Citroen Picasso C3 - PAS Failure

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Re: Citroen Picasso C3 - PAS Failure

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

That is great news that your Picasso is now roadworthy again. Don't be a stranger; even if you don't have any car problems thee are plenty of other topics to browse.
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Re: Citroen Picasso C3 - PAS Failure

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Thanks for the update. Glad you have it sorted and can now have peace of mind again.
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Re: Citroen Picasso C3 - PAS Failure

Post by Retired TD »

Hello and many thanks for the positive advice given re my recent problems with the PAS.
I will give this site many visits and hopefully pass on my experiences, over the years that I have gone through.
I have purchased a battery charger and multimeter to try and make sure that my three year old battery performs at its best.
At the moment being retired I literally walk further in a week with our rescue dog than I drive to get our 'click & collect groceries.
At the moment I have a 12.48v reading on a cold engine, which in my opinion I is quite acceptable.
How often would I be advised to charge the battery maybe once a month for 4 hours? This is just this Old Codgers estimate of course.
The charger is NOCO genius 1.

Kindest regards to all.
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Re: Citroen Picasso C3 - PAS Failure

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Being an older C3, it won't have as many electronic ECUs and other equipment that is found on later cars which can draw current when the vehicle is not used. This can be about 6% loss a month where it is not used.

So I would just give it a top up every 4 -6 weeks if you are not using it, as the energy needed to start the car can take a little while to get back - so if you're not using the car very often this can have a cumulative affect. Bear in mind in winter months, the extra power needed to start, headlights, heating defrosting and demisting will also multiply this up considerably.

If you have the car in a garage near the house with electrical access, then maybe a smart charger will be beneficial, where it can be left on the battery (with the battery still connected to the vehicle) and will keep the battery maintained automatically for you.
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Re: Citroen Picasso C3 - PAS Failure

Post by Retired TD »

Many thanks for your comments and advice and in pointing out just what stresses we can put our batteries in especially during these seasonal variance in temperature.

The viscosity of the oil in the engine must have a massive 'drag effect' on the moving parts of any engine, which can be overlooked by many motorists who just expect too much from their beloved vehicles, and wonder why sometimes they 'fail to respond' on a cold and frosty morning.

Just on the humorous side, years ago I read that Rolls Royce claimed that their vehicles 'never break down' - but occasionally they 'fail to proceed' which I thought was a nice quote.

Pleased to hear that a 4hr charge maybe once a month will be a benefit to my usage.

Kind regards...

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Re: Citroen Picasso C3 - PAS Failure

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

Rolls Royce did a lot to help maintain the illusion that they never break down. For example, you hardly ever saw a Rolls on the back of a tow truck. This was because they had done a deal with Pickfords (the removal company), so the tow trucks that Rolls Royce had were, to all intents and purposes, Pickfords lorries (but these were also mobile workshops, with everything a mechanic would need to completely service a Rolls, and a lot more than that).
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Re: Citroen Picasso C3 - PAS Failure

Post by Gregor »

£126 for diagnostics of that ??? I should move to UK! :)
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Re: Citroen Picasso C3 - PAS Failure

Post by GiveMeABreak »

What you have to factor in Gregor, is that these power steering modules are £1,662.00 for the part alone, so a £126 charge for the fault finding, fault confirmation, labour and programming is not bad considering if you had to pay for this yourself.

Also, don't forget that in order to claim this back under warranty, Citroen themselves have to follow a guided diagnostic procedure that is logged and submitted in order for them to claim the cost back from the manufacturer themselves. :wink:
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- GSX-R 750 (110 kW 2008)

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P206 1.4 XS (1999)
AX 1.1 (1991)
R 5 GT-turbo (1988)
Visa 11 RE (1984)
GS 1.3 Super (1979)
R 12 TL (1975)
Zastava 750 (1968)
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Re: Citroen Picasso C3 - PAS Failure

Post by Gregor »

I'm glad that you can trust your garages in UK in such a manner... Since I live in southern region of EU I daily meet mechanics selling such stories to their customers. Mostly AUDI and BMW crew though... For instance BMW 5-er fog lights "can't" have broken bulb change and complete fog light needs replacement costing 150€. They tell you how lucky you are since they have one exactly the same, from crashed car and you can get it for 50€ without receide. Actually they change "special halogen bulb" bought in local supermarket for 0.30€ inside your foglight housing and collect nice profit.
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