was a year later, I did not stop but slowed down, used the cabin heater on max and its blower on max and the temp did reduce. However, I found nothing wrong, did temperature checks using live data, the fan cut in and out correctly. Later though when I replaced the timing belt I also replaced the coolant, water pump and thermostat and the problem did not happen again. So I suspected there may have been a fault with the thermostat although it worked correctly when tested in boiling water. Things to try since this could be just an ecu error: - use live data to see what temperatures are being indicated by the sensor going to the temperature gauge - try a battery disconnection and reconnection following the procedure in the Technical Section pinned Common Problems post. Whilst disconnected you could see if the ecu connector pins are clean. However, the fact briding one of the sensors (I am guessing the high temp one) starts the fan suggests this may be ok. If you had bridged the temp gauge sensor connector you would have got a fault code due to the resistance reading being out of range and this would not start the fan, also the same might occur if there was a wiring fault on this circuit. - consider replacing the thermostat (it should start to open at 89°C). - consider using a Citroen dealer if not already done. - you could try a resistor across the temp gauge sensor connector to see if it works, data from the French RTA manual gives 3800 / 2500 / 800 / 230 ohms at 10 / 20 / 50 / 90°C.

Welcome to the forum. A lot of questions to help with a solution but fitting a stand alone fan would not be the best option since it would need to be integrated with the cars control systems so it works on high engine temperatures and when you want the air con to work. Is the garage you have used a Citroen dealer or specialist with the correct diagnostic equipment ? Have you tried a 12 volt supply direct to the fan motor avoiding its control system to see if it works on its own since it may just need a new/second hand fan ? Can you provide some more details: - which model and engine is the car - which sensors have you replaced - does the fan run when you switch on the air con (the air con will run the fan to cool the refrigerant consenser radiator at the front of the car) - does the air con work - if not it may be since the fan is not working - the fan should start when the engine coolant reaches 96°C if it is a 1.4 petrol and this can be checked using a live data code reader - is the engine temperature gauge showing normal values - 3 bars on the gauge once warmed up - have you checked the fuses - have you checked the fan relay - if one is fitted (cars without air con) it will be on the fan shroud according to the Haynes manual - are the 2 plugs you mention the ones at the fan as shown in the Haynes manual. In the Haynes wiring diagram for petrol and diesel cars with air con it shows the 2 wire plug should have a permanent 12 volt supply from maxi fuse 1 and a permanent earth (this should be checked). The 3 wire plug has a switched 12 volt supply through fuse F8 (engine compartment) and 2 wires from the ecu.

Welcome to the forum. You should ensure the engine oil and filter are changed frequently since the 1.6 hdi can be prone to early turbo failure. Depending on the year of the car, it could be every 2 years or 12500 miles if sooner, but 2 years is probably too long. Recent Citroens all seem to be an annual oil change.

Welcome to the forum. As a general point it is probably best to use a Citroen dealer or specialist for any garage work since other garages may not be familiar with the C5 suspension. How many miles has the car done ? Have you checked the battery voltage since C5s can give odd electrical problems if it is low and at about 8 years old the original battery may be due for replacement. Battery voltage also reduces a bit as the temperature falls. Also the engine needs to be above a minimum rpm on the starter for it to start. Poor starting could also be fuel draining back - has the fuel filter been replaced recently that could have resulted in a slight air leak. If you have a bulb primer it will be worth trying this first before a start to see if this helps. The height sensors are adjusted using dealer type Lexia diagnostic equipment for up to 10mm height correction and above this the height sensors are initially manually adjusted on the front and rear anti roll bars. If you go under the car always use axle stands or a ramp since if these sensors are knocked/touched the car could drop to a very low level. If you need the sensors sorting (which may sort out the headlight leveling) you may be better using a Citroen dealer or specialist with the Lexia equipment. Checking and adjusting the height will probably take about 1 hour to give you an idea of the cost. If you quickly disconnect and reconnect the battery this can lead to odd electrical problems and there is a pinned procedure in the C5 Technical section Common Problems post that has worked ok. There is also a post for a bsi reset but I do not know if this is what you have been doing - perhaps you could give a few details.

The easiest way to send a message is to move your cursor over the name of the recipient (anywhere on the forum seems to work) and click on the send a message button.

If you decide to get a Citroen new or used replacement it will need to be programmed to your car as part of the security system which prevents a stolen radio being used elsewhere.

Welcome to the forum. There has been a problem with the site for a couple of months that was preventing new members joining but it is now sorted.