spiff

Thank you very much. I missed your reply at first as it was on the next page. I have just purchased a used sensor in case, it can be resold if not the problem : ) Thank you again. God Bless Spiff

Thank you for that, can you advise on how to get at the up down switch ? It could save me a lot of prising : ) God Bless Spiff

Good evening thank you for your suggestion : ) I used to install and service taxi radios in Manchester, back in the days of PYE Cambridge's and Westminster, F27 and F30 base stations : ) I have checked the fluid in the reservoir and it was at the correct level. I left the car for today because the weather in Mullion Cove today has been high winds and rain. To put it on ramps so that I can remove the front and rear sensors safely and easily, I have to take it out of the garage. I have read a posting on repairing the sensors so will try that first, I cannot find a seller of new ones online ? Fitting a used one is not a good idea to me as you can never be sure they are any good. Do you know if they are a continually variable device like a potentiometer, a multi way switch, or some kind of inductive device ? God Bless Spiff

Good evening from a sunny Mullion Cove Cornwall. The car did not want to come out of fault mode today, but as there is 12 volts on the feed to the motor and no volts on the thin wire in the fault mode, I think I have answered the question. It is not the motor but the signalling voltage from the computer that is missing. There was a difference in the message today, as well as the series suspension fault it is flashing up a 24mph height warning. This could be because I was messing about with the ride height a lot yesterday ? The height from ground to the top of the wheel arch is 29 inches front and back, which if I remember correctly is about the normal ride height. The solenoid or what ever is not opening to drop the car height in the fault mode, so I think that confirms the motor is not at fault ? I shall try a repair on the front and rear ride height sensors next. Does anybody know if the signalling voltage to the motor switching transistor is positive or negative ? God Bless Spiff

An update Is the data from those devices specific enough ? I do not have one as of yet so today I did the following : ) I could not fiigure out how to remove the 12 volt plug that feeds the suspension motor, so I inserted two needles into chock blocks with cable from the other sides. I then pushed the pins through the 12 volt feed to the motor, about an inch away from the plug. The cable runs to a volt meter in the car. I removed a small amount of insulation from the thin signal lead, again about an inch away from the motor, and soldered a wire to it. I provided a return for this feed from a handy bolt that holds the head light. The cable again runs to another meter in the car. The car will have reset the fault by morning so that I can observe the two readings, the first reading in a pump working state, then trigger the fault by rasing the car to high and see what is happening. At least that is the idea : ) God Bless Spiff

Good evening, had the car on ramps. Have lubricated the links from the sensors to the antiroll bars front and rear. Fault still there, also did a system reset by going through the battery disconnect procedure, but that did not help either. When it goes into fault mode the lift and lower will not work, if the car is left for 20 mins or so it then works again. The fault only shows up if the vehicle is driven, or when set to high, but not every time. We have to visit the hospital in Penzance on Tuesday, but after that I may take the sensors apart. There is a used rear one on eBay for £22, so heavens knows how much a new one is : ) It looks to be a very simple job to remove and fit them. God Bless Spiff

Hallo Paul, ( When the car is lowering the pump does not run ), I did not think of that possibility. So there will be a valve solenoid somewhere that releases the pressure to let it drop ? This solenoid must receive a feed from the lowering switch ? This would apear to remove a motor fault from the list of suspects, do you think so ? God Bless Spiff

An update on the suspension problem : ) Today I put the car on high and sprayed the front sensor with WD 40, then a drop of oil on the two pivots. The cover was missing that protects it from road dirt. After this the car would not drop from the height position, no sound of the motor Drove it a mile or so no luck, and still no sound from the motor if I tried to lower it. I thought maybe the motor had been going and the load had now blown a fuse as it would not move up or down at all. I checked all the under bonnet fuses and the ones in the passenger glove box all OK. Put axel stands and tool away and started it, the motor ran and the car dropped to normal height. Drove it 50 yard message came up but the car stayed at normal height, drove a further four miles no further message. Turned off restarted to put in garage message appeared again so put car away as it was dark. Something is stopping the pump from running intermittently ? Could it be the sensors or the pump ? God Bless Spiff

A young boy said, "look Dad a car in a garage", he had been brought up to think it is a storage area I think : ) Dad always put the car away and dried it off if it had been raining. Alanna and I fix every thing ourselves, we even roofed the building last year three floors up : ) Today we drove to the village to pick a large box of apples up that were too heavy to carry the mile distance. The message appeared on the way back, the car stayed at normal height. I stopped and tried to raise the car, no movement and message came up instantly. After reversing in the garage and stopping the engine I released the foot brake and the motor ran to level the car : ) I shall have to do some more tests, I have just purchased an Oculus Rift virtual reality unit, setting up the room sensors and extending cables is too much of a temptation to me and its cold out there. The car gets very little use a 1000 a year so no hurry, lovely motor though, it has a vintage look about it even though it is a lot younger than our Xantia was, I never liked the front shape of the Xantia. I prefer the look of the 2003 C5 to the later models, hooked on the automatic and leather seats, we always had a manual car before ,72 at Christmas : ) Off for a run round the cliffs : ) God Bless Spiff

Thank you for the link I had missed some of that, very kind of you. Many years ago in London when working on my cars, I had my Dad and friends around me, now they are all gone and people rarely do their own repairs. They do not even wash their own dogs : ) While I was replacing the drop links on this one in Mullion Cove, a tourists commented "look a man mending his car you don't see that much nowadays" : ) For some reason some of the images the gents have loaded up have been removed, such as the height corrector which is a pity, but still plenty to go on with. If and when I sort it out I will post back : ) God Bless Spiff

Just to add the Suspension fault message comes and goes, it stayed off for the last 7 mile trip from The Lizard to Mullion .

Good evening thank you for your reply : ) No so far it appears to be at normal ride height when driving and also adjusts as you get in. If there is an intermittent feed to the pump motor or the motor is intermittent, may be it will not affect the ride height in the time the supply is interrupted ? I was wondering if reversing so far had some how caused the problem and posted to see if anyone else had had this happen. It could have been coincidental that the gearbox fault showed up at the same time, or maybe not if it is a poor electrical connection sending spikes to the computer ? Cleaning all the plugs that feed the fuse box is an easy thing to do to start with, but before I pull all the plugs should I disconnect the battery. I have read on the forum that disconnecting and reconnecting the battery has to be done a certain way. I have been in radio and TV and electronic since starting work in 1961, intermittent faults are often the worst type to trace : ) God Bless Spiff

Good afternoon from an overcast Mullion Cove Cornwall. I have read most of the posts about this message, but wonder if the lead up to mine has any bearing on it. The car is a 2003 C5 petrol automatic estate. We had to reverse about 50 yards on a one track lane and soon after the Serious Suspension Fault message kept flashing up ? The car ran fine. Also the gear box fault message appeared soon after which it has not done for 450 miles since I drained a litre of over filled fluid out. I cleared the gear box message again this time by stopping and restarting, it has not appeared since, though the suspension one keeps popping up. I can still raise and lower the suspension, there are no leaks anywhere. While stationary with the engine running if I raise the car to high, as I switch to lower it the message will sometimes appear and I think the pump motor does not run when it does. I have checked the link to the rear stabiliser bar and lubricated it, I have not done the front one yet. Is it OK to pull the plugs out of the fuse box, the one under the cover and bonnet on the passenger side to spray with switch cleaner ? Should I disconnect the battery first in case it scrambles the computer ? I have had a look at pictures of the electric pump, is it OK to remove the plug from this to clean without disconnecting the battery. I also wonder if it is possible to remove just the motor from the pump so as to avoid having to disconnect the hydraulic lines from it ? I may connect a couple of wires across the pump feed to see if volts are there when I try to lower the suspension. The fault is intermittent. God Bless Spiff

Good morning from a sunny Mullion Cove, thank you for your reply. The whole length of the present dipstick is clear plastic and looks to have been wedged into the handle, so heaven knows as to what it is reading. It looks to have been there a while with out the engine blowing up, so some consolation : ) Having checked the AL4 auto box properly yesterday it was over filled by a litre. This is the problem with a vehicle that has been through a few hands. Not sure either than a pile of garage service receipts means much. It had passed its last MOT leaving a bonking noise from the front suspension, the previous owner said he had mentioned it to the garage who said they had checked all the joints with a crow bar. One of the front drop links was so loose, I could move it with my hand, the rubber had a large rip in it and the joint was so rusted it must have been like that for ages. All fixed now. I have been reading on a forum of Re neck fixes for the rattling cartelistic converter, some of the suggestions were very funny : ) http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1224036_Any_redneck_andamp_quot_fixesandamp_quot__for_a_rattling_catalytic_converter_.html I shall put up with it for now, though I am tempted to try emptying it out as your good self suggested in another post, in case any exhaust paste is in there God Bless Spiff

Citroen C5 2003 petrol 1997 AL4 Auto gear box 150000 miles. It had a known problem with the gear box at purchase, in that it would go into get you home mode on occasions. Stopping the car and restarting cleared the fault. The previous owner had recently taken it on a 200 mile dive with out the problem occurring. The first time we took it out it happened twice in the first 5 miles. After we returned home I read on a forum to count to ten after inserting the key, this I did and it never happened again for several local trips. I decided to check the auto box fluid level, but instead of getting underneath followed a posting online that suggested looking in the filler to see if the level was over a grid inside. This I did and as there was no sign of the oil I purchased a litre and put it in. The level still did not appear above the grid, we used the car and all was fine. Today I drove the car a couple of miles then removed the bottom cover and undid the level plug, the one inside the drain plug. Two litters poured out, it then slowed to a trickle suggesting that it was now at the correct level. I assume my litre plus a litre that someone else had over filled it with. Hoped for the best drove the car, a bit of a jump presumably as the levels reset then several miles all ok. I rechecked the level and the fluid just tricked out as it should. The fluid is very dark, it smells a little like the new scuff I put in, but more like oil. That is about it, I drove it a few miles again all working fine, the car has done 155000 so perhaps the colour of the fluid is not surprising. Any comments appreciated : ) God Bless Spiff

Good evening from a wet Mullion Cove Cornwall. : ) it is looking that way, Alanna carries a tape measure in her bag, so if we come across one we can always ask. Quite a few C5s at the local boot sale each Wednesday, not for sale but a popular car for boot sale goers, I shall have to hope we come across a petrol one. The engine has done 150000 and sounds fine. God Bless Spiff

Looks like I shall never know the lenth of my dipstick, and at nearly 72 it is somethong a chap should now by now : ) Spiff : )

Good evening from a sunny Mullion Cove Cornwall. I wonder if someone can assist, we recently purchased a 2003 C5 petrol 1997 automatic estate. I have added a picture of the engine. The oil dipstick may have the original top, but the shaft is a length of clear plastic with no markings on it. The end is touching the oil . Would any of you gentlemen with the same engine in the photo, be kind enough to measure the length of the oil dipstick to the max and the min. God Bless Spiff

I read not sure if on this or another forum, to put the key in and count to 10, not sure if to turn ignition on so did it at both steps before running starter motor. What it does I have no idea. I tried it today and no limp mode on a 30 mile trip : ) Could be coincidental, we have only had the car a week or so. The car came with this gear box fault, the first time we used it it went into limp mode twice soon after leaving home, but was then OK for the journey 20 miles a stop and return. I will update if it returns. God Bless Spiff

Good evening from a windy Mullion Cove Cornwall. Lots of reading has led me to believe that the AL4 auto box Citroen fluid no 9736 22 is the same or can be replaced or topped up with Mobil / Esso LT71141 ? The attached image states their product as LT71141 it also specifically mentions Citroen ? Any advice appreciated. God Bless Spiff

Thank you for that I have put a saved search on eBay. God Bless Spiff

Thank you very much for all the information : ) As well as the leather seats it has bits of woods effect trim. We like the early model more than the later C5s, if we are fortunate enough to find a low miles garaged one, we may swap the seats and trim. A diesel with manual box perhaps for fuel consumption. That is a striking picture of a vintage bus, I came across a site on trolley busses a while back that was fascinating, lots of images, now we are looking to go back to electric cars : ) God Bless Spiff

Thank you for the link : ) The manuals for later models are there, the 2001 2002 manuals only refer to spec, none of the normal images, strange ? I have ordered a Haynes manual : ) Looking through all the service receipts the cam belt has not been replaced. We purchsed it as a temporary measure, so that we have transport when something with less dents and miles comes up : ) We love the car the leather seats and trim are so nice, but given its known faults and the damage down one side, it is going to be more cost effective to wait for a better one. Sad but true : ( God Bless Spiff

Image of engine added : ) Log book arrived but no help. God Bless Spiff

Good evening after a sunny day in Mullion Cove Cornwall. I am looking for the type of Automatic transmission oil for our 1997 petrol 2003 C5 estate. The log book has not been returned by the DVLA yet, and none of the labels under the bonnet give the exact model ? God Bless Spiff