2003 Citroen C5 estate.....the end

[Spurious]

I mean, it's bad but it's not as bad as the first Ford Ka which is a hateful spiteful job to change the bulbs.  I ended up with a deep cut to the back of my hand with that one where I only got light grazes with the c5

[maxxo]

6 hours ago, beko1987 said:

On my xsara it's an equal twat, but on mine the drivers one was ok*, but the passenger side I had to move the abs block to get at it... 

One of my sidelight bulbs is alot dimmer than the other but it passed its mot like it, and I have zero want to go back in there until another one dies so I just turn my main lights on. 

All the owners clubs say drop the bumper, it might be easier (just) 

see my passenger side one was alright, not brilliant but mediocre

must resist the temptation to wack LEDs in there cos that's naughty

no way am i dropping the bumper, it'll never sit right again

like it sits right at the moment lol

[maxxo]

6 hours ago, myglaren said:

I had the first one done by Halfords, made it look easy.

Second one I did myself.  Was far from easy and lost the clip.

Have never been able to do it without removing the bumper.

Sidelights and indicators are easy enough but sidelights were always dying so replaced with LEDs.

Often had to kick the nearside headlight to start that indicator working, the bulb holder was faulty and the contacts failed to make contact sometimes.

is it worth the couple of pounds to get someone from halfords to cut their fingers open?

why is it they eat headlight bulbs, i knew full well it would be the sort of car that would

tail lights look easy at least, got a dim brake light

of course, it's the high level one

so everything will break upon removing it

[maxxo]

got one fitted by halfords today cos it was chucking it down and i couldn't be arsed

can ya see what they've done......

great so i have to sort that tomorrow then

[richardmorris]

I had my c5 from 2006 to 2012 and didn’t have a single bulb go. Mine has the HID headlamps.

[maxxo]

On 7/7/2021 at 7:32 PM, richardmorris said:

I had my c5 from 2006 to 2012 and didn’t have a single bulb go. Mine has the HID headlamps.

i wish mine was HID!

[maxxo]

a-ha! managed to catch it properly doing it's starting thing

heard something from the lift pump, well the little thud it makes, but it usually makes a very quiet whine when it's running, now it wasn't doing this today

cranked it for 3 seconds and i was like yup this is gonna be funny

ignition off and back on again and it fired right up, weirdly the lift pump was still quiet but it started right up and ran fine

still don't want to put a new pump in just incase that's not the issue, also being parked on a hill seems to make no difference

still isn't getting worse annoyingly

wish it would bring up the engine management light tbh

[richardmorris]

41 minutes ago, maxxo said:

a-ha! managed to catch it properly doing it's starting thing

heard something from the lift pump, well the little thud it makes, but it usually makes a very quiet whine when it's running, now it wasn't doing this today

cranked it for 3 seconds and i was like yup this is gonna be funny

ignition off and back on again and it fired right up, weirdly the lift pump was still quiet but it started right up and ran fine

still don't want to put a new pump in just incase that's not the issue, also being parked on a hill seems to make no difference

still isn't getting worse annoyingly

wish it would bring up the engine management light tbh

Is there access to the pump access under the rear seat ?

[maxxo]

4 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Is there access to the pump access under the rear seat ?

surprisingly yes!

[maxxo]

sorted the headlight bulb

eventually

cos i'm a fucking idiot and somehow managed to wedge the bulb between the sticky out lense and the actual cluster

but sorted it now, access wasn't the best but not as bad as i expected tbh

[richardmorris]

19 hours ago, maxxo said:

surprisingly yes!

Have you tried giving it a thump?

[maxxo]

5 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Have you tried giving it a thump?

no not yet, 9 out of 10 starts it's absolutely fine 

when it acts up cycling the ignition always sorts it

[richardmorris]

Just now, maxxo said:

no not yet, 9 out of 10 starts it's absolutely fine 

when it acts up cycling the ignition always sorts it

Sounds like a sticking pump.  Good luck!

[maxxo]

6 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Sounds like a sticking pump.  Good luck!

Thank you

just waiting for a proper fail to start now so i can investigate properly and find the real cause, sort of hoping it's the lift pump as it will make life so much easier

[maxxo]

okay made a discovery today

filled up with go go juice, slightly longer cranking than expected when leaving the station

did a 15 mile drive and left the car for around an hour

super long crank with no hint of starting

ignition off and back on again and it fired right up

so, it seems to be worse when the tank is almost full

this seems to be quite a development

also the lift pump was running

[maxxo]

ahhh yes just sorted out a credit card so ya know i can fix it properly

sign of being well into french car ownership

probably good for credit score though!

my god though, why do i like these cars

[High Jetter]

Elle est Magnifique, n'est pas?

[maxxo]

5 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Elle est Magnifique, n'est pas?

yes, very much so

oh why does it have to drive the way she does

just so beautiful!

[maxxo]

interesting

much cooler today and it's starting fine, well so far, i've got to pop out in a bit so will keep an eye

going to be interesting to see how this develops

otherwise fine, absolutely fine tbh

the alarm went off today, was parked under a tree and i believe water falling from it may have triggered it

 

[maxxo]

was bored so decided to hide the dashcam cables a little better by removing elderly plastic french trim

no trim broke!

also decided to trace where the CD changer loom went

i fitted the changer a few months ago and it had never worked, lexia said no communication etc

so, cable had to be somewhere

and it did indeed lead to the centre console

on that note pulled the radio out

and had a very good........which is when i noticed something deep down in the depths of the dashboard behind the heater panel

so, i pulled it out

and was greated with a wonderful sight!

HELL YES!

so plugged it into the back of the radio

and guess what?!

IT WORKS

now i was very surprised it worked

cos being french i'd have thought they would have had both ends but no middle bit

works very well too!

[stuboy]

is there a seal on the lift pump that expands with heat and causing air to get in and cause starting problemo?

[maxxo]

14 minutes ago, stuboy said:

is there a seal on the lift pump that expands with heat and causing air to get in and cause starting problemo?

hmmmmm!

that's a very good suggestion actually

might take the inspection cover off and have a sniff and see if i can make the ring any tighter

[maxxo]

hot day and it won't do the damn thing lol

but the transmission was very jerky today due to heavy traffic i imagine and constant shifting

smoothed out again, i do need to fix it.......

had a little hooning session on some twisty local roads today

very impressive for a big floaty thing

i must admit i like this car very very much

[lexi]

Should you not put it in and give the gearbox a blood transfusion?  We have Mackie Transmissions  up here that does it in Glasgow.

[maxxo]

5 minutes ago, lexi said:

Should you not put it in and give the gearbox a blood transfusion?  We have Mackie Transmissions  up here that does it in Glasgow.

it's had a singular transfusion, i was putting off the second one as the fluid needs to be dropped anyway to replace the valves

but as i have the fluid it's probably worth just doing it anyway

[maxxo]

right

starting issue is fully dependant on weather, 30c today and took a good amount of cranking, after a 30 min journey and brought on the airbag light

so, i'm now thinking a heat soaked starter motor, first start of the day it's fine no matter how hot it is (although it cranks slow when it's cold)

airbag light probably due to a voltage drop from a knackered starter motor too

so yes, probably going to wack a new starter in at some point, most likely the 2kw jobbie

also, transmission, got talking to a fellow shiter who runs a garage up near stanley and i'm paying him a visit on wednesday and we are going to do a blood transfusion on the transmission

that is also affected by heat, quite notchy etc.......so i'm wondering now if it's contaminated fluid (not even sure the place i went last time used the correct stuff) as it was extremely smooth for about a month after that

fluid would make sense, as it's not the best for the first few shifts of the day and notchy when warm.....could also not be filled correctly which causes a limp mode during hard acceleration

we shall see, a fluid change shall not hurt at all anyway

honestly, i don't think this car is anywhere near as knackered as i had become concerned about recently

[maxxo]

bit of fettling today

engine cover work

of course, me being me, i bought these again

they are excellent

so these are the standard ones

which are crap and last about 2 months before either working loose, breaking or knocking the push on clips off

as you can see, the new ones are much, much more chunky

and feel absolutely solid

and they just screw on with wing nuts which are supplied

zero movement and it's rock solid

also lets just appreciate how horrible todays temperatures are

glad i got the air con regassed a few months ago, it's beautifully cold!

[maxxo]

also did the certified french fix

airbag warning was from mega cranking

[lexi]

C5 mk 1 spares inventory. Maybe of interest to you or not.

    Rear suspension bearing kits.  Two of the full kits for swinging arm bearings.  Everything you need for full replacement.  

     3 Purflux oil filters.  One Lemforder droplink in sealed bag.  Lemforder bottom ball joint.  Also the joint on the swinging arm.  2 gaitors and clip springs for rear suspension units. There are other sundries like o rings etc.

  It would be £45 plus post for the lot.  Thought I would offer you first as you have just got your car.

[richardmorris]

I may have a gear linkage cable in the garage if it’s of any use?