C5 suspension doesn't work with the engine running

[vinypeps]

Have a serious suspension fault on my C5 estate, had a diagnostic report on the car today which shows steering angle sensor fault -128, the pump runs and corrects the height when the ignition is off and he got the suspension to raise and lower manually with the laptop,.

Question is has anyone else had similar problems, the guy felt it could be a wire broken or the sensor itself, would a faulty sensor stop the height correcting, , can you buy the sensor or is it a trip to the stealers ? mine is a 2001 SX estate 2.0 hdi.

[Lighty]

The steering angle sensor is part of the comms unit. A new one will cost you in excess of £300. -128 is the degree reading that they usually give when faulty. It could be worth trying to recalibrate using the Lexia as they sometimes loose the setting. I have had a few break when jump starting has occurred. In my experience NEVER use jump leads on a C5.
I seriously doubt this will be causing your problem, as many cars work ok with the steering angle sensor broken.

[Citroenmad]

I often find a few common fault codes when putting a C5 on a Lexia. One of them is the steering wheel angle sensor and really, if you dont have ESP (which yours probably doesnt) and your is not a full hydractive, then I can't see it causing a problem, certainly it wont cause the problem you have there.

It is odd that the pump works with the engine off via a Lexia but not with the engine running using the in car buttons. Can the Lexia operate the pump with the engine running?

If you put weight in the car and open a door, does it pump up to normal height?

[vinypeps]

not sure that its the pump that works with the ignition off , what it does is make that whirling sound and levels the suspension. the guy who did the diagnostics made the front and rear move separately "with" the engine running from the laptop, the main problem is it has the glaring " serious suspension fault " on in the display and if you load anything into the boot area it sinks down and stays down.

[myglaren]

The whirring sound is the pump motor.

[Citroenmad]

The sinking at the rear could well be the height corrector. The pump is working or you would have no height change at all.

[reblack68]

I had that problem on our C5 estate. It turned out to be caused by a bad connection in one of the brake light bulbs. On a normal car this would just mean that brake light would work, or possibly give you fairy lights when you brake, but on the C5 it caused the centre brake light to glow dimly all the time (even when parked).

I'd regarded the brake lights and suspension as separate issues but the suspension issue resolved itself when I fixed the brake lights. I've since discovered, from myglaren I think, that the suspension pump isn't supposed to work under braking so it did make some sort of sense.

[myglaren]

That's a thought!
It is true that the suspension pump won't run when the brake is applied. Presumably to prevent the car being destabilised in an emergency situation.

The pump does run on this one though, when it feels like it apparently.

[reblack68]

The pump ran on mine with the ignition off. That was the workaround I used before I managed to fix it- when the car started to feel a bit "jiggly" I'd pull over and switch off to let it find its level again.

[vinypeps]

A quick update on this, I have lived with the suspension fault day to day as it raises to correct height with the engine off, last week the car went into economy mode on the display after the ignition had been left on overnight by mistake ( my daughter had blown up an airbed through the lighter socket and forgot to turn the key back off ) the battery was nearly flat so I used my jump pack to start it, as I got into the car I felt the suspension rise straight away, I couldn't believe it, went to the back and opened the tailgate and sat down, again the car adjusted to my weight, brilliant I thought it works again, short lived euphoria as 2 days later came out started her up and turned the steering wheel to pull away from the kerb and the serious suspension fault message reappeared, now it back to no height correction with the engine running, I have tried draining the battery by leaving the headlights on and got it to show " economy mode" again but it hasn't corrected itself again. any ideas ?

[myglaren]

You might try giving the battery a full 48-hour charge, noting the procedure for battery removal and reinstalling.

C5s really don't like low battery voltage.

[vinypeps]

I would try the battery removal guide but I cant lower the car as in the first part of the procedure, the height adjustment doesn't work due to the serious suspension fault, catch 22 springs to mind

[Jabo]

One of them is the steering wheel angle sensor and really, if you dont have ESP (which yours probably doesnt) and your is not a full hydractive, then I can't see it causing a problem, certainly it wont cause the problem you have there.

Sorry to hijack the thread. I have Hydractive 3+ and the same steering angle sensor reading. What problem could it cause?