Yet again - problem C4 Picasso 2011

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rmunns
Posts: 611
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Location: Southern Dordogne, France
My Cars: 2019 C5 Aircross 2litre diesel, auto.
2018 C4 Pic2 Spacetourer auto. Seems nice so far.
2019 C4 Cactus manual. Didn't like it, lots of niggling points. sold.
2011 C4 Picasso excl. - shaping up to be a disaster, bought June 2019. P/X'd
2009 Citroen C5 X7 exclusive, auto, LHD, 207500km (129000miles) now sold
Citroen Xsara Picasso excl. 2004 2.0 Hdi, RHD, 64000miles. (sold)
Citroen C3 Picasso excl. 2016. sold.
Two Xantias, one petrol, one diesel. sold.

In the past: Renault 16 (in about 1977, for a year). With front pass. seat out transported full bathroom suite from Cambridge to Derby!)
Renault 4TL (in 2011, for a year)
x 9

Yet again - problem C4 Picasso 2011

Post by rmunns »

I'm getting to my wit's end with this bl***y car.
I now have a flat battery. OK, so charge battery.
First question - how the hell do you get to the negative terminal of the Battery? So much gubbins on top of the battery and it looks like the -ve terminal is out of reach (and sight).
I hope there is a simple way to get this charged, otherwise it might be the matches...........
RichardW
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Re: Yet again - problem C4 Picasso 2011

Post by RichardW »

You can't get to the -ve terminal without stripping all the connectors and cover off the battery. Just connect the -ve on the charger to somewhere on the engine / gearbox.
Richard W
rmunns
Posts: 611
Joined: 09 Jul 2009, 22:09
Location: Southern Dordogne, France
My Cars: 2019 C5 Aircross 2litre diesel, auto.
2018 C4 Pic2 Spacetourer auto. Seems nice so far.
2019 C4 Cactus manual. Didn't like it, lots of niggling points. sold.
2011 C4 Picasso excl. - shaping up to be a disaster, bought June 2019. P/X'd
2009 Citroen C5 X7 exclusive, auto, LHD, 207500km (129000miles) now sold
Citroen Xsara Picasso excl. 2004 2.0 Hdi, RHD, 64000miles. (sold)
Citroen C3 Picasso excl. 2016. sold.
Two Xantias, one petrol, one diesel. sold.

In the past: Renault 16 (in about 1977, for a year). With front pass. seat out transported full bathroom suite from Cambridge to Derby!)
Renault 4TL (in 2011, for a year)
x 9

Re: Yet again - problem C4 Picasso 2011

Post by rmunns »

Thanks, Richard. I did think that would be ok, but hesitated because there always seems to be a 'catch' to doing what seems intuitive.
RichardW
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Re: Yet again - problem C4 Picasso 2011

Post by RichardW »

I charged the battery on my 307 like that without problems. Just make sure to switch off the charger before disconnecting to minimise the chance of a spark....
Richard W
rmunns
Posts: 611
Joined: 09 Jul 2009, 22:09
Location: Southern Dordogne, France
My Cars: 2019 C5 Aircross 2litre diesel, auto.
2018 C4 Pic2 Spacetourer auto. Seems nice so far.
2019 C4 Cactus manual. Didn't like it, lots of niggling points. sold.
2011 C4 Picasso excl. - shaping up to be a disaster, bought June 2019. P/X'd
2009 Citroen C5 X7 exclusive, auto, LHD, 207500km (129000miles) now sold
Citroen Xsara Picasso excl. 2004 2.0 Hdi, RHD, 64000miles. (sold)
Citroen C3 Picasso excl. 2016. sold.
Two Xantias, one petrol, one diesel. sold.

In the past: Renault 16 (in about 1977, for a year). With front pass. seat out transported full bathroom suite from Cambridge to Derby!)
Renault 4TL (in 2011, for a year)
x 9

Re: Yet again - problem C4 Picasso 2011

Post by rmunns »

This has taken a weird turn. How complicated can things get?

The car had, since I bought it, slight misfiring, diagnosed as 4 injectors need replacing. I was convinced that this was kosher after first believing that 4 injectors going duff was extremely unlikely. Diagnostics - done twice at separate garages - showed the same. Exactly.

I did nothing except try to get something from previous owner, 'cos it is against french law to sell a car with a fault. That had gone on for 4months or so before I gave up. He was just denying anything wrong when he sent the car to a 'garage' for them to sell it. It was going to cost proper money to go to court, no guarantee of winning ......

Car stood 2 months or so. Flat battery.

I changed the battery.

Fault gone. No 'engine defaut' (faulty motor) on the screen, no SERVICE on the display. Whooppee.

That lasted for 3 months. Not a lot of use (lockdown) but about 500km after the new battery was put on I needed fuel (diesel). I put in the diesel, drove 1km - if that - and up comes the SERVICE and motor defaut. For a few moments I just thought b****r but then it turned to f**k it when I realised the gears were not changing. Paddles work fine but auto doesn't. And car is in limp mode.

Not touched it for a month.

Just (10pm UK time) watched a youtube video about corroded fuses / holders. I'll have a look tomorrow.

Can anyone offer me any comfort? Please?
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Re: Yet again - problem C4 Picasso 2011

Post by GiveMeABreak »

I can suggest getting the battery off and charge it up with a smart charger for a few days - you'll be surprised at how quickly they can discharge with all the polling of certain systems that is going on. During Lockdown, I've had to charge mine 3 times - but now, I've put it into 'Park mode', so that has switched off all non-essential electrical consumption.
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Marc
rmunns
Posts: 611
Joined: 09 Jul 2009, 22:09
Location: Southern Dordogne, France
My Cars: 2019 C5 Aircross 2litre diesel, auto.
2018 C4 Pic2 Spacetourer auto. Seems nice so far.
2019 C4 Cactus manual. Didn't like it, lots of niggling points. sold.
2011 C4 Picasso excl. - shaping up to be a disaster, bought June 2019. P/X'd
2009 Citroen C5 X7 exclusive, auto, LHD, 207500km (129000miles) now sold
Citroen Xsara Picasso excl. 2004 2.0 Hdi, RHD, 64000miles. (sold)
Citroen C3 Picasso excl. 2016. sold.
Two Xantias, one petrol, one diesel. sold.

In the past: Renault 16 (in about 1977, for a year). With front pass. seat out transported full bathroom suite from Cambridge to Derby!)
Renault 4TL (in 2011, for a year)
x 9

Re: Yet again - problem C4 Picasso 2011

Post by rmunns »

Marc - thanks, but I think you read 'changed; as 'charged' in my posting? I took off the old battery and replaced it with a new battery. The brand new battery wasn't flat at all - although I only did a few hundred km, they were 2 or three trips a week of 20km or so (backwards and forwards to the tip after all the lockdown jobs we had got done). My prob. is that the old 'faulty engine' vanished after I put a new battery on, only to come back with a vengeance 6 weeks later (that is, 'faulty motor' sign plus no auto gear change and limp mode.
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GiveMeABreak
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Joined: 15 Sep 2015, 19:38
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C3 1.6 HDi Exclusive Aluminium Grey (The Silver Hornet)
C5 MK II 2.0 HDi Exclusive Obsidian Black
C5 MK I 2.0 HDi SX Wicked Red
Xantia S2 2.0 HDi SX Hermes Red
C15 Romahome White
XM 2.0 Turbo Prestige Emerald Green Pearlescent
XM 2.0 Turbo Prestige Polar White
XM 2.0 SX Polar White
CX 20 Polar White
GS 1220 Geranium Red
CX 2.4 Prestige C-Matic Nevada Beige
GS 1000 Cedreat Yellow
x 5644

Re: Yet again - problem C4 Picasso 2011

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Hi Roger, actually I did read it correctly - but it's still possible for a new battery to discharge when not used as often as normal - and also don't forget that even new batteries can become discharged whilst on the shelf awaiting sale. It's something that even Citroen are aware of when selling new cars - as they've invariable been sat draining away on the vehicle parks. They are supposed to test and charge them prior to hand over to the customer.

So I thought it would be worth you getting the new battery on a maintenance charge and see if it again stops the issue when you reconnect it. You may have a parasitic drain somewhere on the vehicle if the battery is indeed discharging more than normal.
Please Don't PM Me For Technical Help

Marc
rmunns
Posts: 611
Joined: 09 Jul 2009, 22:09
Location: Southern Dordogne, France
My Cars: 2019 C5 Aircross 2litre diesel, auto.
2018 C4 Pic2 Spacetourer auto. Seems nice so far.
2019 C4 Cactus manual. Didn't like it, lots of niggling points. sold.
2011 C4 Picasso excl. - shaping up to be a disaster, bought June 2019. P/X'd
2009 Citroen C5 X7 exclusive, auto, LHD, 207500km (129000miles) now sold
Citroen Xsara Picasso excl. 2004 2.0 Hdi, RHD, 64000miles. (sold)
Citroen C3 Picasso excl. 2016. sold.
Two Xantias, one petrol, one diesel. sold.

In the past: Renault 16 (in about 1977, for a year). With front pass. seat out transported full bathroom suite from Cambridge to Derby!)
Renault 4TL (in 2011, for a year)
x 9

Re: Yet again - problem C4 Picasso 2011

Post by rmunns »

Thanks again, Marc. I'll try that.
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Re: Yet again - problem C4 Picasso 2011

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

This is relevant (although it might not seem so). A company I worked for used to repair Uninterruptable Power Supplies (UPS) among other things for clients. They would ALWAYS replace the lead/acid batteries, leave the UPS (once it had been repaired) plugged in for 24 hours, and then date stamp the packaging. On the first day of each month all of the UPS units on the shelf would be checked, and any that were 'over three months old' would be plugged in again for 24 hours. That way the batteries were always fully charged, and did not rot.
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