More Xantia stoplight/pressure issues

[mirafioriman]

I had a problem with my early Xantia sinker with the stop light taking an age to go out and the car being slow to rise particularly in the mornings.

After changing the accumulator sphere I thought the problem was resolved, however the stop light is getting slower to extinquish at times. This morning it took an age and the car was very slow to rise.

Can anyone suggest things to check to identify the fault?

[Deanxm]

What are your regulator 'tick' times like?

D

[mirafioriman]

I think it is now (after changing the accumulator sphere) very seldom perhaps 45 seconds apart.

[Deanxm]

sounds like your hydraulics are ok then, i wonder if you have a slight leak on the pump feed pipe and air is getting in over night, does the light take an age to go out but when it does the car rises ok or does it take ages to go out and then flickers a bit and the suspension rise realy slowly? also whats the steering like? does it keep going stiff if moved quickly or first thing in the morning or are there no problems with the steering at all?

Sorry for all the Q's but it will help to narrow down possible causes.

D

[mirafioriman]

Steering seems fine. Once the light is out and the car is up the brakes, steering and suspension all seem to work fine.

When the light goes out it stays out. No flickering now (it did before I changed the accumulator sphere). Thecar seems to rise reasonably quickly once the stop light is out.

[Deanxm]

ok, look for signs of dampness on the pump feed pipe and that both ends are tightly secured also make sure the pump belt is in good condition and is nice and tight, if its a V belt it needs to be really very tight, if there is no problems there im sure there will be more suggestions, out of interest how long does it take for the stop light to go out roughly?

D

[mirafioriman]

Thanks, I'll time the stop light in the morning

[mirafioriman]

Timed it this morning. Of course today it seemed much quicker. About 25 seconds for the stoplight to go out and another 15 for it to rise to full height.

Last night I parked facing down the hill, usually I park facing up the hill. Perhaps tomorrow I should try it the other way just in case it's something to do with the angle that the car is parked at?

[Deanxm]

It does seem rather slow then, did you have a look at the feed pipe and pump drive belt?, if it changes depending on the angle the car is parked i would suspect a leak on the feed pipe, this will allow air to be drawn in under use or when left to stand (fluid will not leak out) and so the pump will take a long time to prime itself on the first start.
My XM usualy extinguishes the light after a couple of seconds and rises to full height within 5-10 seconds with a reg cycle time of 1min to 1min 20 but ive done a lot of work to the hydraulics and it has a rebuilt pressure regulator which makes a big difference.

D

[citroenxm]

What are your sucktion and return filters like in the LHM Tank.. Not forgetting the circular one thats hidden and needs a twist to extract.. My mums was SOOOO think with s**t it was affecting the steering!! Cleared it all up job was a guddun... I posted the work on here some where!

[Deanxm]

fluid condition will also play its part, dirty filters as Paul says will cause problems but more with the steering as that uses a high fluid flow but if your steering is fine maybe not.

D

[mirafioriman]

The belt could perhaps be a bit tighter, was going to do it tonight but of course it started raining!

Not had chance to check the feed pipe yet but I'll do that too.

About 18 months ago I changed the LHM and cleaned the filters. I will check the filters again though just in case.....

One last clue the stoplight seems to take longer to go out in cold weather.

[mirafioriman]

Timed the stop light again today. Only took 15 seconds to go out today?

[mirafioriman]

Tightened the belt today. I also cleaned the filters and checked the fluid. The fluid is a lovely bright green, the filters were a little dirty but not too bad. I cleaned them anyway. There were two in the top of the reservoir. Are there any more?

Will check and see the results in the morning.

Front ride height seems a bit high too, another job to do

[mirafioriman]

Checked the stop light today after an overnight rest it took 5 seconds to go out and after a day at work about 3 seconds

I did tighten the hose clip on the feed pipe at the pump end, not sure if this made a difference?

Front ride height and bleeding of brakes next