multiple warning lights on c3 1.4 desire petrol help needed!

[jdh1975]

HI,
I purchased a c3 from a used car dealer a little over a month ago and now suspect that it had underlying wiring fault(s), as within just 2 days of ownership the airbag and seatbelt tensioner lights appeared, I had noticed that a few connector blocks under the glovebox were hanging down (maybe someone had been trying to resolve an issue?), I relocated these back onto the clips with sliders that were present, similar to a firtree clip but slotted to slide onto underside of connector, surprisingly after doing this the airbag and seatbelt lights disappeared, coincidence??
Anyway On Tues whilst driving I had a vast array of possibly every warning light appear on the dash and onboard display these included airbag, seatbelt tensioner, abs, brake system failure, pollen filter, engine management, serv, sidelamp error etc. On stopping and opening the bonnet, I noticed that the negative battery cable was literally held in place with only one thread of the bolt and was arcing on the battery post. I fixed this issue but the car went into eco mode and wouldn't even crank over, hardly surprising given the circumstances!
The AA were called out and a volt meter used on the battery, apparently battery was full of charge and was being charged, After various attempts at trying to get out of economy mode, the AA guy told me to leave it for 10 mins and try to turn car over, it fired up but the engine management light remained on, he then used the diagnostic and fault codes u1000, u1001, u1002, u1003+- can bus communication fault came up , he removed them but they re-appeared almost instantly and couldn't be removed, he informed me that the whole problem was most likely due to the battery lead hanging off, then he gave me contact details of a garage owned by an ex-citroen mechanic and I drove there, lexia software was used to remove the codes and the engine management light disappeared.
The day after on Wednesday, same problem, the dash was like a disco with all of the lights, so I called AA again and the guy done a proper battery test which showed on the print-out as "battery needs replacing" , I purchased a new battery, fault codes and lights were removed without issue and all seemed fine.
Then yesterday same problem again! AA were called out again and to be fair the guy spent over an hr removing air filter, ecu etc to gain access to 6 body earth points which were all cleaned with wirebrush but the fault remained and the guy had to give up.
I looked at the MOT history online and discovered that in April of this year (bought car in june) the car failed an MOT due to abs warning light being present!
I called 3 auto electricians today who really didn't want to get involved with the vehicle and all of them suggested Citroen dealership, I called Citroen and was horrified at the £95 plus vat charge for diagnostic and £95 per hr thereafter, I explained to them that I have the fault codes already but they wasn't interested, I initially booked it in but then stumbled across a local auto electrician who has had experience with similar problems and at £35 per hr decided to give him a go, it goes in to him on Mon.
Im sure that the sidelamp error is due to the common earth fault in the rear light cluster(S) and this really doesn't bother me, however the can bus issue does seem to worry me a little, has anyone got any idea what I could be letting myself in for, so that I have an idea of what to expect from the auto elec?
Any advice would be really appreciated

regards

[qprdude]

If you have only had the car a month my advice would be to take it back to the dealer and tell him it is not fit for purpose.

[jdh1975]

I have been through that, the car needed an aux belt tensioner and he told me needed waterpump also, returned car as "repaired" but original parts were still on it, sent him a 7 day letter under SOGA 1979 but he didn't respond, got involved with trading standards who will soon be all over him like a rash, decided that it wasn't worth small claims as even though I was 100% sure of success, because he would get a judgment to refund but would plead poverty and i would be spending more to chase the money than it would all be worth, as he is a ltd company!
After a chat with the wife, we decided that for the sake of a £100 Belt tensioner repair, that we would be better off keeping the car.
I am going to claim recourse for any repairs though

[Trainman]

Morning,

Just read this, Firstly, happy to nip over and plug in the lexia to see what we can find, secondly, you could, in the worse case take the Limited Company and it's directors to the High Court, and apply for a warrant against them both........ it's about £65 i think, but those costs can be added to the warrant when they the recovery agent attend.

[citronut]

firstly were are you located as we have on here a map showing were members with Lexia's are

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... 19&t=29178" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

i do see Steve has offered his service's so he may already know your in his area,

have you tried disconnecting the battery and leaving it of for an hour, then reconnecting it,

on disconnecting and reconnecting the battery you must not operate any switch's/electrics for a good minute
( this includes opening/shutting doors ),

after disconnecting and reconnecting the battery, this allows the BSI/ECU's to settle,

[Hell Razor5543]

Morning,

Just read this, Firstly, happy to nip over and plug in the lexia to see what we can find, secondly, you could, in the worse case take the Limited Company and it's directors to the High Court, and apply for a warrant against them both........ it's about £65 i think, but those costs can be added to the warrant when they the recovery agent attend.

If you do decide to do this let your Local Trading Standards know as well. If the directors try to wind the company up it should be blocked as there are disputes pending.

[Sl4yer]

Hi.

Ours has the issues with the rear light clusters - there's evidence of the earth wire getting quite hot! I end up cleaning all the contacts every few months - keep meaning to investigate where the cluster wire plugs (hopefully!) into the main harness and replace it.

The other issue sounds expensive. How old is the car? A Lexia session should give more indications of where the trouble lies.

James

[handyman]

Sounds like all the symptoms of the falling standards in PSA design & build quality.

It is the car dealers responsibilty to effect satisfactory repairs, including re-imbursing you for additional costs, like travel, car hire, phone calls, etc.

If you do take the company to court, you can also go after the directors. Limited company status does not mean the directors are not responsible for the company debts or liabilities. If you get judgement, you can get the directors up before the courts to disclose their own means. Failure to do so means they could go down.

If you are going down this route, use the Govts fast track system.

H

[Richard_C]

Ours has the issues with the rear light clusters - there's evidence of the earth wire getting quite hot! I end up cleaning all the contacts every few months - keep meaning to investigate where the cluster wire plugs (hopefully!) into the main harness and replace it.

Our was similar, the pin for the earth is the same puny size as all others, and when you have sidelights, indicators and rear fogs on it simply won't cope with the current.

I drilled a small hole in the metal bulb mounting plate, it's easy to see which bits are earth (most of it). A wire fixed to it with a self tapping screw. Thread through into the boot alongside the harness. Strip insulation and make a 10mm or so loop in the end of the wire and put it round the light cluster securing bolt then tighten the nut as normal.

You then have a parallel earth wire, been fine for 3 years or so for me, bypassing the original and curing the bing bongs of old. It won't cure all of the OPs symptoms but should help with your rear lights. Plus it's quick and free.

[Sl4yer]

Thanks for the tip Richard!

James

[Martymac1]

novice here,
have the problem with rear cluster lighting up every few minutes:
James reply below sounds like my issue: how do i know which bit is earth to drill and attach a wire to nut.
Our was similar, the pin for the earth is the same puny size as all others, and when you have sidelights, indicators and rear fogs on it simply won't cope with the current.

I drilled a small hole in the metal bulb mounting plate, it's easy to see which bits are earth (most of it). A wire fixed to it with a self tapping screw. Thread through into the boot alongside the harness. Strip insulation and make a 10mm or so loop in the end of the wire and put it round the light cluster securing bolt then tighten the nut as normal

regards Martin

[GiveMeABreak]

See my illustrated post here:

C3 Multiple Bulb Out Warning Fix