2003 C5 exclusiveness!

[maxxo]

air con is still lovely and cold

do we reckon it’s worth getting a regas or an ac service?

apparently hasn’t had a re gas since 2019 or so 

[RoverFolkUs]

If you're getting random instances of it throwing a shitfit then that does point towards it being slightly blocked up and throwing the readings slightly out of parameter rather than a pump fault. If you have one already to replace there would be no harm trying to rule it out but the fact it's intermittent would suggest it's restricted air flow rather than an electrical fault with the pump which should happen consistently. 

It's monitored in a similar way to EGR valves and catalyst efficiency. It can be happy for days, weeks or months but every so often a certain condition will throw a reading out of parameter and chuck the light back on. 

On 5/13/2023 at 8:36 PM, RoverFolkUs said:

Fairly, whenever the EML comes on its usually that code!

I think it most likely will do, but see how it goes. If it is caused by a bit of carbon buildup and it's only slight then it might take a little while to come back. Or it might come back tomorrow!

Was a prediction based on experience rather than a jinx, promise

A month or so sounds about right.. 

[RoverFolkUs]

2 minutes ago, maxxo said:

air con is still lovely and cold

do we reckon it’s worth getting a regas or an ac service?

apparently hasn’t had a re gas since 2019 or so 

No harm to be done so you can get some fresh pag oil in there

A telltale of the refrigerant starting to get a little low is a hissing noise evident in the interior behind the dash, if you ever notice anything like that?

[maxxo]

9 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

If you're getting random instances of it throwing a shitfit then that does point towards it being slightly blocked up and throwing the readings slightly out of parameter rather than a pump fault. If you have one already to replace there would be no harm trying to rule it out but the fact it's intermittent would suggest it's restricted air flow rather than an electrical fault with the pump which should happen consistently. 

It's monitored in a similar way to EGR valves and catalyst efficiency. It can be happy for days, weeks or months but every so often a certain condition will throw a reading out of parameter and chuck the light back on. 

Was a prediction based on experience rather than a jinx, promise

A month or so sounds about right.. 

how easy is it to clean it out? just perplexed me as i didn’t think the pump ran when the engine was hot and running either but every day is a learning curve

it certainly runs well enough, silky smooth, silent etc really is quite a nice engine really

i mean, in comparison to my previous C5 i can quite happily live with it just doing this every now and then, considering barring some door locks this is the only issue i’ve had in nearly 10 months of ownership

my last one had already had a gearbox repair, rear arm bearings etc so this is a nice relieft

what are these EW10s like long term? 

[maxxo]

11 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

No harm to be done so you can get some fresh pag oil in there

A telltale of the refrigerant starting to get a little low is a hissing noise evident in the interior behind the dash, if you ever notice anything like that?

no hissing or anything, did have a little puff of a refrigerant sort of smell for a second or so today but it was mega hot and running full pelt immediately and i’ve noticed that on every car i’ve owned 

i might see about getting it done in the coming weeks

[RoverFolkUs]

32 minutes ago, maxxo said:

how easy is it to clean it out? just perplexed me as i didn’t think the pump ran when the engine was hot and running either but every day is a learning curve

it certainly runs well enough, silky smooth, silent etc really is quite a nice engine really

i mean, in comparison to my previous C5 i can quite happily live with it just doing this every now and then, considering barring some door locks this is the only issue i’ve had in nearly 10 months of ownership

my last one had already had a gearbox repair, rear arm bearings etc so this is a nice relieft

what are these EW10s like long term? 

Er, well! 

You are right, it works when cold to reduce emmisions while it waits for the cat to warm up and do it's thing. 

It is entirely possible that it's the pump as well don't get me wrong, hence saying before that it could be 50/50. 

What I'd suggest is attacking the pump, swapping it out with a replacement if you had one on hand and while you're in there just inspect the internals of the pipework as far as you can tell to see how much gunk is in there. It might be clean as a whistle, but it's a low mileage car so it might be gummed up. It shouldn't really get gummed up, but it can. 

They are very nice engines and suit most of the cars they are fitted to pretty well. 

On the assumption that yours is not the HPi variant (direct injection) which they made for about a 5 minute period on the production run then it's probably mostly ok in the long term. It's somewhat convoluted with technology that nobody asked for and doesn't really serve any purpose but it's a pretty decent unit the EW10

But it's a 20 year old engine so there is obviously that chance of anything failing at any time

Did I notice you mention some AL4 troubles in another thread recently? That would concern me to be honest. I know you like them but you know very well they are troublesome at best, and very much a case of "nice when they work, but...." 

This one definitely seems and sounds like a better example than your old one

[maxxo]

13 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Er, well! 

You are right, it works when cold to reduce emmisions while it waits for the cat to warm up and do it's thing. 

It is entirely possible that it's the pump as well don't get me wrong, hence saying before that it could be 50/50. 

What I'd suggest is attacking the pump, swapping it out with a replacement if you had one on hand and while you're in there just inspect the internals of the pipework as far as you can tell to see how much gunk is in there. It might be clean as a whistle, but it's a low mileage car so it might be gummed up. It shouldn't really get gummed up, but it can. 

They are very nice engines and suit most of the cars they are fitted to pretty well. 

On the assumption that yours is not the HPi variant (direct injection) which they made for about a 5 minute period on the production run then it's probably mostly ok in the long term. It's somewhat convoluted with technology that nobody asked for and doesn't really serve any purpose but it's a pretty decent unit the EW10

But it's a 20 year old engine so there is obviously that chance of anything failing at any time

Did I notice you mention some AL4 troubles in another thread recently? That would concern me to be honest. I know you like them but you know very well they are troublesome at best, and very much a case of "nice when they work, but...." 

This one definitely seems and sounds like a better example than your old one

 

i don’t have a replacement pump as of yet, however i’m going to be running lexia next week or so to check the codes to see if it’s the same issue like i suspect it is

glad to hear it’s a decent lump, they certainly drive well enough and are quite economical considering the age and being petrol

yes i seem to be having a couple of little AL4 issues, mostly with weird locking of the torque converter 

one is very strange, it seems to lock/unlock/lock/unlock rapidly while driving slowly down a gentle incline almost as if it’s trying to do some form of engine braking, it seems so controlled so it must be designed to do that

other times it randomly unlocks the converter at speed and then doesn’t like to lock up again for a little while

sometimes it has absolutely horrific up shifts but it’s not as bad as my old one

always slips from first to second when cold if put under any load, fine after that

its coming up to 52k miles so it’s likely the valve block will need attention soon

[maxxo]

in a strange turn of events

started up today no light 

must have driven around 40 odd miles, no light

im happy with that

[maxxo]

this morning driving to work

BEEEP

antipollution fault

it must have been bang on the moment the car got up to temp

interesting, still drives well etc

now the only thing i can note now this may be coincidence

but it often doesn’t start first time on a hot day if it’s been sat in the sun all day

[maxxo]

beeps be gone again

need to plug it in again

but there seems to be a pattern emerging

so it comes on and stays on for a few days, then seems to be off for 2-3 days before popping back on

it seems to pop back on when the weather is very humid……..interesting

[Matty]

5 minutes ago, maxxo said:

beeps be gone again

need to plug it in again

but there seems to be a pattern emerging

so it comes on and stays on for a few days, then seems to be off for 2-3 days before popping back on

it seems to pop back on when the weather is very humid……..interesting

I'd worry if it starts to be a problem max. Till then, ignore pal

[richardmorris]

4 minutes ago, maxxo said:

beeps be gone again

need to plug it in again

but there seems to be a pattern emerging

so it comes on and stays on for a few days, then seems to be off for 2-3 days before popping back on

it seems to pop back on when the weather is very humid……..interesting

You’re giving me flashbacks! Bing, anti pollution fault! I could make mine do it when lifting off the throttle, but it did it when it chose to as well.

[maxxo]

guess a new windscreen will be required too

irritating 

[maxxo]

ah yes interesting tyre wear

i had noticed an increase in road noise recently

2 weeks until payday, so that’ll be a pair of front tyres needed then and an alignment 

[maxxo]

do these have esp anyway but unable to turn off?

i only ask, as i hit a patch of diesel just now on a roundabout which caused loss of adhesion 

car entered a spin and seemed to grab itself straight away and a triangular light on the cluster was flashing, the esp light 

i have no esp off button

i had suspected something anyway as i floored it the other week in the rain and it cut power when the wheels spun

[jamescarruthers]

On 8/9/2023 at 3:03 PM, maxxo said:

do these have esp anyway but unable to turn off?

i only ask, as i hit a patch of diesel just now on a roundabout which caused loss of adhesion 

car entered a spin and seemed to grab itself straight away and a triangular light on the cluster was flashing, the esp light 

i have no esp off button

i had suspected something anyway as i floored it the other week in the rain and it cut power when the wheels spun

Mine has it and would expect yours to also as a function of the ABS. The ESP button is disguised as another cigarette lighter!

[richardmorris]

1 hour ago, jamescarruthers said:

Mine has it and would expect yours to also as a function of the ABS. The ESP button is disguised as another cigarette lighter!

Mine was a manual. But esp button to the right of the gearstick.

[maxxo]

20 hours ago, jamescarruthers said:

Mine has it and would expect yours to also as a function of the ABS. The ESP button is disguised as another cigarette lighter!

apparently from what i’ve heard now is the higher powered early cars did have it as standard in automatic form but you can’t turn it off

i have no button on the other side of the lighter socket so it’s a strange one

[maxxo]

took it on a proper run out today

forgot just how good these are to drive on the motorway, managed to crack 51 mpg on a 200 mile run too! most impressive

[purplebargeken]

Gotta share the C5 love. Mine did 300 moles in supreme wafty comfort. Cruised happily at motorway speeds and was just a lovely driving machine. Still have to get used to how much interior space there is...

[jamescarruthers]

3 hours ago, purplebargeken said:

Gotta share the C5 love. Mine did 300 moles in supreme wafty comfort. Cruised happily at motorway speeds and was just a lovely driving machine. Still have to get used to how much interior space there is...

First thoughts comparing it to your Espace? I remember loving the Avantime’s blank minimal dashboard it felt huge. 

[purplebargeken]

The Espace dash seemed really deep, in a very similar way to this. The C5 seems really wide.

[maxxo]

scanned the car with lexia to see why the eml came on again

expecting the same fault

nope

is this an ABS sensor? why wouldn’t it trigger an ABS warning light?

 

im confused

[RoverFolkUs]

P0502 does not look like an ABS related code, rather vehicle speed sensor which is probably mounted on the transmission hence causing an EML

I'm struggling to decipher the 2nd photo, was that showing a code in ABS? If there is a fault logged in ABS it is probably to do with the above - P0502 (Powertrain 0502)

[maxxo]

33 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

P0502 does not look like an ABS related code, rather vehicle speed sensor which is probably mounted on the transmission hence causing an EML

I'm struggling to decipher the 2nd photo, was that showing a code in ABS? If there is a fault logged in ABS it is probably to do with the above - P0502 (Powertrain 0502)

oh that makes a lot more sense

that does make sense as well that it only ever comes on when i stop…….it’s strange

[maxxo]

taking it for a wheel alignment tomorrow

at the local Halfords Autocentre, i’ve had good experiences with them tbh, seem to be very decent and it’s only £34 with the motoring club discount

hopefully sort the uneven wear

[maxxo]

also transpired that yesterday marked 1 year since purchase of this fine automobile 

i really cannot complain about it at all tbh

it’s been absolutely excellent, the only real issue has been the eml coming on

oh and door locks

19,000 miles covered in that time, i’m really satisfied, i must admit it’s a far better car than my red estate was

[maxxo]

halfords messed me around

booked a free wheel alignment check at kwik fit for monday, god help me, should be alright though

[richardmorris]

3 minutes ago, maxxo said:

halfords messed me around

booked a free wheel alignment check at kwik fit for monday, god help me, should be alright though

No good for you because you’re in oop north. But darn sarf, west London I’ve had the x1/9 laser aligned at feltham tyres heathrow, and more recently the merc done at merit tyre in bagshot for about £65. Both happy to work on older cars.

[maxxo]

took it to kwik fit

took less than an hour, alignment out on drivers side apparently 

£50 or so later it’s done

is it weird there’s a lot less road noise now?