C6. Was dead. Now the general "Daily use of the UK's cheapest C6" thread.

[Talbot]

Well, I've been meaning to start a thread on this for a while, and it appears my hand has been forced by an unexpected breakdown. 

Currently away from home, went to start it after a few days, and it was in economy mode (no surprise).  Dashboard came to life, turned the key and it just barely attempted to crank.  "ooh, that's a bit flat" thinks I.  Give it a moment then tried again.

Dash lit up again, turned the key, and it cranked for a brief moment, and then everything (and I do mean everything) went dead.  No dash, no interior lights, no nothing.

Tried a jump pack on the battery repeater terminal under the bonnet, and still absolutely nothing dead as a dodo.  The windows don't jump up or down on door opening, and I can't open the boot as it has an electronic release.  And guess where the battery is?  Yep, in the boot.

I think the pyro fuse has failed, as the entire car, every single possible function, is dead.  So, a couple of questions for anyone in the know:

Is there a boot emergency mechanical release?  This would be good as my work laptop is in there and I kinda need it for work tomorrow.

Is there a pyro fuse on the battery (I am guessing yes, it's new enough for one)

Has anyone any other thoughts?

Any and all useful advice is welcomed!

[Stinkwheel]

Much commiserations for big Citroen’s Citroen-ness. 
I have no useful advice. Hope you can get it sorted. Bet you wish you’d stuck with CX’s now 😉

[Surface Rust]

Any use?

[Talbot]

Indeed... found this on the C6 owners forum.  I will go and try that, however as the car is 100% dead, I will need to drop the rear seats, empty the boot and then crawl in with a long poky screwdriver.  It's currently pissing down with rain and the car next to it is about 3mm away, meaning access is poor to say the least.  With the handbrake solidly on and the car in park, I doubt I am going to be able to move it to get space.

Fucking electronic pile of shit.

[fatmanblue]

1 minute ago, Surface Rust said:

Any use?

I can confirm this works. Have done it myself. Also works on C4...

However, if you have the Lounge Pack, it becomes very difficult to access. You may need to remove seats.

Be very careful closing doors when window drop does not work, tends to break the glass.

[fatmanblue]

There is a mechanical release for the handbrake too, in the centre armrest - pull the rubber liner out.  

As you have the folding seats, the emergency opening boot method is quite easy.  Put a thick cloth over the latch when you've opened it, to save you having to do it again  two minutes later.

There is a more serious fuse box with big maxi fuses in it, hiding under the normal fuse box under the bonnet. I'm not aware of a 'master' fuse though.

[Talbot]

Found that too... I closed the door by bending the glass in a bit, which is enough to make it pop under the seal.

Thankfully no lounge pack.

What I am trying to work out is why the car has gone from the battery being "a bit weak" to "zero volts, completely dead"  It must be a fuse somewhere.  And I assume a big one if I can't put voltage on the terminal under the bonnet and have the car come to life.

[Talbot]

1 minute ago, fatmanblue said:

There is a mechanical release for the handbrake too, in the centre armrest - pull the rubber liner out.  

As you have the folding seats, the emergency opening boot method is quite easy.  Put a thick cloth over the latch when you've opened it, to save you having to do it again  two minutes later.

That is very useful (and wise... not your first rodeo?) advice.  I may be able to get to my work laptop at the very least now..

[Surface Rust]

If there is a bit of corrosion on a battery terminal the starting load might have broken the circuit. Might be worth giving them a tap or a clean.

[ruffgeezer]

Yeah the under bonnet terminals are notoriously shit- I'd definitely start checking the connections there before getting into anything else.

[Talbot]

That was one of my thoughts too.  The fact that the entire car is 100% absolutely completely and utterly dead would seem to indicate a fundamental failure like that.  I shall be attempting the boot-shuffle to get it open and then see what I can do at the battery.

The lack of a key-operated lock on the C6 is a woeful oversight IMO.  

[fatmanblue]

The rear connector (presumably +ve) on the battery is a lift up latch type (unless you have a really late car). Surprisingly easy to fit badly, could have just popped off.

See also my note about the maxi fuses above.

And yes, 'been there, done that' on most things C6. Although have never had to pull the handbrake release. Tempting fate a bit.

[Talbot]

All very good thoughts.  It absolutely has to be something as obvious as a corroded terminal or battery connector off.  But I shall be checking this all in the morning as the rain is currently torrential!

[fatmanblue]

1 minute ago, Talbot said:

The lack of a key-operated lock on the C6 is a woeful oversight IMO.  

Driver's door has a key operated lock - or did you mean boot?

Keep the key lock lubricated and use it now and then, to avoid the problem of it being seized when the remote lets you down... 

[Talbot]

Just now, fatmanblue said:

or did you mean boot?

Keep the key lock lubricated and use it now and then, to avoid the problem of it being seized when the remote lets you down... 

The boot.  I know it's pretty normal these days to have electronic releases only, but it's bloody annoying in situations like this!

[St.Jude]

19 minutes ago, Talbot said:

Fucking electronic pile of shit.

C’est Citroen, C’est French, C’est Ooh lala, C’est Electroniques, C’est Cataclysm.

 

Or something like that. Sorry you’re having a shit time of it

[fatmanblue]

2 minutes ago, Talbot said:

The boot.  I know it's pretty normal these days to have electronic releases only, but it's bloody annoying in situations like this!

It is. And made much worse by the battery being in the boot. But be glad you have the folding rear seats at this point!

[Crackers]

17 minutes ago, Talbot said:

That is very useful (and wise... not your first rodeo?) advice.  I may be able to get to my work laptop at the very least now..

If you need a skinny person to come and retreive items, I've not up to much this evening... text me if you get stuck!

[ruffgeezer]

If you are able to fold the back seats - IE not the lounge pack or electric ones, this is how to open the boot catch:

[Talbot]

1 minute ago, Crackers said:

If you need a skinny person to come and retreive items, I've not up to much this evening... text me if you get stuck!

Most kind of you to offer!  I am, however, in SAAAAAARF London this evening, which just adds to the bullshittery of the breakdown, as being away from my tools is always* going to be helpful!

[Crackers]

Just now, Talbot said:

Most kind of you to offer!  I am, however, in SAAAAAARF London this evening, which just adds to the bullshittery of the breakdown, as being away from my tools is always* going to be helpful!

Ugh... they always pick their moments.

[Dave_Q]

Can you remove the battery and charge it, or try a new one?

When I had a C8 2.2hdi they were known for being stubborn if they didn't have a good battery, if the voltage during cranking drops below I think 10v it doesn't fire the injectors.

I know it's odd for a battery to go from OK to dead like that but it is cold out.

[Dj_efk]

1 hour ago, Talbot said:

 

Has anyone any other thoughts?

 

?

 

[Talbot]

Waaaaaay ahead of you on that one!!

 

However, having just been out to the car, I managed to get the rear seat folded, moved all my stuff out of the way and shoved my not insignificant bulk into the boot, recovering precious laptop for work tomorrow.  While there, I took the little cover off the battery compartamente.  Two things were evident:

1. A LION battery.  Of course it fucking is.
2. A mess of cables under some serious tension, which appear to be fairly important. 

So, un-knotted what I could from that tiny hatch, only to be met with the interior lights coming on and a whirr from the suspension pump.  Are you kidding me??  Nope, it's all back online again as if nothing happened.  The only thing that appears to have an issue is the driver's window is stuck in the "door open" position and won't wind up.  Nor will it respond to the switch, so I wonder if there was a short somewhere in that circuit... possibly?  I've not tried anything further than just retrieving everything I need and walking away from it for tonight.  I'm cold, wet, and had enough.  Going to re-evaluate both the car and my life choices in the morning.

Many thanks to all for suggestions!

[Cookiesouwest]

6 minutes ago, Talbot said:

Waaaaaay ahead of you on that one!!

 

However, having just been out to the car, I managed to get the rear seat folded, moved all my stuff out of the way and shoved my not insignificant bulk into the boot, recovering precious laptop for work tomorrow.  While there, I took the little cover off the battery compartamente.  Two things were evident:

1. A LION battery.  Of course it fucking is.
2. A mess of cables under some serious tension, which appear to be fairly important. 

So, un-knotted what I could from that tiny hatch, only to be met with the interior lights coming on and a whirr from the suspension pump.  Are you kidding me??  Nope, it's all back online again as if nothing happened.  The only thing that appears to have an issue is the driver's window is stuck in the "door open" position and won't wind up.  Nor will it respond to the switch, so I wonder if there was a short somewhere in that circuit... possibly?  I've not tried anything further than just retrieving everything I need and walking away from it for tonight.  I'm cold, wet, and had enough.  Going to re-evaluate both the car and my life choices in the morning.

Many thanks to all for suggestions!

Like for retrieving laptop.

Not for any poor life choices

[richardmorris]

My c5 needed the windows reset if the battery was disconnected.  Try ignition on ( not started) and hold the button up for ten seconds. All these problems could be low battery voltage.

[myglaren]

My brother had a similar problem with his BMW.  He got the AA out, who removed a sidelight lens and bulb and connected a battery to the terminals, enough power after a couple of minutes to open the doors and the boot.  His battery was in the boot too.

[Dead_E23]

Does it have a cigar lighter socket? That might be a good place to inject 12v, or if it's an ignition live maybe you could pull a fuse and do it from there.

[djoptix]

3 hours ago, fatmanblue said:

Be very careful closing doors when window drop does not work, tends to break the glass

Never change, Citroen.

[LightBulbFun]

4 hours ago, Talbot said:

Waaaaaay ahead of you on that one!!

 

However, having just been out to the car, I managed to get the rear seat folded, moved all my stuff out of the way and shoved my not insignificant bulk into the boot, recovering precious laptop for work tomorrow.  While there, I took the little cover off the battery compartamente.  Two things were evident:

1. A LION battery.  Of course it fucking is.
2. A mess of cables under some serious tension, which appear to be fairly important. 

So, un-knotted what I could from that tiny hatch, only to be met with the interior lights coming on and a whirr from the suspension pump.  Are you kidding me??  Nope, it's all back online again as if nothing happened.  The only thing that appears to have an issue is the driver's window is stuck in the "door open" position and won't wind up.  Nor will it respond to the switch, so I wonder if there was a short somewhere in that circuit... possibly?  I've not tried anything further than just retrieving everything I need and walking away from it for tonight.  I'm cold, wet, and had enough.  Going to re-evaluate both the car and my life choices in the morning.

Many thanks to all for suggestions!

must be something* in the air down here, I had almost the same symptoms with the VDP this very morning, it had been displaying symptoms of a weak battery and I figured might of been due to all the lights on after dark crawling around town I had been doing, and sure enough today it cranked no more, *but* crucially I noticed hang on *all* the electricity had gone interior light etc completely dark, and this is something I had experience with before with REV at the FoD, so a few highly technical quick jiggles of the main battery wires going into the battery clamp later, all normal function was restored and the car started merrily, (but this does remind I must remember to tighten the screws that "crimp" the wire in in the clamp itself, next time im in the engine bay, which is where I suspect my fault lies as the battery terminal clamps themselves are nice and snug, and it only fired up once I disturbed the battery wire itself if that makes sense)

*thinking about it for a mo given how much it rained I wonder if high humidity or such can upset things on the edge like this? (I know it can upset the starting of fluorescent tubes on certain type of control gear but I digress)

5 hours ago, Talbot said:

Most kind of you to offer!  I am, however, in SAAAAAARF London this evening, which just adds to the bullshittery of the breakdown, as being away from my tools is always* going to be helpful!

sounds like your fingers crossed hopefully sorted, but if you still need a hand or just in future things go Autoshite in the City again, feel free to give me a shout, I have a tool bag I can bring and my Invarecovery service (sorry*...) will go south of the River even at this time of the night  

*tho in all seriousness if someone in my neck of the woods needed assistance i'd probably show up with the VDP just incase they need to be Taxi'ed somewhere or taken to a Motorfactors to get bits etc