Citroen C3 Owners

Hi, I thought I'd try a new thread as my last regarding aircon seems not to have been the issue.
I've an 03 plate 1.4 16 valve exclusive.

Here goes.
When I turn the ignition one click, I get all lights illuminate on the dash except the final lights on the temp gauge. Only the first three lights illuminate.
Then when I start the car from cold,I get zero lights illuminate on the temp gauge as you'd expect. Or maybe one light if it's not fully cooled .
At this time my aircon works.
But then after approximately 30 seconds,, I hear 3 beeps and the temp gauge always jumps straight to the first 3 lights.
When driving the car, it's fine.but only ever 3 lights on the temp gauge.
I've yet to hear the fan kick in and I'm pretty sure it doesn't despite sorting in heavy traffic. The engine doesn't go past those three lights. The aircon guy said his Citroen van fan hardly ever kicked in either because diesel engines hardly ever need the extra cooling on these diesel engines. Apparently they just don't run hot enough? Even if your in heavy traffic.
So anyway,today I changed the coolant temp sensor. But sadly no change.still the same 3 beeps 30 seconds after start. And still the lights jump to 3 lights.

So, Are there any codes that might need clearing after replacing the sensor.

And, not having a fan cutting in is a problem that i need to be worried about?

I'm planning my next step as a trip to the dealers for a diagnostic check, but any other advice that I could try or ask of the dealer would be much appreciated.
Thanks

Also if anyone could recommend a decent garage that would have the correct Citroen software in Kent or London area that could have a look, I'd be very obliged .
Thanks

Just in case anyone was following this.
I had the car diagnosed at Citroen. I really don't think they helped much at all.
I got the car home and investigated myself. It appears the reason not all the temperature lights were illuminating is because someone stick masking tape over three of the lights!!
So basically, on start up now,after 30 seconds or so, ALL temperature lights light up simultaneously.
I've ordered a new fan from a breakers to see if that fixes it. As that was the first thing Citroen recommend. Sadly they didn't sound to sure it would fix it.
but will see how it goes.

Hi jayjay, thanks for the update!

So basically, on start up now,after 30 seconds or so, ALL temperature lights light up simultaneously.

Its also going to be worth investigating the temperature sensor too.

Diesel C3 temperature sensor on ebay - blue sensor with 3 wires/pins both could be fitted to your C3.


This post has some pictures of the lights for the temperature display on early models, it may help others with similar problems
Citroen C3 Speedo - Dashboard Display

Many thanks arfur.

Ok an update, I fitted a new fan sourced from a breakers yard. But no joy.
It's still the same. 30 seconds after I start the car from cold, I hear 3 beeps, then the temp gauge jumps straight to max lights.

Also arfur, I fitted a new temp sensor that I got from the dealership.

The diagnostic I got from the dealership they didn't actually give me any fault codes, just a small written report half a dozen sentences long.

It maybe the fan I got was junk but the scrappy assured me it was ok.

At present there's no way I can read the temp of my car after that initial 30 seconds. I read another post about temperature strips that you stick on the engine, but where do they go and what temperature should I be worried about?

My other c3 same model works perfectly and I never see the fan kick in unless I turn the aircon on?

Do you think that the crafty guy I bought it from has removed a sensor or a relay from somewhere. I'm unsure what to do next.
I'm considering contacting Citroen again and asking them that IF I can plug in a new fan to my car, if it works, I'll buy it. That is what they recommend after all.

Many thanks

jayjay wrote:I read another post about temperature strips that you stick on the engine, but where do they go and what temperature should I be worried about?

I'd put one on the flow pipe to the radiator. You want the type that records permanently so you can view the results later. The temperature should be above 70° to indicate that coolant is flowing and the thermostat is working. If it goes above 100° then the car really is overheating and the gauge is correct. Other than the gauge, you don't seem to have any signs of overheating so I'd say this is an instrumentation problem.

Hi and thanks.

Here's some pics from what I found this morning.




Hopefully it's come out. But the fan defo ain't working. Someone basically put tape around that bodge job. I dunno if that is the cause of these issues but this is what I'm dealing with. And Citroen didn't spot that. Nor the tape masking the overheating lights.
I'm gonna see if I can get a better fix than that bodge. Incidentally, if I unplug that sensor completely, I get the same symptoms. 3 beeps, after 30 seconds. Then temp gauge jumps to maximum simultaneously.

Hope those pics come out.
Many thanks and any pointers greatly received.
Thank you

And here's what Citroen said early on in week. I'm going back to establish what and how things were checked.
Many thanks and apologies for being a pain.

The wiring repair isn't as bad as it looks, so long as it was well insulated, it would do the job. Heat seal splices would be better but that's something that can easily be fixed.

What I think you need to investigate is why was this hacking was done in the first place? You said you've replaced the sensor (where the green connector goes) so it would be reasonable to assume that the new sensor works, therefore I'd look for continuity problems in the wiring, starting with the connector. If you have a multimeter, you can measure the resistance of the sensor, then measure the wiring at those conveniently exposed parts with the connector plugged into the sensor. The reading should be similar in both cases. If its vastly different, the connector is suspect.

Once the temperature gauge is working, any problems with the fan can be investigated, but until you know the car is reading the correct temperature you can't expect it to operate the fan. I further suspect that the fan circuit has been tampered with because the fan would be running all the time (due to the high temperature reading). Just a hunch.

Many thanks and apologies for being a pain.

No problem.

The report indicates 'tried actuator test, fan still not working' - this would lead you to change the fan (or at least test the fan on the bench, depending on which fan you have)

Unfortunately, the report also indicated 'checked fan wiring feeds and earths, wiring to the ECU from the fan and the dash display temperature display' which seems to have missed all the mess you found with the wires. This doesn't give much confidence in the previous part of the report.

You could try changing the sensor and then investigate the fan as it looks like you may have two faults - the sensor and the fan, hence the confusion by whoever got at it before you.

Oh, sorry, you changed the sensor already.