DS5 Directional Headlights and Battery Disconnection

[NotAnInterestingName]

I disconnected the battery last week, this may or may not be relevant to the issue. On our first drive in the dark at the weekend, there was a noise, together with a message saying "Directional Headlamps Fault" a SERVICE light, a flashing headlight icon and the sat nav gave a choice of nearby garages! They worked perfectly before I'd disconnected the battery.

I've searched the forum and found that others have had similar with other Citroens after removing the battery, and it needs calibrating to know what steering position is straight ahead. I've ordered a Diagbox kit but haven't yet got it, but is is possible that this was the issue?

I switched the feature off, but the same still happened. After another run, the christmas tree lights all went out so I switched it back on. It now appears to be completely happy driving round with the headlights on in the daytime, but I haven't yet driven at night to check that they're moving - I assume they are, given that it isn't complaining.

Is there a need for calibration and, if this isn't done, will it eventually learn for itself as a result of normal driving? That's my hopeful theory, if not then I've just got a standard intermittent fault.

[GiveMeABreak]

No, you don't need to calibrate anything.

Follow the BSI Reset / Battery Disconnect / Reconnect Procedure whenever connecting or disconnecting the battery.

The directional headlamp ECU takes care of all that. It self-tests itself whenever the headlights are switched on. If there is a fault it will retain the headlamps and vertical levelling function, but not the directional (left to right) function.

Most common causes for this are one of the body height sensors on the front and rear axles. These by their very proximity to the road and the elements can become compromised over the years. See how it goes, but you will retain normal headlamp function as a backup mode, so no need to panic.

When you get your Diagbox kit, pop the codes up after you run a global test.

[NotAnInterestingName]

Thanks, that ruins my theory that there's nothing wrong with it then!

I did follow the procedure, after I found I couldn't start the engine. Everything else was all well, until the automatic headlights switched on and it all went mad! I have read (and checked) that it does still provide conventional headlight operation even with the dashboard dramatics, so no worries.

This is the reason I ordered the Diagbox, hopefully it still has something in its history that might give me a clue. Intermittent faults can be very annoying.

They're absolutely amazing when working though, I'll put up with the odd annoyance from it. It's just like someone waving a torch where you're going, it even seems to hit the road exactly where I'm going every time. I was prepared to say they were a daft novelty but they're actually a really useful safety feature.