C5 MK 2, Headlights turn on after turning off car..

[chokeslam]

Hi guys,

Looking to see if anyone can help me out here. I've searched high and low online, including this forum, but can not for the life of me figure it out.

I have a 2009 Citroen C5 Nav+ Estate. Love the car, no issues with it. Then about 5 weeks ago the engine went in it. Bring it to an engine place, they replace the engine in the car with a refurbished one.

However, they tell me that for some reason that they can't figure out, whenever they lock the car, or take the key out and leave the car, about 2 minutes later the headlights come on (and stay on). I need the car for work, so Im under pressure to get it back off them, and I tell them it's grand, I'll ring an auto-electrician to deal with it.

I'm driving the car about 3 weeks now, and I have to disconnect the battery every time i stop, because otherwise the lights will drain the battery. It's a nuisance.


To when I take the key out of the car, about 2 minutes later, the headlights come on. I can turn them off by using the key fob (which has a button dedicated to turning the lights on and off) but again, 2 minutes later, they're back on.

I was told by the auto-electrician that he won't touch it because it'll be too messy, and to bring it to citroen directly. However, he did say that it could be that the guide-me-home lights have been reconfigured wrongly, and to try turning them off. Which I did, but same issue. I rang Citroen and they said it could be a dodgy fuseboard but they have to check it out themselves and can't put a price on diagnosing it because it's open-ended. A dodgy fuseboard sounds a bit unlikely to me, though, for some reason.


Has anyone encountered this at all? It's wrecking my head. Starting from yesterday, the car now needs to be jumped to get it started, if you don't start it within 5 minutes of stopping the engine (I presume the battery is just knackered from the headlights draining it for short bits here and there and constantly being disconnected and reconnected).

I've tried the BSI reset and hasn't done anything.

Any ideas at all? Has my head melted.


Thanks in advance to anyone who can help figure this out.


Shane

[GiveMeABreak]

Hi an d welcome to the Forum.

Your only option is to get it properly diagnosed I'm afraid - and you really need somebody with Diagbox to find out what is going on.

The dealer of course will need to charge and t can be about £90 an hour, because it is labour intensive. But, they should be able to read any permanent faults and may even be able to check the BSI to see if it needs a software update. Anything else at this point will be speculation I fear. It does smack of a BSI / Engine fuse box error - but it may well be worth paying out for a proper Citroen diagnostic session IMO.

[Stickyfinger]

Agree with Marc....I would think Citroen would just reload all the software and reconfigure to the cars spec.

[Eddie Nuff]

I was told by the auto-electrician that he won't touch it

Purely as a general point I've found that an auto electrician is no use unless the fault is purely electrical. This seems to be the kind of fault where only an electronics guy would have a clue. I agree with Marc that, in this situation, it may seem a small fortune to have the dealer look at it but it will solve the problem which, at the moment, is just draining your battery but could end up draining your wallet a damn sight more.

[myglaren]

I wonder if the solution may be as simple as the correct BSI reset procedure?

[chokeslam]

Howdy folks.

I actually found a thread on boards.ie where someone seems to discuss the same issue:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthre ... 2057341440


And he reckons it's a fusebox in the engine bay that gets corroded and needs replacing. I've contacted my Citroen dealer about this and they said it would be about €250 to replace that, but it could also possibly be the BSI, which would be €550 to replace (or both could be needing replacing, at a cost of €800).

So I'll just have to see what happens. It's booked with them for next Tuesday so i can only hope for the best.

[GiveMeABreak]

Also worth considering is the Steering Wheel Control Module - this controls the headlights and sends the signal to the BSI - they typically exhibit odd behaviour when they start failing - indicator lights not cancelling, headlights switching on and off on their own, etc. I'll have a look at the wiring diagrams - do you have your VIN handy? Post or PM it to me.

I doubt it is the BSI as this module is contained inside the passenger compartment glovebox and is relatively well-protected from outside influences. The Engine Fuse box (BCM) is a slave to the BSI and is more exposed to the elements obviously. It might be worth a clean up of the area, checking contacts and seeing that all the connectors are tight and clean first.

Re-reading your post, about the engine replacement, I'm now wondering if they have either upset the BCM when they put the new engine in or have damaged it... anyway, I'll have a look at the wiring to see if I can identify anything specific.

[chokeslam]

Hey GiveMeABreak,

I'll PM the VIN. Although wiring diagrams may not be overly useful to me as I've not got much of a notion (although perhaps they'll be handy for whoever ends up having to fix it?).

There have been no issues with headlights, indicators, break lights, fog lamps etc. doing anything unusual that I have noticed. It seems to be just this issue (well, I tell a lie, the car has no reverse lights, but the crowd that replaced the engine have confirmed that this is due to a dead fuse or connection.. can't remember what word he used, but he said it's a small job and it's gearbox related).

I'm hoping it's just the BCM at this stage.

[GiveMeABreak]

Well, just had a look and nothing of note - can't be the fuses or it wouldn't be working at all. I can only think of a connection issue, an incorrect configuration setting in the BSI since changing the engine - or it has just been damaged during the replacement - I assume it was all working before the engine was swapped?

[chokeslam]

Cheers for taking a look.

Yeah it was working fine before the engine swap. Car had literally not a single electrical issue at all. So it's very annoying that this is happening now.

[4thgearpinned]

Hi Chokeslam, I've found your thread very useful because my C5 MK2 Tourer is showing the same symptoms. Did you find out the cause the problem?

[Gibbo2286]

my previous C5 had a dodgy fuse board that made for some strange behaviour, it had burned and melted around some of the contacts, caused by corrosion making them overheat.

[Krassov]

Hello everyone, i have a 2010 c5 1.6 hdi with the same problem.

Last March engine was dead and i rebuilded the engine. After that same problem happend to me. Head lights not turning off, when i turned on the car i see airbag error on the screen and cruise control not working(not a every time). Sometimes when i turned on the car wipers working if it happens engine dont working. Im disconnecting the battery waiting half minute and reconnecting the battery everything coming back the normal. I got new BSI and BSM bot problem not fixed. After that i got new light switches but problem not fixed.

If anyone have any ideas please help me.

Sorry for my bad English. I couldn't find the solution on my forums.

[Sean Burns]

Hi I had same problem with my 1.6hdi tourer a mate told me to open the car press the lights button on the fob with the door open lock the car with the fob (wing mirrors will fold ) then close the door. ,
Touch wood this hasn't happened again and it's about 6 months since..
I think it's magic as it's not a reset or anything just for some reason this worked for my car

[Nikola]

So what was the reason for this problem