Help! C5 Won't Start

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JT
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Joined: 07 Sep 2005, 16:16
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Help! C5 Won't Start

Post by JT »

Hi Folks, my car is a 2litre HDI diesel C5 2002 model.
Yeaterday morning after driving to work ( about 24 miles ) I could get a strong smell of diesel. When I opened the bonnet I was met by a cloud of smoke. On further investigation I discovered that one of the leak off pipes between the injectors had been eaten by a mouse or rat and leaked fuel all over the engine.
So I replaced the pipe, dried up all the fuel and on the way home decided to get the engine steam cleaned. I left the engine running while the engine was being cleaned. Drove home and parked the car.
Went to start the car this morning and it won't go at all.
It actually started on the first turn of the key but then died after about two or three seconds. It is turning over but making no attempt to fire!
I have a feeling there is no fuel going to the injectors as it is not making any effort to fire and I don't see or smell any exhaust fumes while it is being turned.
Is it possible the water from the steam cleaning could have done something?
Does anybody know if the fuel pump is mechanical or electrical? or where is the fuel pump located?
Could it have blown a fuse?
Any ideas?
Thanks.
J.T.
JT
HDI
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Post by HDI »

The fuel pump is mechanical , driven off the cambelt , but the injection is electronic , just think of it like a fuel injected petrol engine.
Water may have penetrated an electrical plug and caused the ecu to shut off the fuel.
As the problem is coincidental with the steam cleaning you need to check for obvious problems with electrical connections.
Now using '00 Xantia LX HDI, pov spec :(
My past Citroens :-
'00 Xantia SX HDI, now dead due to accident :(
'99 Xantia HDI 110 Exclusive, RIP :(
'97 Xantia TD SX
'96 Xantia TD LX
'96 ZX TD
'89 BX TD
'88 AX GT
'79 CX2400 Pallas (scrapped :( )
& a couple of Peugeots !
citroenxm
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Post by citroenxm »

Theres a shut of solinoid on the END of the fuel Pump, FACING THE FUEL FILTER.. Check the plug to this, it could have come away with vibration, after a blast of hi power water..

It does a similar job to the old fuel cut off solinoid on the old engines.

Paul
Sharing a pug 207 1.6 hdi Sw 16v.
M reg Xm 2.1 td auto exclusive S2 269k and rising
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A very sad...
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JT
Posts: 63
Joined: 07 Sep 2005, 16:16
Location: Ireland
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Post by JT »

Thanks for all the help and advice folks.
I got home about 8.30pm last night ( had to take the wife's picasso to work ) and went to look at my C5, armed with the hair dryer to dry all the electrical connections only to discover that the bulbous hand operated lift pump had a one inch diameter hole eaten through it.
Therefore there was no fuel in the line on the out side of the filter!!
Must have been done by the same mouse or rat that ate through the leak off pipe in the first place.
I have ordered a new one from citroen in Newbridge at 42 euro plus vat.
Now I have tto make sure the rodents are not living somewhere in the engine bay!!
JT
HDI
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Post by HDI »

Hope the little pest choked on it :twisted:
Now using '00 Xantia LX HDI, pov spec :(
My past Citroens :-
'00 Xantia SX HDI, now dead due to accident :(
'99 Xantia HDI 110 Exclusive, RIP :(
'97 Xantia TD SX
'96 Xantia TD LX
'96 ZX TD
'89 BX TD
'88 AX GT
'79 CX2400 Pallas (scrapped :( )
& a couple of Peugeots !
isisalar
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Post by isisalar »

You may well have the little pests under the bonnet or living close by where you park the car at either end of your regular journey and they do love eating rubber/plastic.
I was in the motor trade for some years and we used to store new cars in a field.The cars had some sort of plastic foam sound deadening insulation on the underside of the bonnets and we had to replace these panels on the PDI on about 90% of the cars.
I've found the best way to eradicicate mice is to use a retokill product which is a square plastic tube arrangement with some green coloured gel type bait, you can see the marks on the gel if it's been eaten.It kills them quite quickly but look out for smells if the die in your house!lLasts about 10 days.
Good luck
J reg 1.9d auto BX first Citroen
M reg 1.9d auto Xantia lx
N reg 1.9 td Xantia VSX Estate
T reg 2.0HDI Xantia Exclusive Estate Present car
M reg 106 diesel red
L reg 106 diesel white
02 Saxo 1.1i desire wife's present car(sadly now very ill cambelt gone- Doh)
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myglaren
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Post by myglaren »

I recall reading a few years ago of a celebrity couple who were abroad on holiday being called by the police and told that there Ferrari had burned to death in their garage.

The tracker/alarm had gone off but that car wasn't moving, still locked up in the garage. A family of mice had eaten through the loom and destroyed most of the electronics and caused a bit of a fire - fortunately the fuel didn't go up, just electronic components and wiring.
fred1
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Post by fred1 »

Hi,

Had similar problems with a C3 last winter except they attacked the fuel supply pipe and primer bulb .

Killed 7 with traps and have now installed an electronic rodent repeller to stand guard over the area of the drive we park the cars in!

On the C3 you have to replace the whole of the fuel pipe work in the engine bay !!!! It is not available in bits.

They seemed to be attracted to diesel.

When we had the first leak I thought it was a small hole that had rubbed in the plastic primer bulb and I repaired it with self amalgamating tape.

But the leak came back a week later and there was then a large hole and no tape. Realised then what was going on.

No other damage though.

Regards

John
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myglaren
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x 4888

Post by myglaren »

It's a wonder that the lads running on chip fat don't have these problems.
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