henshaw

My rear firmness regulator has a minor leak. With new driveway coming, she-who-must-be-obeyed says get it fixed and a drip tray won't do. I've been told seals aren't available from Citroen. Any ideas as to where they can be obtained from? Is there a way the seal leak can be fixed without new seals? I don't want to spend too much on such an old car so any ideas?

I think my brake failure problem might be related to the ESP system, which having read up on it seems very complicated with many sensors). If this system encounters problems, it turns off the ABS system and on my car the first message after braking fault is always ESP failure. (When I had an ABS sensor problem, the ESP was turned off but I didn't get a braking failure message) The ESP system is an optional extra (it was not fitted to my Mk1 SX 2.2HDi) so can this be turned off temporarily using a Lexia so the whereabouts of the source of the problem can be determined? (I still need to buy the Lexia)

Still not sorted. The messages always come up in the order brake failure, ESP not working ABS not working. I think this implies the problem lies within the ESP system and this looks quite complicated with many more sensors in operation than ABS. It has been stated elsewhere that ESP problems will turn off ABS as they are related. When I had an ABS sensor fault, this turned off the ESP but didn't give a brake failure message. 1) Other posts point a finger at the swirl valve and vacuum fault that can cause ESP problems. Where do I find these to check them out? 2) My SX version didn't come with ESP so it seems to have been an optional extra. Can this be turned off temporarily using a Lexia to confirm the problem lies within the ESP system as I reckon turning it off using the ESP on/off button won't isolate the ESP system?

After writing, I found some of the answers in the Haynes manual (if you can believe what it says) and it gives - MF1 going to relays controlling fans (could be cooling as well as aircon) and probably other functions not immediately visible. MF4 and MF5 as you say, goes to BSI and controls many items. MF7 goes to ignition switch MF8 goes to suspension pump (also mentioned in another forum posting) Putting MF2 fuse into slot MF3 gave many weird error messages and effects such as suspension wouldn't go to lowest nor highest positions and got message that all the tyre pressure sensors were missing, the ESP was turned off as well as failing plus ABS and Braking fault. So as well as ABS, it apparently has effects elsewhere not listed. In my fuse box, you are right, MF3 is probably not used - there is in fact a contact in the upper slot as shown in the image (but not visible in the image), but nothing in the lower slot. MF6 is 50A as shown in the image and also installed in my fusebox.

Checking the fuses in my under-bonnet fuse box, I was checking the maxi fuses fitted to my car and comparing it against a photo obtained from the web I noticed differences. One of the differences might have been me putting a fuse back in the wrong place. From the web MF1 is 50A, MF2 is 50A, MF3 is empty, MF4 and MF5 are 80A, MF6 is 50A, MF7 is 30A and MF8 is 40A. I might have put the 50A fuse into MF3 instead of MF2, but my car doesn't have MF6 (50A) Can anyone tell me what these fuses do (I believe MF8 fuses the suspension pump), but what about the rest?

My local garage used a tester and this pointed to the ABS pump unit. I have taken all the plugs and sockets out getting to the large plug on the control part of the ABS pump, cleaned them all and used contact lube as recommended and given the main hydraulic actuator a thump with a hammer to see if it releases sticky valves (as recommended on another forum). The problem still remains. To my mind, the fact that it is random and it doesn't appear until miles after start up and can occur when travelling and not touching brakes points to an electrical weevil. Any other ideas as to where to look and is there any other odd function that could cause the fault. I'd hate to remove my ABS pump unit for refurbishment only to find the fault persists and something else caused the problem.

Update on Braking fault message - just started winter service. Was testing and aligning windscreen and headlamp washers and wipers with the ignition on for about 10 mins and regularly using wiper/washer stalk. Engine not running, car not moving, no lights on and brake pedal not touched. Braking fault message came on. Seems to rule out stop light system. Any suggestions? (Other forums suggest a faulty stop light switch could cause the braking fault message if the stop lights are on and the car is accelerating, so a slow to turn off switch could be a cause. Equally so, a dodgy stop light relay could also cause this problem. If the Haynes wiring diagram can be believed, disconnecting the plug from the stop light switch and removing the 2 stop light fuses F5 and F17 in the BSI unit should isolate the stop lights and remove the problem) Seems like I'm going to have to shell a sum of money to get a diagnostic test done to see if it can trace the problem.

New brake light switch, new stop lamp bulbs, unplugging and re-plugging both rear light clusters and making sure the tyre pressures are correct still leaves me with the random occurrence of the braking fault message. Anyone got any other ideas where I could look and check?

In the end, took off nearside spray cover as it looked as though it could get broken. Bumper came off very easily (easier than getting the inner wheel arch out in my experience). Pressure washer replaced easily then puzzlement set in until I remembered headlight washer only works with headlights on. Bumper replacement was easy (don't really need 2 people as Haynes says). Where you might need 2 people is getting the spray heads out from behind the bumper as they are quite difficult to get out without causing damage using pliers. Get 2nd person to operate the windscreen/headlight washer so you can grab the sprayer while it is out and clamp a mole grip on the plastic pipe behind the spray head (it is strong enough provided you are not too vicious with the clamping) To get the spray head back without dislodging or damaging the covers I used a trick suggested on another forum where a half loop of thin string is placed just behind the cover but under the spray head so the 2 ends of the string come out above the spray head. The string is strong enough to allow the mole grip to be removed and gently let the spray head back into the bumper. Gently pulling one end of the string will remove it without dislodging the cover.

see also http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40421 regarding the washer covers

Haynes has got this wrong. My local garage who diagnosed a leaky pump confirmed this telling me there is no way the washer bottle and pumps can be accessed from behind the wheel arch. I got the bumper loose - took 10 mins. to undo the 11 screw devices but something stopped the bumper from coming forward, so I took a chance on removing the driver's side spray cover. I used 2 thin knives to gently lift the spray cover then grasped the hose/sprayer behind and unclipped the cover. With a bit of manoeuvring/jiggling the bumper came forward to reveal the water bottle and pumps. I didn't need to remove the nearside spray cover. The spray jets are fixed to the body of the car. I would say too that there is no way the pumps can be accessed easily from behind the inner liner (though you might be able to see them) as the bumper is very close to them.

I need to remove the front bumper to change the leaking headlight washer pump. Haynes says I need to remove the fragile washer jet covers on the bumper. Is this really necessary? What are the jets fixed to - the bumper or the body?

Wouldn't this give a worn front pad warning rather than braking failure message? Still, I'll have a look at the front end later.

I have just remembered that the LED on the right of the multifunction display is related to the traffic master system, though this is light is incorrectly mentioned in the handbook as being in the push button located above the drivers-side oddments pocket. That removing a stop light bulb leads to an LED related to the traffic master system being lit just shows how weird the wiring on early C5s is.

There were NO messages. They were new bulbs put in when I was sorting out a rear ABS fault. I don't blame the bulbs.