Citroen C5 V6 Engine Fault

[robsterUK]

Hi

My lovely 2002 C5 V6 Exclusive auto let me down today for the first time. It suddenly lost power and up popped the AntiPolution Fault and Catalytic Convertor Fault, accompanied by the usual beeps. The car now runs very rough and virtually powerless.

I had it checked at the local garage and their equipment returned an Ignition Fault on Cylinder 4. They were a little unsure which cylinder number 4 is but according to their books it is the front left cylinder so they replaced the ignition coil but still the fault remains same. They then swapped coils and spark plugs with the next cylinder (5) but still the fault states Cylinder 4.

So my questions are:

Can somebody confirm exactly which cylinder is which? Is number 4 indeed the left most cylinder at the front of the engine (nearest radiator) and if so what the fault could be if not the ingintion coil or spark plug.

I hope somebody can help me with this as I am missing my car......

Cheers

Robster

[CitroJim]

Hi Robster,

Welcome

According to the official words for the ES9J4 Cylinder 1 is on the front bank on the right hand side (nearest the gearbox) Cylinder 3 is on the front bank nearest the wing. Cylinder 4 is on the rear bank on the right hand side (nearest gearbox and cylinder 6 is on the rear bank nearest the wing.

I can't see it being different for the ES9J4S fitted to your car..

I have had an ignition coil fail on one of mine and yes, they're absolutely gutless when running on any less than six pots!!!

Hopefully your garage just go cylinders all mixed up and it is just a duff coil...

[robsterUK]

Hi Jim

Those are the words I am longing to hear. I had a gut feeling that, despite what the garage's 'bible' was saying, that cylinder 4 was not where they thought it was, just because of the fault being the same despite changing coil and plug.

Tomorow I will remove all the gubbings to get to the rear coils and try again. It would be so good if this was the answer.

I will report back and if everything is dandy I will of course send you a pint by post!

Robster

[CitroJim]

I will report back and if everything is dandy I will of course send you a pint by post!

I'll look forward to a soggy envelope on the doormat then..

Fingers crossed on this one. The rear bank is a bit of a devil when needing to get to plugs and coils. Silly place to put an inlet manifold

[robsterUK]

Hmmm do I need to remove the manifold to get to them? If so, do I need new gaskets, etc...

Thanks for your kind support. I will of course use a waterproof envelope.

Robster

[CitroJim]

Hmmm do I need to remove the manifold to get to them? If so, do I need new gaskets, etc...

Yep, 'fraid so Robster The inlet manifold runners curl around the rear bank and completely block access.

It's not a bad idea to a have a spare gasket on hand. Part No. 0348 Q0 (that's a zero on the end)

Waterproof envelope - now there's thoughtful

[Lighty]

If you are removing the rear ones, I would change all three coils and plugs in one go

[robsterUK]

@CitroJim: Oh well I have all day - I will go get that gasket, I can't see it costing too much - many thanks again.

@Lighty: Yes good idea, except for the cost as pennies are tight. It does make sense though.

Robster

[robsterUK]

OK here is an update:

Removed the inlet manifold and all associated pipes and found that pots 4 and 5 were fitted with nasty old Sagem coils (all others were white topped Delphis) so replaced them and now car runs lovely again. My local Citroen dealer did not have a gasket in stock so I refitted manifold with existing gasket which looked fine and high temperature gasket seal out of a tube for good measure.

Still the faults show on the display but car starts and runs fine. Is there a way to reset faults without Citroen charging me £40 for the pleasure (I kid you not).

Thanks for your help guys.

Robster

[jgra1]

good stuff Robster

for some reason I thought the either the ESJ9 or the ESJ9S didnt have a gasket.. I know mine does now, (ES9) .. obviously you found yours does as there was one there.. anyway..

A handheld code reader is cheap and may? clear that car/code.. I am not sure if one of our members Lexia's will do it, there is a map of us on here somewhere

john

[robsterUK]

for some reason I thought the either the ESJ9 or the ESJ9S didnt have a gasket.. I know mine does now, (ES9) .. obviously you found yours does as there was one there.. anyway..

john

Yep it was the one mentioned above - Part No. 0348 Q0 - checked at Citroen against my registration number too

Cheers

Robster

[CitroJim]

Both the ES9J4S and the ES9J4 have a gasket John... Part Number for the ES9J4 is 0348.K7

I heard a rumour a while back they'd gone NFP but I'd be very surprised if they have...

[myglaren]

Although the fault code may disappear without intervention after a few restarts and runs, quite a few of our members have bought Lexias and offer to run diagnostics and reset codes. Usually for a small consideration and nowhere near the price a dealer would ask.

To locate someone near you, look at this thread, there is a list at the beginning and end of the thread with the members and their locations, also links to a map with the same information on it.
Note that the locations are deliberately not precise.
PM a member near you to arrange a diagnostic session.

[CitroJim]

Robster, sorry, I missed your post where it's now all good That's excellent news

I'll be eagerly anticipating the arrival of a waterproof envelope now