Marc's X7, C3 Aircross, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

Tell us your ongoing tales and experiences with your French car here. Post pictures of your car here as well.
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GiveMeABreak
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Re: Marc's X7, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

Unread post by GiveMeABreak »

Well it seems I've hit my 'Post Like' Millennium today, thanks to member 'Plumb0b', and yes, of all the interesting and varied things I've posted on, it was my comments on a good old battery check and BSI reset!

So thanks Plumb0b, I am awarding you a virtual tufty badge :rock:
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Marc
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Re: Marc's X7, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

Unread post by NewcastleFalcon »

GiveMeABreak wrote: 28 Dec 2018, 00:47 Well it seems I've hit my 'Post Like' Millennium today, thanks to member 'Plumb0b', and yes, of all the interesting and varied things I've posted on, it was my comments on a good old battery check and BSI reset!

So thanks Plumb0b, I am awarding you a virtual tufty badge :rock:
Well deserved Marc, I've put you on the "Big Big Carpet for less than half a crown" mark (1001 if you remember this advert) and had noticed you stuck in the nervous nine hundred and nineties for a short while.

You will shortly be followed by Jim-992 at the last count!

Regards Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
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Re: Marc's X7, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

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GiveMeABreak wrote: 02 Dec 2018, 15:22 ..... However, plans went on hold today as A) it's still chucking it down and B) my 'Smart' TV last night made a popping noise and switched off! It's only about 4 years old, but it has blown the mains plug fuse (3A) so replaced that and popped again.

Had it to pieces this morning and spent hours trawling the web for a replacement Power board as it is likely that is the culprit. No popped Capacitors, no scorch or burn marks anywhere and the internal board fuse is not removable - soldered to the board.

I don't have capacitor checking kit and the replacement boards are really hard to source now (what does that tell you about a 4 year old 3D LED Smart TV?). So the only few power boards I could find are all pre-owned which does not inspire me - one new from France at £100, so I have found a "90% New" :roll: one from our friends in the Far East at about half the price, from a smashed glass TV. I like the 90% new bit - whatever that is supposed to tell you!

So that's going to take up to a month to arrive and it says is revision 1.3, where mine is 1.1 - so hopefully they may have improved them a little.
Well I got back from town today and written on the cat's monthly flea spot-on package that arrived in the post was a cryptic message "Parcel in the Garden Box".

Hmm... what the hell have I ordered recently, scratch scratch - :idea: no, it can't be, yes! it is, there in the garden box was a bright yellow package covered in bright yellow plastic and peppered with Chinese writing - my Smart TV power board had arrived!

So tools out and some examination and comparison of the new and old boards had me initially worried, as there was no 'Gorilla Snot' as it is affectionately known, on the new board???
Board B.jpg
Board A.jpg
Old Power Board

Plenty of white gunk shown here
New Power Board

Not a single bit of white bubble gum anywhere in sight
I believe this stuff is used to support the weight of some heavier components, but looking at some of the small resistors now shown on the new board at bottom right, I can't see that they would be particularly heavy...

Anyway I fitted it all back after nearly forgetting where I left the important screws that hold the powerboard in place (you know, you always put them somewhere safe and then forget where, as it's never a place you can normally use :roll: ). Plugged in and powered on and nothing....

Then, out with the multimeter to test the fuse and of course and that was dead - the initial problem being that when powered on at the mains, it kept blowing the 3 Amp fuse in the mains plug. So panic over, replaced el fuse, powered on and my face lit up a treat when the TV came to life.

A good end to the day all in all.
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Re: Marc's X7, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

Unread post by GiveMeABreak »

NewcastleFalcon wrote: 28 Dec 2018, 00:54
GiveMeABreak wrote: 28 Dec 2018, 00:47 Well it seems I've hit my 'Post Like' Millennium today, thanks to member 'Plumb0b', and yes, of all the interesting and varied things I've posted on, it was my comments on a good old battery check and BSI reset!

So thanks Plumb0b, I am awarding you a virtual tufty badge :rock:
Well deserved Marc, I've put you on the "Big Big Carpet for less than half a crown" mark (1001 if you remember this advert) and had noticed you stuck in the nervous nine hundred and nineties for a short while.

You will shortly be followed by Jim-992 at the last count!

Regards Neil
Why thank you Neil, I'm not really a number muncher, but wow, that advert for 1001 carpet cleaner - sadly I think I may have something like that under the sink!

Just love those accents, "New carpet Mary"? :rofl2:
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Marc
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Re: Marc's X7, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

Unread post by GiveMeABreak »

Park Shunt Fuse / Battery Chargers

Well I have had the C5 parked up for about 6 weeks, whilst we give the C3 a bit more usage (and with the C3 doing 60 MPG round here, saving a heap of moolah too).

I went to start the C5 the other day just to keep her ticking over occasionally and noticed the battery was a bit weak. Odd, I thought as I thought she had just been given a charge with the battery charger a few weeks earlier. So when I started her this time, got the handbrake system faulty message up and the Navidrive screen was blank - although still playing MP3s.

So despite my best intentions, the electric handbrake would not disengage, and attempting to move off would not, as expected, release it. So long press on handbrake had no effect. So that told me the battery was quite bad. So I took the risk of doing a BSI reset with the battery in this state and finally on completion, a long press on the handbrake kicked it into action as it reset itself. So applied it on maximum force and released it then applied and released it a few more times - all was well.

So battery off and time for a recharge - or so I thought. 8-[

Dug out the Halfrauds 'Advanced' :roll: battery charger that has over the years been used about 10 times tops. It's one of these that detects the polarity and is automatic - detecting sealed battery type and off it goes. However on this occasion it kept briefly flashing a message 'EA' and the symbol for the terminal connections not correct. But did not stay on. So double checked all connections - perfect as expected and nothing. So off to the C3 and connected up to that battery - exactly the same thing. So looks like the battery charger is bu**ered. Gee, thanks Halfrauds. I think I paid about £50 for it 5 years ago, so wasn't cheap at the time and was the best of what they had on sale.

So that would probably explain why the last few times I used it, the battery started charging with the charging lines showing for no more than 5 minutes then stopped. I always assumed the battery was in good condition and just needed topping up.

So I then spent a day researching battery chargers and was blown away by the number and prices of these things. Did the usual Amazon and eBay and then independent searching, Screwfix and the like, but in the end settled for what looks like a half decent 'Smart' charger. It supposedly checks the type of battery, the state of charge and can automatically cycle through Desulfation, Soft Start, Bulk Charge, Absorption, Test Mode, Recondition and Float modes. Has a 3 year warranty and is marketed under a few other brands - seems quite well received in the USA, so after loosing the will to live after reading all the reviews of other candidates I plumped for this one.
Charger.PNG
So it arrived yesterday, and unpacking it, the unit looked very solid and as a bonus, the manual was actually legible! My heart sank a little when I went to assemble the correct leads with the crocodile clips (as there are both CC and eyelet connections) when I had to pull the wires apart to separate the clips. Then I realised they have probably done this to let you choose the length you need, so you only need to separate them to provide enough for the clamps to reach each terminal and reduce trailing cables.

Anyway, had the battery off the car and cleaned off some of the copper grease from the terminals and connected up. I was quite impressed that it had selected AGM battery correctly and it has automatically selected 2 Amp charging rate out of the 2, 4 or 8 Amp modes it has. As I was in no hurry, and not really knowing the real state of the battery given the failure of the Halfrauds charger, I decided to leave it and let it do its stuff. I kept looking in throughout the day - just to make sure it or the battery hadn't exploded or caught fire :-D and it stayed on that 2 Amp mode and charging at 20% mode. I thought we were likely to be here for some time at that rate, so left it to it.

By the end of the night it had been on 12 hours and was still charging at the same rate. This morning - I went in to check it at 6 AM and it had moved to the 80% charge mode - progress! Left it until lunchtime and then it had moved to 100% and solid LEDs, so it was now in maintenance mode, charging complete.

Now at this point I thought - I know, I may as well put the car into Park mode as I won't be using her for a while to save battery drain on some of the power consuming equipment that should be switched off until ignition + is detected with the key. So before connecting the battery, I latched the driver's door lock (couldn't leave the window open overnight) and went to locate the Shunt fuse to find it was still in 'Transit' mode! [-X

So off to double check the position of the shunt fuse for my BSI and sure enough mine was indeed showing as already in Park Mode. So that was a little confusing seeing as I could operate the radio without the ignition - so further researching told me that in the case where the Shunt fuse has not been put back into 'Client' mode, the system will automatically switch to 'Client' mode after about 250 Kms of driving. So that made sense. So somewhere along the line either Madame Flournoi from the Rennes factory or the previous owner omitted to move the shunt back to customer mode. She was probably married to this chap:



Anyhow, I moved the Shunt to Client Mode and reconnected battery and everything is spot on perfect. So I suspect in order to reactivate Shunt mode again, I will now need to go through and move the shunt fuse to Park Mode again, once the Data networks have gone to sleep. For now I have just locked the car with the key and will see how the battery fares over the next few weeks before trying out the Shunt mode properly.

So it might be worth others checking their shunt fuse positions.

There may be 2 types of BSI - 'A' & 'C' in Red is 'Transit' or 'Park Mode' and 'B' & 'D' in Green is 'Client' or 'Customer' Mode: On one type of BSI it will be above the bottom row of fuses and in the other BSI it is underneath the bottom row of fuses.
Shunt.PNG
So after ripping apart the Halfrauds charger - there was a load of bugs that had made their home inside - but little to indicate anything untoward, so with my conspiracist theory hat on will put it down to the built in 'obsolescence chip' :roll: Either that or the bugs. This new one will be taking up residence in the house instead of the man cave in future.
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Marc
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Re: Marc's X7, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

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Went out to clean the paths and patio yesterday with the Karcher Pressure Washer - all going swimmingly (literally) using the patio cleaning attachment when I began running out of hose.

So decided to connect the big hosepipe reel up. Disconnected the small hose, unwound the large one and shoved the connector onto the pressure washer and off I went - or so I thought. Almost instantly I heard a gurgling and lost pressure. Switched on and off a few times to no avail. Checked connections, no leaks coming from the pressure washer kink in the hoses - nothing. As we have these water stop connectors - I went off to get a spray gun attachment to test the water from the hose - and sure enough that was at full pressure.

So as I went to connect the hose connector back into the pressure washer I noticed this foamy substance inside the connector and then it dawned on me. A Slug had found it's way into the end of the hose connector and I of course just locked and loaded. We have been invaded by the Giant Spanish Slugs - the 6 inch voracious monsters with no natural predators:
Slug.PNG
So next step was to take the Karcher to pieces and try to de-slug the internals - a prospect I was dreading. Now as usual got the torx set out and all the tools and went about removing the cover. Turns out you can take off 3/4 of the tamper proof screws - but good old Mr Karcher has made the last 4 so deep that your normal driver is far too short to reach. So annoyingly I went off to Amazon and got a new set of long drivers not to be outdone and they arrived this morning.

Off out with a vengeance and took the rest of the screws off and sure enough inside the plastic filter was what looked like a load of sand:

This is where the filter was removed from....
Karcher 1.png
This is what greeted me - a real slimeball fest:
Karcher 2.png
Karcher 3.png
After an hour of trying to pick out the gungy slime (ever tried getting monster slug slime off your hands?) and soaking it in turps, I managed to get it all cleaned out.

Just off to reassemble and hope the filter has done it's job - and if Gordon Ramsey is reading - if you have any gastronomic slug recipes lacking in prime ingredients - feel free to come over and help yourself.
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Marc
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Re: Marc's X7, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

Unread post by myglaren »

Ugh slugs!
I'd have chucked it away. Can't abide slugs.
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Re: Marc's X7, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

Unread post by Gibbo2286 »

Ugly buggers aren't they, fancy camping out and have one up your...………………………….nose. :)
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Re: Marc's X7, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

Unread post by van ordinaire »

Why didn't you just soak the filter in salt water?

But on the subject of Karcher products, mine's got a short length of clear plastic tubing which, I understood, was supposed to draw up your choice of detergent, car shampoo, patio cleaner, degreaser, etc & blend it with the jet; I've tried it a couple of times - & nothing happens! Any thoughts, ideas, relevant page from the manual/instructions?
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Re: Marc's X7, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

Unread post by GiveMeABreak »

I did use a combo of salt water and detergent and had to pick the slime out with a large needle - these Spanish Slugs are almost indestructible. But I really needed to get the rest of the pathways done and to see if that was the end of the damage. I can happily report back that all is assembled and I got the job done. :-D

As for your detergent issue. The detergent suction only activates at low pressure. So if you have the vario-lance shown below, you need to twist the flow rate to minimum. This will allow the detergent to spray out and coat the vehicle or whatever else at low pressure.
lance.PNG
If using the car brush - again there is a control that allows detergent mode or not:
car brush.PNG
So unless you have an attachment that restricts the flow to a low enough pressure - the detergent won't get mixed with the water.
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Re: Marc's X7, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

Unread post by myglaren »

Often wondered what that thing was for - my son hired one to clean his decking in his new house.
He will be installing new decking eventually :(
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Re: Marc's X7, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

Unread post by Gibbo2286 »

My Karcher kit is over 40 years old, I bought it for car cleaning and valeting I have one of each of these, the pressure washer has three pistons, the originals were plated, the plating came off and tore the rubber seals, Karcher wanted £43 each for them plus VAT so I went to 'Metals4U' and bought a length of stainless steel rod and had a local engineer turn up three for me from the pattern, cost me under £15 all in.
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Re: Marc's X7, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

Unread post by GiveMeABreak »

I bought mine 13 years ago back in 2006 for £140:
k491.PNG
Has been faultless (so far) and I see they are selling 'A' grade refurbs of these for £180 now without all the accessories!
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Re: Marc's X7, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

Unread post by van ordinaire »

GiveMeABreak wrote: 20 Sep 2019, 09:16 I did use a combo of salt water and detergent and had to pick the slime out with a large needle - these Spanish Slugs are almost indestructible. But I really needed to get the rest of the pathways done and to see if that was the end of the damage. I can happily report back that all is assembled and I got the job done. :-D

As for your detergent issue. The detergent suction only activates at low pressure. So if you have the vario-lance shown below, you need to twist the flow rate to minimum. This will allow the detergent to spray out and coat the vehicle or whatever else at low pressure.

Image

If using the car brush - again there is a control that allows detergent mode or not:

Image

So unless you have an attachment that restricts the flow to a low enough pressure - the detergent won't get mixed with the water.


I thought slugs were like triffids (or should that be the other way round?) - but obviously only common or garden ones are.

Thanks for the info, mine (bought to replace a Clarke one that just died some years ago) does have a lance with an adjustable spray pattern, although I don't recall it ever having any markings. However, I leave it well alone as it's prone to coming off - & resisting being replaced. Keep meaning to find another but now I know about their spares prices, I think it'll be a £10 replacement at a boot sale.
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'97 Xantia Exclusive estate [-o<
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'96 Cadillac Eldorado
'99 Cadillac STS :|
& the numerous "abandoned projects" #-o
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Re: Marc's X7, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

Unread post by GiveMeABreak »

Just checked my BT contract yesterday as that was coming to an end next month and their personal renewal offer was to double our fibre speed for the same price as we are currently paying. Updated the contract yesterday and just checked my speed a few minutes ago:
fibre.PNG
Yippee! :yeah:
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