My turn for a C5!

[Hell Razor5543]

I had just forgotten to do them before she went in. I have found the car fabric cleaning spray (from Poundland) does a good job of cleaning the safety belts, followed by a a shot of silicone lubricant.

[Hell Razor5543]

Recently my C5 decided to worry me somewhat. On the way back from Weymouth last month she threw up a warning saying something like 'Suspension fault'! The next time I used her the suspension was fine, but a few days later she did it again. I decided to do a BSi reset, and then she decided to REALLY worry me. As you know, part of the process requires lowering the suspension to bottomed out. Well, when I was at the stage of raising the suspension NOTHING HAPPENED!!! This was not good, as I was meant to be going to Ellesmere that day to visit Mum for a few days. In desperation I checked the two 40A fuses in the engine bay fuse-box, and when I re-seated them the suspension came up. Then I remembered the issue I had had with the rear wiper (on my first C5), so I unplugged/plugged the two fuses in a few times, just to make sure.

Today I ran another BSi reset (planned for this exact reason), and while the battery was disconnected I went after all of the engine bay fuses (one at a time) with an abrasive rubber block. It would be safe to say all of the fuse blades had a nice 'patina' (as antique experts would say). Now the blades are nice and shiny, and the sockets have all had a quick spray of proper contact cleaner, for good measure. Everything seems to be working properly, so next time you do a BSi reset you might want to consider cleaning up the fuse blades at the same time, just in case.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265129664915 ... SwMNpgfYlr

[citroenxm]

To be honest I'd go one step further and take out the three large multi connection plugs at the back of the bsm fusebox. This can hell keep an eye of any water ingress which capillery action seems to do either from the washer. Motor or water temp sensor.. Our 207 killed its centre plug connection. It gave me a non turning starter... Abs fault and pas fault.. Another bsm cured it all.

[Hell Razor5543]

Paul, I had unplugged them when she had her 'hissy fit', and sprayed contact cleaner in each one (and their sockets), to see if that sorted her suspension fault. I got a securing 'screw' from the scrapyard, as one was missing from the 'injection' cover, and that is now properly secured at all four points.

[citroenxm]

Ahhh cool nice one. Well done..

[mpellegri]

Hi guys, I am having some electrical related issues and this seems more or less what I was looking for.
My wipers stopped working a couple of weeks ago and then started working again after I had a look at the fuse box. Then yesterday I started having errors about the ESP/ABS and power steering. I looked at the connectors again to see if they were corroded and after that my wipers stopped working again and the other fault messages started coming and going. I think it's clearly an electrical problem. Do you know what's connecting ESP/ABS and wipers?

[citroenxm]

Yea that's the. Bsm fuse box behind the battery. I had the same on our 207 but it affected starter,. Abs and pas. I took the large centre plugs out and the centre one was all corroded. And damaged... Swapped it for another bsm and she's been good as gold since.

Come back to me in a. New. Post I've got a couple of bsm fuse boxes from c5s that might do the job

[Hell Razor5543]

As you may know, the suspension pump on my C5 has died, two days before I was due to visit my Mum (and friends). Well, a very good friend lent me a Xsara Picasso, and my holiday was saved. Not just my holiday, but those of three others; my Mum (who has a heart condition), Julian (who has a life limiting condition), and Katz (his sister, who has never been on a narrowboat before). We had planned to take a trip from Ellesmere to Llangollen, and realistically, it would not have been possible if I were not there (no, I am not blowing my own trumpet; locks and lift bridges would have beaten them). Mum has her narrowboat "The Black Cat", while Julian has "Sapphire".

I headed up last Thursday (11/08), and we set off the following day (Julian had to have an important conference call first), and we took it gently (we were not in a hurry, and we were meant to be enjoying ourselves). The following day we carried on, ending up near a Marstons pub called "The Poachers". There was the possibility of having a meal there, but they were fully booked. Oh well, never mind. The following morning, before we set off, we went to the nearby Dobbies garden centre, which has a small Sainsburys' there (useful hint; if you plan on taking a canal trip to Llangollen make sure you do your food shopping elsewhere, as the prices in Llangollen Co-Op are ridiculous!). I worked us through the two locks, we crossed over the Chirk aqueduct and we ended the day within 1/2 mile of Llangollen aqueduct.

Next day we set off, and the Llangollen Aqueduct is magnificent. The view is spectacular, and it seems a bit strange to be looking down on the trees from the canal. For those with vertigo make sure you remain within the cabin of the boat, as there are no rails on the side opposite the towpath (it is also HIGHLY recommended that children remain in the cabin during the crossing). I was really chuffed to make a perfect 90 left turn at the Trevor basin into the canal ("The Black Cat" does not have bow thrusters, so all of the steering is happening at the stern). We pootled on into Llangollen, and moored up at the marina for the evening (£6 per night per boat, but you can only moor in Llangollen for two nights). When we wandered into town it was heaving with tourists, and quite a few were throwing themselves off the bridge into the cooling River Dee below (the Police did warn people of the danger, but we all know what teenagers can be like). Unfortunately Mum then found that her engine would not start, so we had to twiddle her boat around so that she was stern into the bank, allowing us to unbox the engine. I found one of the two long bolts (that secures the end caps) had not only come loose; it had knackered threads. This bolt was obstructing the motor. I had to remove it to allow the engine to start, but it also meant that only one bolt was holding the motor together. We did not try starting her at that time, as I did not know how long the motor would last (provided we could get back to Ellesmere Mum would be able to get the motor replaced).

The following day we headed off, and Mum was highly relieved her engine started (we agreed that we would not stop the engine until we got to our evening moorings each day, as we did not know how long it would remain in working order). The Llangollen Canal is shallow in places (mainly between Llangollen and Trevor), and this did cause us an issue when we encountered a couple of boats coming the other way. Having a couple of people offering 'useful' advice did not help matters at all (Mum has taken proper skippering courses, as well as having nearly 30 years experience), and finally we were on our own, when we were able to get things sorted out. Back across the Llangollen Aqueduct, and ended up at the same evening moorings.

Off again, and Julian was happy for me to handle "Sapphire". This meant that he could sit up at the bow, taking in the serenity of the water passing by, taking in the view, and not worrying about his sister navigating by the ricochet method. "Sapphire" 'swims like a fish', which is canal talk for handling beautifully. We got back to "The Poachers", where I found that Julian was not knowledgeable about certain essential tasks on narrowboats. The grease tube for the stern gland was dry, while the bilges were anything but! I refilled the grease tube, wound the 'tap' down until it resisted, and then wound it a full 360 degrees further. This stopped the stern gland from dripping. Mum has a decent manual vacuum pump (she forgot she had an electric pump until the following morning. Thanks, Mum!), so I spent the next three hours pumping out around 200 litres! Everybody else offered to help, but I was not prepared to accept the offer from Mum or Julian (because of their medical conditions). However, I knew I would need help guiding the pickup pipe when the water was low, and there Katz was invaluable. When we finished "Sapphire" was riding 2" higher at the stern.

Before we set off the following morning Julian wanted some cigarettes, so I toddled off with him to the nearby BP station (he was using his three wheeled 'walker'), and then we went to the Dobbies Sainsburys. When we set off I was handling "Sapphire" again, so Julian could just enjoy the voyage (he was happy steering her, but having a 'chauffeur' meant he could have a stress free trip). Later on he remembered he had a couple of medical appointments the following day, so we pushed on hard and got back to Ellesmere that evening. All in all, we had a lovely trip (and Julian was REALLY happy to have been able to go on a simple cruise that was just for pleasure).

All of the following photographs are my own work.

[citroenxm]

Before I fell unwell me and Sarah walked across the aqueduct... and along the bridge next to the live railway in your last picture. Really amazing feates of engineering around there

[myglaren]

Sounds a good trip, bar the engine mount and wallowing in the bilges.
At least you skipped the rain.

Surprised at a Sainsbury's in Dobbies as Dobbies is owned by Tesco.

[Hell Razor5543]

Sounds a good trip, bar the engine mount and wallowing in the bilges.
At least you skipped the rain.

Surprised at a Sainsbury's in Dobbies as Dobbies is owned by Tesco.

Rumour has it that THAT Sainsbury's is going to be taken over by Waitrose.

[Huskyxantia]

Enjoyed reading this, id love to narrowboat for a week

[Hell Razor5543]

Enjoyed reading this, id love to narrowboat for a week

If you do decide to go on a narrowboat cruise it can, on occasions, be hard work. Going through the locks and raising the lift bridges requires care and attention (and a reasonable amount of strength). Going through tunnels can be dangerous (if you don't remain within the profile of the boat you could get crushed against the tunnel wall and be seriously injured or killed). Some boat hire companies are very reputable, and will do what they can to make sure their clients have a safe and enjoyable holiday, while there are other companies who just want your money. The Canal And River Trust should provide you with good guides on boating.

Here is a simple (and relevant) question for you; Which end of the vessel should you tie up first when mooring?

Spoiler: show

The end that is upstream. That way you will have the current helping you. With the upstream end secured the current should help push the boat into the side, which makes securing the vessel an easy task.

[Huskyxantia]

Using the river to push the boat to the bank ,brilliant.

[Hell Razor5543]

But if you use the centre line or the downstream line you are in trouble, especially if the current is strong, as the upstream end will then move away from the bank. Canals don't have much of a current, but it can still cause you problems. The Llangollen Canal certainly has a current, as it terminates at Llangollen, and there is a feeder reservoir keeping it at the right level (so the current flows away from Llangollen).

Another safety tip. When you are working through a lock NEVER face the beam while pushing it. If your feet slip your face will almost certainly hit the grab rail. People have broken their jaws and lost teeth this way. Push the beam with your lower back.