"Battery charge or electrical supply faulty" - air conditioner problem?

[mariusblk]

You did not mention whether you diagnosed the (apparently) non functional turbo cooling pump.

All errors i listed in the screenshot from diagnosis were cleared due to an unknown oil leak, so that's what they said. Still checking oil day to day but no change, all good for now, low mileage 350 km driving through town.

So?

[mariusblk]

Ok, again, i think BB has a problem or i have a problem since this is the 3rd time writing this. Sorry if i double or triple post.

Btw the above-listed errors were fixed (anyway they don't have to do with this problem). I had a problem with oil leaks, this is what they said at the local garage. Since then just 350 km, no change, but i can't tell if the problem was fixed with the oil loss, maybe after 1 - 2k km i can tell if any difference.

As you mentioned i againt, what is the turbo cooling pump? And how can i tell if there is a problem? Can it be part of my story? If you are refering to a nosie like a 'PC cooler' after i stop the car, it is present all the time, it's like a small buzz. Is that the piece you are refering to?

Can anyone tell me what fuse to check so i can confirm your theory, maybe is viable.

Many thanks again for supporting me

[Rp0thejester]

Welcome to Citroen electronics. It's like owning a classic car, always an issue. Personally I always disconnect the battery for at least a day when a fault appears, when possible. That should be long enough to clear any useless codes from the computer, bit like "have you done a reset?" Any noises after the engine has turned off should be a slight concern, fan over running etc, my fan can over run for hours which isn't normal and will drain the battery. So I restart on and off till it stops.

[mariusblk]

Today i went to a guy with a dedicated Lexia diagnose and no errors. That was strange that no error was detected even if the battery sign popped on dasboard. So we monitored the Amperage since the Voltage was 13.8 - 13.9 wich is acceptable as far as i know.

Started engine: was at about 14 - 15A and droped rapid to 8A in 3-4 seconds after that dropped constantly until 1.4 - 1.5 A and continued to drop until 1 - 1.10 A and within the 3 minutes time (see previous post) when i for one think that is another battery check the battery error was there (no error code detected on Lexia!!!)
Low amperage on battery was confirmed by a battery rester.

BUT noone guaranteed that my problem will be solved after battery replacement but it's the only thing that can be done at the moment.

So now i think that battery is the problem after all.

[Peter.N.]

All the while the engine is running you should have 14 v + across the battery unless you have one of these new fangled computer controlled charging circuits, if you haven't and you haven't you have an alternator problem.

Peter

[mariusblk]

All the while the engine is running you should have 14 v + across the battery unless you have one of these new fangled computer controlled charging circuits, if you haven't and you haven't you have an alternator problem.

Peter

Maybe. Thanks.

[mariusblk]

Here are some photos from diagnose tests.







Accuracy of the battery state of charge value: inaccurate

Here is a translation for "imprecis" - the "inaccurate" status indicates that the accuracy of the battery state of charge is greater by +-10% and/or that one or more of the physical values measured by the computer are outside the measurement range

I will post the values measured on the multimeter from the battery and alternator tomorrow, so you can see that they differ from the values read by the diagnose software. Now I just suspect that the car computer is reading some erroneous values.

Thank you

[mariusblk]

Ok so i managed to measure be Voltage in all stages.

When car is stopped, after a 40-minute drive and 10 minutes rest - value on multimeter is 12.69 so all good for now - foto 1
When car starts the voltage drops to 11.03 (lowest value after 3 tries) and after a couple of seconds is 13.35 but unfortunately it stays there no matter how many consumers i switch on. I kept only the middle screens, since i don't know how to switch them off, radio on mute, but can't pass 13.35V. I switched on ALL LIGHTS, music, emergency lights, revs to 2000 - 3000 and AC to maximum blow can't pass 13.5V but it doesn't drop - foto 2
3 minutes after, error pops in dashboard (battery charge or power supply charge faulty), no other consumer is switched off, all lights, music remain at the same intensity, but the AC is disconnected (only the cold air - the vents are running at max speed) and i get on multimeter 14.05V

There must be someone here who knows about electrics and can at least direct me to which specialist to go to, because I went to 3 places that told me 3 totally different things.

Many thanks and stay safe.

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[GiveMeABreak]

You obviously have an issue with the vehicle battery (how old is it?) or the charging circuit / alternator.

You should be getting at least 14.3+ or more from the battery when the engine is running. So the battery may be nearing end of life - one or more cells may be damaged and can no longer store a charge. If you lose a cell completely, then your battery voltage will drop, as each cell will contribute 2.1 volts to the 12.6V, so 10.5V will remain.

So you need to start checking the battery (anything over 5 years old should be considered time for a change), the terminals on the battery, the alternator or wiring from the alternator to the battery.

You really need to have it tested by a professional auto electrician who should be able to find the culprit.

[mariusblk]

You obviously have an issue with the vehicle battery (how old is it?) or the charging circuit / alternator.

You should be getting at least 14.3+ or more from the battery when the engine is running. So the battery may be nearing end of life - one or more cells may be damaged and can no longer store a charge. If you lose a cell completely, then your battery voltage will drop, as each cell will contribute 2.1 volts to the 12.6V, so 10.5V will remain.

So you need to start checking the battery (anything over 5 years old should be considered time for a change), the terminals on the battery, the alternator or wiring from the alternator to the battery.

You really need to have it tested by a professional auto electrician who should be able to find the culprit.

Many thanks for the fast reply. I'm just thinking that 14.05, or as far as i read on the internet is a "not so bad value", but this is only after the error pops on my dashboard. Don't know the battery age since i own this car for a couple of months and as you already know to "inspect the label info on the battery" you need to take out the battery fuse and then the plastic cover. Tomorrow i will meet someone at the service who is into alternators. He says that he needs to check some wire that connects the alternator to the battery, it may be faulty.

If there is a battery issue can you advise me what battery to buy for this type of car / engine? Now a 70A Varta battery is installed.

I'll keep you posted about tomorrow's meeting.

Many thanks again for your time and will to answer to my stupid questions.

[Rp0thejester]

For me it's a battery fault, I hope I'm right as it could get expensive

[mariusblk]

For me it's a battery fault, I hope I'm right as it could get expensive

One of the guys i went to check told me that "battery voltage is ok but the amperage is low" He advised me to get a battery from a friend and test the issue. If error is not present then just replace battery, but he did not guarantee that this was the fault. He also told me "i don't want to get your money for no reason" so test and see what happens. My problem is that i don't have a friend with a battery and as you may already know, replacing a C4 Picasso battery is not a simple job.

Many thanks for your reply and i'll keep you posted.

[GiveMeABreak]

You should have a 720/70A battery for this vehicle.

[Rp0thejester]

Thx, I was about to say that, I've got a gut feeling of a wrong battery being fitted

[mariusblk]

You should have a 720/70A battery for this vehicle.

Thank you, do you recommend any brand name as i tend not to trust commercials ?