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Possessed C4 - strange electrical issues Resolved	Please Register to enjoy additional Member Benefits

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eljay

Sat Jan 02 2016, 11:36am

Member No: #43155

Joined: Jan 02 2016
Location: SK

I am new here and trying to help a family member sort out his 2009 C4 Coupe with 1.6i 16V petrol engine with ~74000 kms. He is the original owner and the car has been maintained by the book so far.

I'll list all I've observed.
First, I've noticed an oil leak on the driver's side of the engine block, just below the oil filter housing. I haven't checked where it's coming from. It is going in for service to have that looked at. I don't believe it's related to below.
Here comes the fun part:
This morning, he moved the car from the outside to the garage (outside temp was -10C, inside garage it's +8C).
10 minutes later, I tried to start the car, it would turn over, but not start. It took 5 tries and it did start eventually. Engine was running fine. CEL came on and the display read "Faulty Anti-Pollution".
I drove the car for about 25 minutes, parked it and locked it outside. Came back an hour later and found wipers extended with a loud ticking sound (like a relay) under the hood and wipers skipping slowly across the windshield. I am certain I did not hit the wiper stalk accidentally before I locked it. The car started fine and ran fine. Drove it for 20 minutes and parked it again outside. After I parked it, there was a distinct buzzing sound from the rear of the car - the fuel pump was on continuously. 3 hours later I came to the car and the wipers were on. Again started fine, and the CEL and the Anti-pollution message has disappeared! But on the way home relay under the left side dash was clicking loudly on/off and the aircon was shutting off and starting on randomly. It was mostly off.
Came home, parked the car inside the garage. Fuel pump was buzzing still after I shut it off. I have a generic OBD reader, so I went to scan the codes, but when I put the key into Position II (ACC ON), it started the engine! I repeated this 3 times with the same result. I am 100% certain that I did not turn the key to Ignition position.
Here are the codes I got:
P0261 - Powertrain - Cylinder 1 Injector Circuit Low
P0270 - Powertrain - Cylinder 4 Injector Circuit Low
P0267 - Powertrain - Cylinder 3 Injector Circuit Low
P0264 - Powertrain - Cylinder 2 Injector Circuit Low
B2AAA - Body

Again, it the garage, the wipers came on with the car locked. Pressing unlock and lock stops them, but they come on a few minutes later. I checked all connectors in the fuse box. They are clean, no moisture or broken wires. However, there's a faint ticking sound like a hard drive in a laptop all the time. Then the wipers come on by themselves and there's a ticking relay sound that comes on with that.
So, I unplugged the battery to avoid draining it and burning out the wiper motors and fuel pump.

Sorry, for the long essay, but that's the complete picture. Again, the engine runs smooth, no misfires across the RPM range.

Any tips? I've searched all the codes (the B2AAA comes up with nothing usefu even on Google)
I doubt the issue is with injector wiring causing all of the above issues, especially, with the car parked and locked. Sounds like the codes are just symptoms of a short somewhere. Any suggestions where to check that would be causing wipers, fuel pump, and aircon to act up?

I will be leaving here tomorrow and he will be taking the car in for service on Monday, so I won't be able to check things, but if there's a known issue I can check tomorrow morning, I will.

Thank you very much.

Dave_Retired. United Kingdom

Sat Jan 02 2016, 12:42pm

Member No: #1

Joined: Aug 07 2006
Location: Northumberland

Click P0261

The rest are basically the same error on a different cylinder.

I would check all the earth straps on the engine, starter and gearbox to ensure all are clean and secure then work from there by having the battery tested properly as a failing battery can cause all sorts of electrical issues to appear which are exacerbated by cold weather.

It's unlikely all 4 injectors have failed at once so looks like a wiring issue somewhere if the earths and battery are all OK

eljay

Sat Jan 02 2016, 03:12pm

Member No: #43155

Joined: Jan 02 2016
Location: SK

Thank for the quick reply.

A failing battery would make sense given that it's the original unit, so it's 6 years old.
But the battery indicator is green and it starts without a problem, so it's puzzling that it would manifest itself like this.

I guess it's time to replace it, so it might as well be the first thing to try.

eljay

Sun Apr 03 2016, 06:32pm

Member No: #43155

Joined: Jan 02 2016
Location: SK

I just want to post back and close the loop...
It was the battery that cause the havoc above. The battery was replaced and all is well now.

Hope this helps others!

Cheers.

AndrewM United Kingdom

Mon Apr 04 2016, 01:29am

Member No: #34563

Joined: Mar 04 2014
Location: Swansea UK

Thanks for posting back the results. This may well help others

Mistermena United Kingdom

Mon Apr 04 2016, 08:55am

Member No: #43905

Joined: Feb 26 2016
Location: Wales

What was the make and amp/cold cranking that you bought?


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