3 Random beeps now and then Display options

Hi, double checked to see if the AIRBAG light comes on a can confirm it does not, the passenger one is there but not the one you have pointed out, I also checked the fluid inside and it is actually that horrible colour, I have enclosed some pictures to show you and tell me what you think. I have also took some other pictures of the engine and where that cut wire is, I don't know what this part is could you advice on this and see if you can identify any other problems within the pics? I know this might be hard. I don't want to drive it until I can get these sorted as love this car and want to preserve the life of it as much as possible. Just to mention it past an mot the day before I bought it.

00James00 wrote:do you know what this cut wire is for? Little worried now.

I don't know why anyone would cut a wire.

White is ECU signal from the alternator and Green is found on the diesel models, so it looks like you have parts from a diesel and parts from a petrol.

00James00 wrote:And any clues why the airbag light wouldn't show, I know the passenger airbag is switched to on on the drivers side.

I don't know, maybe its been disabled by a bit of sticky tape over the light so it never shows up? The previously mentioned lexia tool will diagnose air bag faults. Maybe your model doesn't illuminate that light?

00James00 wrote:I will take a look inside of fluid to see what colour and maybe post some more pics

It looks wrong, can you dip into it, with a straw to take a sample? You can also dip in to see if there is actually and liquid in there. It doesn't look very nice in there. If its is wrong, then a flush and refill should fix it.

00James00 wrote:I also checked the fluid inside and it is actually that horrible colour, I have enclosed some pictures to show you and tell me what you think

Yes, horrible, a drain, flush with a hose pipe, drain and refill with the right stuff (details in the link - click here) should cure that.

00James00 wrote: I don't know what this part is could you advice on this

Its not used on the petrol, but is found on the diesels. Its not the original wiring loom.

00James00 wrote:and see if you can identify any other problems within the pics?

Not really, its best to check levels and listen to sounds. Tapping, knocking, clicking all tell tales of problems. Low fluids or contaminated fluids show a lack of or a poor quality of maintenance. I think you are heading in the right direction.

00James00 wrote:Hi, double checked to see if the AIRBAG light comes on a can confirm it does not,

I checked the owners handbook (the one with the blue C3) and it states that the AIR BAG light should illuminate with ignition on.
I would suspect the light has been tampered with (someone did tamper with the alternator). You could remove the dashboard display and look for some black tape over the light for AIR BAG, or better still, use lexia to scan the AIR BAG system for faults and take it from there.

Hi Guys

Thanks for you advice, i will replace the coolant asap, just curious is there a tutorial on draining this out and can it be cleaned inside?
Also i looked into halfords for the correct coolant for my engine, but it lists a few different engines with my model and year 8v and 16v and so on all i know is my car is a 1.4, is there a way to look
at something actually in car that specifies which engine i have. again i apologise for my lack of knowledge,

You mention taking dashboard off to see if sticky tape has been put on, is there a tutorial for that, I'm honestly a very beginner at all this

Can having this alternator part which is from a diesel cause problems for the car, how easy and cos effective is it to replace with the correct one?

You guys have been great and very knowledgable

00James00 wrote:Thanks for you advice, i will replace the coolant asap, just curious is there a tutorial on draining this out and can it be cleaned inside?

Flush it with a hose pipe connected to a tap. Run water in and out after disconnecting a suitable cooling hose. Some models have a drain plug.

This link may help you with coolant draining and give you some ideas for flushing points.

00James00 wrote:Also i looked into halfords for the correct coolant for my engine, but it lists a few different engines with my model and year 8v and 16v and so on all i know is my car is a 1.4, is there a way to look

Its all the same coolant for all the C3 models on your year. The link I gave you ( (here) has links to the right stuff and can be cheaper than halfords.)


Its an 8v TU3 engine
By Tennen-Gas - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2039762

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSA_TU_engine#TU3

00James00 wrote:Can having this alternator part which is from a diesel cause problems for the car, how easy and cos effective is it to replace with the correct one?

I have no idea, its not a usual thing to do as parts are quite easy to come by for the C3. If its been running ok, then I guess its been ok. You did mention changing the battery and also showed a botched alternator which led me to question if you had problems. Batteries don't usually get changed unless they give problems.

If you were looking for a battery, I highly recommend this link to Euro Car Parts and the forum discount code: C3OWNER

00James00 wrote:You guys have been great and very knowledgable

Thanks, if you do flush and refill or do any other jobs that are missing from the forum, please take some pictures and add them

Thank you for the information ill certainly purchase the Coolant and antifreeze your recommend, what's the capacity of the coolant holder? How many litres would I need baring in mind I need to mix it with dionised water.
Could you just tell my engine type my just looking st picture? Haha when you say run water through it do you mean literally a hose pipe connected to my tap in the kitchen? Think I may someone else to help with the emptying Lol yeah I'm going there I'm like a toddler needing a full run through. Haha I went back out to check the whole airbag light thing and by using the flash on my phone I can see that it's not been covered by any tape but I have also notice that the front lights warning light does not come on when there switched on and it's located right beside the air bag warning light. I'v tried to take some pictures if it helps

00James00 wrote:Thank you for the information ill certainly purchase the Coolant and antifreeze your recommend, what's the capacity of the coolant holder?

Its in that link I gave you twice for the correct coolant

https://citroenc3owners.com/tips-for-any-citroen-c3-f8/citroen-c3-coolant-t40.html wrote:The Citroen C3 cooling system capacity is 7 litres. If you want a 50% solution of antifreeze, you will need 3.5L of de-ionised water and 3.5L of antifreeze concentrate to fill the system from empty. Its worth having more to allow for a 1L 'header tank' attached to the expansion tank, this is full and the engine run till hot to ensure all the air is purged out if the system has been drained and refilled with the 7L. A header tank is not required for just 'topping up'.

00James00 wrote:Could you just tell my engine type my just looking st picture?

Yes, the red car engine looks the same as the engine in the pictures you posted and you said its a 1.4.

00James00 wrote:Haha when you say run water through it do you mean literally a hose pipe connected to my tap in the kitchen?

yes, exactly that. Doing this will run clean water under pressure through the system to flush out all the old stuff. Then drain out the hose water as much as you can before refilling.

00James00 wrote: I can see that it's not been covered by any tape but I have also notice that the front lights warning light does not come on when there switched on and it's located right beside the air bag warning light. I'v tried to take some pictures if it helps

I would either connect up lexia or remove the display to look for the tape (if there is any). It wouldn't be very well hidden if you could see it from the drivers seat.

For the fogs, make sure they are actually 'on' by looking from outside the car
Rear fogs 'on'

But if the fogs are actually illuminated and there is no display on the dashboard, I am thinking its an MOT fail and not a normal fault with the C3.

p.s which other warning lights should be coming on, the ones that work are the engine oil, the passenger air bag, engine management, the backlight so dashboard and radio lights etc, seatbelt light, handbrake light, the light with the car that looks like its skidding, the battery. this is all that i can get working on the dashboard.

The main front lights - warning light on dash board does not turn on when theres are switched on
AIRBAG - Dashboard light does not come on at all even when first starting up
Also on the right hand side of hand break dash board light there is 2 more warning lights that do not come when testing, i think these are front and rear fog lights
There a warning light between the engine oil light and the battery light which does not come on

Could this possibly be a fuse?

The day before I bought the vehicle it went in for an mot and past!!? The only work they don't was a new exhaust tip. Nothing mentioned about any of the dashboard lights

00James00 wrote:You mention taking dashboard off to see if sticky tape has been put on, is there a tutorial for that, I'm honestly a very beginner at all this

No, its not a common fault and not really a fault where someone has gone out of their way to damage the car.

But it does appear in the C3 Haynes manual with instructions on removing the unit. Disconnect the battery, remove the plastic trim around the unit, remove the 3 screws and you can then remove the speedo and disconnect its wires.

With the speedo on the bench, this topic (click here) has some pictures of the internal parts and this may be enough to help you check for anything obvious