mlkey

Sorry TB, have to disagree. Depends on your mileage. I cover around 35k a year, and I can tell you it is cheaper on that sort of mileage. I went from a Fiesta petrol to my C5 after the Fiesta was written off in an accident. The savings have been plain to see with each fill up. My cost per mile on petrol was about 11p at the time of checking, compared to about 9p on diesel. Also, this car has amazed me with tyes too, the fronts have managed 37k (motorway) miles, but are up for renewal now. Ohh, and LPG.. again depends. My brother had a new car converted at a cost of £1300, which he got back in his first 2 years of motoring, so from here on its all savings. If you did that on an older car, you would not get your money back. All depends on the miles, if you only do maybe 10k a year, I agree it is more expensive, but for me, it saves me good money. FACT :D

I always use the v power diesel, not because of extra economy, as in my case, it does not seem to make any difference. I use it because the engine is much smoother with it, had a annoying little misfire during warm up, soot and smoke etc. Have to say, with the v power, runs like a dream, and much cleaner at the rear pipe. Doing the head gasket (finally) this weekend, and am really looking forward to seeing how clean (or not) the innards are in comparison with Shells claims. Its almost done 118k now, I got it on 82k, and it has been on the v power for about 5k miles, will get a few snaps of the findings, just in case there is more than one anorak in these forums.

Don't know too much about these, but pretty certain the height sensors are used, and located on the front and rear anti roll bars. If your suspension is behaving correctly, it is unlikely to be these, although you may want to have a check and clean / lubricate the sensors. Am guessing there is a control unit somewhere which interprets these signals and adjusts the headlamps accordingly. I would clean the height sensors and see if the problem persists as a starting point. NOTE: Ensure the vehicle is supported by axle stands or a jack before touching these sensors.

Good news, thanks for letting us know! :D

Are the sensors in the bumper free from ice on the bumper face? This can cause the system to think there is a fault.

Result! It is cold, and white, and I am snowed in in my village... Ah well..

What cable do I need for this, I found the software on ebay, no mention of cable?

Should ALWAYS use the dust seal, its there for a reason! Grease will only collect dirt, ultimately leading to grit getting into the piston bore. For the sake of a few quid, don't put your own, and others safety at risk.

Glow plugs operate as follows when ignition keyed on and before crank: 0C on for 0.5 of a second -10C on for 5 seconds -30C on for 20 seconds If you do not crank when the glowlight goes out, glows will continue for a maximum of 10 seconds. During cranking, glow plugs will only operate if: Coolant temp is below 20C Engine is cranking at => 70RPM for 0.2 seconds. Glow plugs will continue after engine start for 60 seconds maximum, but will be turned off if: Coolants temp rises above 20C Injectors delivering >35mm3 Engine RPM exceeds 2000 Hope that may be of use to someone..

Maybe water ingress?

I would agree with techbod, ignition switch is worth checking. Recently had one do a very similar thing on a Micra. A little concerned about the ECU fuse popping, if it goes again I would investigate further.. Let us know the outcome please.

Did you have any display when you keyed on, and before cranking? And how did it sound when cranking, was it very slow, or about same as normal?

had a look today and it was squab sorry. wire reconected and light now out many thanks. just as a point of intrest how do they come up with names like squab or squib is there a reason behind it The squib was originally patented in the 1800's by the mining industry, it is a small explosive device, originally used to break coal from the coal face. Ever heard the saying, "like a damp squib"? Squab, the backrest part of the seat, thought to originate from Scandinavia, means "fat flesh". As for who thinks this stuff up.... Well, all I can say is, having sat in vehicle design meetings, listening to a 3 hour presentation on the design of a cup holder, with such phrases as "mug relief" and "thumb space" being banded around, nothing really suprises me ;) Glad you got it sorted!

The squib is the detonation device, found in the backrest. Might be worth checking the connection under the seat, usual safety precautions apply ! Would not want to change one personally, a second hand seat might be an option?

Uhuh...

I would say yes, gives you much useful info that is not generally easy to find.. £20 well spent I think.

What sort of banging? Metallic? Possible sticking valve maybe.

Not debating anything, just giving you the facts... Even tells you the same in the new Haynes manual... ;)

Not the case I am afraid, as with many vehicles these days, diverter valves are not fitted, instead, the air is channelled differently within the heater unit. If you trace the pipework from the bulkhead, you will see they connect directly to the matrix, no valve/diverter. Think back to the old days, maybe a mini, where it took at least 30 seconds for the water in the matrix to cool when the valve was closed, the C5 takes only as long as it takes the motor to adjust the internal air flows. And thanks for the good luck! :o

Have not tested the sensor, but happy its reading correctly as only gets to centre, fan cuts in correctly, and uses the same sensor, have now fitted new stat. Heater matrix is constant flow on C5, no control valve, all done by airflow. Having made a header tank for the fill and done things according to the book, the problem is still evident, although maybe to a lesser extent. Definately pressurising the system. Going to take the car off road, and do the work, also rework the EGR and check the turbo etc. May as well do it all while I am at it, thanks for all the help gents!

Yes and yes. It opened before the water got to boiling. I purchased a new one today, and tried them both side by side, have to say, no difference, except the old one closing slower. Have put the new one in. Hard to try without stat due to the way the seal is fitted, but happy its opening.

UPDATE: Let it cool down, then checked, no additional coolant required. Drove about 5 gentle miles and then checked, hoses pretty hard, but coolant level looking good, no air at either bleed valve. Did another 5 miles on dual carriageway, 70ish with a few full throttles.. Stopped again, checked.. coolant all over the top of expansion bottle, although level had returned to normal, air at thermostat bleed valve. Drove home, another 6 miles, steady 50. Not sure if any more coolant had disharged, expansion bottle cap hissing slightly, small amout of air from theromstat bleed. Thoughts please...

Never spotted that other bleed valve, thanks, all coolant, no air, all seems to be by the thermostat. See post above, but basically, changed and refreshed coolant, any idea of the capacity of cooling system? I have put 3.5L of concentrate in and have a 50/50 mix for topping up. I think I will order a head tester, was not sure if it would read for diesel? Long shot I know, but the coolant could of been very weak, therefore lowering the boiling point and creating gases in the system and building up air? So hoping it may be ok, although suspect it will continue. Suposed to be off to Winchester tomorrow, which is 100 miles each way... :o

Cheers for the thoughts techbod.. removed stat and shoved it in a suacepan, opening and shutting fine, rated at 88, sound about right? I think the sensor is ok, as it seems to be giving sensible readings, am thinking the reason it drops away is when it is out of water due to air build up?? Have seen the fans working today. Drained coolant, checked pipes all clear, then filled and drained with water a few times to clear old coolant. Filled with fresh coolant and run up to temp, now letting it cool, before checking level.

Thanks all for the replies so far. Mileage is 117000, had the car since 81000. Did the timing belt and water pump when I first got it, and until this, I have not had to put a drop of coolant in. Started it up a week ago, and got the low coolant warning. Topped it up, and put it down to the fact it may of finally wanted some, did not take a lot, less than half a litre. I cover about 100 miles of mainly motorway per day, 500 miles a week, normally at a nice sedate 60ish, so the motor is just ticking over at 2k RPM. 300 miles later, got the top up coolant message again.. Topped up again, drove to work. Popped the bonnet when I got to work, the expansion bottle cap was hissing a little, and coolant was being pushed out of the cap vent, it was not overfilled when cold. Released the valve cap by the thermostat slightly and got a lot of air before getting back to coolant. Thought maybe the expansion bottle cap was duff, so fitted a new one, but the symptoms remain. Today, I tried driving to work with the valve cap by the thermostat loosened very slightly to allow a controlled slow bleed. When I got to work, I checked it. The expansion bottle was ok, level at min, and no hissing. Would say an almost as expected pressure in the hoses, released the valve cap a little more to find a small amout of air. Also noticed the top and bottom hoses were almost completey cold, yet the small hose from the top of the rad to the expansion bottle was nice and hot? I am thinking of trying a thermostat, as tbh, I really don't want to pull the head. Can't seem to find anyone who can do a quick sniffer test. The temp guage has never gone over half way, in fact, only stays at the midway point when I am cruising. Each time I slow down, the temp starts to fall. Heater nice and hot, car feels fine, oil is good, no water in there. All advice welcome, have ordered my Haynes today too :(