xantia 2.0hdi hydraulic fluid indicator

[bill hughes]

Hi all , further to my original posting I have since covered about 1500 miles and the orange disc is still stuck at the top of the glass, I have kept an eye on the reservoir level and that it ok, the suspension seems to work as it should, its been suggested that the indicator might be faulty, so does anyone know if replacing it is much of a problem and is it a Citroen only part, many thanks for any help.

[xantia_v6]

I presume you know that the level should only be checked with the suspension at the high setting.

I think that the level sensor comes out by twisting it anticlockwise. It will probably be obvious whether it is faulty, or if the LHM level is too high..

[Mandrake]

Very, very unlikely that the indicator will be faulty. You can remove it by unplugging the wires then turn it anti-clockwise about 90 degrees then pull it vertically up.

Once you remove it you'll see that there is basically nothing that could go wrong with it... As xantia_v6 says you must check the level when the suspension has been set to high with the engine idling for at least 3 minutes. You should also be on level ground. The plastic orange disc should then be between the two lines.

[Hell Razor5543]

And that is the ORANGE disk, and not the BRASS disk lower down (the brass disk is there to close a warning light circuit should there not be enough LHM in the reservoir).

[bill hughes]

Many thanks for all your replies but I have done everything that has been suggested including citarobics and the orange disc will not centralise and tapping the dome glass just makes the disc bob up and down, as I have said before I have had 2 xantia's over the last 8 years and never come across this before

[Hell Razor5543]

Is there any other issues with the car? If not, French cars get confused and need there to be a fault (even a phantom one) for them to be happy!

[Stickyfinger]

You have not said if you have looked into the tank, what level is it at when raised ? (looking into the tank), can you take a photo ?

[Mandrake]

Many thanks for all your replies but I have done everything that has been suggested including citarobics and the orange disc will not centralise and tapping the dome glass just makes the disc bob up and down, as I have said before I have had 2 xantia's over the last 8 years and never come across this before

Surely the obvious conclusion if the disk is too high when the suspension is on maximum height is that the tank is overfilled ?

It's actually pretty common for them to be overfilled as most people don't understand that the level in the tank (checked with the suspension on high) is when the tank is at its most empty - looking down into the tank in this condition will make it seem like the level is very low so many people not familiar with the system would try to add some more oil, then believe the gauge is stuck at the top or reading incorrectly.

Easy enough to prove - syphon about a litre of oil out of the tank while the suspension is on high - I bet you'll find the disk starts working then. Then add back in any required to bring it back to the correct level.

The chances of the level float being faulty are next to nill.

[bill hughes]

Thank you all for your advice, I siphoned some fluid out and the disc has gone back to normal, I had 2 front spheres fitted about 2 months ago and think maybe the garage topped it up too much as I have never needed to top it up since I bought it, thanks once again.

[Hell Razor5543]

Well done.