Citroen C3 1.4HDi Rhythm 2008 AirCon Probs

[zedm]

Hi Guys

I am new to this forum so apologies in advance if my post is too long or has been covered in previous threads.

I purchased a Citroen C3 1.4HDi Rhythm on a 2008 "08" plate for my wife a few months ago from an independent trader in Birmingham. The AirCon was working when I bought the car. A couple of days later it stopped working and I thought it had run out of gas.

last week, while I was driving, it kicked back in and was blowing out nice, cold air again. A day later it wouldn't work.

I went to a chap on Lawden Road in Birmingham and he said my compressor wasn't receiving any power and I had an electrical issue such as a dodgy relay or pressure switch.

He recommended that I still get it regassed at £30 as in his opinion the compressor was fine and I wouldn't lose the gas unless the compressor was replaced. Rather stupidly I paid him to do the job, thinking it was an easy fix, replacing the relay or pressure switch. On my journey home, the Aircon again kicked back in and was super cold. A day later it wouldn't come on.

I initially took it to my mate who is an audio electrician specialising in alarms and stereos. He couldn't really make head or tail of it so I searched the internet and phoned 3 different so called specialists in aircon.

Mechanic No. 1 - He thinks it is a dodgy compressor and quoted me £500 to do the job and "guaranteed" to get the aircon working for that price.

Mechanic No. 2 - He said there was no relay in my vehicle and most of the electrics are controlled by a "BSI" board and it was quite common that this would be faulty. He quoted me £500 as a minimum and warned me that this could rise to £1000 depending on if there is anything else wrong with the car.

Mechanic No.3 - This guy spoke the most common sense. He said I should start off at the cheapest option which is replace the pressure switch and if it still doesn't work then take the car to a Citroen dealer who could diagnose to see if it has any faults within the BSi board. He said I should budget for about £500 - £600 if it is a faulty BSI board and best case scenario is £100 to replace the pressure switch.

I am kind of left in no man's land and hoped someone could point me in the right direction.

I don't want to spend too much money on this car but I would pay about £100, £150 to get it fixed.

Any thoughts?

[Northern_Mike]

There is a list of people with Lexia equipment - the proper Citroen diagnostics software who will do a session for you much cheaper than the dealer listed somewhere on the forum that I can't work out how to post a link to using my phone . There'll be someone nearish to you.

This is the first thing you must do. Someone will post the link shortly I'm sure.. get it scanned with Lexia, it should give a good clue.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[zedm]

Thanks Mike

I have booked it into Hawk Motors on Weds. He is charging me £45+VAT and guarantees to diagnose the problem one way or another.

Fingers crossed

[myglaren]

A bit too late but the Lexias are here.

[DickieG]

I had similar problems with my daughters C3, the A/C would work fine for several minutes after which the compressor would cut out and not start again until after the car had been turned off. I went through everything with it including various amounts of gas charges, countless Lexia sessions, new pressure switch as well as discussing the issue with a Citroen technician, none of which sorted it. However a simple BSi reset did the job and it still works perfectly to this day, got to be worth a go as it costs nothing!

[Northern_Mike]

Zedm,

As DickieG says, try a BSI reset first.

The Citroen BSI reset procedure is: (follow it exactly!)

Have the drivers window fully open.
Open the bonnet and make sure all equipment is switched off including interior light.
Close all doors and remove key from the ignition.
Wait 3 minutes, disconnect the vehicle battery then wait 15 seconds.
Reconnect the vehicle battery and wait a further 10 seconds.
Switch on the side lights through the driver’s window.
Switch on the ignition DO NOT start the engine at this point.
Hold the lock button on the key down for 10 seconds while key is still in the ignition.
Switch off ignition and remove key open & close door to test central locking system.
Start the engine.

Give it a go and let us know what happens!

[zedm]

This forum is brilliant. I'll certainly try that reset tomorrow.

One more thing: does my driver side mirror have a temperature sensor and could that be the issue as my mirror looks like it's damaged from underneath and is patched up with tape???

Thanks in advance

[Hell Razor5543]

It is possible the sensor is under either mirror, as I have seen them on either side through different models of Citroen. Check on the underside of the mirrors for a small dome, about 5mm high and across. That is the sensor.

[zedm]

Hi guys

I didn't bother taking the car to Hawk Motors as they do not have a specialist Lexia diagnostic machine.

Instead I took it to my mate who has a snap on machine and wound't charge me for a diagnostic.

We first tried to do a BSI reset which he was familiar with but that didn't cure the problem.

His diagnostic machine has located a fault with the aircon system however which is P0532.

He now thinks it could be a short circuit somewhere in the wiring or a dodgy pressure switch

I think I'm going to bite the bullet and go to the main dealers and get it diagnosed.

Your thoughts are most welcome

[RichardW]

P0532 appears to just be low pressure, I'd get the pressure switch replaced to start with - unfortunately that probably needs the gas taking out first....

[zedm]

Hi

I have an update:

I took the car to Citroen Car Specialist on Pershore Road, Stirchley (Birmingham) to have the aircon diagnosed with a Lexia machine. Cost for diagnosis £35 + VAT.

I left the car there and after a couple of hours the chap phoned to say the cooling fan didn't work and regardless whether the aircon works or not, I need a cooling fan as the car would overheat in the summer.

He has advised me to go to a breakers yard to try and get a decent second hand one with a resistor as new one from dealers would be very expensive.

As far as the aircon is concerned, he checked the electrics and said it was all working properly and the pressures were all good and the chances are that as soon as we replace the cooling fan, the aircon would start working.

I am now hunting for a second hand one.

I will post an update as soon as I have one.

[Sl4yer]

Hi.

The cooling fan on our 2006 car was broken when we got it in 2010 (found out the hard way!). Strangely, Lexia thought (assumed) it was running, so the aircon will work until the pressure sensors are tripped.

I've got a Valeo fan for a C3 here...it just didn't fit our 1.6! The Valeo part number is 696238 - let me know if it's any use to you. (It doesn't owe me much by now). Second hand ones were impossible to get for the 1.6, but you might fare better for the 1.4.

James