Normal Spheres on a Hydractive Car?

Post by **CitroJim** » 26 Aug 2009, 06:58

Knowing now that my fast tick in soft mode is caused by duff electrovalves and it'll be a few weeks before the pennies allow the purchase of a new set, I'm thinking of a temporary workaround.

If I force the suspension into permanant hard mode that'll be too hard for comfort really.

But what if I swap all the corner spheres for non Hydractive spheres? Would that work and give an acceptable and safe ride pro-tem with the hydractive system forced hard?

If so, which spheres might be best?

Interested in all thoughts on this one

DickieG · Post by **DickieG** » 26 Aug 2009, 07:26

That will work fine Jim, there's not a lot of difference in the ride between 1.8 and 2.0 sphere's indeed I'd bet very few people could tell the difference on a straight back to back test.

Other than personal pride, does it really matter that much (worth the hassle of swapping sphere's) if the pump is cutting in every 5 seconds bearing in mind you're sorting it out very soon.

Post by **CitroJim** » 26 Aug 2009, 08:18

Thanks Richard

Are you home now? Are you going to Stratford this weekend?

DickieG · Post by **DickieG** » 26 Aug 2009, 10:35

CitroJim wrote:Thanks Richard

Are you home now? Are you going to Stratford this weekend?

At this very moment I'm waiting I'm at Kos airport waiting to check in

I'm certainly intending to go to Stratford unless SWMBO has other ideas

Post by **Peter.N.** » 26 Aug 2009, 12:34

Hi Jim

I would probably be inclined to leave them on after you have repaired it, you would have a lovely ride.

Peter

steelcityuk · Post by **steelcityuk** » 26 Aug 2009, 14:11

The trouble with the pump cutting in so much is the extra wear and tear on the pump and they aren't cheap.

Have you tried taking the electrovalve apart to see if the O ring has failed? My Xantia used to make a noise like a toilet cistern filling after turning off the engine and this is what I traced it to.

Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs with this, I think you know more about it than I do.

Steve.

xmexclusive · Post by **xmexclusive** » 26 Aug 2009, 14:39

According to Citroen electrovalve "O" ring failure can be identified by the following symptoms:
After a prolonged stop, the vehicle suspension takes a long time to rise.
The hydraulic pressure warning lamp lights on hard acceleration or when driving at sustained speeds when hydractive suspension is in firm mode.

John

Post by **CitroJim** » 26 Aug 2009, 16:59

Thanks all

No, I've not pulled my valves apart yet Steve but I have dismantled a known duff valve recently to learn how they work. I do know the O rings are not the problem as all is absolutely fine in hard mode.

I have a set of non-hydractive spheres on order and will pop them on as soon as they arrive. I quite agree that it's not a good idea to run for long with a short tick rate as it really does stress things. It's maybe the reason why I needed to have my pressure regulator refurbished in the first place.

Stempy · Post by **Stempy** » 26 Aug 2009, 18:53

I wonder if at some stage it has had the wrong fluid put in it and that's why you are having these hydraulic failures

Toby_HDi · Post by **Toby_HDi** » 26 Aug 2009, 19:09

DickieG wrote:At this very moment I'm waiting I'm at Kos airport waiting to check in

Didn't realise you were in Kos, where did you stay? I went a couple of years ago.

Post by **CitroJim** » 26 Aug 2009, 19:16

Stempy wrote:I wonder if at some stage it has had the wrong fluid put in it and that's why you are having these hydraulic failures

Well, now that's a moot point. The system has remarkably clean LHM and it must have been changed just prior to my ownership of the car and I'm seriously wondering if the LHM changes and hydraflushes had been neglected and this was an attempt to resolve what may have been a pre-existing fault. Trouble is, the car came to be broke and with a huge LHM leak from the rear electrovalve body (due to corrosion) so apart from seeing new LHM in the system, I had no idea of the hydraulic condition.

Not too much harm could have done as the tick rate in hard mode is measured in days almost and the car does not sink at all and will stay up for weeks. Everything else is healthy. The pressure regulator was leaking badly before Pleiades workd their magic on it and it could well have been a victim of this fast ticking.

Picking up on your comment Stempy in my other thread on this subject, yes, I reckon it is certainly possible that the valves could have worn through neglected LHM changes. I do have the full service history for the car so I'll have a look through it and see if it gives me any clues.

citrov6 · Post by **citrov6** » 26 Aug 2009, 19:43

i'm guessing soft mode sphere bumps damping up 1.0 or so giving you a lot of options from the non-hydractives?

it occured to me that the pump would be pushed harder without the support of the soft sphere in bx corners that are an extra 25% in volume, i have no idea if thats the reality of it

steelcityuk · Post by **steelcityuk** » 26 Aug 2009, 21:47

xmexclusive wrote:According to Citroen electrovalve "O" ring failure can be identified by the following symptoms:
After a prolonged stop, the vehicle suspension takes a long time to rise.
The hydraulic pressure warning lamp lights on hard acceleration or when driving at sustained speeds when hydractive suspension is in firm mode.

John

I never had any of those symptoms, the ride was just not great unless the road surface was very smooth. The regulator cycle time was pretty short too - nearly forgot that.

Steve.

Post by **Peter.N.** » 26 Aug 2009, 22:54

One of mine has though!

Post by **xantia_v6** » 27 Aug 2009, 07:03

Jim, I have to disagree with your prognosis that a 20 second tick rate will stress the hydraulic system.

Oh no!! a disagreement on FCF!!!

This is a different situation to a fast tick caused by a flat accumulator sphere, where due to the time taken by the regulator to react, there will be sharp spikes and dips in the system pressure.

In your case, with a good accumulator, the system pressure variation should be minimal, with no component seeing abnormal pressures, just the regulator going through a few more switching cycles.

Remember that when the car is being driven (particularly an Activa), there is a lot more draw from the system than when static, and the regulator will often be ticking every few seconds anyway.