C5 mk3 need advice on some issues

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c5ted
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C5 mk3 need advice on some issues

Post by c5ted »

hi im new to the forums, just got a hold of my mothers c5 and it has some issues

it needed a new test and she got new pads fitted by some guy who i dont think knew what he was at. the abs/esp light is now on permanently and was not on before. he told her that he plugged it in and it says front passenger sensor needs replacing. i dont trust the guy tbh and im trying to sort it out myself, im going to give the sensors a clean tomorrow myself and see if that will help

the front two tires are 215/55 r17 while the rears are 225/55 r17, not sure why or where she got them from but they are not old and the same make front and rear. ive been reading that this could upset the abs am i right in saying that? its something else i have to look at. maybe its just the car but the rear wheels seem to be facing inward a bit, i dont mean camber the side facing towards the front of the car seems to look like they are into the body on both rear wheels, kinda like the cars with 4 wheel steering but not as extreme

i took it for a drive today to see what else is wrong and there is a really audible squeak coming from the right side of the car while going over rough ground, i cant pin point front or rear. i was convinced it was just a panel because of the speed that it can squeak it doesnt sound heavy but when i go over a bump sometimes not all the time im getting a clunk from the rear somewhere i think the suspension, again from the searches it could be the rear trailing arms at fault and possibly causing both these issues?

when i lock the steering to the right and drive i get a single clunk from the front passenger side wheel, sounds like a cv joint noise but only happens once, it doesnt happen again until i go full left it will clunk once until i go full right again, its a weird one tbh im thinking it might be something loose

im not looking for every answer on this im just looking to see if anyone can narrow down the search a bit as i know some people on here will have a lot of experience with them, going to lift it up tomorrow to try and narrow it down but if people can suggest a few things that would be great as i have zero experience myself with these types of cars but i know my way around a car. the car was put through the test and the only thing it failed on was a visual and it being the abs light being on so im not sure really where to start, i was hoping that the test would outline the issues but apparently the rest arent a issue

any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated


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Re: C5 mk3 need advice on some issues

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Hi and welcome

What we do need is the VIN (or registration number which I will mask) so I can tell exactly which model you have and what options there are.

As for the tyres - these should never be different sizes! If you car has ESP (some only have ABS) then the incorrect tyres can upset the system as the sensor will give different speed readings from the other sensors and trigger a fault. So we can't say if it is a sensor or not until we find out what you have.

IF you have a diagnostic tool, that would confirm the issue with the ABS or ESP / ABS system if fitted.
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Re: C5 mk3 need advice on some issues

Post by c5ted »

GiveMeABreak wrote: 02 Oct 2019, 18:58 Hi and welcome

What we do need is the VIN (or registration number which I will mask) so I can tell exactly which model you have and what options there are.

As for the tyres - these should never be different sizes! If you car has ESP (some only have ABS) then the incorrect tyres can upset the system as the sensor will give different speed readings from the other sensors and trigger a fault. So we can't say if it is a sensor or not until we find out what you have.

IF you have a diagnostic tool, that would confirm the issue with the ABS or ESP / ABS system if fitted.
hi marc

do you want me to pm you the number or will i just post it?

yeah ive done alot of searching already as i didnt want my first post to be asking questions but there is alot of answers to the same question

abs/esp light comes on start up with a double beep, i dont need to be driving for it to activate

the only thing i would have is a obd2 bt connector which ive read is useless with these, im sure i can find someone reliable that has a proper diagnostics setup tho so that isnt a issue
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Re: C5 mk3 need advice on some issues

Post by GiveMeABreak »

You can put the VIN here and it will automatically be masked so only staff like myself can see it, or PM the registration if you prefer and I can get the VIN from that.

Diagbox will be your best bet for a diagnostic as the C5 will be a full CAN vehicle. I suspect if this is MK III (X7) from your profile, then it will have an ABS and EXP system, so yes the incorrect tyres sizes should be sorted to avoid problems for start.
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Re: C5 mk3 need advice on some issues

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

Hi, and :welc: to the Forum. I highly recommend you try and get the car diagnosed with a DiagBox system (as Marc suggested), as any simple generic reader will be unable to read manufacturer specific codes. There are a few Forum members who live in Ireland, have DiagBox clone equipment and are willing to help out other Members;

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Re: C5 mk3 need advice on some issues

Post by c5ted »

VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff] - 2.0hdi 138bhp vtr+ 16v diesel

thats what i have on the door anyway, yeah thanks for the input CAN is something i was unaware of so it will be useful when trying to source a place to do it, i could order one myself but im not sure how to go about it or if its worth my time rather than getting someone who knows the ins and out of one

if you could tell me a bit more about the car from the vin that would be great, it will make sourcing stuff alot easier
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Re: C5 mk3 need advice on some issues

Post by bobins »

c5ted wrote: 02 Oct 2019, 19:16
the only thing i would have is a obd2 bt connector which ive read is useless with these, im sure i can find someone reliable that has a proper diagnostics setup tho so that isnt a issue
You can try using Faplite if you have a suitable Android device and you know what you are doing. https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... e&hl=en_GB
It most definitely WON'T give you all the info that Lexia/Diagbox can and will, but it's a free install and will give you generic fault codes as well as other Citroen specific info, and you could install it now and have some fault info as soon as you get it up and working. I'll say again though - there isn't really an alternative to Lexia / Diagbox, but Faplite (or its paid for version https://www.amazon.co.uk/FAP-Citroen-Pe ... B01LJUI2TA) will give you some basic relevant info.
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Re: C5 mk3 need advice on some issues

Post by c5ted »

bobins wrote: 02 Oct 2019, 19:47
c5ted wrote: 02 Oct 2019, 19:16
the only thing i would have is a obd2 bt connector which ive read is useless with these, im sure i can find someone reliable that has a proper diagnostics setup tho so that isnt a issue
You can try using Faplite if you have a suitable Android device and you know what you are doing. https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... e&hl=en_GB
It most definitely WON'T give you all the info that Lexia/Diagbox can and will, but it's a free install and will give you generic fault codes as well as other Citroen specific info, and you could install it now and have some fault info as soon as you get it up and working. I'll say again though - there isn't really an alternative to Lexia / Diagbox, but Faplite (or its paid for version https://www.amazon.co.uk/FAP-Citroen-Pe ... B01LJUI2TA) will give you some basic relevant info.
thanks for the suggestion, i got the app and tried it there briefly but seems to hang on detecting ecu, i might not have given it enough time but ive have a really long day and i need to get some sleep but i will leave it go for longer tomorrow when im out at it. if it usually takes time to get past that let me know and i will just let its do its thing
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Re: C5 mk3 need advice on some issues

Post by bobins »

Mine will normally be all linked up within about 10 seconds. There are well known issues with some OBD devices so that may well be your problem.
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Re: C5 mk3 need advice on some issues

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

Marc will be able to get you the information on your C5 X7 now he has the VIN. If you want a proper code reader (that can do a whole lot more) you will want to get something called a Lexia (and a laptop to run it with. The O/S needs to be 32bit). There are some available on e-bay, but, unless they have the full opto-chipset, they probably won't work with your C5. There is a company called Easy Diagnostics who do make a decent Lexia clone (that WILL work with your C5), although it is not that cheap (but, if you use it more than a few times you will save yourself some money, as a dealership diagnostics session can cost £90).

There is a discount method available to Forum members, but you will need to follow the correct procedure (as, in the past, the discount was abused by people just reading the forum without being members).

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Re: C5 mk3 need advice on some issues

Post by GiveMeABreak »

c5ted wrote: 02 Oct 2019, 19:42 VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff] - 2.0hdi 138bhp vtr+ 16v diesel

thats what i have on the door anyway, yeah thanks for the input CAN is something i was unaware of so it will be useful when trying to source a place to do it, i could order one myself but im not sure how to go about it or if its worth my time rather than getting someone who knows the ins and out of one

if you could tell me a bit more about the car from the vin that would be great, it will make sourcing stuff alot easier
You've got a standard spec X7 there, with metallic suspension, and no option packs there.

But as I mentioned earlier, you do have ESP with ABS, so you do need to sort the tyre sizes.

The tyres for this vehicle should be 225 55 R17 97W
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Re: C5 mk3 need advice on some issues

Post by c5ted »

GiveMeABreak wrote: 02 Oct 2019, 20:38
c5ted wrote: 02 Oct 2019, 19:42 VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff]**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff] - 2.0hdi 138bhp vtr+ 16v diesel

thats what i have on the door anyway, yeah thanks for the input CAN is something i was unaware of so it will be useful when trying to source a place to do it, i could order one myself but im not sure how to go about it or if its worth my time rather than getting someone who knows the ins and out of one

if you could tell me a bit more about the car from the vin that would be great, it will make sourcing stuff alot easier
You've got a standard spec X7 there, with metallic suspension, and no option packs there.

But as I mentioned earlier, you do have ESP with ABS, so you do need to sort the tyre sizes.

The tyres for this vehicle should be 225 55 R17 97W
thanks for that

yeah the rear are correct, isnt 225 the width? why would a wider tyre mess with the speed sensor? i just want to understand whats going on, i get that a bigger or smaller profile would cause this again just trying to understand

is there any resources like a haynes manual about that i can have a look at? going to get a bit of work done now today
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Re: C5 mk3 need advice on some issues

Post by xantia_v6 »

If you go to a tyre size calculator site (e.g. https://tiresize.com/tyre-size-calculator/) and put in the numbers, you will see that the tire width does affect the rolling radius and rotations per mile.

This is because the tire "height" is determined by the width multiplied by the profile percentage.
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Re: C5 mk3 need advice on some issues

Post by c5ted »

xantia_v6 wrote: 03 Oct 2019, 07:58 If you go to a tyre size calculator site (e.g. https://tiresize.com/tyre-size-calculator/) and put in the numbers, you will see that the tire width does affect the rolling radius and rotations per mile.

This is because the tire "height" is determined by the width multiplied by the profile percentage.
thanks for that yeah spot on i learn something new every day :)
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Re: C5 mk3 need advice on some issues

Post by Stickyfinger »

Morning and Welcome....

The "clunk"
I would bet that the lower FRIP Joint (lower suspension joint) has failed.....parts (ONLY get Citroen/Pug ones) are about £80, it takes about 2 hours on your own without a lift.
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