c5 2003 hdi keeps wanting to lower itself while driving

[user12]

hi everyone
just bought a c5 and the following has happened
any help or experiences to at least give me an indication on what the problem is will be greatly helpful to me.

on the little display i get the car stop sign with a cross on it while im driving

the car lowers itself if i am not driving and stationery even when on idle

if im driving the car and this happens it shows the arrow pointing down and when it realises the car is moving it shows that its not possible and cancels itself out. if i have it on the higher level ( 1 button press on the up arrow) it keeps flashing if you just selected it for first time, but it keeps repeating it.

sometimes when the car is on lowest level and i press the up button the pump works for a sec and theres slight movement for a sec and then it stops.



after a few attempts it goes up and works fine

i checked all fluid and its fine.



before this started these are events that took place



battery terminal loose and car struggled to start

changed clamp now battery fine and shows excellent charge



spilt hot tea in car and it went on the centre console suspension buttons (up and down buttons)



went over a massive watter logged road that i did not see as no street lighting and terrible drainage on road



took it to a garage they plugged in diagnostics but no faults found



they found 1 pipe disconected that carries lds fluid by o/s/f tyre and reconnected it



so i bought some lds fluid and topped it up last night



this morning when i entered car it adjusted itself like normal to compensate my weight.
i started it and it showed me the down sign with a cross
. i moved it forward slowly and stopped the car. after 1 min i pressed up and the car raised as it should

i drove it for 30 miles on motorway and was fine.

i raised it up and down like 10 times and it adjusted itself as it should.

when i unscrewed the hydraulic cap, air escaped and it blew out some lds fluid.

i checked fluid after i cleaned up and it still shows that its full still. im baffled here
any help pleeeeease

[wurlycorner]

My suggestions, based on what you have said.


After disconnecting and reconnecting the battery, did you do a BSI reset?

Because of the coffee spill incident, you should definitely take the height selector switch out and clean it (and the connector plug) thoroughly, or change it for one from a breaker.

What suspension pipe was 'disconnected'? Picture?
Depending on which pipe, it's possible that the fluid in the system has been badly contaminated and would need to be changed (the compression in the LDS tank could be a further indication that water has got into the fluid).

Because of the immersion problem... I would suggest getting the plugs on the height corrector sensors disconnected, checked for water ingress and cleaned.

[user12]

I did not do a bsi reset
I will Google it now as do not know what it is
I will disconect the up down buttons in console and clean like you said
I will take a photo and post it
Height corrector sensors where are they?
I just started car now after 7 hours it was not low
I sat in AMD it adjusted itself
Been on for 5 mins and hasn't lowered
I will raise suspension to take photo for you of pipe
Thank you sir for advice

[user12]

[img][img][/img][/img]I just raised it fully up took photo and lowered it to normal .
It hasn't dropped like before.
Weird.
Anyway i can't upload photo from phone but will do when at computer

[myglaren]

BSI reset procedure
LDS tank pressure is normal.
May be overfilled if it spat some out though, normally you expect to see very little in there.
Posting photo's.

Welcome to the forum

[Stickyfinger]

I stuffed a switch on my Mk1 with some coke spilled......the switches do not like sugar it seems!

It would go low when asked to go high, if high it would go direct to Low, then I had to hit it again to go to Normal. I would look there first.

I would also as advised to a correct BSI reset.

[user12]

OK so I just drove it and everything seems fine. Car wasn't lowered as I mentioned before as I wrote that when I first got in it.
Drove it for 30 miles again and nothing came up on the display. Stopped at lights and it didn't flinch. Turned it off put diesel in it as was low started it and again everything was fine.
Drove it home parked it up and it still remained normal and didn't lower at all.
I will create a photobucket account and upload that hose that came apart.
Thank you so much for your answers...
Im guessing I need to get a flat head screwdriver to prise off the buttons in centre console right?

[user12]

Thanks again for answers

[wurlycorner]

The height suspension switch comes out easily, but yep a flat bladed screwdriver will help shift it.

Hadn't noticed the LDS tank becoming pressurised on mine myglaren, but then again, I haven't been in there often because it has behaved itself (only precautionary twice to check level since I bought the car I think) and it had been stood for a while before checking, so that might explain it.

[user12]

OK well its been 2 days now and all seems fine.
Took switch out gave it a clean and its seems to be fine. So basically could of been when I spilt tea on it.
Been looking on eBay for replacement but since its working I'll know what to do.
Thank you all for your help... Really I appreciate it.
I will do that reset also on my next day off.
Cheers guys

[wurlycorner]

Glad it seems to be sorted.

[Gibbo2286]

I had a bit of a fright with mine a couple of weeks ago, I gave an old neighbour a lift to visit her family, bowling down the A417 at 70 mph she says "Why has that big cross just come up on the clock screen?" I thought 'Sh*t a suspension problem, then looked down at the switch, she had her hand resting on it

[user12]

I disconnected the switch and its been fine since. When I connected it after a few months it went crazy again. So I disconnected it again drove it around and it leveled up to normal

[myglaren]

I stuffed a switch on my Mk1 with some coke spilled......the switches do not like sugar it seems!

It would go low when asked to go high, if high it would go direct to Low, then I had to hit it again to go to Normal. I would look there first.

I would also as advised to a correct BSI reset.

Luckily mine appears to be impervious to spilled liquids