New to the forum and it's already about to fail it's MOT

[Thisisnotaspoon]

Well, bought this Berlingo on Monday after my last car got written off* and I'd always regretted not getting a van every time I tried to load a bike into it!

Now it wasn't perfect, but it has every receipt and service stamp down to the last wiper blade all the way back to the original sales invoice. And the only thing I could spot was the passenger side door wouldn't open and the usual car park knocks.

But 60miles later the b****** airbag light has come on. Could be a fluke obviously, but if you were a back street car dealer with a car rapidly approaching it's MOT, what would you have done to bodge it long enough for a test drive? I'm thinking/hoping that points to a loose connector somewhere that's come close again. 

Can anyone recommend a fault code reader to figure out which circuit? From past experience, my bluetooth one from my last car is a bit vague.

In better news, the door was a relatively simple fix, sacrificed an old fork to pull the plastic rivets out, figured out the cloth trim/torx screw bit, and found one of the rods had fallen out of it's clip.




Ohh, and my other car (not the one that was written off thankfully!)



*long story, insurers decided it was my fault because she had a believable (but not entirely accurate) version of events involving her not being on the wrong side of the road.  Then she skewered herself when trying to claim for whiplash with a subtly different version of events that is closer to the truth and put her at fault, got to love karma

[Thisisnotaspoon]

Whoohooooo

Sam 2: Benoit the Berlingo 0

Airbag light went off after I stuck my head under the drivers seat to re-fit the plastic tray that was ratling arround and giving the connectors under there a waggle while I was there. Further digging in the folder of paperwork says they've been problematic before so touch wood it's just the connector to the pre-tensioner.

Now to get that MOT tout suite before it comes back on!

Next questions:

My bt fault reader threw out P1351. Which google says glow plug relay circuit? So presumably an electrical fault that won't fire up the plug rather than a glow plug fault?

The glowplug light on the dash doesn't illuminate when I put the key in (first diesel, I was watching for the engine, alternator, abs, oil, etc lamps to go on/off didn't look for any others). Presumably because it's not able to energise them?

Presumably this could be something simple like a fuse (is there just the one pannel by the OBD2 port? Or is there and engine pannel elsewhere?). Or a relay Where do they hide?

I think tomorrow is going to involve a trip to halfords for a Haynes manual!

[jj9]

The connectors under the seats for the airbags are known for making a bad connection a good wiggle often sorts them out.

Good fix on the passenger door.

What engine in the car?  (Unless it's the 1.9 you won't have a major problem starting with knackered glow plugs.)

The light on the dash for glow plugs doesn't relate to when the plugs are actually on, believe me.

There's a manual to download for free somewhere on the forum.

.

[Thisisnotaspoon]

Thanks, it's a 2.0 HDI.

I'll be working out of a hotel in Manchester December till April with lots of 5am starts so I might see if it's fixable just to be sure. Or at least stick a multimeter on the plugs to see if they are on when its cold.

[cancunia]

The fault code you're getting probably relates to the relay that powers the glowplugs. As JJ9 says, the HDi engines will start happily without glowplugs, it may just run a bit roughly for a minute or so. There's a thread on here somewhere about testing the glowplugs with a meter, but if the relay has failed, the plugs won't come on even if they are in GWO.

[Sol]

Official Citroen description: P1351 Pre-heating relay circuit : Coherence ; Relay supplied and glow plugs not supplied

This means the relay "could" be at fault but as JJ says, the glow plugs have a different behaviour to anything you have seen before. They have pre-start glow, post-start glow etc and are often on when the light on the dash is not. This is as intended.

The relay is down in a gap behind the passenger headlight, there is a vertical panel it is bolted to. Its awkward to get to and I moved the one on my m59 to the opposite side of the panel to make it easier to access. This code however could just mean the current drawn by the glow plugs is not as the ECU expects so could just be they are a bit worn but still work. The HDi is pretty good at starting even if the plugs are not tip-top due to the direct injection method (glow plugs are not a must-have to start a High-pressure Direct Injection diesel) but they are used to control cold-start emissions, help warm up time etc.

From memory the best test was to check voltage is getting to the plugs and if so, rule out all thoughts of relays, but telling when they "should" be on, needs a lamp connected (JJ has a great handle on this particular method) so that you can see when the ECU has actually turned them on. The dash light is not always used so not much good for testing.

[Thisisnotaspoon]

Thanks for the help guys. I'll have a search in the forum and see what I can find. Interesting that the glowplug light doesnt illuminate and doesnt actually relate to the plugs. Sounds like testing the relay with a test bulb/lead is the way to go.

In better (and frankly unexpected news) it passed it's MOT! I'd pencilled in the rest of the week for fixing it up! The only advisories were the front tyres are wearing asymetrically (tracking out more than likley) and corrosion on the exhaust and rear subframe/axle. I've got half a can of underseal left form the MG so might put it up on a ramp and give it a clean/coating.

Time to put some effort in now, give it a propper clean inside and fit a towbar ready for some adventures!

Has anyone tried one of these? How quick are they to fit and take down? Wondering if it would be viable for changing after surfing/mountainbiking/sailing, or if it would be too much of a faff to put up/take down.

[rnamman]

Now that's what I call a useful addition, especially as most public conveniences are no longer open...

[jj9]

Thanks for the help guys. I'll have a search in the forum and see what I can find. Interesting that the glowplug light doesnt illuminate and doesnt actually relate to the plugs. Sounds like testing the relay with a test bulb/lead is the way to go....

On the HDi the glow plugs don't come on for a pre heat unless the temperature is around 7°C but even if the plugs are not working the engine should still start with little effort, unlike the older 1.9d (indirect injection)
You may notice the glow plug light flash on for a split second when you first turn on the ignition, just because the light goes out doesn't say that the glow plugs are not still receiving power, they normally post heat for around 3 minutes, as Zion explained this is for emission control.

Test that power is getting to the glow plugs first, it's best to use a test lamp for this as with a meter you can have a voltage showing that has no power behind it.
If power is present then it's a case of removing the connectors to the plugs and testing each plug in turn, you can use a meter on resistance for this.

There's lots of videos on youtube showing how to test glow plugs, even though the car / engine may not be the same the principal is.

.

[Romahomepete]

We have had a number of Berlingos and all have worn the nearside front more than the offside. Our local tyre fitter say that an awful lot of cars (not just Citroen) do that in our are due to the number of small roundabouts.

If the airbag connector keeps playing up (and it is the connector, it is rubbish) cut it off and replace it with a choc block connector or similar. I did that on our Berlingo based camper over 10 years ago and it fixed the problem.

Peter