c5 on the floor :(

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myglaren
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Re: c5 decked

Post by myglaren »

poggle wrote:hi i've got a 2.2hdi and i had same probs had it in cit specialists and everything checked out it was the suspension pump,electric motor had burnt out could'nt get a new anywhere in uk or france through cit uk, had to resort to secondhand one for £250 and £500 for checking car out and fitting pump.
There is a company in the UK that repair/refurbish the motors and pumps. Something like a 48 hour turnaround.

I'll have a snoop around and see if I can find where I read about them. Should have filed that info :?
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Post by myglaren »

Haven't been able to locate the post that was from someone who had used this company and was pleased with the service, professionalism and the price - I couldn't hazard a guess at the cost but it was considerably lower that Citroen wanted for a replacement.

It is I believe neccessary to have a new unit coded to the car but a refurbished unit should not need this.

The company is BBA-reman

There are others on the net offering similar services but I haven't heard any mention of anyone having used them.
If there is one local to you and you can get some recommendations it might be more convenient for you.
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Post by sportingfiat »

well today its dropped right to the floor cant even get over speedhumps etc :(

anyone want a 2.0 hdi engine AND gearbox complete with whole free car for spares £175 ????
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Post by myglaren »

Surely it is worth fixing?
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Post by sportingfiat »

not really its scabby but ive been laid off from work and only wanted it as a cheap runabout, not worth spending 3-400 on it reallly to scrap it in when the mot run out end december

unless there is a way of pumping up the suspension temporary just to get by till can sort something out??
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Post by XantiaMan »

sportingfiat wrote:not really its scabby but ive been laid off from work and only wanted it as a cheap runabout, not worth spending 3-400 on it reallly to scrap it in when the mot run out end december

unless there is a way of pumping up the suspension temporary just to get by till can sort something out??
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Post by sportingfiat »

right had it in bits changed the pump fuse maxi 8 , the backs now gone up
about 3 inch :) but blown the fuse :(

good news is the pump is working

is there anything obvious that would blow the fuse????
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Post by XantiaMan »

sportingfiat wrote:right had it in bits changed the pump fuse maxi 8 , the backs now gone up
about 3 inch :) but blown the fuse :(

good news is the pump is working

is there anything obvious that would blow the fuse????
Sounds like something may have seized up? I really dont know anything about the C5 but fortunatly it sounds like your making progress and the next person to come along should be able to help you better!
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Post by wheeler »

sportingfiat wrote:
is there anything obvious that would blow the fuse????
A partially siezed pump ?? does it get hot when working ?
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Post by sportingfiat »

not really but only worked for 5 mins before blowing the fuse

saying that i dont know the last time it worked lol could have been blown for months last bloke didnt use it as was quite low
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Post by cachaciero »

sportingfiat wrote:not really but only worked for 5 mins before blowing the fuse

saying that i dont know the last time it worked lol could have been blown for months last bloke didnt use it as was quite low
I seem to re-call reading somewhere that the original fuse value 50 Amp was uprated would suggest increasing the fuse value to 60 Amps and trying again.

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Post by cachaciero »

Having thought about this problem a little more I would suggest the following course of action.

You said the pump ran for five minutes before blowing the fuse. I would not expect the pump to run for more than a couple of minutes after which the suspension should be to height and the pump switched off. Further you say the back rises but the front doesn't, this may be because there is a blockage to the front suspension or the EV (in the pump is closed).
My feeling is that the pump is running for so long because there is a problem exterior to it, maybe t the rear height corrector is not working and the pump is continuing to pump a fully extended cylinder, if the front system has a problem also this may well overload the pump.

First thing to do having replaced the 50Amp Fuse with a 60Amp is to select the suspension to the low position. In this position the pump should only run for a few seconds if it runs at all and the back of the car should not rise, if it does then this would suggest that there is a problem with either the height sensor or the Electrovalve which is within the pump assembly. Would be worth checking that the Height sensors both front and rear are NOT seized.

At this point without a Lexia the only way of proving whether the problem is the ElectroValve in the pump or the height sensor is by substitution. There may be some value in switching the front and rear height sensors however as you have no certainty that anything is good it may be worth investing in a new height sensor.

If this works i.e back doesn't move pump doesn't run and fuse is still intact then the next thing to do is to use the boot switch to raise the rear suspension (advantage of the estate! :-)
Ah! you don't have the user manual, in the boot LH side looking in you will see a Rocker switch with this you can raise and lower the back of the car for optimal loading height. This will work with the engine of so now the suspension is on it's low setting but using this switch you should be able to raise the rear to Max Suspension height at which point the pump will switch off should take about 45 seconds.

Right suggest you do this and let us know the result don't really want to write lots if you aint interested. :-)

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Post by AndersDK »

Backing up on Cacachieros good points here.

The suspension electric pump motor should run nowhere in the vicinity of 5mins to pump up the car under normal conditions.
I suggest checking the rear suspension cylinders leak-off hose for a huge leak flow.
Its the rearmost (towards rear of car) plastic hose in the cylinder bellows.

Find a piece of approx 5mm tubing and a container to collect leak-off, then unplug the original hose, prop it with a suitable drill-bit, insert the test hose and try run the engine/pump for 30seconds, no more.

Test both sides cylinders.

There should be a maximum of some few drops pr minute, to allow for lubing the cylinder and seals.
Nothing like a constant fluid flow.

Another thing to check is that the rear swing arms rubber end/rest stops are in place, as these will prevent the height potientiomer in getting "beyond" a sensible height value, i.e. the rear is then allowed to sink TOO low.
This is a known issue on C5's that denies to get up on their rear legs ...

NOTE : it is important to understand, that the electric pump motor must not under any circumstances be allowed to run for lengthy periods.
This will overheat the electric motor (consumption 600Watts !) , possibly damaging it and quickly drain the battery.
Also the MAXI fuse is exactly dimensioned to possibly burn out very close to the rated motor current consumption, for the very same reasons.

Fiddling with this could very fast lead to a burnt out electric motor ...

The Electric pump is only supposed to run for a short period initially to charge the suspension.
During drive it will only briefly run a few seconds to correct for lost pressure or increased vehicle carrying load.

Edit : new suspension cylinder seals are avilable for a DIY cylinder overhaul :
BX BK
Xantia BL OPR 06779 (02jun95) ->
C5 BL -> OPR 9822 (01oct03)
5272.18 O-RING DIAM 37,3 EP3,6 - 10,54 DKK
5272.29 SEAL (tephlone) DIAM 37 EP3 - 27,89 DKK
5272.31 SEAL (felt) DIAM 38X44 EP2,4 - 11,29 DKK

Xantia BK OPR 06779 (02jun95) ->
C5 BL OPR 9823 (02oct03) ->
C5 BK
5272.28 O-RING DIAM 40 E 3 - 9,70 DKK
5272.30 SEAL (tephlone) DIAM 40 E 3 - 36,55 DKK
5272.32 SEAL (felt) DIAM 41X47 E 2,4 - 21,08 DKK

BL = Berline = sedan = hatchback
BK = Break = combi = stationcar
£1 = 8.50DKK

EDITedit : forgot to add that DK pricetags includes our national 25%vat.
Your national dealer prices should then be considerably lower - exvat.
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Post by myglaren »

It should only take about 1 minute to raise the car from minimum to maximum height.

Tailgate switch ONLY works with the engine off and only (I think, will check in a few minutes) if the car is normal height to begin with.
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Post by cachaciero »

myglaren wrote:It should only take about 1 minute to raise the car from minimum to maximum height.

Tailgate switch ONLY works with the engine off and only (I think, will check in a few minutes) if the car is normal height to begin with.
Nope! will work from low position checked that before writing it up :-)

In fact I ran the procedure as written before I wrote it.

Doing this checks that the motor is controllable via the electronics, checks that the "Pressure" EV opens and shuts correctly and that the "Deplete" EV opens and shuts correctly (assuming that down selection on the switch works). The only thing it doesn't check ( as far as I can see ) is the height sensor.

N.B On my previous post I got a bit dyslexic switch is on the R.H side looking into boot NOT L.H.

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