DickieG

A friend has had the engine management light illuminate of her 2004 C3 1.4 HDi, I gave it a Lexia session and found three codes, the first two; P1357 Pre heater relay circuit plugs not supplied and P0215 Ignition system supply relay circuit stuck were shown as intermittent and having cleared them they remained cleared for the duration the car was with me. The third one one was shown as permanent; P2137, Accelerator pedal 1 signal coherence with the 2 accelerator pedal signal.

 

Having cleared the fault it reappeared a few minutes later whilst idling. When reading parameters and pressing the accelerator pedal the % movement appeared smooth and linear on Lexia both pre and post fault clearing hence I'm looking for further pointers as I've never dabbled with a C3.

 

Has anyone got any clues other than there being a dodgy connection 'somewhere' i.e. where exactly etc. Normally I'd have a good poke around but as I'm semi invalided ATM with a slipped disc, crawling around in footwells in the hope of finding something isn't really a sensible option for me, just hoping someone has somewhere to point me towards.

 

I have had one suggestion of replacing the accelerator pedal (the sensor is attached to the top of the pedal) I'm wondering whether anyone has experienced a similar problem?

It will almost certainly be due to a poor connection on the switch within the brake pedal. Remove the two screws at the rear of the pdeal and clean the contacts.

Tilt the glass downwards then using a small screwdriver move the two wire clips outwards to unclip them.

Thanks for the reply but does not seem to be there

I presume from your enquiry that the display is blank? It may well be that the N/S mirror has been replaced with a cheaper version that does not have the probe. What version of Xantia do you have?

It's quite common for these vacuum hoses to be disconnected from the relays.

 

One connects up to the EGR (exhaust gas recycle) valve which people disconnect to avoid the engine sucking in a horrible slimy gunk from the exhaust (this can cause problems at high mileage) at the cost of higher exhuast emmisions that are not measured in MOT tests.

 

The second one raises the idle speed at start up or when the air conditioning is turned on.

 

The car will run OK with both disconnected, I'll take a look at mine later to tell you what relay connects to what pipe.

Is your Xantia a V6, HDI or TD auto? If so then the problem is due to play in the caliper upper slides (Bendix caliper).

 

Citroen issued a technical bulletin on this with the repair kit part number 4449 71. The kit is a piece of sprung metal which fits between the caliper and the mounting bracket.

 

To find out whether this is the cause of the fault the noise should disappear when braking lightly over rough surfaces.

It sits just under the passenger side door mirror, its the small blob at the point where the mirror hinges.

Is the noise from the front or rear of the car? If it's from the rear it would indicate worn rear arm bearings, normally this happens at high mileages. It can be seen by looking at the car from behind at the angle of the wheels which should be vertical and not like / \ . The repair kit is about £30 per side and not too difficult to do diy.

When the car refuses to start is was it parked facing uphill by any chance? If so then that would indicate a small leak on the fuel line (normally the primer bulb has a small split) bear in mind with such leaks that they rarely leave a residue because the pipe is sucking at this point, so it will let air in (allowing the fuel to run back to the tank) but not allow fuel to leak out. Try squeezing the primer bulb until it becaomes hard then try starting the engine.

 

The non illuminating glow plug light could be a busted bulb 'red herring'. Have you checked that the glow plugs themselves are OK?

In the handbook, it may well give digrems/picture of the two types, one could for instance have a 'sports' button with a different way of selecting gears on the lever.

I can't help with the cruise control but to sort out the rev counter, remove the dash pod (25 Torx size 20 screw's!) then simply turn the dash pod upside down and the needle will fall back into position.

 

The needle getting stuck beyond max rev's tends to happen when the battery goes flat, I believe it's due to the instruments being 'Solid state'.

AFAIK there is no undertray on a V6, or in fact any petrol model, there isn't one on my V6, Activa or any other V6's I've seen.

On Xantia estate's water leaks into the rear footwells are invariably due to a damaged inner membrane on the boot door or a poor seal around the rear wiper spindle.

There are several different compressors made by a couple of manufacturers, I'd take a look at the identification sticker on the side of the compressor and make sure you replace like with like.

Hi,

One of the bulbs on my display seems to have failed and I've tried lifting the front of the cover but it won't move!

I don't want to end up causing any damage....Any tips?

Cheerz. :rolleyes:

It is removed that way, you'll probably need to insert a small screwdriver from the side where it meets the main dash.

Check that the sphere's aren't flat which will cause a hard ride on the suspension, new ones (five in all) cost £22 each.

 

Check for a strange acrid smell from the heater (set the temperature to hot) it indicates the matrix is leaking, £30 to buy the part, a weekend to change as the dash has to be removed :(

 

Does the heater fan work correctly? Problems with this can be caused by the motor resistor or ignition switch.

 

Take a look at the front suspension strut mounts, they will more than likely have a little surface rust (OK), any crusty rust walk away as they will separate allowing the strut to push up through the bonnet, part £130 each side, easy to change.

 

Stand 10 yards behind the car and look at the angle of the rear wheels they should be vertical, if they look like / \ then the rear arm bearings are knackered £35 each side, not too bad to change.

 

Engines and gearboxes are generally reliable, cam belt isn't too bad to change 50K ish miles intervals. Have you seen it start from cold? Heater plugs may be the cause of problems, or possibly fuel leaks.

 

A stiff clutch pedal indicates a worn clutch which causes a plastic clip under the pedal to break, pence to buy but a pig to change as the bolt is inserted the 'wrong way' making it very difficult to remove, once to clip breaks once it normally keeps breaking until the clutch is replaced.

 

I've mentioned a number of faults but don't be put off by that, get a good Xantia and you'll love it if only for the smooooth ride, I do. So much that I've got three at the moment :blink:

52 weekends each year and the FCS is on the same weekend as the Citroen Car Club National Show :blink: .

I hope that you have the suspension set to the highest setting when you're trying to break the seal on the sphere's otherwise you'll twist off the supply pipes.

 

An alternative supplier for hydraulic pipes is http://www.citroen-hydraulics.com/

The headlights flashing on + off is the alarm system operating, it sounds as if the siren has been turned off or isn't working.

 

If the battery keeps going flat then either it's knackered or it's not being charged. If you have a voltmeter and connect it to the battery, if the alternator is working correctly you should see a voltage above 14v with the engine running

Sorry I thought you meant the instrument panel :rolleyes: .

 

I'm not sure whether the central display is backlit by standard bulbs, but to gain access to it to take a look, lift up the the cover at the front where it meets the vertical section of the dash. The panel then lifts up/towards the rear of the car.

Whilst anything is possible I've yet to hear of using an aftermarket air filter has caused a big end to fail :rolleyes:

 

If however you were talking of an aftermarket OIL filter then yes that would make sense as some cheap oil filters don't have internal valves that retain oil pressure thereby reducing the time taken on start up for the engine to get up to full oil pressure.

 

If you're unsure of where to buy a decent air filter from try www.gsfcarparts.com

The fact that the central brake light is working suggests that the switch is working correctly.

 

The extra leads you mention are more than likely connected to the engine management system, try braking whilst accelerating and you'll find the engine slow significantly.

 

You mention the "Brake lights in the tailgate" err on Xantia's there aren't any as they are located on the wings, are you checking the right bulbs?

There are two press buttons on the face of the panel, one resets the trip, the other (left IIRC) adjusts the brightness. Continually press the button and it will cycle from dim to bright etc.

It's more than likely due to the clutch 'dragging' (not clearing from the flywheel) as the fault affects more than one gear selection and slow changes are OK, this allows time for the shafts to stop spinning, therefore I would point my finger at the clutch rather than the gearbox.

 

As the gearboxes are generally reliable they are cheap to source second hand, although changing a gearbox isn't particularly easy on a Xantia as the clutch has a pull rather than the normal push mechanism which makes re assembly a little difficult due to having to engage the lever arm on the thrust bearing.

is a head gasket simple to fit or am I looking at trusting a garage ?

Judging by you having to ask what's involved I'd suggest getting help from a garage/trusted mechanic/friend.