hi
I have a xantia 1999 exclusive only 15000mls
The rear suspension goes solid as if the spheres are gone but after driving for a while it returns to normal
A garage in France told me it could be the electro valve
Can anyone help please
Martin
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There is a solenoid valve fitted to stop the rear of the car settling when the car is not being used. This is ignition controlled. It sounds as if this valve is sticking/partly blocked. It may be worth cycling the height setting between minimum and maximum a few times to see if it improves. Even though the car has only 15000 miles on it, at 6 years old it may be worth changing the LHM fluid.
If the ride really is normal then it is unlikely to be the spheres. I am assuming that you haven't set the suspension to its "sport" setting on the dash.
I am in South Gloucestershire, if you are in the same area, there are several independant Cit specialists who will sort this problem out.
HTH
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Hi
Thanks for your help
By the way i live in Cheltenham
I have tried the min/max height control still the same
the sport setting is off, tried this on/off many times still the same
Today i went to the main dealer here in Cheltenham they have never come across this before and could not help me, but are going to find some info !!!!
When the mechcanic looked at the car it was working perfect then seconds later the suspention went hard as a rock but he still had no idea
Also talked to the cit in stroud same thing
I had a brilliant cit guy who worked for himself but he his no longer here
If you know of any indipendent could you let me know
Greatful for your help
MARTIN
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hi its me again just to say when the rear suspension goes solid the front suspension is normal
Thanks Martin
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Phil Neate, Wallbridge, Stroud 01453 752186
Moss Motors Chalford Nr Stroud 01453 885097
P&R motor services Tetbury 01666 505010
I have used all 3 of the above and one whose name escapes me but he is on the Painswick road out of Gloucester, on the RH side as you go towards Painswick.
I work in Tetbury so P&R are the obvious choice for me.
All 4 of them nave proved helpful, competant and not expensive(compared to dealer prices).
If I had to choose one or be shot it would be P&R.
If the front is ok then it does sound as if the French garage are spot on.
If the fault is intermittant then it "could" be as simple as a bad connection on the electro-valve.
HTH, post back if you need more info etc, and let us know how you get on.
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HTH
Greatful for your kind help
will be in touch
Martin
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There's a bit of mis info above. There is a valve that stops the car sinking when the engine is off, but this is purely mechanical, operated by pressure only. The electrovalve is part of the computer controlled hydractive suspension fitted to the VSX / Exclusive cars. When the solenoid is energised by the computer, the car goes into 'soft' mode. When the solenoid is de-energised, the centre sphere is isolated, and the car is in hard mode. Note that putting the switch in the car in comfort position does NOT stop the computer putting the car in hard mode - it merely increases the parameters that trigger hard mode, so you need to try harder to get hard mode.
To avoid burning the solenoids out, they are fed with a modulated signal from the ECU, and to prevent back EMF causing problems with the solenoid not holding open, there is a diode wired in series with it. Failure of this diode leads to the symptoms you are having. Unfortunately, the diode is deeply hidden within the electrovalve, so Citroen would have you believe that replacement is necessary. However, there was a thread about just this on frenchcarforum.co.uk a few weeks back, and the problem was cured by wiring a new diode in series with the electrovalve. I'll see if I can find a link later.
Note that if the suspension goes really hard when in hard mode, then it sounds like the rear corner spheres might need replacing.
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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Martin, sorry if I have misled you. It was obviously unintentional. At least you have some links to some Cit indies in the area. I would follow Richards guidance.
Richard, thanks for the post. I had assumed that because the rear did not sink, the anti-sink feature was triggered by a 12v supply from the ignition. I am always prepared to live and learn.
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Its Martin
Thanks for your help
Up to now with everyones help I am still not sure what the problem is.
The last few days the car has been behaving that is until tonight
I lowered the suspension then went to max hight then normal and after the rear suspension was soft(I now the difference between soft and hard)
When I garage the car after switching off I heared a click after 40 seconds like a solenoid then the suspension was solid is this normal??
Thanks
Martin
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"I heared a click after 40 seconds like a solenoid then the suspension was solid is this normal??"
The first part is - the car switches to soft mode when you open a door (you can hear the solenoids humming if you listen) - then after about 30s of the doors being closed it switches the solenoids off back to hard mode. If it goes solid in hard mode then the corner spheres on the rear are shot and need replacing. This is not surprising as they are really time limited not mileage - cheap to get replaced at an indpendent, or DIY. If you replace the spheres, then it should be less noticeable when it switches into hard mode when driving, but if you are still experiencing long periods of hard mode, then you probably need some new diodes. I found the threads on frenchcarforum:
www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=150...4
www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=159...9
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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Richard W
Thank you for your info
I am not sure if we are talking about the same thing
The rear suspension goes solid as if the spheres are empty with out operating the hard suspension button inside the car then suddenly it returns to normal
I have used the car yesterday and all was working well
Are we on the same tract
Thanks again
Martin
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