2003 [03] C3 HDi diagnostic code-reader thing?

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nobeard
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2003 [03] C3 HDi diagnostic code-reader thing?

Post by nobeard »

Hi people, please excuse my ignorance, but if it's not too simplistic a question could anyone tell me what type/make of diagnostic scanner thing works on a 2003 [03] C3 HDi, to read it's ECU error codes at least?

Thanks
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Re: 2003 [03] C3 HDi diagnostic code-reader thing?

Post by DickieG »

Lexia is the best one, it's what dealers use and Chinese copies are now available for around £130ish
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nobeard
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Re: 2003 [03] C3 HDi diagnostic code-reader thing?

Post by nobeard »

Ok, thank's.
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Re: 2003 [03] C3 HDi diagnostic code-reader thing?

Post by Jabo »

If you just want to read and erase fault codes, and nothing else then buy one of the USB ELM327 cables from eBay. They're only about £15.
I have one and it does that little job just fine.

If you're serious about your C5 ownership then I recommend buying a Lexia so that you can do the complete diagnostics on the car. I bought mine for £85 on eBay recently and it's great.
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nobeard
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Re: 2003 [03] C3 HDi diagnostic code-reader thing?

Post by nobeard »

It's a C3 bud, not a C5.. but would an ELM cable still work? What software would it need?
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Re: 2003 [03] C3 HDi diagnostic code-reader thing?

Post by Jabo »

Yeah the ELM327 would still work. It works on all petrol cars from 2001 onwards and all diesels from 2004 onwards. There's millions of free ODBII software programs you can download, you just have to have a google search.
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Re: 2003 [03] C3 HDi diagnostic code-reader thing?

Post by nobeard »

Er, it's a 2003 bud, i saw that all the 'universal' plug-in code readers only claim to work on diesels from 2004 and later, so that's why i thought i'd better ask about it here.. should i assume that an ELM cable won't work on mine after all then?
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Re: 2003 [03] C3 HDi diagnostic code-reader thing?

Post by Jabo »

Some pre-2004 diesel cars are OBDII compliant. Somebody else here will come along and confirm compliance.
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Re: 2003 [03] C3 HDi diagnostic code-reader thing?

Post by nick »

With 2003 diesels its virtually pot luck, some are OBDII compliant, some aren't. ISTR there was someone on here with two almost identical 2003 Picasso 2.0 HDis where a generic code reader would work on one but not the other!

Its not limited to PSA cars either, OBDII code readers work with my mums 2003 Astra CDTi even though they're not supposed to.
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Re: 2003 [03] C3 HDi diagnostic code-reader thing?

Post by miked »

According to the list on this website http://www.outilsobdfacile.com/vehicle- ... -obd2.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I think it is compliant.

My early 2003 xsara is OBDII.

The C3 was introduced in 2002 and Citroen knew then that all cars had to comply by 2004 so I wouldn't be surprised if all C3's support OBDII
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