Citroen C3 - Citroen C3 1.1i Cutting out just after starting

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Sat 17 Jul 2010 18:43
Citroen C3 - Citroen C3 1.1i Cutting out just after starting - Rossco.p

Hi..

I have a problem with my Citroen C3 (2003) 1.1

The car starts and runs fine.. however if its from cold or been standing for 10-15 mins then it cuts out when pulling away.. or if you do get a way the ignition just cuts out and it stalls.. It starts strait back up again but then the same thing happens.. It only lasts a min or so but is very annoying.... after that the car runs very well?????

I did replace the Coil pack and plugs a few weeks back.

Can anyone help?.. A friend suggested it might need a Crank sensor? I just dont want to start throwing money at bits i might not need!!

Thanks

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Mon 19 Jul 2010 10:51
Citroen C3 - Citroen C3 1.1i Cutting out just after starting - Car Killer Queen

Hi – I have a similar problem. My car is a 55 plate Citroen C3 1.6i 16V Exclusive 5dr Sensodrive (Automatic)

I reluctantly got this car in April 09 after getting rid of what I thought must have been the worst car in the entire history of the world (Renault Clio 1.2 Quick shift gearbox)

I say reluctantly because its gearbox was almost identical and the Clio had been a never-ending nightmare, cutting out, stalling at junctions, not revving at all, even when my foot was flat to the floor – it was hellish. A friend of ours is an ex Renault mechanic and said it is a common fault with semi-autos and advised me to avoid another SE (especially a French one) like the plague.

In fairness, all has been well for the last twelve months or so but in the last week or two, it’s taken to suddenly beeping when I’m tootling along in 3 rd or 2 nd gear, displaying the “Auto” and “Snow” symbol on the dash, juddering a couple of times and then just stopping. The engine stays on but when I press the accelerator, there aren’t any revs at all.

Switch it off, give it a minute to stop sulking and then fire it back up – hey presto! It works again. It’s doing it increasingly and yesterday, gave up the ghost in the middle of a busy town centre and wouldn’t shift for a good half hour or so.

It’s almost identical to the problem I had with the Clio and I’m so used to not feeling confident I’ll get to where I’m going when I set off driving, I plan my route to avoid heavily congested areas even when I’m a passenger in someone else’s car.

Edited by Car Killer Queen on 19/07/2010 at 10:52

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Mon 19 Jul 2010 12:36
Citroen C3 - Citroen C3 1.1i Cutting out just after starting - Rossco.p

This car is a manual... so might be a diffrent problem ??

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Mon 19 Jul 2010 16:31
Citroen C3 - Citroen C3 1.1i Cutting out just after starting - madf

Put bluntly, you are asking us to diagnose what is an intermittent fault... There is little chance of us doing it remotely.

You need a competent garage with full diagnostics.

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Sat 28 Aug 2010 13:31
Citroen C3 - Citroen C3 1.1i Cutting out just after starting - Car Killer Queen

Hi - just posting to update and announce the death of my C3.

The problem got considerably worse within a short space of time and took to randomly going into "snow mode", causing the car to lose revs and go into economy mode? It was eventually towed to my friends' garage where it has been for a few weeks. He wasn't able to detect any fault with it unless and until it cut out whilst being driven, so he took it out several times and each time, it lost revs and rolled slowly to a halt whilst the mechanic panicked and prayed he wouldn’t be ploughed into by the HGV’s following him.

When he then checked out what was going on with the diagnostic thingy, it showed three separate faults. When the battery was disconnected and reconnected again, it would drive approx 15 miles before going into snow mode again. Why this is, I don’t know but it’s random and unpredictable behaviour meant it had to go.

I wasn't willing to "defib" my car every 15 miles or risk spending money on what could have been up to three different problems, so once again - like the Clio, it was towed away to Purgatory.

Mental. Utterly mental and I’d like to think this is a problem solely with my car and not something others have or are experiencing.

Edited by Car Killer Queen on 28/08/2010 at 13:32

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