C5 Hpi Exclusive Alarm Problem

[andyf117]

Hi

Hope someone can help....

I have a 2002 C5 Hpi Exclusive, and for the last few days it has suddenly decided that the boot is constantly 'open' (shown on the display complete with warning bleep), which in turn appears to be continually triggering the alarm when parked....

As I work nights and the car is in a secure car park, simply leaving it unlocked isn't a problem - however, when parked on the driveway at home during the day that isn't an option (alarm has just gone off again as I'm writing this!)....

Can anyone advise what the problem may be and how to fix it - or, at the very least, tell me how to disable the alarm as an interim measure, please? I've tried switching off the volumetric (interior) sensor, but that re-sets every time I open/close the doors....

Thanks in advance!

[quintet]

If I'm not mistaken the actual switch for the alarm is built into the lock mechanism in the boot lid so isn't really a repairable item unless you wish to strip it down & suss out whats up with it. Is your car an estate or hatchback? the reason i ask is that the switch that opens the tailgate glass is prone to failure on the estates but generally i've found the boot-locks on the hatchback to be fairly reliable (unlike the door locks!!! )

If it were my car i'd probably opt to replace the tailgate locking mechanism (not a hard job) but i'd check the condition of the wiring first & in particular the wiring that goes from the tailgate & then into the actual car, it's not uncommon to find broken wires in this region. It sounds obvious but i'd also check the catch mounted on the lower boot aperture panel, I've tightened more than my fare share of these up after they've come loose. (x2 torx 30 bolts if i recall correctly)

[andyf117]

Thanks for the response....

It's a hatchback, and the catches on both tailgate and fixed appear OK - had thought of the wiring already, but as the boot hardly gets opened (hadn't been used for at least two weeks prior to the problem starting), not sure why the issue should suddenly occur. Moisture, maybe?

Had the 'boot open' warning again coming home this morning, opened and closed it once back and locked the car using key rather than remote - as far as I know (having been asleep), the alarm hasn't gone off today....

[andyf117]

OK, looks like this is a more serious electrical problem than first thought - the car was parked up at 7.30am Sat, and not used again until 9.30pm Mon....

....I say 'used', except that when I got in it, absolutely nothing happened. The indicators didn't flash when I unlocked it, and only the footwell interior lights came on when I opened the door - tried to start it, and there was no life in the battery whatsoever. The only thing that came on when I turned the key was the display screen, which ironically showed the 'Go Into Economy Mode' message.....

I know it's not the battery, as that was replaced a month or so after I got the car last year - presumably whatever is causing the 'boot open' and associated alarm triggering is also draining the battery. Short circuit?

[andyf117]

And the saga continues....

Charged the battery up yesterday, put it back in at 9.30pm - car started OK....

Set off for work, didn't get the 'Boot Open' display on the screen this time, but continually got the 'Automatic Windscreen Wiper Activated' message instead (usually only see that after I've used the wipers manually)....

Was half-a-mile up the road before I realised that the speedometer is now not working - started up OK this morning, no wiper message driving home (with wipers in use), but still no speedo....

Does anyone have any ideas what's happening, please?

[quintet]

On the early c5's there was an issue with the door locks staying 'active' & draining the battery but i only recall seeing this happen to 1 C5 & i remember it because the car in question was our first C5 courtesy car. Despite the age of the battery you have on your car the first thing I'd be doing it getting it checked, even if only one cell goes down it'll weaken the others & after time it'll knacker the battery. I think it should be a 640amp battery, not 100% though. If however the battery is dead then it could well be something draining it on the car, one way of testing for this is using an ammeter with an inductive pick-up which you use on the battery lead, there will be 'a' reading on the ammeter but it'll be nominal, if it's high then something is draining the battery even though all the electrics are supposedly switched off, if you dont have this meter then it could well be time to pay a visit to an auto electrician or better still a citroen dealer who'll be able to use their 'lexia' diagnostic tool, if you do take it to a dealer then they can operate the dash via the 'lexia' & they'll be able to test that speedo (a simple re-boot might fix that fault although oddly C5's don't always take kindly to a re-boot ). Like i said earlier the 1st thing to do is get that battery properly tested, a weak battery can throw up all manner of random electrical issues, if it's ok you can then rule it out of the equation.

[andyf117]

Funny you should mention doors, as that's the latest addition to the tale!

Started it last night, and left it running for a couple of minutes whilst I put the bins out - went to get back in and driver's door wouldn't open. Rear and passenger side opened OK, had to lean across and open mine from inside. Similar situation this morning at work - started it up, left it running whilst went to clock out, then couldn't open driver's door from outside again....

Pretty confident it's not going to be the battery at fault - bought a Bosch Silver one last June after a few situations where the old one was draining when the car wasn't used for a couple of days. That appeared to be down to the SatNav, as I 'killed' the unit early in the process of battery disconnection and re-connection, and after removing the disc (which it constantly kept trying to read), I didn't have any further problems....

I don't have any way of testing it myself, and am reluctant to spend dealer prices on diagnostics as it's starting to look like throwing good money after bad - only bought the car last April (when my beloved Xantia Activa was an insurance write-off after being 'nudged' by a mobile crane), and as well as the new battery, spent £800 on new HP pump and pressure regulator in October after the car 'died' when taking my wife to the airport August Bank Holiday weekend (she missed her flight and weekend away), and then got increasingly worse over the following five to six weeks....

Wife wanted me to get rid of it then, but difficult to trade-in a non-runner, so bit the bullet and spent the money to get it fixed - now these electrical problems have arisen, it's back to being urged to get rid. Looking at part-exchanging for a 04-05 VTR, but dreading the thought of trade-in value probably being less than the money I spent three months ago to get this one going again...

[myglaren]

Try pushing the door 'more closed' and it will probably open easily - mine suffers from this from time to time.
Spray the lock with silicone lubricant and it goes away for a while.

[quintet]

Funny you should mention doors, as that's the latest addition to the tale!

Started it last night, and left it running for a couple of minutes whilst I put the bins out - went to get back in and driver's door wouldn't open. Rear and passenger side opened OK, had to lean across and open mine from inside. Similar situation this morning at work - started it up, left it running whilst went to clock out, then couldn't open driver's door from outside again....

definitely sounds like the infamous door lock issue to me that, at least you can still open yours from inside, sometimes the deadlocks kick in & then it can't be opened at all (long story short...) get your door lock mechanism changed now before it packs up altogether be it a 2nd hand one from a breakers yard or a new one (I'd opt for a genuine one if it we're my car).

I've changed more my than my fair share & i think they're pretty easy to do.

[andyf117]

Thanks guys....

Speedo's still not working, and the 'Boot Open' display is back again.....

Sit and eat my 'lunch' (if you can call it that at 04.30!) in the car, and for last couple of nights have noticed a brief whirring noise from behind the right-hand side of the dash followed by a click from the glovebox area, both of which repeat every minute or so....

Whatever it is, it's apparently causing the battery drain, as had to be jump-started this morning to get home....

Beginning to agree with wife that it's time to get rid....

[myglaren]

I get that a few minutes after ignition off.
I think it is the air con flaps closing.
On mine it only happens once though.

[dp]

I have had experience of battery draining and strange effects after alarm problems and it turned out to be a loose battery connection.

Also get alarm/locking problems after heavy rain - I fear that water must be getting onto some wiring somewhere. I leave the car facing downhill on the drive and have been meaning to test it facing the other way, but it is an infrequent problem and seems to go away once its dried out.

[jimleshed]

Batteries can die at any age, and as previously mentioned, will give all sorts of odd problems (when mine went I had intermittent immobilizer faults, dead speedo, window problems). So, it may still be worth testing the battery. While you cant do a "proper" test you can pop down to you local B&Q and get a cheap voltmeter.

Leave the car locked (overnight?), open it, sit in the car, measure the voltage you get in the accessory socket by the handbrake. At rest a good battery should be giving you 12.5V (DC).

Switch on the ignition, but don't start it. Measure the voltage again, it will have dropped, but not too dramatically (say, down to about 11.5?) and you will notice the voltage rising slowly.

Start the car, test the voltage again. It should be about 14.5V.

When my battery was on the way out the voltage at rest was very low. 10v odd, and dropping to 8V with ignition on. Actual levels are noted in a post of mine a couple of months ago.

One good thing, if the battery is at fault and you only bought it last year, its possibly still in warranty!