Lack of power and temp gauge on red

[gusnjus]

Hi all, i am a new owner or a c3 1.4 16v diesel and i have a couple of issues with it. The first one is, about 15 seconds after i start the car i get a beep and the temperature gauge goes to maximum. The car doesn't overheat but the gauge stays fully lit until i switch off the ignition. Once i start the engine it goes back to red again. Secondly it feels underpowered and hesitates when driving, i got it to replace an 8 valve 1.4hdi Xsara but sadly it doesn't have the power that the Xsara had.

[DanniAgro]

Sorry to ask the bleeding obvious, but you have of course done the basics - it's just that you haven't mentioned them? By this I mean that you have checked the water level in the header tank?

[Arfur Dent]

Lack of power could he caused by MAF, EGR or the Turbo actuator valve, amongst other things.

There are topics in the 'tips for a diesel C3' that show the EGR, MAF, tweaking the turbo boost actuator and also on the forum is the turbo actuator valve fault and replacement.

Worth a browse through.

[gusnjus]

Thanks for the replies, i should have said earlier, there is plenty of water in the header tank. Will have a look at MAF and EGR tomorrow.

[gusnjus]

Hi all, i put a vacuum pump on the turbo and the valve appears to be working correctly. I can both suck and blow air through the vacuum pipe work so I think the problem is either with the vacuum pipes, or with the electrovalve.
I have come across another problem this morning though. While driving home (about a 20 mile round trip) the speedo, Rev counter and temperature gauge all went off, and the fuel light, abs light, handbrake warning light and headlights indicator lights all came on. I stopped the car and took the keys out but the ignition, heaters and radio all stayed on. The only way I could get them to turn off was to disconnect the battery. Can anyone offer any help or advice to resolve this?

[Arfur Dent]

Can anyone offer any help or advice to resolve this?

Which one?

I have come across another problem this morning though.

[gusnjus]

The lack of power issue is now resolved, there was a vacuum pipe disconnected down at the back of the engine. Since I reconnects the battery the speedo and gauges are all working again, not sure for how long though. Got a problem with the temp gauge still though. If I put 12v to the big plug on the fan should it spin or does it more power to the small grey plug as well.

[Arfur Dent]

The lack of power issue is now resolved, there was a vacuum pipe disconnected down at the back of the engine.

Good news

Got a problem with the temp gauge still though. If I put 12v to the big plug on the fan should it spin or does it more power to the small grey plug as well.

There is a constant 12v feed to the fan (big wires) and the fan 'on and speed settings' are triggered on the thin wires.

Citroen C3 engine cooling fan plugs

Citroen_c3_radiator_cooling_fan_control.jpg (58.74 KiB) Viewed 43 times

Lexia tool (here)can fun the fan up at the different speeds in test mode.

lexia information to read.

Since I reconnects the battery the speedo and gauges are all working again, not sure for how long though.

This can happen once and never happen again. Its a can/van bus lockup.

[gusnjus]

I plugged a Lexia in to the car this afternoon, it showed the following:
Permanent fault cooling temperature warning and
Fan control at low speed faulty actuator.
I know that the cooling temperature sensor is working as the temperature was shown and it varied while the engine was running.
It has been suggested to me that it could be caused by fault with the BSI board. Does that sound likely?

[Arfur Dent]

If anything it would be down to the engine ECU because that is what controls the engine functions including cooling.

But, lexia is very powerful and can do more than just read codes, it can perform diagnostics and tell you what parts to test next.

What actual codes did you get from your read? As this maybe helpful too.

I would expect a problem with fans, sensors and wiring before the engine ECU gives trouble.

There is also a topic in the tips section that helps with making a better connection to the engine ECU plug connections.