C3 Faulty Indicator

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stivesc3
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C3 Faulty Indicator

Post by stivesc3 »

I have a diesel C3 2002 with 110,000 on the clock. The right indicator turns itself on without being touched.
Sometimes it comes on as soon as key is turned and sometimes when driving down the road.
It can stay on for a few seconds or indefinitely.
Can be prevented by holding the indicator stick forward.
Initially it was once every hour but now most of the time.
Has anyone seen similar and found an economical solution? The cost to replace stick is around £250 and more for relay.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
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Re: C3 Faulty Indicator

Post by quintet »

Unfortunately this is quite a common problem on citroens, especially ones fitted with what is known as a coms 2000 unit & as you've noticed they are expensive to fix. If your handy with a screw driver (etc) it'll be worth hunting round a breakers yard for a 2nd hand one but i'd advise checking it before removing as like i said it a very common fault across the Citroen range :(

I thought id post an e-bay link to give you some idea of what the unit looks like, ironically the BMW one looks more like the one on your car than the C4 one does (but obviously a totally different unit) but i couldn't find one for a c3 (only had a very quick look on e-bay) http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from= ... Categories" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's an expensive part & for someone thats not done one before not particularly easy but obviously needs doing, especially if your MOT's approaching.

Ps don't bother replacing an relays, it's the stalk unit you need.
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Re: C3 Faulty Indicator

Post by citronut »

if you send me the last 8 digits of you chassis/VIN No. i will get the dealer price and part No. if you hsavent already got it,

as on looking on service citroen there is a vast array of diferent modles of switch gear,

once you have the correct OE No. you can aim it at the factors to cross reference,

regards malcolm
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Re: C3 Faulty Indicator

Post by stivesc3 »

Thanks for the advice. My local garage couldn't be sure whether it was the relay or switch/stalk, so suggested I take it to approved Citroen repairer for computer-assisted diagnosis. With the help of computer the've diagnosed a problem with coms unit and quoted @£200 for parts and £100 for labour. Have seen a few possibles on Ebay but need to get my exact part number. Haven't had the car for a few days but when I've got the VIN, I'll let you know and would appreciate your help to get part number.
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Re: C3 Faulty Indicator

Post by CitroJim »

Presumably the indicator stalk part of the COM2000 unit has sets of contacts and these could be the root cause of the problem. has anyone tried stripping a duff one and seeing if they are amenable to any sort of repair?
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Re: C3 Faulty Indicator

Post by citronut »

the VIN No. is on your registration document

regards malcolm
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Re: C3 Faulty Indicator

Post by Citroenmad »

I replaced the comms unit on myprevious C5 due to a problem with the indicators.

The part was around £180 and I fitted it myself, took me about 20-30 minutes! Remove the airbag and steering wheel and its a doddle.
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The Birdman
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Re: C3 Faulty Indicator

Post by The Birdman »

Some indicators can be fixed with a piece of sponge to sort out the over cancellation , this might not be your problem but the second video on this page although it is Peugeot it is the same part as they are used in the PSA range -

http://www.peugeotcodes.com/peugeot-news.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
For what we are about to receive may we be truly thank full.

http://www.citroencodes.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.peugeotcodes.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: C3 Faulty Indicator

Post by GB »

That's a good idea with the sponge fix.

My C5 occasionally has this problem: when turning right with right indicator on and then turning the steering wheel left it cancels the right indicator and sometimes momentarily flashes the left indicator. Very annoying.

The indicator stalk feels normal when turning the right indicator on, but feels very soft when turning the left. If feels like the tension spring is way too soft.

Just wondering, is it easy to open up the Comms 2000 unit and replace the tension springs? Anyone tried it?
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The Birdman
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Re: C3 Faulty Indicator

Post by The Birdman »

It`s very tricky and you have to be carefull of the airbag ribbon , i`ve opened a few faulty ones before i tried a working one , there a few difference`s but not to complicated, as for the loose indicator i`ve found the sponge is actually the best method of fixing as it`s not actually the springs that are at fault but bad build quality by cheap outsourcing .

ps - buy a black sponge :wink:
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Re: C3 Faulty Indicator

Post by Lighty »

stivesc3 wrote:Thanks for the advice. My local garage couldn't be sure whether it was the relay or switch/stalk, so suggested I take it to approved Citroën repairer for computer-assisted diagnosis. With the help of computer the've diagnosed a problem with coms unit and quoted @£200 for parts and £100 for labour. Have seen a few possibles on Ebay but need to get my exact part number. Haven't had the car for a few days but when I've got the VIN, I'll let you know and would appreciate your help to get part number.
Dont know how you are getting on with this fault, but generally the part price is fixed, as you can usually only get C3 comms units from the dealers, so £200 sounds about right.
£100 for fitting is too much though, my local dealer only charges 0.5 of an hour to fit, so this would be less than £40. hope this helps.
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stivesc3
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Re: C3 Faulty Indicator

Post by stivesc3 »

Thanks again, input much appreciated.

Yesterday, the indicator was coming on every time I switched on the ignition and then every few minutes while driving- possible to drive short distances while holding stick forward.
Discovered that it could be cancelled by squeezing together coms unit near insertion point of indicator stick. Felt that something might have come loose inside, so gave a few firm taps with hammer and sprayed a little WD40 into stick insertion point.
Problem cured - at least for now. No problems for a whole day for the first time since it first happened.
Won't be surprised if problem comes back as there's probably still something wrong with switch.

If it does come back, will try:
1)Specialised switch lubricant - know any good ones?
2) Sponge trick.
3) Buy the unit and fit myself - sounds fairly simple and quick.

VIN is VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff] but may not be necessary now as have part number from coms unit itself.
It does seem like a mechanical/switch fault and wanted to look inside the coms unit but sealed with security screws.
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Re: C3 Faulty Indicator

Post by GB »

According to service.citroen.com the part number is 00006239W8 and it costs £217.42 including VAT. Ouch!


GB
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Re: C3 Faulty Indicator

Post by Suillaebhain »

2002 Citroen C3 1.4 HDI

Exactly the same fault as described by the original poster......................car failed its MOT because of the random flashing indicators

The original Part number is 96474008XT. I was quoted somewhere in the region of £200 for the part and an hours labour to fit. So not cheap.

Found a similar part on Breakeryard.com, 96474013XT for £20, so thought I would take a chance. I'm not particularly mechanically minded
but fitting it was fairly straight forward :-

1 - Apparently the manual recommends disconnecting the battery for at least 30 minutes prior to working on this job. I left it for one hour.
2 - Check the battery is disconnected!!!!
3 - First step is to remove the airbag. Pain in the bum, but once you've twigged it it is quite simple. Use a flat screw driver, mid sized, and insert
it in the holes at 3 and 9 o'clock. It doesn't have to go in too far and once you are in the right place you can push towards the opposite side and feel the spring/tensioner moving. While doing this pull the air bag away with your other hand. Repeat this on the opposite side and the air bag will come away.
4 - The airbag has three connections - two spade and one black/yellow connector. Lever the small yellow piece up and it will come away. This step made me
a bit nervous because of the risk of the airbag. I was extra careful/cautious doing this. Once free, store the airbag away from any animals/people just in case.
5 - Next was the steering wheel. T50 Torx socket on a 3/4" drive was good enough to get this away. Before doing this though, make sure you centre the wheels and then once the T50 torx is away mark the spline so you know where to put it back.
6 - Next I took the cowling off. This exposed four electrical connections, use a small screwdriver to pry these out.This was a T20 Torx and is undone from underneath. Nice and simple. :-)
7 - Finally, the COM unit is held on by a colar that needs a 10mm socket to undo. Once this is undone the unit just pulls away.

I put the new part on and reassembled in reverse order. Once on, I tested all the functions and they all worked, so not really 100% certain what the final three digits of the part number are, but all the main functions work ok.

Unfortunately the failed the MOT retest because this particular COM unit over cancels when turnin right and straightening up. I will be sending this part back and trying another. It is quite an easy job, and obviously much simpler having done it once.I have a few pictures.
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Re: C3 Faulty Indicator

Post by trustme »

these unit can be repaired there is a guy on ebay repairing them for about £25
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