paul.h

Welcome to the forum and the UK. On the C4 Technical section there is a pinned post with common problems that I am gradually building up but our C4s have been reliable. On the 1.6 hdi engine it requires at least annual or 12500 miles oil and filter changes, whichever comes first, since it has had a reputation for turbo failures. Before stopping the engine, it should be left to idle for some time to give the turbo time to slow down, as for any turbo car, and the handbooks have a note on this.

Welcome to the forum. This is from the French RTA manual for the C5. Unclip the strip that goes across the dash below the screen and vents, it looks as if there are 6 clips holding it in place. Remove the 3 screws now visible and remove the vents and screen surround which also has a few clips holding it, remove the connector from the hazard switch. Remove the 4 screws holding the screen in place and it can now be removed. It says to disconnect the battery first but that is for the complete removal of the dash, however, I have read elsewhere that the battery should also be disconnected for just removal of the screen. There is a procedure for battery disconnection that has worked without causing other problems on our C3 and mark 1 and 2 C5s in the Common Problems pinned post on the Technical Section. I do not know the cost of a new screen but there is a used one on ebay in Lithuania for £89 but check with your dealer to make sure you get the right one and its cost. From above, it is an easy diy job to fit so no labour costs.

Welcome to the forum. I am not familiar with the new C5 but if you have got excess rain water running into that area and then under the seals (which I would suspect the bonnet pushes down to improve the seal), then it may be the drains below the windscreen and in the corners (if there are any) are full of debris such as old leaves - there is what looks like debris in the bottom left of the picture between the wing and plastic scuttle. As a rule, on our cars I keep these areas clear to avoid future rusting and possible water ingress into the cabin - a vacuum cleaner is good for removing old leaves.

I once used paraffin to clean a cylinder head after some work on it but it does not evaporate so needs to be wiped off and I have not used it since. Better with something like carb cleaner, spray on/wipe on and oil comes off easily - but it needs doing outside since it is highly flammable. White spirit/turps is another good one for oil cleaning but again does not evaporate too well but being cheap it can be poured into the cooler, shook about a bit and then run out. No doubt coastline taxis will have the best practical method once he reads your post.

Using service.citroen is free for things already mentioned but you can purchase procedures and other things but I have never done that.

A Citroen dealer warranty is 12 months but other garages often give 3 months and then you can purchase an insurance policy for longer. So, as you suggest, your car should be covered by its warranty so I would get in touch with them. First though, has there ever been a display from the front sensors since it is possible they are not an original factory fitting and may be aftermarket ones which are unlikely to give a display, just the beeping noises - do the beeping noises come from the same location as the rear sensors or from a separate beeper somewhere behind the dash. You can check the original car characteristics on the service.citroen website using your VIN but you will need to register as another professional, member of the Citroen Owners Club. This will also allow you to see the Citroen parts diagrams. I have a Jan 2009 C5 brochure and in it only rear parking sensors are standard on the exclusive model, so may be front sensors have only been an option on the new C5.

As well as the battery being suspect, the new alternator may also be. Is the new alternator a new/reconditioned/used one and is it the correct one for the car (should be 150 amp - ref RTA workshop manual) ? The battery in our C5 often drops down to low 12 volts and much below will not start since the car is often not used for 3 to 4 weeks. But on starting, the voltage gauge goes to its usual place or slightly below and creeps up but does not drop back down. It is worthwhile checking the engine earth cable, although if it was bad the car would not turn over too well, and possibly the earthing of the alternator. Also check the alternator drive belt is not loose/slipping.

Welcome to the forum. A few questions first: Has this just started and was any work done on the car before it started ? Can the air flow be directed normally to just the screen, to just the central vents, to just the floor so that you know the flaps that direct the air flow are working ? Can the air temperature be increased normally (and decreased) to give hot air at all these positions separately ? Have you tried with the air con switched off so the compressor does not run ? Under the bonnet are the heater hoses supply and return both hot and is the engine temperature indicating normally (not low) ? Depending on the replies, possibilities include: - it may be a motor that operates the heater flap is faulty (new ones are about £60), - the heating system may need a reboot by disconnecting the battery (if you try this follow the procedure in the common problems post in the Technical section), - the engine thermostat may need replacing. Let us know your other problems and we will try to help with those also.

Have you checked if the sump plug is undone using an 8mm square key rather than a socket such as this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8mm-Square-Oil-Sump-Plug-Key-Tool-Renault-Citroen-Peug-/260668761460 The square hole in the plug can get filled with dirt and can be easily missed.

On the Picasso forum there has been a similar question (copied below) and the response from other owners is that the orange light seen from the front is normal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I have just picked up a c3 picasso selection 1.6 hdi 90 had a little drive in the dark and noticed that the when you stand in front of the car the digital instrument panel glows orange in the windscreen is this correct? Surely emitting a light other than white is incorrect are they all like that?

If you use ebay, an example of what you need is this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CITROEN-SERVICE-BOX-09-12-2012-2013-EDITION-NEWEST-AVAILABLE-/261118767590?pt=UK_CarParts_Vehicles_Manuals_Litterature_ET&hash=item3ccbe431e6 When you load it to your pc you will find an installation code which you then send to the seller who will then provide an activation code. When you flash your headlights, which lights come on, is it the dip beam or the main beam and does the blue light come on - may help decide if the bulb wiring connectors are wired wrong ? (Normally the main beam and blue light should come on)

For the socket plug I meant the type of plug that goes in to the cigarette lighter socket like this on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/321072358876?lpid=83&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=83 I have a couple of these plugs cut off things before throwing them away and can wire something up to them to provide a 12 volt supply - or connect it to a voltmeter. You can also get voltmeters that plug in to the socket for next to nothing http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LED-Display-Cigarette-Lighter-Electric-Voltage-Meter-Auto-Car-Battery-/350699461813?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D321085540569%26ps%3D54

You could try a message through this site to our Admin, Gteuk. Go to the bottom of the home page, The Moderating Team, and from here you can send a message to Gteuk who is also an Admin on the Picasso forum.

Welcome to the forum. I am not familiar with your car. Are you saying the panel can be seen from the front of the car as well as from inside, if so, are they all like this or is it something that has just happened ?

Welcome to the forum. The Citroen manuals on dvd from such as ebay include wiring diagrams and the VIN and RPO number are needed to see the correct ones. Seems an odd fault, are the correct bulbs fitted and original electrical connectors and the lighting switch ?

The voltmeter on our car moves to near halfway (or less if the battery is low) when the ignition key is turned so the dash lights up and then once the engine is running it moves a bit higher and stays there until switched off again. So it must be indicating battery voltage. If you have a plug for the cigarette lighter socket, you could alter it to connect your voltmeter and then watch the actual voltage as the car is used. This would then suggest whether it is a battery or charging problem or maybe a problem with the gauge. It may be possible the needle on the gauge could be loose - I recently had this on the speedo and the needle dropped down - there is a pinned note on speedo repairs in the Problems and Fixes section which may help. If any wiring/earth points were disturbed when you did the bumper/light removal, then if not already done you could check these again and possibly the alternator connection (may be it has diesel in it).

The following is a comment from this forum on validation which I do not know if it is relevant to your case. As for the validations, they are automatic and should go through to email, Hotmail seems to be the main problem area as it keeps adding the site to their spam filters as we have many registrations using Hotmail it sees it as spam.

You may be right with the hydraulic tappet but wait until there are some more replies. For a workshop manual, there is a French RTA one available from Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rta-B737-Citro%C3%ABn-Depuis-2008/dp/2726873758/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1381693765&sr=8-2-fkmr1&keywords=RTA+citroen+c5+workshop+manual if you are ok with a bit of French. There is also the Citroen one on dvds from such as ebay for £4 and this is worth buying. Obviously you need to sort the sump plug, if not, just sucking the old oil out may lead to a build up of muck in the bottom of the sump. The sump plug torque setting is 35 Nm (from the RTA manual) so maybe that is why it may seem tight. I have deleted the same post from the general discussion section so that any replies are in one place.

Welcome to the forum. I have been putting together a list of common problems in the C5 Technical section. This is by no means complete yet and will be built up gradually. To check for faults though it is mainly a case of making sure everything works to start with.

Welcome to the forum.

For an auto your mpg is impressive, just think what you could get if you ever change to a manual.

Welcome to the forum. Like other forums, we have a problem in being constantly attacked by spammers and at one point in this year were getting a few thousand spam posts a day which effectively stopped the forum working. As a result, a lot of measures are in place to stop spam accounts as they are being registered so now only a few are getting through. Similarly, peoples own internet systems sometimes stop the registration process for this site. On the Picasso forum, validation I believe is by replying to the email in the New member introductions section so I would have a look at this. If that fails, you could try a direct message to our Admin if one to the Picasso forum Admin does not work.

I am not sure of the Autogrip size, but it looks as if they are about £45 each (215/55/R16/W), made in China, on-line reviews suggest they may not grip too well in the wet but others are happy with them. If I were you, I would be replacing them if you find they are not too good.

If I have read your post correctly, you want to fit front parking sensors to a 2008 C4 and I assume it is the 2004 to 2008 model. Do you already have rear parking sensors since these were factory fitted to some of the C4 models ? I have read elsewhere somebody had fitted the original Citroen front and rear parking sensors (from another C4) along with the bumper bits at the front to take the sensors, the wiring looms and was able to modify the software so it worked as if factory fitted. However, the amount of work to do this I am not sure it is worth it. You can see all the parts needed and the front bumper bits on the service.citroen website (register as another professional, member of the Citroen Owners Club if you have not already done so). It looks as if the 2008 on model of C4 already has the locations on the front bumper for the sensors. We recently got a 2010 C3 with front and rear sensors fitted as part of the purchase from a Citroen dealer. Whilst Citroen parts, they seem just like aftermarket kits with buzzers located at the front and rear (no visual indication) and a dash mounted cheap switch to allow the fronts to be switched off. I have still to trace the wiring but it must be ignition controlled with own fuses and could even be a smart type of relay as used in towbar wiring - if not this would be an option to make any wiring easy from the battery. If I had a few days before the car was needed, I would have fitted a low price kit myself although the warranty would have to have been considered.

From Haynes, it looks as if the starter is on the lower front of the engine but I am not sure having not seen a 2.0 hdi since starters are often at the back of the engine. It reads as if the starter can be accessed from above or below the engine. Remove the air cleaner assembly, the engine undershield, on some engines the clutch slave cylinder may get in the way of the lower bolt on the starter motor so its says to undo its bolts and move it to one side without undoing the fluid pipe, disconnect the battery, disconnect the starter solenoid wiring, undo the starter 3 mounting bolts (2 at the rear of the starter and 1 through the top of the transmission housing) 35 Nm torque setting, manoeuvre the starter out from under the engine. To find the starter on your car, either remove the existing one, or use the parts diagrams on service.citroen website using your vin. If you have not registered, do so as another professional, member of the Citroen Owners Club.