C5 - Antipolution fault appeared

[MaxPrimal]

Hi guys.

I was driving home today and I got a warning on my multi-function display that said something like "Engine Anti-pollution system fault". The engine warning light and Service light have also appeared. I had to drive the car home which was about 2-3 miles and it seemed okay. I did notice the internal fans where shut down by presumably the on board computer.

Listening out the window the car sounds okay as I wondered if it was liked to the exhaust/catalytic converter. But when I look in my manual all it says is "Antipolution fault - urgently contact your Citroen Dealer" which worries me.

My car is a 2002 Exclusive 2.0 16v petrol Automatic. I have only had it 2-3 weeks, paid £800 for it and really cannot afford for the car to go wrong as I have no money at the moment.


Can someone advise what this error is (likely) to be in relation to and if is it something I can look at bearing in mind I have limited mechanical skills.

Thanks
Max

[hirameuser]

I can only talk from the problems I have had with my HDI so anyone with petrol knowledge please contradict me if need be. Dont panic to soon, first do this and it can often clear the problem.
Start engine leave running 1-2 mins turn off remove key leave for 1-2 mins and repeat for 5 times.

Look on the the lexia sticky, there may be a member close by who can read/clear the fault codes with a lexia diags.

They can show the odd fault that then clears, if not the likely culprit is the maf air sensor £50-£120 for original part £30-£50 for copies + 5 mins to fit.

Hope this helps

Phil

[Fake Concern]

My car was a C4 VTS 16V 2.0L, maybe someone can tell you if its the same engine as your Peugeot. When stopped at traffic lights one morning I suddenly got a beep & the message Depollution System Faulty came up together with the orange engine management light (that looks like an engine). I tried re starting a couple of times, no change , it was still on when I came home that evening. I did a search on the internet; almost all the results were for diesel, mine was petrol. Apparently the VTS 180 (and Peugeots with the same engine) has an air pump which kicks in on start up to help with emissions(?) Any way this was causing the fault and can be the pump itself or the holes in the cylinder head blocked up.

Apparently, Peugeot try first to unblock with petrol system cleaner (Redex etc) then recommend taking off ; stripping the cylinder head so it can be acid dipped to clear the air/petrol holes!

I looked on some Peugeot forums & found that is usually cured with a new air pump (pulsair, I believe). My local garage cleared the code & I put Redex in & thrashed it for a few tanks of petrol! The fault never came back.

[Fake Concern]

This forum post has some information about the above
http://www.liontamer.net/forums/index.php?topic=102.0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MaxPrimal]

Thanks guys, I can get a bottle of Redex tomorrow that is no issue and put it in along with some more petrol.

Will it harm the engine if I drive it for a couple of days with the fault showing or is there a way to clear the fault light and see if it comes back? I am wary of doing anything that may kill the engine as my Primera died with a hole in the bottom after something decided it wanted to see the outside world.

[MaxPrimal]

I can only talk from the problems I have had with my HDI so anyone with petrol knowledge please contradict me if need be. Dont panic to soon, first do this and it can often clear the problem.
Start engine leave running 1-2 mins turn off remove key leave for 1-2 mins and repeat for 5 times.

Look on the the lexia sticky, there may be a member close by who can read/clear the fault codes with a lexia diags.

They can show the odd fault that then clears, if not the likely culprit is the maf air sensor £50-£120 for original part £30-£50 for copies + 5 mins to fit.

Hope this helps

Phil

Had a look at the Lexia bit, the nearest people are 45-50 miles away. I live in a great dead spot just north of Portsmouth typically Guess that kills that idea for now, Bugger

I will try the other idea tomorrow morning when I do a tyre change and see if it helps. Got nothing to loose by trying it.

Thanks all the same

[Ben82]

I got the same exact message the day after I got my 2004 C5. At the time I got it checked (for free surprisingly) by the local Citroen dealer. My one was just that the Catalytic converter was operating below the required efficiency level. It went away pretty promptly (before I got it to the dealer actually) and has never been seen since.
I think they may have not charged me for it hoping I would go for their ~£1000 quote to replace the inefficient cat. Could see from the quote that their standard charge for a Lexia read was about £5 (but there was probably some of the cost in the "labour" portion of the quote for it)
Driving around with an inefficient cat isn't really too much of an issue (mostly means you're spitting out more emissions than it should, and it won't pass the MOT if due).

If there is no-one with a lexia nearby then probably worth taking it to the dealer workshop, and ask to see how much it is to take a read.

[MaxPrimal]

Discovered that the garage I use normally has a Lexia tester and they only want £20 to do the test for me. So I will know by tomorrow lunch time what the fault it. The guy who owns it suspects it is the Lambda sensor based on what I have told him of the car - as I have no engine or rev issues and the car is behaving as normal with good economy today.

[MaxPrimal]

Car is sorted. It was apparently a Knock Sensor which had detected an unusual vibration and set the Anti-Pollution error on the Ecu (though what the hell a vibration has to do with pollution is beyond me).

The garage checked the car and it is fine, the cleaned the sensor and connector as it was dirty and this I am told cleared the fault instantly. Car seems fine again so will drive it a hope all is good.

Thought I would update you all and say thank you for the help.