Fault finding - 2008 C5 (X7)

[jamie_bkc]

Hi,

So this weekend I bought a '08 C5 VTR+ Tourer from a dealership, very pleased with it. However upon giving it a thorough clean I found that there was a yellow plug un-done under the drivers seat.

In my previous car this was airbag related so I plugged it back in and started up the car, all seemed fine so I went for a drive and found that I got an intermittent warning saying "Airbag(s) or pretensioner seat belts(s) faulty" Sh*t. Interestingly this warning is never stored in the faults log when I press the check button to the right of the steering wheel. I un-plugged it again with the car off and the warning no-longer appears, which I almost find more of a concern, surely un-plugging an airbag should raise all kinds of hell on the dash?

I borrowed an OBDII reader from a friend and searched for faults, nothing to do with airbags although I did get P1351, does anyone know what this is on a 2.0HDI 136? Google returns a lot of vague answers.

I'm going to try going for a drive with the airbag plugged in and have a mate ready to hit "find fault" on the reader if the airbag warning appears.

I will be going back to the dealer about this but I'd like to go in knowing the root cause so that he can't just clear the faults and pass it back to me. If anyone has and advice it would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Jamie.

[Hell Razor5543]

I would definitely go back to the dealership with your concerns, as this is something that they should have checked. However, Citroen (and Peugeot) don't really communicate in the way most generic readers can handle, so you need to get it onto a Lexia. There are forum members with decent clones who are willing to help out. This link should help you find the ones nearest to you;

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

[vborovic]

The CHECK button is not a fault log, as people expect it to be ... it will show tire deflation issues, service interval, maybe some data related to the ECO mode, nothing more (no bulbs that go out, etc) ... Without using Lexia, you'll probably only get vague results for that error ...

[jamie_bkc]

Thanks for the replies so far, I forgot to mention this was a used dealer not a main dealer, hence wanting to go in armed somewhat. Good to know about the OBD readers not being compatible and not to expect much from the CHECK button. I went and nosed at the airbag fuse and in doing so saw that there were two wire ends electrical taped to other wires in the fuse box, looked a bit shifty but I've seen worse factory wiring. Will upload a photo later.

[osx]

I would return the car unless the dealer agrees to pay for a full diagnostic and any repairs.

[Stickyfinger]

And contact CAB....it is ILLEGAL to sell a car with the safety features tampered with in such a way. Get advice so you know how big your hammer is just in case.

BTW....there is a way, resistors are placed on the loom/connector to fool the system into thinking the Air Bag is OK....hence no lights,,,,,not nice to sell a car so "altered"

On a brighter note, there are more cars being broken now at that age so items such as seats/airbags and AirBag ECU's are a lot less expensive than the MainStealers.
It is normally a simple system to work on as it needs to be 100% all the time.....with luck it should not be to expensive to fix. A good Local Auto electrician would maybe a good compromise for both you and the dealer. (paid for by him of course)

"Street Trader" "Pop-Up Caravan Office" ?....forget it

[jamie_bkc]

Thanks for the advice, There's a cit/pug garage nearby that I trust and have helped me out advice wise when I was doing work on previous cars by myself. I'll check in with them and get in contact with the dealer with the verdict. I found the car on autotrader, the dealer was just a basic lot by a retail park with a pre-fab/mobile office type deal at the back. Certainly didn't look like it was ready to get up and disappear.

[Stickyfinger]

Get another person to look at it and Photograph the modifications BEFORE you change anything.....just in case.

[jamie_bkc]

Oh I don't plan on changing anything, just having them give it a look over.

[Stickyfinger]

good luck, act quick

[jamie_bkc]

So the first image is the plug as I found it originally:



And in the fuse box, you can see the white and red wires are taped onto other larger wires but lead no-where.

[DickieG]

And in the fuse box, you can see the white and red wires are taped onto other larger wires but lead no-where.

More than likely an accessory such as bluetooth, DAB radio or suchlike was previously fitted to the car and has been removed by the previous owner, I wouldn't be overly concerned about those as long as they are insulated to avoid shorts.

[jamie_bkc]

Update for those interested, took it to an independent Citroen garage today and they ran diagnostics both plugged and un plugged and couldn't find anything, they're completely stumped, they graciously waived the fee on account of not being able to find anything, which was nice. Calling Citroen main dealers tomorrow morning to see if theres anything they've heard about before, then onto the guys who sold it me.

[Stickyfinger]

Look for something like this

[jamie_bkc]

Ok, i'll have a deeper dig, is that likely to be under the seat or do I need to chase the loom under the floor?

Thanks again.