C5 Tail Lights

[van ordinaire]

Yet another saga demonstrating what a rubbish car the C5 is [a view expressed many years ago by someone who said he'd had more problems with his under warranty than his 3 E-types (one a V12, one heavilly modified for long distance events) - & NOTHING has changed, witness all their faults & problems that dominate this forum] Oh, & yet another car that doesn't co100 yearsmply with the lighting regs, which, a-f-a-i-k, still requires rear fogs to come on with sidelights - & go off with mainbeam.

Rear lights pre-date electricity & remained, largely unchanged for 100 years than an idiot had a "better idea" which achieved absolutely nothing - & they have been universally unreliable & difficult to fix ever since.

There was a period (maybe mid-'50's - 1990) when a walk round with the lights switched on before any journey was really necessary, about then came "bulb out" warning lights, for the ignorant & lazy, highlighting that that they were more likely to fail - now that procedure is absolutely essential (although, of course, if you found a bulb out, chances are there's nothing you could do about it. Progress? Pah!!

[myglaren]

An exercise in how to make simple things complicated.

[GiveMeABreak]

Where's the noose? - Reading some of comments here are sooo depressing and ill-informed.

I don't know where you are getting your info from VAN? But it does seem to be from somewhere in the dark ages.

Fogs DO NOT come on with sidelights - what are you on about? Fog lamps are only intended to be used in FOG or where visibility is extremely poor. How they come on is entirely irrelevant.

The idea on MOST modern vehicles is to have them switch off under certain conditions in order to save us from the idiots that drive around with them on all the time having forgotten to switch them off. At least with these systems, whenever the headlights are automatically switched off, so are the fogs - makes perfect sense. How many of us have been following cars with their fogs fully on so that we can't see their brake lights properly?

The C5 is a highly advanced vehicle when it was introduced - showcasing the advances in vehicle electronics using data networks to reduce wiring and to provide enhanced safety features and redundancy. Like anything though, electronics are sensitive to water, temperature and other atmospheric conditions. In all my years of Citroen ownership I have not had any electrical wiring or BSI issues, Steering racks - yes plenty of those replaced!

Modern electronics are not limited to the C5 or indeed any PSA cars they are found on all new vehicles and the principle is being advanced all the time to be able to do more with less.

There will always be some bad eggs in the basket - again not unique to PSA to be fair.

I recall plenty of colleagues with Jags - and specifically I've known plenty of people with XJSs that all suffered atrociously from electronic failures, poor wiring, rust and the like, but unfortunately it's a little impractical these days to use oil lamps on your vehicle!

Simple preventative maintenance is something I always do on wiring - thoroughly covering the exposed plug wires with insulation tape to keep out moisture, which I have to admit seems a bit shoddy - but they all seem to do it. Not driving through rivers on flooded roads. I mean after all the storms and floods we've had in recent years - how do second hand owners know they aren't driving round in a car that's been a barge at any time. There are just too many variables, but it's not fair to give the C5 a bad name - I'm sure there are plenty of Fords and other tin cans on wheels that suffer equally.

[myglaren]

My C5, and the previous one, will light up the foglights with both sidelights and dipped headlights.
Not surprising as it is legal, even in town, to use sidelights plus foglights.

[GiveMeABreak]

Yes Steve they can be also be activated even on the X7 with sidelights only - my issue is that Van was going on about not complying with regs. because they don't come on with sidelights and go off with main beam.

Oh, & yet another car that doesn't co100 yearsmply with the lighting regs, which, a-f-a-i-k, still requires rear fogs to come on with sidelights - & go off with mainbeam.

Yes, you are quire right it is not illegal at all - just that they can only be used at the rear in poor visibility. It is not a legal requirement for front fogs.

You MUST use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced, generally when you cannot see for more than 100 metres (328 feet). You may also use front or rear fog lights but you MUST switch them off when visibility improves (see Rule 236). Law RVLR regs 25 & 27

I don't know what Van will do if he ever gets a car with auto dipping lights!

[sparksie]

Hi all

Given my personal circumstances and the amazing ability of this particular one to change it's mind about the symptoms it wants to display from one day to the next, I decided to get a colleague who still has access to a lift to help out with (take over, maybe?) solving this one.
I'm now of the opinion that a wiring harness has been left in contact with a moving part/parts and is being chewed up. I can't bend over the car, nor crawl underneath it for long enough to investigate this, at the moment.
I'll let you know what we/he find and how it gets fixed, assuming it ever gets that far.