kfk

Maybe he's fasting for lent :)

Presumably when you took it in for the service the vehicle was performing ok but sounded like a diesel. Did you ask them to check out the 'knocking noise' or did they call you to say it was knocking? When you took it from the service it had performance issues immediately......Did they replace the spark plugs at the service?.....what ones did they fit...do you know the make/specification of them? When they replaced the dephaser did they also replace the cambelt?

Try it and see.....but it should do.

As far as this site being run by Main Dealers, that couldnt be further from the truth. I think you will find others have contributed to a greater extent and that information is invaluable, my own input to the site has been lacking recently, with the exception of popping in and reading the threads, mainly due to concentrating on work commitments. :( A forum is a place where all can give the experience / knowledge freely to the benefit of others, it isnt dependent on age, sexual preference, colour of skin, disability, or to my knowledge working for a Main Dealer. :( A Main Dealer on the other hand only supplies coffee freely and the customers complain its too strong ;) Now can we all go have a virtual pint of whatever, (dont want to offend the non drinkers). and agree to dissagree :ph34r:

As for the indie garages........its suprising how many book them in with us because they cant diagnose them themselves, unfortunately by the time they and all there mates have had a look you know any faults recorded will be caused by random disconnection of components......oh, and of course because they cant fix it they will push there luck for a trade discount! However, the people i feel for are those customers that come to me having already paid out for a diagnostic check at an indi and not got a diagnosis (its not just dealers that charge for diagnostics).......what gets me is how they have the nerve to charge for something they havent done. Now moving on, i think i'll go stand at the end of the road and see if i can find a taxi going back to the train station...after all if he's already going that way i should get a lift for nothing....infact he should be grateful for the company !

i dont know really what people are going on about here.........we charge and initial inspection fee which includes plugging into the diagnostic equipment if applicable to the fault. That fee will be decided upon the customers desctiption of the fault and ussually it amounts to getting the customer to agree to 'upto' an hours labour whilst investigating the concerns. If we can fix the problem within any agreed limits we do so, if it is apparent the fault will require longer to investigate we call the customer to agree any costs. Most faults are diagnosed within the hour, however, some vehicles have more time spent on diagnosis than could reasonably be charged for....in which case the customer is either lucky we dont rip them off because we missed something in our checks, or they can be glad the workshop was quite that day! The point i'm getting to though is.....when the customer gets the invoice we dont have a charge for use of the diagnostic equipment....the charge is for labour. Something else i have learnt.......do something for nothing and it comes back to bite you.......so due to the public and there attitude i no longer do anything for nothing, if there gonna sue me i might aswell have earnt something in the first place!

I can only assume Techbod is having a laugh here....or is living on another planet.

Squib or Squab? Squab is the seat

Quite often owners, who arn't renowned for checking there lights work, will drive around with one lamp not working and not notice the reduced illumination........its only when both go out and there in darkness that they realise their headlamp bulbs have failed.......obviously one quick way of checking this would be to plug a bulb into the light unit and see if it illuminates.....if it does thats 50% of the problem solved.....you just need to do the second one then. The alternative to this is to assume both wouldnt go together (which they probably didnt) and start checking fuses etc......which once identified and checked will more than likely be ok and you will have to try new bulbs!

But then if you have managed to drop and wedged a 2p into the runner it wont be.........warranty covers manufacturing defects so the short answer is .......until the dealer knows what the cause of the problem is assume it will be chargeable! As an example....My engine wont start will it be under warranty?........Answer: Not untill the cause of the problem is known......so if you had put the wrong fuel in no it wouldnt be!

The smoke is a consequence of starting with failed glow plugs..........why have the glow plugs failed again so quickly (assuming they have failed) could be the relay is stuck and caused the glow plugs to burn out......hence smokes when eventually starts

How about the glow plug relay sticking and causing the glow plug to be fed with power all the time?

Wow.......grease nipples.......i remember them..........i tidied up last week and put my grease gun away......my thoughts at the time were........i wonder if this will ever come out again.....or will it appear on antiques road show with some knowledgeable twit asking the audience if they know what it was used for! As for the question about fitting grease nipples though......i doubt you would be able to get the grease into the bearing where its needed.

recheck the fuses in the under bonnet fuse box.

If the fuel pump in the fuel tank has failed it is unlikely that the vehicle would start either hot or cold. If the High Pressure fuel pump has failed it output can be checked together with any fault codes using the appropriate diagnostic equipment when the vehicle is in its non start situation. the fuel filter housing has various ball valves incorporated...the sealing of these can fail Glow plug failure ussually gives a fault code Compressions......always worth a check! For what its worth it sounds like someone is taking a guess at the pump being faulty, and from the price your talking about i would guess its the HP pump they are replacing. If this is the case and by chance they are correct i would ask where the swarf ha come from......because if its the HP pump faulty then the injectors and fuel rail will be contaminated, together with the pump in the tank and fuel filter......if its the pump in the tank its likely it will only leave swarf in the fuel filter. My recommendation would be to book it in with your local dealer/specialist for an early morning cold start......tell them not to use easy start on it as the problem wont reoccur for another day.....tell them to diagnose it......should be able to get some readings indicating how much fuel pressure is being produced and hopefully produce a positive diagnosis, if they dont have equipment to measure the required high pressure (280 bar)........an hour at the main dealer will cost around £80 and should produce a diagnosis for you....the alternative is to play games of chance, but i doubt they will take the pump off if it doesnt cure the problem!

how about http://www.lbcarco.com/digital-lcd-car-voltmeter.htm Or slightly different http://www.sunshinesolar.co.uk/khxc/gbu0-p...ow/CIGVOLT.html

The drifference between the engines will be the emissions regulations they have been designed to meet: - as a consequence you cant guarantee the camshafts, the inlet /exhaust valves or the pistons/compression ratios are the same. If they were the same they would have the same code. I always advise customers that are looking to replace engines to only use one of the same code, its the only way you can guarantee internally it is the same. I once had a customer who had fitted a peugeot 1.6 engine into a Citroen, on the face of it they were the same engine.......unfortunately the inlet and exhaust valves were larger and it was designed to operate with a totally diferent maker of the injection system......as a concequence the citroen bits would bolt on but the mechanical differences were such that the fuel injection system wasnt up to the job.

Happy New Year to you too.

Full edit - paul.h 17/12/2013. Raise the suspension to max height. Loosen the 4 wheel nuts. Jack up the relevant corner of the car and support it on axle stands - this is a must (if a height sensor is caught the car suspension could drop to a low level). Chock the rear wheels so the car will not move. Remove the wheel nuts and the wheel. Turn the steering wheel so the hub points out at the front to give better access. Check that the brake disc is not worn too thin so that it needs replacing - if so, put the wheel back, buy new discs and pads and start again at a later date. Also check the pads have sufficient friction material left if planning to re-use them - if not, put the wheel back and buy new pads. Release the handbrake (as this operates on the front of a C5) and put the gear lever to neutral. Check the car is still secure on the axle stands and the jack. Unhook the end of the handbrake cable from the handbrake pivot on the brake caliper. Slide the handbrake cable out through its hole in the caliper (to prevent damage to the cable when you pivot the caliper) The caliper is held in place by 2 bolts fitted from the inboard side of the caliper. Undo and remove the lower bolt. Pull apart the wear sensor wire connectors at the top. Note the wear sensor wire routing and unclip the lower wire white sleeve from the caliper bracket - it has 2 tangs that need to be pushed in a bit to allow it to move but it is brittle and may break. Then pull out the wire from the bracket, leaving the end in the brake pad. Pivot the caliper upwards from the bottom and use something such as wire or a bent welding rod hooked to the strut to hold it up. Remove the brake pads complete with the wires for the pad wear sensors, paying attention to the route the wires take. If fitting new pads, You need to screw the caliper piston back (to give a pad clearance of 1 mm max) or the new pads will not fit. This requires a special tool because you need to push it and screw it at the same time, but you can try levering the piston back with the handle of a hammer and using a screwdriver in the notches of the piston to screw it, it is just quite awkward this way. The slots in the piston need to line up to a mark on the caliper, opposite the slot in the caliper for the lugs on the back of the pads. It is recommended to clean the caliper and piston first and whilst winding the piston in to let the brake fluid out of the bleed screw (using a pipe/container to collect it whilst holding the caliper so the bleed screw is at the highest point so air does not get in and then tighten the bleed screw whilst still pushing the piston) as opposed to the brake fluid going back into the brake system with possible damage to the master cylinder seals and dirt in to the abs sysem. Whilst winding in the pistons, make sure the master cylinder reservoir does not overflow. The pistons on either side of a C5 have different threads, so one will screw back clockwise (left one, UK nearside) while the other will screw anti-clockwise (right one, UK offside) - there may be a direction arrow on the caliper. Do not screw them too far the wrong way or they will come out. So screw them back and check you are screwing them the right way before you go too far. Scrape/Sand clean the surfaces of the caliper that the pads sat in. If using the old pads, clean them up and rub the friction face on emery paper (such as 180 grit size) on a flat surface to remove the glazing then wipe the pad to remove any dust/emery from it. Similarly clean the face of the disc, consider removing the wear ridge/rust around the disc and wipe the disc with brake cleaner. Grease these cleaned surfaces on the caliper with a smear of copper grease, (a piece of card between the caliper bracket and the disc will keep grease off the disc) and grease the metal end edges of the pads and the backs of the pads with copper grease. (if you don't your brakes will start to bind soon due to build up of rust and brake dust.) Fit the pad wear wires back to the pads and then fit the new/old pads. Close the caliper and fasten with the lower bolt (30 Nm). Correctly route the pad wear wires and fasten the connectors at the top. Pump the brake pedal to adjust the caliper piston, then refit the handbrake cable to the caliper lever. Check the handbrake comes on fully by 4 clicks but when released the caliper lever should be against the stop. Now is a good time to check that the bleed screw can be easily undone if the old pads have been refitted. Put the steering back to the straight ahead position. Clean the hub face with a file to remove any rust and apply a thin smear of copper grease if you have alloy wheels to prevent it rusting on. Clean the wheel hub contact face, apply also a smear of copper grease, check the tyre for damage/stones/nails/etc and fit to the car. Continue in reverse order to removal and check the brake fluid level in the master cylinder is between max and min. New pads take time to 'bed' in and for the first few miles the brakes will feel slightly softer until the pads bed in properly so allow a greater stopping distance. Do not brake too hard (unless an emergency) to allow the pads to bed in properly - forced bedding in can result in a poor brake feel.

Merry Christmas All......hope you have a good one how ever you celebrate it

To make the engine ECU work you would also need the BSI and the ignition key set as these component are all programmed for the immobilizer operation. If you fit the BSI to your vehicle you do need to be aware of the Mileage indicator problem that you speak of.......in simple terms whichever component has the highest mileage recorded in it will over write the component with the lower mileage.....so a 200,000 mile BSI will over write a 70,000 mile speedo and this is non reversable. In some instances for diagnostic purposes it can be done but dont connect the speedo.....only problem is you cant see if the diagnostic lamp has come on! With regards swopping radios........the vehicle chassis number is programmed into the radio and also the BSI, so if a radio is fitted into a vehicle or connected to a BSI with a different chassis number it wont work. The Radio can have the chassis number reprogrammed if you want to make use of a secondhand unit.....but the BSI Cant have it reprogrammed. Should also be noted that for a BSI to be compatible with another vehicle the vehicles should have the same level of equipment other wise you will find some functions on the vehicle may not work.

The brake light switch/circuit is most likely to be causing this problem....However, i would suggest its worth asking your dealer if they have checked service bulletins for your vehicle as some sensodrives have a problem that the manufacturer recommends a modified harness that connects to the brake switch........just because i have mentioned this doesnt mean that a modified harness will fix it.....as i say only some are affected and your local dealer armed with your chassis number should be able to check if it is relevant to your vehicle.

C5 MK3 has a choice of sprung or Hydropneumatic.....its an option.

blower motor is situated on the right hand side of dash and accessed from underneath dash. First check would be to confirm if voltage is being recieved at the motor electrical connector......it should have 4 wires i think......one is and earth and the others will supply voltage that will vary dependent on the position of the heater switch. If there is voltage going into the motor and a good earth i would suspect the heater motor has failed. If there is no voltage at the heater motor i would make a check on the ignition switch connections......if memory serves me correctly you need to check the 2 pin brown connector.....for the heater to work you need 12volts on both wires. Dont forget the engine needs to be running for the heater to work.

35mph in top gear.....what rpm? about 1000rpm maybe? My guess would be that the the load on the engine together with low engine rpm is causing the engine management system to 'maintain engine idle speed' the alternative would be to allow it to stall.....after all if you dont have your foot on the throttle that is what you would expect ultimately to happen. The answer to the problem would be to drive in the correct gear.....35 in top isnt the correct gear!.....and by driving in the correct gear you will find your fuel economy improves, the driveability of the vehicle improves and the engine braking will improve.....i would hazzard a guess that 25 - 35 in 3rd, 35 - 45 in 4th and 45+ in 5th should give you much better drivability. Incidently, your not on your own with identifying this....i know of several C3 owners that have experienced it and from a personal note can make it happen on all of them regardless of the owner complaining of it.......it isnt a fault, its a characteristic that becomes apparent due to driving style.