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Sport Mode vanished after front Height corrector replacement 2.2 HDI Manual. |
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Ranger12
 
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   Member No: #4492
Location: Somewhere in the darkest recesses of England |
Hi there, I'm having issues with my C6 2.2 HDI Manual (no AMVAR). 2 months ago, driving on the motorway at around 80 mph, with sport mode on and displayed on the dash, I got an alert on the multifunction display as well as beeping sounds from under the steering wheel, notifying me of suspension issues, then the sport mode display vanished. It turned out it was the front height corrector that had failed, so I managed this week to get a new one, fitted it, reset the suspension heights, cleared and rechecked for faults (with Diagbox/Lexia) and none were displayed, however my sport setting button now no longer works, and nothing appears on the display when trying to select it, and I can't find a setting in the Diagbox that deals with this. Does anyone know if I need to carry out a specific proceedure to get this working again? I am showing zero diagnostic faults, have been through all my settings, and cannot find a fault. As this extinguished at the same time my height corrector failed, I assumed sorting that out would automatically sort this out too. As far as I understand, the sport mode setting is also part of the ESP/ABS system, as this also failed when the error occured, but is now working again with the height corrector done. Any ideas? I'm stumped presently. Also, on a side note, this car does not have AMVAR, however, when scanning for available modules, diagbox reports that it has a Variable damping ECU installed, even though my shock absorbers have no connectors on them. When I purchased this car, the suspension was not behaving properly, and I found that it needed the suspension to be at the correct height, but also discovered that one of two settings (Variable damping level 1) was enabled (Variable Damping level 2 disabled). I disabled variable damping level 1, and also set variable damping as absent, and my car started to behave much more like a magic carpet (though never like the CX2.4 Safari I had a long time ago). Again, any ideas as to why this car has the ECU for variable damping, when setting it causes errors and a rougher ride? (with it off, no errors, ESP/ABS work, sport mode used to noticably stiffen things up a bit (until recently with the Height corrector fault). Colour me confused! Th |
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C6Dave
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   Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland |
TBH, I have no idea where you start with this one.. | ||
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speedfix
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 Member No: #1043
Location: south west |
My 2 bobs worth from years ago with the 2.2 C6. With no AMVAR First have you checked the OLD front height corrector for continuity if OK I would next check the front and rear pressure sensors, if OK go to the rear firmness regulator for switching between the two modes the valve piston etc can stick causing strange height variations. Whether or not it affects the sport mode display, I do not know. IMO Diagbox is not always correct and can be misleading with suspension issues. |
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Ranger12
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Member No: #4492
Location: Somewhere in the darkest recesses of England |
Hi C6Dave & speedfix, thank you for responding, I thought this might turn into a head scratcher ... The front height corrector was definately shot, the new one cleared the fault straight away, and allowed me to reset the suspension heights, and the error has now remained clear, so have not felt the need to measure (as the warning in Diagbox specifically mentioned the front height corrector). Regarding the firmness and pressure sensors, I have no idea where to look for those or what they look like, there is little info out there for the 2.2, more for the 2.7 Autos, but now that you mention it, the ride is not as supple as it used to be, and it appears the rear is a bit bouncy. I am able to check these using Lexia/Diagbox/Launch-X431 in the Actuators menu, so I will be having a go at that (though none showed any faults recorded), today, and hopefully you may be right about it being a stuck firmness switch, it does feel like something is still not quite damping as it should in the rear. On another side note, and I only mention this as you've had experience with the 2.2 (manual?), but my car was run for many years without the suspension set correctly, which has made the passenger side gearbox bearing wear out. Do you know off-hand if it is possible to change the gearbox outer bearing and seal in situ? Maybe I should put that as a seperate post. I'll report back on taday's Lexia session as to wether I acheive anything. Thankls again for responding. |
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Ranger12
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Member No: #4492
Location: Somewhere in the darkest recesses of England |
Hi Speedfix, after many hours sweating in my car, my Lexia would not let me make changes and kept asking for a code to make changes, my diagbox seems so convoluted at times that I couldn't find settings I had used only moments before, and I got absolutely nowhere. I did however manage to run actuator tests on the Suspension, and whilst I could hear various clicks and whirs from the front, I was completely unable to determine what the rear was doing (really needs two people, as I wasn't able to get out of the car fast enough to listen for whirs and clicks from the rear, or to test whether it was switching from hard to soft. I find Diagbox so confusing at times, it has several settings mentioning Variable Damping, and in one area it means switching from soft to hard firmness, and in all other cases it seems to mean the AMVAR type variable damping. I.m pretty sure this isn't an AMVAR equipped car, but still scratching my head over why I have a variable damping ECU with two-level settings, which throw communication errors if enabled (also with faulty suspension warnings). I am also constantly getting errors on the steering wheel angle sensor (yet another setting that I used yesterday, then went to use again and couldn't find). I tend to get 'intermittent' or 'inconsistent' error displays, usually on the ESP/ABS Circuit, complaining about wheel angle issues. I think, maybe, I need a new angle sensor, but remember getting this warning previously, re-calibrating, and not having an issue again, but I am also thinking you are right that the rear solenoids are either stuck or not working, as on my own I could not hear any noises from the rear when checking them with diagbox. If they are faulty, where are they, and are they serviceable? Oh for a day on a four poster car lift! Tired of trying to fix this in the narrow road I live in! Still, I'm determined to get to the bottom of this issue. I will add how astonishing it is though, that the C6 can have so many suspension issues, yet still drives comfortably and safely, and so quietly. Even when it failed at 80 miles per hour on the M4, if it wasn't for the warnings poping up, I wouldn't have even twigged there was an issue except for the Sport mode icon display vanishing. |
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speedfix
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Member No: #1043
Location: south west |
Hi Ranger 12, thinking back when I bought my 2.2 hdi I was not happy with the ride like yourself I had to set the suspension manually. At the time setting with Lexia going with variable damping was hopeless, carried out measurements setting but a no go, I also seem to remember that the fault code throwing up steering angle sensor was a software fault, i'm sure I have that fault on the 3.0 hdi as well. BTW carried out the setting correction suspension procedure on the 3.0 with added forced values to get the the required correction. Getting to your replacement height sensor would love to know the old ones voltage (smooth or not) range over 80-90 degrees, can check with volt meter. Ref drives well with suspension fault, I seem to think that checking with diagbox showed that one fault can be shown as number of faults, the ecu's systems running seem to be interconnected with not just one item like a abs sensor or speed but others that keep the car on track when one fails. Ground hook and sky hook is clever stuff, some M/cycles now have it. BTW are you Tesla Ranger? |
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Ranger12
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Member No: #4492
Location: Somewhere in the darkest recesses of England |
Hi Speefix, I was thinking if you are in the UK I can send you my old front height corrector, I don't have a clue what I'd be looking for when it comes to testing the unit. My efforts to restore my 'Sport Mode' have come to naught, still no errors showing, and I've used my Lexia3 (which doesn't seem to have an area where I could even select Sport Mode as default - as some have suggested), and Diagbox is fast becoming intolerable, with very poor confusing and contradictory settings, some of which if you change in one section, change in another, So many hours wasted chasing settings which don't seem to be consistent. I've checked my rear firmness valve, but nothing seems amiss, wiring good, connections good, no signs of leaks, and it even seems my suspension may be stuck in 'Sport Mode' as the ride is not as soft as last week, and seems to be firming up quicker making for less comfort. I have ended up going through every setting I can find in Lexia & Diagbox (also noted that Lexia does not allow for the (New regulation tyre pressure setting, but Diagbox does, and after using Lexia, then switching to diagbox, resulted in my BSI being listed as having the wrong setting for an unadjustable setting). I think my firmness regulators are working front and rear, but trying to test if they are switching with Diagbox is just impossible - I start the test, get out of the car and push down on the suspension but am unable to determine what is going on, yet driving the car suggests there is nothing wrong with the regulators. If anyone knows why I have a variable damping ECU on this car which shows up when Diagbox does a Global ECU test, and in the Repair section of Diagbox, and if this is suposed to be enabled (BTW I have run the car with working suspension and sport mode for 2 years with the Variable damping ECU set to missing/Absent, and it was only when driving on the motorway when the front height corretor failed that sport mode vanished, and has not returned, regardless of settings. I have no faults listed, and am scratching my head whilst sporting an increasingly familiar frowny face - which somehow doesn't seem to work either  It may or may not be related, but in similar fashion, I also have a moving deflector ECU, moving deflector is listed in ECUs present (So I will at some point be trying to see if my 2.7's boot deflector will work with my 2.2, but that's another project. For now I am just curious as to why my 2.2 manual has 2 ECU's for things it never came equipped with. |
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Ranger12
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Member No: #4492
Location: Somewhere in the darkest recesses of England |
So, I don't know if anyone else has experienced this, but my 2.2 Manual rides like a CX with all the electronics disabled. No ESP/ABS/TCS, no soft/firm damping, no Wheel Angle Sensor, just the suspension behaving as if it was a dumb setup, and my goodness what a difference. So much for all the computer tech, this is how I want my C6 to feel. Ok so it rolls in corners (though not as bad as the CX2.4 Safari I used to have), but amazingly, pitches and yaws less than it does with all that gubbins working. Yesterday I found that my Steering Angle Sensor reports it is at 60 Degrees to the left (where it calibrated succesully), when the wheels and steering wheel are straight ahead. If I turn the steering to 000.00, the wheels and steering wheel then point 60 degrees to the right, and calibration will not succeed. I have long felt that my C6 behaves differently in left corners than right corners, and I think this is why - in left hand bends the firmness regulator is cutting in too early, and in right hand bends it cuts in too late, giving a mixed ride experience. As this is just a thought and not a certain conclusion, does anyone know if with the steering wheel and wheels in a straight line, if the live data in Diagbox should read 000.00 and calibrate to that, or are they all set to 60 degrees to the left? Also, just a note for others - do not ever rotate the steering wheel angle sensor beyone two whole turns either way, I did yesterday trying to work out how it all works, but after that and even opening it up to reset the inner gear (turn counter), the unit would not calibrate, no matter what I tried. Today I have removed the Steering Wheel Angle sensor from my broken 2.7 - it took 3 hours of [%*^#@!] hands and cursing because my steering wheel would not loosen, even after cold-chiseling a 3rd of the mounting splines. Eventually I got it loose, but had to hang off the steering wheel like a literal monkey, hands at the top, and feet at the bottom of the wheel, and bounce it - this finally got some movement, then one of the spokes snapped, but I still managed to get it off. Gosh my hands are sore from the amount of times I mistook my hands for the cold chisel (It's here I realise that hands must be tougher than hammer steel, because the chisel looks worse than my hands). So I now have an MOT on Tuesday, and have a broken Driver's airbag, broken wheel angle sensor, a still non-functioning sport mode, and of course all the things that rely on the wheel angle sensor. In an hour I'll be repairing the other wheel sensor I damaged a little bit of it taking it off the other car, and fitting the other airbags wiring (I managed to snap the blue and brown wires off mine yesterday), so hopefully this will be a bit easier than this morning's efforts, but I am not looking forward to using the Lexia/Diagbox. Still no wiser as to why the sport mode no longer works, and somehow I've managed to stop my reversing camera working just by using Diagbox (haven't a clue which setting I changed that has stopped it. Hey Speedfix, I forgot to mention last time, no I am not Tesla Ranger, but I am thinking of getting a second-hand model S, so quite weird that you should ask, as I was only thinking about it the day before you asked, and no, it would not be replacing my C6, but would give me time to find somewhere I can work on it that isn't on a narrow, rat-run street. Ah well .... back to it ,,,,,,,,,,, |
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Ranger12
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Member No: #4492
Location: Somewhere in the darkest recesses of England |
....... So that seemed to go well, I rebuilt the Wheel Angle sensor from the good bits of both, replaced the Air-Bag Wiring, and managed a calibration with Diagbox, and cleared all the faults. Too tired to road test today, so will test tomorrow. | ||
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C6Dave
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Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland |
Ranger12 wrote ... ....... So that seemed to go well, I rebuilt the Wheel Angle sensor from the good bits of both, replaced the Air-Bag Wiring, and managed a calibration with Diagbox, and cleared all the faults. Too tired to road test today, so will test tomorrow. Hopefully all resolved, but it is a Citroën so.... looking forward to confirmation that all is now sorted. |
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Ranger12
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Member No: #4492
Location: Somewhere in the darkest recesses of England |
Well it is a Citroën so .... success! ..... well kind of .... No Faults, handling far more consistent between left and right and less yaw/pitching, but ... still no sport mode selection. I'm lost, but thinking it must be one or the other firmness regulators, or both, being that is pretty much all the Sport Mode button does (always noticed the suspension firm up, but never anything else like engine performance). Any C6 Guru have an idea of what the Sport Mode links with in terms of associated ECU's? Maybe I can find what's wrong with a more detailed, logical approach to this. |
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C6Dave
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Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland |
Ranger12 wrote ... Any C6 Guru have an idea of what the Sport Mode links with in terms of associated ECU's? Maybe I can find what's wrong with a more detailed, logical approach to this. Sport mode basically holds the gear changes a bit longer so in theory accelerates faster and also firms up the suspension. From an older post: (there are 3 'spheres' across each axle which control the ride) sport mode takes out the middle sphere so reducing the suspension travel the car will learn your driving style and do that itself anyway.... TBH if the cars working, let it do it's own thing and don't worry about it
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speedfix
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Member No: #1043
Location: south west |
Hi Ranger, sorry for the late response. ref the old height sensor testing as they can be ok even when showing a faults with lexia. To test the sensor on pins, power feed 5 volt pos no 1 pin no 3 pin earth ground no 2 pin signal. Use a multimeter in the DC volt mode black probe to same earth ground red probe to signal. Should show a steady range from 0.28 to 4.6 volts as the sensor arm is moved to 90 degrees from the start 0.28. If OK then it is my belief that the sensor brackets can be out of sync and that can cause many issues that the ECU will revert to a type of limp safe mode with the suspension giving a rough ride etc etc. IMO when sorted give the ECU time to reset and relearn the perimeters. BTW IMO still may have the firmness regulator stuck not allowing sport mode but do start with the old sensor testing first. When all is in sync with the C6 suspension they are second to none. Even beats my old RR with the old type Citroën set up. |
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Ranger12
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Member No: #4492
Location: Somewhere in the darkest recesses of England |
As mine is a manual, it is I that decides how long the gear changes are, and when, and I see only two spheres at the rear in the centre, so I think you are referring to the automatic gearbox. As the sport mode isn't working anymore, I class that as not working properly, and because I do worry about such things, as well as why my auto-door locking triggering a BSI reboot, and my manual button for that now does it too every now and then, and the remote locking is getting intermittent and buggy (with a new battery). Maybe I need to clean the contacts on the BSI, but have read somewhere that this is a tricky operation with a high risk factor. I'm a worrier, and like to have everything that is fitted, working as it should, possibly I'm a bit OCD about it, but it is my C6, and it has gotten under my skin. |
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Ranger12
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Member No: #4492
Location: Somewhere in the darkest recesses of England |
Hi Speedfix, I had forgotten about letting the system relearn, maybe I need to give it a while to readapt, but I don't think that will bring back the sport mode, but I could be wrong, maybe that will start working when it has enough data?. I'll try to test the modes with diagbox and a friend on Thursday, as I suspect it isn't switching, and stuck in default soft mode. Thanks for the data on how to read the sensor, but I only have a multimeter and no 5 volt power supply. It was diagbox, not lexia that listed the suspension fault as the front height corrector (but it was the C6's own screen that displayed 'Faulty Suspension'), I replaced it, and the fault vanished, and then I was able to reset the suspension heights, which I was unable to do with the faulty sensor, which seems to logically indicate the sensor is at fault as indicated, however, sport mode is not back, and no indication as to why. Maybe theres a fuse I missed somewhere, I'll have a check tomorrow. Regarding the Sensor brackets being out of place, both mine show no signs of being out of place, or bent, I checked the linkages on both, and regreased them as part of inspecting them (they had old grease, but were still well attached, and free to move). The sensors and brackets have mounting notches which make it hard to misalign them, but I suspect that some garages adjust the suspension by repositoning the clamps on the anti roll bar, linked to the height-sensors, however on mine, Sport mode, all 4 selectable hieghts and default suspension height (which I set) worked for 2 years, with Variable damping ECU set to absent, until this recent event. I wonder if it is the button itself that has failed internally? Now I think about it, I did press it many many times in my atempt to get it to come on again, I may have been a bit hard on it. I'll check that tomorrow as well, it could be all fixed, just the button not working ...... I will report back. |
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