Citroen C3 Owners

Hi folks. I have a 54 plate 1.4HDi, 8v, and it has just been in the garage for some brake work to rear brakes. I asked them to also see why the ABS light was on- they're a couple of older chaps, and their reader says code C1380 Recirculation pump. They didn't look any further than reading the code.
Is this a common problem and what's the best / cheapest way to fix it? I am not looking to spend a huge amount on the car - it's done 164,500 miles and not many of the panels are particularly straight so it's not worth a great deal. Having sdaid that it still runs great and returns 62mpg on average. Any advice or experience on this? I'm pretty competent doing stuff myself - was short of time hence using the garage.

Welcome to the C3 owners forum Pierre,

ABS light was on- they're a couple of older chaps, and their reader says code C1380 Recirculation pump.

The way to move forward is to firstly clear the code (if it will clear), then wait to see if it comes back

They didn't look any further than reading the code.

Shame they didn't attempt to clear it or clear it.

Is this a common problem and what's the best / cheapest way to fix it?

If the fault C1380 reappears after clearing, then the advice from Citroen is that the whole ABS pump/modulation unit should be changed, which will need coding to the car with lexia. The whole cost will probably be the same as the value of the car. With the ABS being a safety system Citroen don't want to take any chances. You could try to have your ABS modulator overhauled, which wouldn't need coding to the car, try BBA Reman (ebay store) for the repair/reconditioning service.

Thanks for that... so if I replace it with a second hand unit it would be a Citroen job to reprogramme it to the car? Or will independent electronics places be able to do that? I think I have OBD2 - I have a small generic scanner but it doesn't see the ABS fault.

I replace it with a second hand unit it would be a Citroen job to reprogramme it to the car?

I think you will find it will need the dealer or someone with access to the lexia tool to communicate with the ABS ECU.

I think I have OBD2 - I have a small generic scanner but it doesn't see the ABS fault

OBD isn't designed to see anything other than engine faults. Lexia will see the ABS faults and any other faults present on the C3 ECUs.

Think you can drive safe without ABS, still have normal braking. At the age & milage dont think you will spend a lot of time hard motoring. Its the curse of the second hand buyer to many tech features that may need repair exceeding the value of the car.REfer to Haynes manual 9.15 section 22 Anti-lock raking system, general information, for peace of mind.

Hello, i have experienced some problems with the abs several times. For ex at 20 km/h the abs took over and did not helped me so i touched a car in traffic. There was not even a scratch but what worries me is that somewhere else i tried the abs again and stoped within 10m but here in traffic i slided about 50m with meaningless speed. can anyone help me?

Welcome to the forum Mezei90

For ex at 20 km/h the abs took over and did not helped me so i touched a car in traffic.

If you leave the overall stopping distance for the speed you are travelling at, then you can always stop in time.

With the ABS being activated at such a low speed, getting the whole braking system checked would be a good idea. Check both the front and rear braking system - friction material and the hydraulic system.

ABS is designed to allow steering capability while braking, rather than make stopping distances much shorter. Relying on ABS to stop you more quickly is not going to end well.