Citroen C5 engine codes elm327

[shawnwhite545199]

Hi i have searched all over the internet and cant find anything on this i think its very odd.

I have a 3002 Citroen c5 turbo diesel and is stuck in limp mode (seems like the turbo isnt working)

I have an elm 327 to read the codes a usb one so i hooked it all up and it read the code from the car but i went to start the car and put the battery charger on the
battery and 2 lights on the eml327 box come on (communication lights) and it fried my usb cable and now the cable dont work (cable is a serial to usb from ebay).

Just wondering if anyone would know why putting the charger on the car would send power through the data lines and fry the cable to the point it was hot.

I didnt have enuff time to save all the code to show what the codes where but there was 19 codes.

I attached a pic of the elm327(odb2)

[xantia_v6]

It was probably a ground-loop through your PC back to the mains. That diagnosis is making some assumptions about your charger and PC. I don't think that it was likely caused by anything on the car itself, but it could have caused collateral damage to the electronics on the car. I hope not.

[shawnwhite545199]

Car still starts and runs but still in limp mode i found software to check it but they want $40 to activate software to clear the codes would i be better off getting a lexia from ebay at $50.

[shawnwhite545199]

And its only when i hook the charger to the car the light come on on the elm327 box then fried the usb cable i just cant see how boosting the battery would change anything to do with the odb2 port

[GiveMeABreak]

It depends on what charger or 'booster' you are attaching to the car.

A Lexia is the preferred diagnostic tool and software for PSA vehicles. A $50 off ebay won't really cut it - it is highly unlikely this will be full chip kit which is needed for full CAN car networks, so will not be a good investment. The Revision 'C' full chip kits cost significantly more £100+ in the UK. Third party generic code readers really cannot do anything more than read SOME codes and clear some faults - a Lexia can give a proper diagnostic, plus read the constructor-specific codes, plus provide additionality such as live tests and guided procedures.

[shawnwhite545199]

This will do the job tho right.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AU-Diagnost ... :rk:8:pf:0

[GiveMeABreak]

No - no good for the C5 - as you can see from my previous post and from the listing - that will not work reliably with a C5 as the C5 is not listed! It is not a full chip kit.

[shawnwhite545199]

ahh ok thankyou

[GiveMeABreak]

Although the listings for the full chip kits are more expensive (due to the additional hardware components), you should be ok for the C5 as it looks to have the required resistor and the other hardware parts often missing on the cheaper kits:

So this one should do it - although I can only personally recommend our UK supplier Easydiagnostics. Here is the link for another listing that indicates it is a full chip version:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Lexia-3-PP2 ... :rk:1:pf:0

[shawnwhite545199]

ok thankyou very helpful

[Filberton]

I would fully agree with others that the best answer has to be a a Lexia.

Depending how much you are going to use it though, remember there are a number of FCF members who have a Lexia’s who may be willing to help you not only clear the faults for a lot less than $40 but may in fact have a lot more knowledge than many garages and give better advice.

That said, on all our family cars (not all Citroens) we get the occasional “limp home mode” often by transient signals so I bought a simple OBD2 reader off eBay for a couple of quid which can read some (but not all) codes but will reset the fault light. I keep it in the glove box. This takes the car out of limp home mode although if the fault is still there it may immediately reappear. (Some faults clear but take repeated restarts to clear the light and limp home). This might get you home as it were but you may still need a Lexia, especially after your other problems which may have caused unseen damage. ( sometimes something as simple as “coasting on over-run” or stalling can pop an Oxy-sensor or “devolution” fault so a quick reset can be useful at times)

As said though, a Lexia has to be the answer especially if as you say, your Elm showed “a number of faults” before it fried. A good thing about the Lexia is it will also give you history of previous faults even if they have cleared themselves.

On frying your Elm, it is never good practice to try to start a car whilst a battery charger is connected.(battery boost packs are different as they can kick out 400 amps plus and work differently) as, if the battery neutral has a poor connection the starting current will take the least line of resistance to earth (through the charger or in your case, through your Elm). See the running forum post on “Check your earth leads”

Good luck

[xantia_v6]

A little cheaper than the UK options for a Lexia is: https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/2016-New ... 61755.html I bought one a while ago, and it is a full chip rev C version.

[shawnwhite545199]

Not very up 2 speed with lexia i just through they where for all Citroens

[GiveMeABreak]

Lexia deals with all PSA vehicles (Citroen, Peugeot & DS Automobiles)

[shawnwhite545199]

Ok but i am guessing not all lexias will work on the c5's