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Suspension problems |
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smihaialex
 
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  Member No: #1031
Location: Bucharest |
Thanks for the replies guys  Unfortunately, things got worse... This morning I went to the car with the intention of getting it to my Citroen Service Shop (15 minute drive). Found the car flat down on its front side. It didn't get up on unlock, but it seemed to get up on ignition (but I was stupid enough to just drive away, instead of double checking  ). The 'Suspension faulty' error as well as the service light were gone, so I was thinking - wow, so far so good, maybe it fixed itself, but the joy was shortlived because 1 minute or so later I reached the first of two speed bumps installed at the exit of my residential complex. Even though I tackled the speed bump cautiously, at very low speed (5 Km/h or so), the car just jumped up and down at the front, like it had no suspension whatsoever. It was then that I realised that something was in fact still wrong - very wrong with the car's suspension. I also realised that whatever is wrong it must be at the front - and from the feel of it I suspected a collapsed front left hand side sphere. Moments after this, the 'Suspension faulty: Max. speed 90 Km/h' and the service light were brought up by the dash and the display. A couple of minutes later, I reached the Service Shop, parked the car and got out to go take care of the reception paperwork. On exiting the car I noticed that the front was super-low - lower than I've ever seen it - lower than on the low setting even, and because I left the wheels turned more than half way to the right, I could notice something like an oily spill on the left hand side tyre and wheel arch lining - it seemed like the spill was coming from the upper area - where the strut is... This seemed to confirm that something was wrong on the front left hand side, but I'm quite convinced that it might be more than just a colapsed sphere (I'm pretty sure that a collapsed sphere doesn't cause a spill )I left the car at the Service Shop, tryied to convey as much info I had learned from our wonderful website to the people in charge of investigating/fixing my car, got on my Brompton foldable bike (Made in the UK ) and peddaled on home - couple of hours later I got in my C4 and went back for a check up - they still hadn't found out what happened, but they had more bad news - it seems that the computer can't communicate with the pump - like the pump has been taken offline or something - and the guys there suspect that that's the problem... I however, refuse to believe that's the case. I do so, because the pump going dead would have made the car drop, and not just at the front, but at the back as well, right?!? And that didn't happen. Also the pump going dead does not explain why there's stiffness at the front end, but not at the back. And last but not least, it sure as hell doesn't explain what I presume to be an LDS spill at the front left hand side... I think the technitions here are missing something, I'm just not sure what it is... What do you think? Cheerios, Sam |
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gmerry
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   Member No: #21
Location: Scotland |
Personally, in this situation I would depressurise the suspension (via mechanical bleed screws) and then check out the spheres. There is no diagnostic checks on the spheres so unless problems with these are eliminated directly, you don't know whether any other problems are caused by the faulty spheres (i.e., not the root cause). Once you know the spheres are good, check /top up the volume and take it from there. Once a sphere has gone, you run the risk of blowing out LDS from the system. I have a special overflow cap with a piece of tubing attached that can be directed into a bottle (unstead of making a mess in the engine bay). The leak/spill on the front Left Hand side sounds like a Power Steering hose issue or possibly a suspension hose/pipe problem. Could be that your system has lost all its fluid? Any funny pump noises|? PS, some of your symptoms are similar to mine when I had faulty front spheres (corner and the stiffness regulator) Regards G |
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smihaialex
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Member No: #1031
Location: Bucharest |
Hey G, Thanks for the message. Much appreciated. To answer your questions... The pump makes no noise whatsoever. The steering pipe has been replaced early this year with a brand new Citroen original. Although I haven't replaced them myself, judging from the paint on the spheres, they might have been replaced fairly recently - there's no corrosion, no nothing - another thing - my car's spheres look better than my brother's 2009 C5's spheres... I wouldn't bet money on this though, as it might me just a perception - my whole car looks impeccable (it doesn't show its age, nor its mileage), but that doesn't change the fact that it is one of the earlier and older models (built 2006, registered 2007), my point being that looks might be deceiving and the spheres might be in fact older than they seem - they might very well be the original ones. Moving on... The LDS is still there - I don't know the exact level but you can see it when taking off the cap on the tank, so if some spilled, it was only a tiny bit...Questions: 1. what do you make of the fact that the pump is not accessible electronically - it does not respond to the ECU's commands to raise the car, lower the car etc via Diagbox? 2. as soon as the suspension faulty error message was brought up, I tried the up and down suspension controls and the commands were disallowed, meaning that the system had blocked access to the suspension control - is it plausible that if one or more spheres go and the system detects a suspension problem, then the pump is taken offline along with the suspension controls and this is why right now it is not accessible? or is it more probable that it is the pump who has failed and that's why the controls are disabled? and if this is the case, how could the pump failing cause a spill in the front left hand wheel arch? Warm regards, Sam |
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belstone
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  Member No: #810
Location: Hastings and Aberystwyth |
I am experiencing something similar to smihaialex. By design, if the ECU detects a 'Suspension Faulty' condition then the up/down buttons are disabled with the warning seen, since in some conditions moving the car up or down could cause more problems. I have now got all new Citroen spheres front and back, but the car still sinks rapidly on locking, and takes a long time to rise. A valve or some other hydraulic component in the rear part may be leaking pressure back into the hydraulic system. Occasionally after a minute or two of driving there is a sudden bounce up at the back, which then doesn't change again during the rest of the journey. At other times the back will come up with a bit of a spring, and then continue rising. |
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smihaialex
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Member No: #1031
Location: Bucharest |
Yes, well, unfortunately, my pump isn't coming back online, and at this point I would be more than happy if it turns out that I 'just' have to change all the spheres (at 500 EUR or so), instead of the pump unit (at 1400 EUR of so) So, the main question remains - while the suspension faulty error is displayed and the buttons don't work - is the pump also offline?!? Or should the pump be online and accessible via BSI, regardless?!? Cheers, Sam |
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smihaialex
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Member No: #1031
Location: Bucharest |
Got word from my Citroën Service yesterday... It is the pump  There's also another piece of hydraulic piping that needs replacing... All in all, about £ 1,000 worth of repairs...They've also told me that there's some thin' wrong with the multi-purpose command unit (behind the steering wheel, with the lights and the wiper stalks) it seems that it's not accessible to the ECU via BSI and it fills the log with communication errors and it might eventually mess up the CAN BUS, but I'm not planning to replace that just yet because it's not that cheap (almost as much as the HP pump)... Cheers, Sam |
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gmerry
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Member No: #21
Location: Scotland |
Hi Sam, you are right to be cautious about replacing the steering wheel ECU because most of us have that error and at one time it was thought to down to a Lexia software problem... Regards G |
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rogerandoutman
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 Member No: #466
Location: London |
I know it sound simple, but have you checked the maxi fuse that protects the pump, mine blew and I have replaced with a 50amp and so far so good. if pump is faulty check out - Click Here - a UK company that remanufacture the pump assembly for £275.00 + vat. they only show a C5 unit on their site, so I am not sure if it is identical, otherwise you will have to send you old unit for overhall. Buts its less expensive than a new pump. Also check fluid level, I have just added 2 litres of LDS, and this is following a Citroen dealer service two months ago |
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e3steve
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 Member No: #1163
Location: Warsash, Hants & Palma de Mallorca, Spain |
rogerandoutman wrote ... Same! Mine blew a second time before I decided to 'up' it a tad.I know it sound simple, but have you checked the maxi fuse that protects the pump, mine blew and I have replaced with a 50amp and so far so good....... rogerandoutman wrote ... Same!!
Also check fluid level, I have just added 2 litres of LDS.......... |
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rorydoyle43
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 Member No: #516
Location: waterford |
there's a guy on the german Ebay breaking a whole c6 at reasonable prices. | ||
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smihaialex
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Member No: #1031
Location: Bucharest |
Hey G, Thanks for the advice, I will not replace the multi-functional command unit for now Hey Rog, hey Steve, I was up to speed with what had happened to you guys, so I checked the maxi fuse first (it's the one located underneath the fuse unit, right?!?), but unfortunately, it's not that Current reaches the pump ok, but it doesn't do anything - it seems that it's not the pump itself (the electrical motor), but the embedded electronic command unit...I also checked the fluid level and, despite the oily marks on my left hand side tyre and wheel arch lining, the LDS seems to be all there (I can't use the suspension commands to lay the car down flat on its belly - they don't work anymore, but it's pretty flat at the front end, and the LDS amost reaches the flat part of the tank, so if some is missing, it's a tiny amount). I will check out the website and get in touch with BBA reman to see if I can source a reconditioned pump there, and possibly trade in my old unit for an additional discount, thank you very much Hey Rory, I don't know about the eBay approach man... You see, so far I've only repaired my C6 using brand new OEM parts, and I feel somewhat uncomfortable breaking that streak (even though it has cost me a small fortune - I'm not going to say how much, but I will say that I could have bought another used C6, comfortably). However, I will check it out and if it's a real bargain, maybe I'll give it a shot Thank you very much guys. Keep you posted, Sam |
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smihaialex
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Member No: #1031
Location: Bucharest |
Found this on eBay - Click Here - but I don't exactly know how to verify if it's a match with my car... The supplied manufacturer code 9654068680 doesn't look like a Citroen Service reference to the HP Pump which for my car is 5277G2, 5277G3 or 5277L7. Any ideas?!? Thanks, Sam PS: I've also contacted BBA Reman, and unfortunately they don't have this in stock right now. They did offer me the option of sending them my unit, but it would cost me £185 if they don't fix it and £425 if they do (£150 shipping to and from UK, £35 evaluation fee payable only if they don't fix it, £275 if they do fix it). |
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C6Dave
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  Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland |
Sam 9654068680 doesn't match any Peugeot numbers either - the format does look like the new way that Pug use them, but that doesn't match any vehicle so must be a wrong number? They have probably just copied it off one of the labels and it's a suppliers number |
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speedfix
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 Member No: #1043
Location: south west |
Are you sure its not a strut failure and the command to pump has shut down? Just a though! I will read the thread when not so busy. |
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adam
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Member No: #999
Location: Birkenhead |
adam wrote ... Hi recently my suspension has started to drop at the rear immediately after switching the engine off. Also the engine has to be running before the suspension comes back up to the correct level rather than when just "bliping" with the keys. I know that there is a fault and will have to book the car into the dealer, but my questions are: 1 Is this going to be expensive to fix? 2 Is the car safe to drive? 3 Will drive damage the car further Thanks Adam |
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