Multifunction Display - Intermittent

[avalon1956]

I have just bought a C5 3.0 automatic. Great car at a great price but I knew it had one or two little niggles.

One was the sunroof not working but I quickly got that sorted out.

 

The other is the colour display situated on top and in the middle of the dash.

 

http://avalonwebsites.co.uk/citroenc5int.jpg

 

http://avalonwebsites.co.uk/citroenc5screen.jpg

 

It has all the symptoms of a bad connection somewhere, one minute everything is showing the next minute it flickers on and off like a badly tuned tv and then goes black, then sometime later, could be seconds or minutes it starts flickering again and may or may not come back on again. The reason I think its a bad connection to the screen is because I can play with the controls, menu, mode etc when the screen is black, not that I can see what is happening of course, and when it comes back on everything I have done with the controls is showing up so obviously the computer is working ok.

 

Another reason I think its a bad connection is because the car has been heavily smoked in judging by the smell and by the fact that the sunroof problem was tobacco tar on the switch which needed cleaning off.

 

So my question is.... how do I get that screen out of the fitting on the dash to check all the connections.

 

any help would be much appreciated

[paul.h]

If you carefully lever under the bottom of the cover and then pull it towards you, the cover will come out and then the display can be unscrewed. Make sure the ignition key has been removed for a few minutes first though to avoid any electrical glitches later and do not insert the key again until the screen is reconnected. It may only need bulbs replacing at the back of the screen - Haynes shows 3 bulbs integral with the holders and removed by rotating anti clockwise.

 

The Haynes manual for the mark 1 and 2 C5s does not cover your engine but does cover everything else on the car and will be worth getting. There are also mechanics manuals on the service.citroen.com website which can be downloaded and have some info on your engine. You need to register first (allowed as a member of a car club, such as this one) and you can also see parts diagrams as used by the dealers - other info can also be purchased.

[avalon1956]

Thanks for the info. I removed the screen but everything appeared ok. I checked all the cables, everything ok. Still the screen was a problem, then I put the battery on charge...... and the screen has not been a problem since, when I bought the car I think it had stood unused for a while and the battery wasn`t fully charged. Since I charged the battery fully the screen hasnt gone off once.