2008 Citroen C5 2.0 HDI, A few issues !

[stevecafc]

Hello, My first post on this great forum, I would like to share a few issues and hopefully get some advice ?

1, When I turn corners the steering wheel will not return to centre when I straighten up, I have to physically turn the wheel back to straight. I would describe the steering operation as loose, stiff, loose, stiff. I have lowered the hydraulic suspension to its lowest point and turned from lock to lock but no difference, Fluid is definitely not low as fluid was streaming out of the cap breather hole when I lowered the suspension. Will I be looking at a new rack or new pump, I don't know how quick the car should rise but it is quite slow ?

2, I have replaced the orange display on the dashboard, as mine was just black. I purchased a used display from ebay, which was supposed to be from a 2010 C5, But now when I reverse I haven't got the car shape showing the distance increments, Is a 2010 display no good for my 2008, or have I turned off the reversing feature ?

3, I am having difficulty connecting my phone to the car, I have the ignition on, and have my phone bluetooth on, but my phone isn't picking up the car, I presume I have a phone setup as I have phone buttons on the steering wheel, Am I doing something wrong !!

Thank you in advance for any help or guidance given.

[GiveMeABreak]

1) LDS fluid should not be spewing out the cap on low suspension - so has likely been overfilled.

The correct level should be between the 'a' & 'b' marks whilst the suspension is at the lowest setting and no higher. (Ideally it shjould be at this level when the system is actually completely depressurised), but there should be capacity for this as not everyone will be wanting to do that. So no higher than those levels shown.

LDD MK III.PNG (105.55 KiB) Viewed 200 times

The power steering in your vehicle will likely be the electro pump system, so this operates directly from power supplied from the car battery. Make sure your battery is fully charged and ideally not older than 5-6 years.

Make sure when you bleed the steering:

• You first get to level ground
• Undo the LDS cap
• Then raise it to the highest suspension level
• Then lower it fully to the lowest setting
• Then SLOWLY turn the wheel lock to lock 10 times (but do NOT hold the steering wheel at either end of the lock for any length of time).
• Check the fluid levels are as per the diagram and no higher. Repeat several times if necessary.
• Check that there are no bubbles in the LDS - if so, allow 3-5 minutes to de-gas with the engine running, but do not move the steering wheel during this process.
• Then complete another 5 lock to lock slow turns.
• When complete, raise the suspension to the highest setting and back to the lowest setting again.
• Re-check fluid levels
• If all is well, and there are no bubbles, replace the cap and return to normal height and do a road test.

Display: They are not all the same despite looking the same in many cases. For certain functionality they must be the correct part number and software level. Further, the display incorporates its own ECU and this will very likely be programmed with the options from the donor vehicle, so the configuration will need checking with the Diagbox diagnostic software.

Phone: No, you won't necessarily have phone capability! The steering wheel controls are pretty much the same for all trim levels - but phone capability will depend on trim level or options.

Early models with the RD4 Head unit required a separate hands free kit for bluetooth phone connectivity
Later the RD45 incorporated bluetooth and audio streaming directly into the head unit
Then there are several ttlematics units that have navigation, bluetopoth and other functionality.

So you won't necessarily have the phone capability. Did you have bluetooth connectivity on the vehicle before you replaced the display? If not, you probably don't have the option and if you did, then it will likely be down to the replacement scree either being the wrong part on the wrong software level.

[stevecafc]

Thank you for you reply, I can confirm that I only have the RD4 head unit, So no bluetooth. If i were to upgrade my unit to to the RD45 I would need the matching display for this unit ?

I think from 2010 the rear parking display was moved to the instrument cluster, So I need a setup from 2008-2010 for my parking sensor display , Doe's that sound right ? The replacement screen I purchased was from a 2010, So I don't think its compatible with my earlier rear sensors ?

I had to change my washer pump/ fix leaking pipe/ blocked jets ! I noticed a black tank in front of the drivers wheel, next to the washer reservoir, This black tank had a kinked pipe, Could this have restricted fluid for my steering or caused air pockets, If it is steering related ?
Regarding my steering, I have literally just put on a new heavy duty battery, So I know that is fine.

Regards Steve

[GiveMeABreak]

1) If you upgrade the Head Unit, you will also need to wire in a microphone and possibly may have to change the multifunction display. The C5 X7 may or may not have the EMF-C screen needed.

2) No, the parking display was never moved to the central instrument LCD display. It is always displayed on either the small or the full colur screens on the central multifunction display on the dashboard. The idiot in the video has configured his C5 X7 for the X7s that are made in China. These for all intents and purposes are different vehicles. Doing this may adversely affect the other systems or warnings.

So to answer the other part of your second point, year has nothing to do with the screen type - it is all down to the options specified / available at the time the car was produced.

Lastly, that black tank contains the LDS suspension fluid that supplies your hydraulic system that also supplies the fluid for the power steering.

Under the LDS tank is the BHI (Basic Hydroelectronic Interface) which supplies the handles the supply and return of the fluid to the various components. I would leave that well alone - there won't be any kinks, they are probably the wiring harnesses.

The low pressure pipes from the reservoir are quite thick and the high pressure pipes are metal. The system is pressurised and you already have the bleeding procedure that shouldn't need to be done often.

[EDC5]

Your new screen has come from a car without rear parking sensors and this will need to be activated with Diagbox software as originally stated.

The RD45 does require a new display, you can tell if it is the correct display as the sticker on the back will have a firmware version of V.71 or higher. I got mine from a Citroen DS3 on eBay. One of my old threads charts my installation of a microphone and RD45 for handsfree.

[stevecafc]

Thank you all for your replies, I have bled the steering and it is much improved, but is still a bit knotchy near to fulll lock, the system was a little over filled, should the fluid look this colour or is it due a change. How would I go about draining this fluid if it is deemed old? Thank you for any help.

[GiveMeABreak]

LDS / Fluide DA is a brown / orange colour and should not need changing regularly.

[Gibbo2286]

Re your rear parking dilemma, my C5 estate doesn't have that fitted and I've been a bit tempted to fit one of these, this is an Ebay offer but there's a few video of fitting one on you tube.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Auto-Vox-Sol ... tqFfB4Bq