2016 C4 Picasso error codes

[Ac4PicassoOwner]

Hi All,

About a year ago, I bought a 2016 diesel C4 Picasso automatic. It’s a Cat S car.

The previous owner claimed the timing belt and oil were changed, which seemed odd given the car had just 55k miles. A few days later, the check engine light came on. I visited a mechanic, he said that it is an electrical issue they couldn’t handle, so I looked for a car electrician which was not easy for me and took a while. During this time, before I find a car electrician, I noticed the oil level was too high and reduced it using an oil pump. After that, the error codes gradually decreased and eventually disappeared completely. For nine months, the car ran fine.

Now the errors are back. The car starts fine in the morning even tough there is the check engine light and sometimes enters limp mode. If driven briefly, it restarts without issues, but after longer drives, it won’t start again. The starter works, and it tries to fire but doesn’t. It is like the ECU won't allow engine to fire. Waiting about an hour with the hood open usually solves the problem, car starts.

Here are the error codes the mechanic found:

U1109 - Communication Fault With The Gearbox ECU
P15A4 - Control Of The Engine Oil Pressure Regulation: Open Circuit
P0017 - Starting Surveillance: Synchronization Time Too Long
P0344 - Measurement Of The Camshaft Position: Signal Incorrect
P003D - Camshaft Position: Signal Not Detected
P0016 - Synchronization: Incoherence Between The Engine Speed Sensor And Camshaft Sensor

Then, the cam shaft posistion sensor is changed but the codes remained; here are the codes after the cam shaft position sensor changed;

P0017 92
Status: Intermittent
Description: Starting monitoring – Synchronization time too long.

P0344 00
Status: Intermittent
Description: Camshaft position – Signal invalid.

P003D 00
Status: Intermittent
Description: Camshaft position – Signal undetected.

P0016 00
Status: Intermittent
Description: Synchronization – Inconsistency between engine speed sensor and Camshaft Position (CMP) sensor.

P0215 71
Status: Intermittent
Description: Principal relay control – Relay stuck.

Unfortunatelly the mechanic who changed the sensor couldn't check the wiring and can't recomment an electrician either. I also can't find an electrician to check the wiring which seems to be the second thing needs to be controlled. I ordered a multimeter and socket wrench set and watched this video ( hoping that I could control the wiring myself but still not sure since I don't have ECU pinout schema.

So, does anyone have any recommendation close to Leicester or ECU pinout Schema for this car so I can be sure if a wire has some uncontinuity.

Sorry for long post.

[PaulC5]

Try changing the crank shaft sensor, these do not usually cost much and when they fail might do so once warm and stop the car but then when they cool down will allow the car to start again until hot.

There is no harm in replacing a timing belt before the 10 years or x miles if sooner. We did it on our Cactus at 7 years and about 60k miles. Better early than late and risking it breaking, especially if the car is going to be kept for some time.

[Ac4PicassoOwner]

Try changing the crank shaft sensor, these do not usually cost much and when they fail might do so once warm and stop the car but then when they cool down will allow the car to start again until hot.

There is no harm in replacing a timing belt before the 10 years or x miles if sooner. We did it on our Cactus at 7 years and about 60k miles. Better early than late and risking it breaking, especially if the car is going to be kept for some time.

Thank you Paul, the error code clearly says that ECI can't ger 'cam shaft position sensor" signal but do you think crank shaft position sensor create this error code? And is there any visuals where the crank shaft sensor is?

[PaulC5]

Which engine do you have ? Crank shaft sensors can be on the clutch bell housing or near the crank shaft pulley. When the car will not start, is the rpm being indicated, if not this might suggest the crank sensor is faulty ? You could look on something like the GSF website using your car reg to see what it will look like.

The fault codes do suggest a cam sensor or its wiring is at fault though. Did you fit a new one from a Citroen dealer ? If you have a volt meter check the resistance across the pins on the old and new to see if there is a difference, when we had one fail the old one was different to the new one confirming it was faulty.