Welcome to the forum josiegreen,
josiegreen wrote:I've got a 52 plate C3, done about 118,000 miles and everything seems to have broken this year.
100,000 miles and 10 years is about right for things to start going wrong, regular servicing can help spot and fix problems before they get too big/expensive.
josiegreen wrote:I had to be jumpstarted
Jump starting or 'boosting' is often the kiss of death to a Citroen C3 because the delicate computers get damaged and the cost of replacing is often more than the car is worth. I think you got off lightly with just the radio dead, you were quite lucky, really. A tow is a safer option.
josiegreen wrote: now the radio won't turn on
The way I would go about fixing this is firstly look at this post and see the picture of the fuses:
https://citroenc3owners.com/citroen-c3-t ... -t129.html
Pull out fuse F4 and fuse number F15, and
test these fuses with a meter set to ohms or 'continuity'. The
meters are cheap at less than £10 (here) and will be useful later too.
Just looking at the fuses isn't 100% accurate as sometimes they fail, but look ok. You can't beat testing them. A fuse that is only a few ohms or 'continuous' is ok, if its a high resistance/infinity then is a failure, replace it and try the radio again.
If the fuses test out ok, then whip out the radio and check for 12v on the plug.
To remove the radio, you need some
radio removal keys from here] they are less than £5 and useful later if you need to fit a replacement radio/cd.
With the radio removed you can see the plugs on the back of the radio like this:
remove the single round cable (on your right) from the radio then remove the two big multi plugs (on the left) from the radio. With the radio free of the car, look for a fuse on the back of the radio, remove this and test it with the multimeter set to ohms or 'continuity'.
Next step is to test the multi plug for power, you will need the ignition 'on' or at least the key turned to 'accessories' on.
Set your multimeter to VDC or volts - DC in the 20v range.
Locate the L shaped multi plug (one has lug on the lower edge - this is the L shaped one), the other is very similar, but the lug is fixed centrally to the side of the plug. With the lug on your right, the wires trailing away from you, stick the black meter lead onto the bottom left hole in the plug. Then put the red meter lead into the hole above, be careful not to touch the silver tips of the leads to each other!
At this point the meter should display somewhere around 14v DC, if not, switch off the ignition and check the meter display, switch it back on, check, then double check the probes are inserted into the plug to make a good electrical contact. You should get a 12V or more reading at this point.
Next step is to remove the red probe carefully and insert it into the hole to the right of the black lead, but skipping one (so there is the black lead on the left, then a space of one connector then the red probe). Check again for 12V or so, if no volts, switch off the ignition and check the meter again, then double check your connections.
If the fuses all test out ok, and the volt readings don't come up with a convincing 12V, then the BSI is faulty.
If you get 12V on the two pins then the radio is faulty.
If you get stuck, pictures always help
