C5 suspension self leveling paralysed

[rhysdavis]

OK I'm a newby so sorry if I now get told off for posting similar problems covered by other threads.

Relating to my 2001 C5 LX 110 HDi:

I've had a good look round the forums and there's some similar faults but not quite the same. The problem is thus:

For a few weeks occasionally while driving along, usually going over bumps or on a rough bit of road, all four of the suspension level indicator lights would come on accompanied by a beep but go off again after a couple of seconds. No other symptoms and the level of the car and ride seems to be fine and I ignored it. However a couple of days ago they came on and stayed on and I can't change the suspension level with the buttons next to the seat. The centre display doesn't register any fault. The car doesn't level itself when I get in it with the engine off or on and there's no sound from the pump. I drove it about 2 miles the rest of the way to work after the lights came on but then got recovered home because I didn't fancy having some catastrophic failure on my 70 mile commute home between Cardiff and Frome.
I've checked fuses in the glove box, under the bonnet and the big 40A number 8 fuse hiding under the bonnet fusebox and they all seem ok.
I read on another forum that it could be a power supply coming loose of the pump, which might fit with my symptoms if a plug has been a bit wobbly for a few weeks and finally fallen out but I've stuck my hand down where i think I can see a cable going in to the pump under the power steering tank and it doesn't seem to move. I couldn't really see very well though, it was chucking with rain at the time. Another suggestion was a brake light fault, perhaps I should go and have a fiddle with the bulbs but I think they're all working fine. The level of the orange hydraulic fluid is fine.
I've phoned a local garage and a french car specialist in Yeovil for advice but they didn't want to commit to suggesting anything without plugging my car in for a diagnostic check.
That's another problem, ever since I bought the car nearly 5 years ago it won't communicate with anybody's diagnostic computer. Not the main dealer, Citroen specialist in Cardiff or any other garage it has been to, which makes fault finding difficult and potentially very expensive. I haven't taken the car to a garage yet for this reason because I have no money so was hoping it would be something really simple.
I'm guessing the problem is electrical but I don't have any diagnostic tools, amp / volt meter's, circuit testers or anything, just my 2 fairly novice eyes that aren't really seeing much at the moment.
I've seen suspension pumps on ebay for £50 or so if it is that but I don't want to buy anything unless I know that is what is wrong as I am very very short of money and I'm going to have to get the train back and forth to Cardiff which isn't helping the mending fund. I would have to bring it to a garage to do some sort of diagnostic work and to to fit whatever needs fitting as I don't think I'll be up for draining and removing and then refitting and refilling the hydraulic fluid reservoirs to get at the pump if it's that, which is what I'm thinking at the moment. I'm probably wrong.
Some ideas and things I could check or talk to a garage about to try to narrow it down a bit to save some money would be much appreciated as I have next to no money to get this fixed. I'm just about at the point of thinking it might be time to get rid of the C5 as it isn't without some other problems but I would only be able to get an old banger then so maybe better the devil you know as it mostly works at the moment and only passed it's MOT in September.
I've only fairly recently moved to Frome from Cardiff so haven't used any local garages yet. Does anyone know of anybody local they can recommend that isn't going to rob me?
Also how safe would it be to drive? Maybe for a trip to the supermarket a mile down the road but not 140 mile round commute? I'm a bit wary because now I've used my recovery for the problem they might refuse to recover me if I need them for the same problem again if I haven't tried to get it fixed yet.
Oops sorry for the long one,

Rhys

Citroen C5 LX 110 HDi

[Mandrake]

Probably your first step would be to check the Lexia sticky thread to see if there are any Lexia owning forum members nearby who would be willing to run a diagnostic on the car, a lot can be done with C5 suspension on a Lexia including measuring all the sensor inputs and manually adjusting the height up and down, so that will give a fairly good idea of what is wrong.

I'm a bit concerned that you say that nobody has been able to connect a diagnostic computer to the car before though. Generic fault code readers probably won't be able to read a 2001 model, and even if they could wouldn't diagnose the suspension, however a dealer should have a Lexia which should have no trouble diagnosing the car, so if a Lexia won't talk to it you might have an electrical/wiring fault to the diagnostic socket that needs sorting out first.

If you're really stuck finding someone nearby with a Lexia and don't want to fork out lots of money to a garage, a Chinese clone Lexia (its an interface box/cable and software for use with a Windows XP/7 laptop) can be had for around the £120 mark, this gives you ALL of the diagnostic facilities that a main dealer would have, and is what most of us on the forum who have Lexia's have. Depending on how much of your own maintenance you do and how often the car needs work it could be a good investment to be able to run your own diagnostics for free any time you please. Again, see near the end of the Lexia sticky thread for details on where to obtain one.

[rhysdavis]

Thanks. There only seems to be one Lexia owner on the map close to me but hasn't posted on the forum for a couple of years. I've PM'd TopDonkey anyway but I'm not hopeful. Anybody on here near Frome that could help with a Lexia that isn't on the Lexia map? I may well look at getting a Lexia for myself in the future but right now I need every penny I can get to mend the car.

[cachaciero]

Pump motor failure seems to be quite a common failure, basically the pump is powered directly from the battery via the 40/50/60Amp maxi fuse which you have already checked. There is a semiconductor switch in the pump which is controlled by the thin wire coming out of the pump, somewhere on this site some one wrote up how to drive this external to the pump electronics. Your warning lights prior to total failure would have been due to height errors because the pump was only working intermittently. The Lexia wouldn't in this case tell you much more than you already know. I would be 90% sure that the pump is stuffed probably corroded brush leads.
The diagnostic socket has as I remember it's own power feed via a fuse, don't know more than that would suspect that no fuse no power for the Lexia interface.

cachaciero

[Mandrake]

The diagnostic socket has as I remember it's own power feed via a fuse, don't know more than that would suspect that no fuse no power for the Lexia interface.

That's a really good point - it could be that there's no power at the diagnostic socket due to a blown fuse or wiring fault. The following page shows the pinout for the OBD-II socket:

http://pinoutsguide.com/CarElectronics/ ... nout.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Battery positive (via a fuse) is pin 16, ground is pins 4 and 5. Would certainly be worth checking the voltage between pins 16 and 4, and 16 and 5. I know Rhys says he doesn't have a multimeter, but maybe his neighbour does!