Bouncy Bouncy Ride

[Ricky Latarche]

Hiya, I'm a noobie to Citroens and have acquired a N Reg Xantia TD SX from my dad after my Pug had an accident in a rather deep puddle.

My Question is . . . . How do I know which sphere's are gone on my car, i know two are at least and a ticking noise every 5 or 6 seconds also means the accumulator needs replacing.

The reason is the ride is very bouncy ( i can feel every dip in the road and bump) going over speed bumps at anything over 10 mph causes the car to pitch back and forth going down a lot further on the passenger side front than the drivers side (causes it to rock diagonally).

Also the lights. . . . . i've got Phillips +50% brightness bulbs yet they are worse than my other halfs pug 106 with bog standard 55W bulbs. Anything I can do to brighten the roads a little?

Thanks in advance for any help - If FCF was up and running i'm sure I'd be able to search for the answers no problem - but sods law - as soon as you need it - it aint there!!

[admiral51]

first off i would get the acc sphere changed and then worry about the suspension.
from what i can remember you should be able to push down/rock the car pretty much the same as a "normal" car..im a FCF refugee and im sure Anders will put me right on this cos he told me when i asked the same sort of question on FCF

im sure ive read on here something about "nightbreaker" bulbs not sure if phillips or osram but they seem to be pretty good and yes the bog standard ones are as much use as a chocolate fireguard
if you are replacing acc+2 others they always get done in pairs ie both front/back.assuming its just got the 6 acc +2 front and back + 1 rear centre (anti-sink) you just as well get them all done as if you say diagonally then its one front and one back gsf do them £18.50 each i think inc seals.
if you do anti-sink make sure you get a 3.5mm lhm pipe seal and undo the 9mm securing nut before you attempt to undo the sphere and always support the car with jacks/axles stands etc they will kill you if they drop and you are underneath it

colin

[Ricky Latarche]

admiral51 thanks for the quick reply, i'll try and lay my hands on some of these night breaker bulbs - however if they still are not good enough - has anyone here tried the heavy duty wiring upgrade? I remember reading about this a day or so before the FCF went down so I never got the chance to get the details, wiring diagrams and parts needed.

I think i'll leave the suspension and wiring upgrade until FCF is back up and running (any idea when that will be) as there doesn't appear to be half as many members visiting this forum atm!

[MikeT]

I second what admiral says, get the accu sphere first and also check the LHM fluid level is topped up then set the car to low (engine running) for a few minutes to dissipate any trapped air. As for the pitching, I'm afraid I can't comment on that but if it's bouncing that might indicate the front height corrector lever has come off - easy to rectify but make sure you have the car well and truly supported before crawling underneath.

Yes, the headlights are dangerous on unlit roads at speeds over 40mph IMO. Phillips make the nightbreakers and they can be had on ebay for £20 pair. Otherwise, I think the advice is to install new wiring and relay as the Citroen's own doesn't like heavy loads. If you're thinking of converting to HID's, it's a bit of a grey area as some (including me) feel they are also dangerous to oncoming traffic. But I'm sure others will be here soon to give more accurate help.

[stuart_hedges]

There's a big big thread about HIDs over on the club-XM forum with various points of view and some interesting legal information.

I really want to upgrade the headlamps on the XM but I haven't quite decided how to go about it yet. I'm going to experiment with brighter halogen bulbs before I start down the HID route.

[MULLEY]

I thought non factory fit hid's were illegal???

[jeremy]

Rapid ticking is the usual give away for a flat accumulator.

So far as general suspension is concerned its well worth having a look at the ride height - does it look about right when you stand besides the car and look at it? The reason I say this is that the Xantia height correctors are very prone to seizure and when they seize the car won't achieve the correct ride height and will ride badly. If the correctors are sticky the ride may improve temporarily if the car is raised then dropped to the correct height.

You should be able to depress each corner if the spheres are OK - of one is rock hard - then the sphere is flat.

[citronut]

if one side at any one corner moves more than the other side of the same end of the car it means you have a flat /nearly flat sphere on the corner which has little or no movement, but it is best to replace them both at the same time front pair and or rear pair, the A/C sphere needs replacing if ticking that often

regards malcolm

ps were abouts are you im in st leonards on sea east sussex

[Ricky Latarche]

Malcolm,

many thanks for the response, I'm In Haverhill (the border town of essex, cambridgeshire and Suffolk)

My friend is a mechanic however he hasn't had much dealings with a citroen and knowing how different they are from normal cars I'd rather have someone who knows the car to take a look at it.

Jeremy,

The ride height looks fine, If i adjust the height to each of the 4 settings the car raises and lowers to what I would say is the correct height, there is only 3-5mm difference from either side in height once settled so I would say that the height adjusters were working ok. I've tried the Citrobatics about once a month to keep them free!!

Ricky