Any Citroen Mechanics quick question on an odd fault

Mr Bump

Mr Bump

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Hello folks I have a Citroen C3 2005 1.4HDI just short of 40k miles.

I bought it about 4 months ago from a small independent dealer, car came with an external 3rd part warranty limited to £500 max per claim.

Everything is pretty ok with the car apart from it has recently started popping an engine management light on when driving. I notice a small drop in power for maybe 1 second and the light comes on and normal service is resumed. Now I suspected it was a fault code from the fuel system etc so borrowed a friends ODBD II fault code reader and read the code.

All it said was Manufacture Control no more details. Oddly enough when I started the car a few hours later the code cleared. This has happened now 3 times in 2 months and I will be looking at getting it to the garage for a bit of investigation. However I would really like to know what the fault is so I can be pre-armed with information. Any thoughts.

Obviously my thoughts are fuel system, injector, pump etc. Is there a version of these fault code readers that can go deeper does anyone know.

I can take it to my local friendly garage when the code next pops up and ask them if they can read it.
 
How do you drive it? Does it have a dooh dah thing that needs a regen so driving down the motorway at a constant speed to burn off all the emissions. 2005 is around when they were introduced.

Someone will remember what it is called egr or something.
 
DPF is what I was thinking of.
 
Dale_tem said:
DPF is what I was thinking of.
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Diesel Particle Filter, just had one replaced on a C4 Grand Picasso, £200 :eek:

Usually needs replaced every 80,000 - 100,000 miles.
 
id guess its the egr valve full of crud take it off give it a good clean out and hey prestooooooooooooooo
 
Thanks lads.

Style of driving is all motorway pretty much since I got it.
Done 10k in 5 months between Huddersfield and Doncaster almost zero Town.

Lierally just 1-2 seconds loss of power then back to normal and eng management light coms on.

I have read EGR valve elsewehere.
 
Rf76X0K.jpg


In all seriousness, my brother in law had the same problem with his C4 grand picasso, that turned out to be the dpf.
 
When was the last time the fuel filter was changed?
 
If it's the DPF, the warning message that was displayed on my Ctiroen C4 Grand Picasso, indentified it as DPF and not just a generic engine management fault.
 
im not a betting man but as said my money is on the egr valve
 
johnnypanic said:
If it's the DPF, the warning message that was displayed on my Ctiroen C4 Grand Picasso, indentified it as DPF and not just a generic engine management fault.
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I've just had a chat with my brother in law and he says you're totally... right, it does specify it, so my apologies op for leading you astray
 
Thanks again folks, I reset the light two days ago and it came on again this morning coming home from Doncaster early doors.

Same thing engine was cold only been running for a few mins, gentle accelleration got a 1 second loss of power engine felt flufly and light came on and normal power resumed.

I am going to leave the light on and see if it stays on, I have one more night shift to do and if it stays on I might be able to get it to the dealer to have it identified.

one thing I have also noticed and might be linked, engine feels a bit low on power at low throttle levels with maybe a tiny missfire or hesitation, this is only at very low levels of throttle usage as soon as you push the acceraltor the car takes off farely briskly.

example flat road in 4th at say 40mph very gentle throttle just to keep rolling.
 
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What sort of diesel do you use? Supermarket crud or decent stuff? If former then stick some shell v power diesel in it.

It's an old citroen so the potential for failure is as long as your arm.
 
Drove to Doncaster this eve for my last night shift 45 miles M1/M18 and didn't give any issues but engine management light still on.

As to Diesel its Total and Jet are the tow garages I use.
I never get chance to put cheap supermarket stuff in.
 
VirtualAdept said:
I've just had a chat with my brother in law and he says you're totally... right, it does specify it, so my apologies op for leading you astray
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no apologies needed at all its all good info, if the light is still on come monday I will pop it to my local garage and ask if he can read the fault code.
 
Mine does that occasionally, it did recently and went off after a few days.
Was told by my garage not to worry if the car is running ok, call in when I'm passing
and they will turn it off, normally it's turned off itself by then.
Had a previous car that used to do it all the time, never did find a cause, just disconnected the
battery for a couple of minutes and it went out, in the end did it just before MOT time and ignored it beyond that
 
Paul, a main dealer's diagnostic machine may be able to tell you/them more than a generic one can. Personally, I'm not sure the DPF would clog with plenty of motorway miles but it could be that. My experience of faults points to a faulty sensor, generally an easy and cheap fix compared to real work!
 
Nod said:
Paul, a main dealer's diagnostic machine may be able to tell you/them more than a generic one can. Personally, I'm not sure the DPF would clog with plenty of motorway miles but it could be that. My experience of faults points to a faulty sensor, generally an easy and cheap fix compared to real work!
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Thanks and thats my thoughts also, I am going to try and get it to my gragae tomorrow or tuesday I believe they should have the ability to read the code.


trouble with google is everyone has had a similar fault and it always ben something different :-)
 
srichards said:
Citroen use another method of DPF cleaning. They have some fluid that needs replenishing. That running out might cause issues.

http://citroenc3owners.com/diesel-c...neration-antipollution-fault-c3-hdi-t215.html

And a 2005 diesel car bought at 9 years old with only 40k is far too low a mileage. It will have either a) been clocked b) used for piddly short journeys.
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Defo not clocked I got about 4 years of MOT's with it very low mileage for sure I bought it 4 months ago with 29k on it I have done 10k in last 4 months all motorway.
 
It sounds like a sticking EGR valve. I had a similar fault with my Vectra after 90K miles, I cleaned it a few times but eventually I replaced it with a new shiney one from fleabay
 
Paul, it seems that everyone on the internet can tell you exactly what's wrong with your car. I can't!

But as the owner of a franchised dealership, I wouldn't hesitate! If you've owned the car for four months, take it to the nearest Citroen dealership and ask them to put it on their pukka diagnostic machine. They'll charge you about £50 but they'll be able to tell you what faults [if any] are showing, what faults [if any] are stored historically, they'll be able to reset the system and they'll be able to check if there are any manufacturer's recalls or reprogramming updates outstanding on the car!
 
my money is still on the egr valve by the way never trust a cars miles most cars nowadays get clocked in the first 6 months to a year and up to the 3 year mark from new
 
The problem could be such low milage for a diesel of that age and now you are driving it, issues are arising.
 
Well got a call from the garage and the feedback from the error is a "boost issue" they have spoken to a bosch technician and not been able t to key in on it any further. So

I am to run the car and see if the fault develops.
 
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lol well by most any one that knows some one in the likes of dash fixer etc put it this way i returned a car that was under 3 years old that had been clocked a guy that i know who was in the same forum as me also had found out his was clocked and the garage i took my car to get the diag check done had to look in a car he had in the garage at the time that was the same make as mine and he found that had been clocked to lol

(By who exactly? Utter tosh) well 98% of all new cars are digital display the mileage is stored in a few places but the main two is the chip in the dash and the ecu most chips in the dash is eprom chips they take a dump from the prom re adjust the data to show a diff mileage then re flash the chip
 
Even if thats true, and it may be, to say that most cars under 3 years old have been clocked I suspect is wrong. Most cars are bought by private or fleet users then kept for a good few years I suspect and these private users and fleet operators arent going to be clocking anything.

Of course once an MOT is on it, any fiddling after that cant go any lower than the mileage shown on that MOT either. I suppose as the MOT doesnt come into play until a car is 3 the potential for fiddling is greater during that period.
 
lol my bad sorry bud have you had a look over the pipe work ? run soapy water over them see if you get any bubbles
 
ha ha no worries, after speaking to my mechanic yesterday he said the bosch technician thinks an overboost issue. He said this could be an intermittent vaccuum issue or some of the variable vanes in the turbo might be getting blocked.

so found a way of testing the vacuum pressure using the brake pedal and it passed fine.

I have said we ill see what happens going forward and on its next service in a few months I will ask for a strip and clean of the EGR valve and might replace the turbo electro valve at the rear of the engine, its only £50 for the part.

Also I have decided to start running the car on high end diesel for a few months just to see if it runs a little better on that, also I think that stuff has some cleaning additives in it.
 
One thing I do want to find out if this model has a DPF filter, i believe it does 2005 HDI 1.4 as I was wondering about putting some wynns DPF cleaner in the tank and see if that helps.
 
Mr Bump said:
One thing I do want to find out if this model has a DPF filter, i believe it does 2005 HDI 1.4 as I was wondering about putting some wynns DPF cleaner in the tank and see if that helps.
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If you give the VIN to a citroen main agent they should be able to tell you whether yours has I would imagine.
 
srichards said:
If you give the VIN to a citroen main agent they should be able to tell you whether yours has I would imagine.
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I found a link to an official citroen site i believe you can register and get a load of info, i think mine does have a DPF is it below the turbo manifold, large shrouded canister just behind the radiator area?

http://service.citroen.com/do/changerParametres
 
Ok I registered on the site as a motor trader and wow you get access to a lot of info thats amazing.

looking at my vehicle there is no mention of a FAP or DFP in the parts documents, looking at the diagram the enclosed tube below the turbo is called the catalyctic muffler? Cat converter?
Also looking at the fuel supply area there is no mention or FAP / DFP fluid system so I think mine does not have it.

It is an old design of this engine, mine is 2005 but the engine design is from the origonal 2002/03 released of the 1.4 HDI so I thing pre these devices. :-)
 
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