C5 X7 Tourer post-Covid spruce-up

[citroC5]

Hopefully, the "post-Covid" part of the title won't come back to bite me on the backside.

Even before the pandemic I had decided to add some mod-cons to the car. The first was the RD45 bluetooth-capable radio, but that's got it's own thread (viewtopic.php?t=65396), and I'll mention it again once it's complete. Today I had two changes to the car.

First, some nice new boots:

I was shocked how expensive these were. 225 55 r17 for 116€ each?! My 155mph Volvo got by with 215 r16 tyres and they cost a lot less. There were less-expensive ones but I don't trust super-cheap tyres, and the guy who sold me them is someone I've known for years and I trust not to rip me off. I really hope and pray they're well-performing and long-lasting.

Next, an extra that my wife absolutely hated:

Yes, deflectors on the windows. She thinks they're tacky and reminiscent of mods old men would add to their cars in the 80's. She's sort of right in that respect, but when I drove a Landrover Discovery as a tourist car, it had deflectors that proved really handy. In this country, especially in the summer, it can get really hot even when it rains, and I sometimes I would be carting around five or six tourists at a time in a clammy car with no functioning AC (because Discovery) and these deflectors were great to have.

My C5 has working AC but it stinks even though I've gone through two cans of that desinfectant you leave in the car for half an hour or something while the AC is on full blast but to no avail. Because of this, I'd rather have the deflectors to let fresh air in.

The application was easy, but it takes its time and cannot be rushed. I didn't take any pictures of the installation because my wife sodded off to the gym with my phone in her bag, but I digress.

The deflectors come with double-sided sticky tape already in place and it's just a matter of slotting them into place. They fit rather well but you need to close the windows to make the tape stick. Each deflector also has some stainless steel clips that are shoved into place like the image below illustrates.

Weird thing was I bought them from a Latvian seller and they were made in Poland which is a smidge closer. Postage time was dreadful. Now that they're on, I don't think they look too awful, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say.

Anyway, perhaps someone will find this stuff helpful if not entertaining. More additions to the car to come.

[GiveMeABreak]

Aahh Heko...

I looked at those but went with the German TUV approved Climair ones after looking at some reviews and the comparison video. Pics of mine and the video in my post here:

viewtopic.php?t=55178

Actually the video is funny in parts - the narrator "the trouble is, the wind will ruin your hair do and give you a stiff neck..."

[citroC5]

I think the funniest thing about the video was how German it was. "No, you must keep your wind deflector operating license on you at all times!"

Pity the deflectors I bought seem to be a bit crap, but then again, I'm afraid of regretting having bought them, so that's why I went with the inexpensive ones. Only time will tell.

[GiveMeABreak]

Quite right. They are really useful if you like having fresh air in without the whistling or draughts.

I’ve had mine on a good few years now and they are as good as the day I put them on, so well chuffed.

As an aside, I bought 2 genuine coat hangers for the rear of the front seats. They are one of the most useful accessories I bought too, in case your wallet is itching to be opened.

[citroC5]

Thanks for the tip! But I'll have to wait until my two children are all grown up and don't need to sit in the back seat so often, because they're able to wreak utter havoc with what they have at hand! I haven't cleaned the car since February because having them ride in the car for any period longer than the school run is like having a bomb go off in the back.

[GiveMeABreak]

Probably right on that one!

[citroC5]

I swear that looks like my dad's Cx in the 80's

[citroC5]

Next up, the cigarette lighter/ashtray light. Maybe it's an OCD thing, but when a bulb isn't working in my car, it drives me bananas. Problem is, the ashtray bulb is buried beneath the centre console, so out it came.

I have found various threads right here in the forum with instructions on how to remove the centre console, and I also used this video, even though it's in Spanish:



I don't understand most of what he says but it's pretty straight forward to suss the essentials out.

Unfortunately, I noticed something. The rubber gaiter beneath the leather exterior gaiter on the gear stick is torn. Anyone know what part number that is? What a disappointment to find this. I'll have to put everything back then do it all again at some point in the future.



You can see on back of the 12v socket the bulb and its housing. I didn't expect it to be such a pig to get off but it was, and I think I nearly broke it at some point.



Once apart it looks like this:



This morning, I went looking for a replacement bulb, but I couldn't find a shop near me that sold this type (I think they're 1.2W bulbs, but I found various designations for it). I went to a nearby Chinese shop and found that T5 LED bulbs are supposedly the same thing, and bought a new fancy LED bulb. I didn't get to photograph it because as soon as I got to the car, I promptly lost it down this hole:



Then I had to buy another one, and the only type left was this cheap one:



I was happy to have remembered to test the bulb before reassembling everything again.


For those that don't know, LEDs have polarity and if, in this case, you put it in the wrong way you'll want to shoot yourself for having to disassemble everything again.

So that's that for the 12v socket illumination. However, since I've taken the console apart, I'm seriously considering taking the opportunity to run the USB and Aux wires from my future RD45 radio to the armrest cubby. So more on that later!

[citroC5]

With the centre console out, I did some things. First was to clean up the console itself.


I've been troubled by this uneven look that seems to plague inner trim that's made to look like fake brushed aluminium. When I tried to clean it, bits came off, as if the entire surface was covered in some transparent sheen. I'm sure this is on purpose and a factory finish, but by now it was greasy and sticky, so for the sake of homogeneity, it all came off. If, in the long run, it turns out to be a terrible idea, I'll get it rewrapped but until then, it'll do.

Second thing was to run a USB cable down the middle. One day,my RD45 will finally arrive and I can install it and the missus can plug in USB sticks and she'll be a happy bunny, but I have been having lots of different ideas as to where to put the port. First it was in the tray beneath the radio, then the "secret" cubby that doubles as the fuse box cover on LHD models, to the left of the driver's knee. Then finally I decided to put it where most C5 X7s have their port: in the armrest cubby. I had to cut out a little rectangle of rubber in the cover, and I don't think it ended up looking too shabby:



Problem is, shove in a pen-drive with a modicum of force and that USB socket slides straight out. This socket that's poking through the armrest cubby lining is part of an extension cable that I thought would be necessary, but it wasn't the case, so I just used the RD45 specific cable and made a hole for it. To stop it slipping out, I used some hot glue:



It looks crap, I know, but it wont be visible. The other side that will be visible, looks terrible:


That's a blue plastic bottle-top with a rectangle haphazardly cut into it and it's all kept together with hot glue. It looks dreadful but I was tired and out of patience by this point. Besides, I'm looking for a cover with a hole for a USB socket to replace this eventually. I kept the rubber bits I cut out and I can replace them, even though it'll look Frankenstein-y.

In other news, this is what an LED-illuminated ashtray looks like:

I think that's waaaay too bright, so I'll remedy this by using one of my children's yellow felt-tips to paint the actual bulb.

[citroC5]

The RD45 radio I ordered in early April finally arrived today. Finally!

It didn't come alone, the mudflaps were also delivered. One major snag, though: no car to put these things in.

Yes, the car's away at the paint shop, getting some dings and scrapes wrung out of it.

They may not look like much in the pictures but they're a proper eye-sore to behold in real life. That's what comes from living in a city of moron drivers, though the scrapes on the wheel-arch are my fault, I should admit. The car was supposed to be ready tomorrow morning (Saturday) but the guy rang me up this morning to tell me it won't be done until Monday. Evening. I am gutted. My new RD45 needs a home!

[citroC5]

The car came back from the paint shop on Tuesday, but I didn't remember to post stuff until today.

The job was pretty well done IMHO, the car looks great. The cost for those 3 panels: 195€. Is that expensive? I don't think it is, but that's the exception to the rule as here in Portugal, most car-related stuff is hyper-inflated price-wise. But I digress.

Another problem I had in the car was smelly AC. I had long sought a solution for this issue without having to take it to a sodding mechanic (I've been through about seven different mechanics in the last 3 or so years, I keep changing because the suck so much). I first tried some off-brand, 3.50€ disinfectant spray you leave in your footwell while the AC is blasting. I tried it twice and it didn't work. Then I got some Liqui-Moly Klima Fresh and tried that.

Just like the off-brand stuff, you leave it in the footwell but this product told me to switch off the AC, crank up the temp to the max and then crack open the spray in the footwell. Problem was, the stupid instructions didn't bother to specify what setting the AC should be on during the spray process so I left it in full-furnace mode.

So far, it seems to have worked, but I won't count my chickens yet because there still seems to be a funky smell coming from the vents when I turn the AC off.

Next chapter, I'll be putting on some mud flaps.

[GiveMeABreak]

That won't do it alone. You really need to whip the pollen filter out and be prepared to hoover out a load of dead bugs and such. They get trapped in there and start to rot, along with all the trapped debris from the outside, leaves and other rubbish and this can leave a bad smell over time.

Ideally, a pollen filter change, hoover out of the filter area with a suitable bendy crevice tool, then use your Air Con Bomb, then fit the new filter back.

I did a 'How To' here on my X7:

C5 X7 Pollen Filter Replacement & Air System Clean How To

[citroC5]

Sweet! That's very helpful. Thanks again, Marc!

[myglaren]

Allegedly, when the pollen filter is out and the bugs vacuumed out, spraying with Dettol spray onto the aircon gubbins is effective, cheap and easy.
Not standard Dettol but the spray.

This sort of thing. There are several.

[Hell Razor5543]

Mum has found that white vinegar in a plant spray is very good for cleaning things, and does not have a strong smell (it even works on milk spillages and cat pee!).