Xantia warning lights

Wishy · Post by **Wishy** » 08 Feb 2007, 20:03

I'm getting a couple of warning lights on my 94 1.9TD Xantia.

Firstly the presence of water diesel fuel light. This only comes on briefly and only very occasionally but any idea what causes this and what to check?

I have a Haynes manual but couldn't see any reference as to what to do.

Secondly (and a lot more regularly) I'm getting the hydraulic pressure and STOP light. I'll check the LHM levels at the weekend (don't need to drive the car before then) but is there anything else I need to check?

My Citroen manual helpfully tells me to stop driving and contact Citoen

As background the car has had lumpy idle/white smoke problems that I've been trying to eradicate so I've done the following recently.

New Glow plugs (that was fun

)
New fuel filter+ housing + primer bulb+ pipe between them.
New injector leak off pipes

Don't know if I've made a mess of those jobs somehow and allowed water into the system?

As information I am by no means an expert mechanic so please bear with me if I ask some stupid questions such as "what's one of them then?" in response to any suggestions. I do however have a (sometimes helpful) Haynes manual and a willingness to give anything a go.

Finally the ride at the front has always but very harsh (to the point of bouncing up and down like a pimp mobile when going over bumpy roads) which I put down to being possibly spheres but would fluid problems also be a cause of this?

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 08 Feb 2007, 20:27

Water in fuel. I seem to recall this can give problems - there may be some information on this site - some time ago.

Hydraulic warning light/stop light - may be low fluid - in which case it'll probably come on when the car is cornered and the LHM sloshes around. Raise the car and it may come on again as the reservoir level drops. There are other reasons why it will come on - it has 2 sensors - one on the safety valve (pressure) and the other being the tank level.

Glow plugs only affect starting - and are turned off after about 45 seconds or so and do nothing until the engine is re-started and sometimes not then (if hot)

Leakoff pipes will admit air to a Bosch pump and cause starting and running problems. They do NOT affect Roto-diesel pumps - and just leak and smell on engines fitted with these pumps.

When tracing air leaks it may be useful replace the last bit of flexible pipe to the injection pump with clear plastic so that you can see the air bubbles in it.

If you need to come back to this board for elp with the hydraulic problems it would be helpful to know if your car has anti-sink or not. This was introduced in 1994 and means a number of differences to the hydraulics including the deletion of the flow divider valve and the use of a 2 outlet pump. Probably the easiest way to tell is to examine the pump outlets.

There are 2 likely causes of hard front ride - the most likely is that the front spheres are flat - (car normal height setting with the engine running - can you push the front down - no - flat spheres - replace - GSF or Eurocarparts less than £20 each)

The other is that the height corrector has stuck. In this case the front of the car will look low.

Wishy · Post by **Wishy** » 08 Feb 2007, 21:44

Cheers for the reply, I did have a search on water in fuel but didn't come up with any results (possibly amateur use of the search function so will try again).
Am intending to check the LHM level at the weekend (can't do it here as my drive/road is nowhere near flat), will check Haynes for safety valve location.

Leak off pipes are new and I'm on a Bosch pump.

My next possible culprit for the air leak is between the fuel filter housing and the injection pump, checked from tank when I swapped the primer bulb and that was all good (IIRC from advice on here it's most likely to be in front the bulb anyway).

Will check pushing the front down as well this weekend thanks. If I get the idling sorted then I'll look into this properly (anti-sink or not as not sure) but this isn't the main priority for me (I'd like to get the idling sorted first, then the dodgy ride and then a good polish and wax

).

Does the LHM fluid serve both the suspension and the brakes from the same reservoir?

np · Post by np » 08 Feb 2007, 22:19

Wishy wrote: Does the LHM fluid serve both the suspension and the brakes from the same reservoir?

Yes,the LHM serves brakes,suspension & steering all from the 1 reservoir.

Wishy · Post by **Wishy** » 08 Feb 2007, 22:21

Yep I thought at least brakes and suspension from my amateur reading. The brakes potential scares me so won't be driving it until I can check it out. At least I have alternative transport in the meantime which is a bonus.

Ta

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 09 Feb 2007, 08:15

The safety valve turns out the warning light when there is sufficient hydraulic pressure for the brakes to operate safely. It'll be somewhere underneath the car - and is generally an extremely reliable component. In fact the valve plunger itself operates the switch.

Don't shoot the messenger - this valve is obviously doing its job properly and should not be interfered with. You should get worried about it if it does NOT put the light on.

dnsey · Post by **dnsey** » 09 Feb 2007, 08:45

The water in fuel sensor can be unduly sensitive and give false readings. Having said that, it is of course sensible to check that there's no water in the fuel

. Fit a bit of clear tubing to the drain nipple on the bottom of the fuel filter housing and open the nipple. Operate the priming pump, and watch for 'bubbles' of water in the tube. Keep pumping until the fue runs clear, then close the nipple. If there's a lot of water present, it's woth removing the filter and cleaning out the housing manually.

KP · Post by KP » 09 Feb 2007, 08:56

As above the fuel filter can get some water in it but sometimes draining off this tiny bit that sets the sensor off is a nightmare

The warning lights can come one when you first turn the engine on as pressure builds up in the system. This can happen more often on cars with dead or nearly dead spheres as the pressure build up for them requires more fluid.

If you vote to replace the spheres its pretty easy to do at the front and the rear, but for the front ones ask GSF for the ones that would fit a 1.8lx petrol for a softer ride than normal, and just normal spheres for the rear or the same again

Wishy · Post by **Wishy** » 09 Feb 2007, 17:21

Cheers for the replies guys,
Stupid question but how do you open the bleed nipple, does it just unscrew? I tried turning it (the collar like thing at the end) to see when I had the new housing but couldn't move it and didn't want to try too hard in case I broke it.

Do I just need to apply some elbow grease?

Wishy · Post by **Wishy** » 12 Feb 2007, 08:59

The fluid level warning light was just that and it's topped up and sorted. The front spheres are shot but that's a job for after the engine is running sweetly.

Have some clear tubing to look at the other issues later.

Cheers

KP · Post by KP » 12 Feb 2007, 09:23

Yeah if you look at the housing straight on it should twist anti clockwise. they are often over tightened. i think i gave you a new one in the glovebox but im not sure, if nto they come from citroen for a £1 or so. if you need to gently use a pair of pliers to get purchase on it and dig into it as you turn it. you will get to a certain point about 1-2mm loose and then use the priming pump to force the fluid out. a tip i have used before is to put the car on full hieght and then chock the rear so it cant drop and then move the lever to minimum. On the flat this will mean the front is lower and the housing should then see the water flow to the bleed nipple more easily

bleed off about 100ml