Fun with a Lexia...

RustyUK · Unread post by **RustyUK** » 09 Mar 2011, 20:59

Hello all,

I took the plunge the other day on an ebay-Lexia (upon realising I can easily get my money back later!) to diagnose an intermittent but regular "anti-pollution fault" on my C5 2.2HDi (2001). I'm aware that error basically means anything, so opted to try the Lexia as a starting point.

It's quite an existing bit of kit isn't it!

Errors absolutely everywhere, but I've managed to whittle them down to a few unexpected oddities, not at all related to the fault I was looking for:

permanent fault: Blower Open Circuit

That sounds self-explanatory except that the blower works fine, and always has. Is there some other blower whose presence I'm unaware of and whose loss I haven't missed?

permanent fault: Door mirror - deicing output Open Circuit (both sides)

Do these cars have heated wing mirrors? I wasn't aware! Is it likely that both of these would have failed after ten years?

Temporary fault: fuel filler cap sensor signal

This bothers me, but I don't seem to be able to determine when this last occurred. In the 35k miles I've had this car (since 105k miles) the fuel additive hasn't needed topping up. I was never sure if I was just lucky or if it simply wasn't being added to the fuel, and that adds to my concern. I'm not sure what the mileage interval is supposed to be, can anyone say? Also, to add to my fears, when I run the injector actuation test, I can't hear it clicking (the pump works). Is it just really quiet?

And the alarm ECU isn't contactable - but I might have bricked that at lunch time somehow

Regarding the fault I was looking for, three temporary faults:

Turbo pressure signal. Short circuit to positive or open circuit or value too high and Turbo pressure measured too high

I assume those to be the same fault, turbo over-pressure, and very likely I suppose to throw it into limp-home mode until the next journey. I'm guessing leaks in vacuum hoses around the solenoid valve is a likely culprit (or the valve) - although I'm also concerned about lack of eolys in the exhaust, blocking the fap and possibly contributing to turbo over-pressure..? I'm not sure how it's all plumbed together.

Crankshaft - camshaft synchronising. Engine speed signal variation too sudden.

That sounds a little concerning, but unless it reoccurs (i've cleared the faults tonight) I suppose might just be a one-off 'blip'?

Fascinating stuff this. There's so many data points the ECU keeps track of (I guess, some measured, some calculated) I'll be here for weeks studying them all

If anyone around the Wakefield area would like to use this thing, I'm willing to help for a little beer-money.

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 09 Mar 2011, 21:19

Your C5 has certainly going to have you busy over the next few weeks if your going to get through all of those fault codes!

I think all C5s have heated door mirrors, seems unlikely that they would both have failed but not impossible either.

If your FAP additive was not been added then the FAP fails to work, it then gets clogged up - this is a problem that can cause the anti pollution warning.

If your fluid is low it should give a low fluid warning, but then is that working ... It might be worth checking the level of that or just getting it topped up. You need to tell the car with the Lexia that it has been topped up though.

An anti-pollution warning can be a very general error message, usually it is in some way linked to the FAP filter.

It seems the way with the 2.2 136s that most owners will experience the 'anti-pollution' error.

davetherave · Unread post by **davetherave** » 09 Mar 2011, 21:42

I think lexias are good, but it may be worth clearing the faults and seeing what comes back after a week.
When I have diagnosed other newer cars (chris) they have thrown up quite a few random faults that are of no importance.
Still my lexia is a very handy piece of kit.
Tonight ive managed to put it on its own dedicated laptop so it runs better!

RustyUK · Unread post by **RustyUK** » 09 Mar 2011, 21:59

I've cleared what I can earlier today with the intention of seeing what comes back, the only additional fault now is that it won't talk to the alarm ECU - I was blasting through the options with a couple of guys at work this lunchtime, so wasn't paying as much attention as I should do, but I'm 99% sure I could get into the alarm options then (something about Belgian option enabled, something else disabled or not present) - but now it won't open any dialogue with the alarm ECU, and this is flagged as a BSI fault.

Gah

I don't know if I changed anything within it or not! I can still set the alarm with the fob (at least, the indicators blink to suggest it's armed). The alarm is enabled somewhere in the BSI config.

I am however most puzzled by this supposed open-circuit blower - I'm not aware of any environmental controls that don't work!

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 09 Mar 2011, 22:03

davetherave wrote: When I have diagnosed other newer cars (chris) they have thrown up quite a few random faults that are of no importance.

Yes, indeed it did!

None of them really meant anything and the car always worked fine.

One was a fault with the ariel, despite the radio functioning as it should.

Some fault codes are best ignored

I did try to resolve that steering wheel angle sensor fault mine flagged up - even though it has no bearing on that car with no ESP or H3+. Though it didnt want to reset it, so i left it.

One thing i do know about Lexias though, its not a quick thing to use

davetherave · Unread post by **davetherave** » 09 Mar 2011, 22:07

I think that might have just been mine as i had to boot vista then virtual machine, then xp then lexia-- which was a PITA!

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 09 Mar 2011, 22:11

Hmm, when i went to see another FCF member to get my cruise enabled it took an hour or two

SO many options to look into. I really need to get myself one, 3 C5s and the Xm, not to mention any future Citroens, it will be handy!