Forums / C4 Coupe and Hatch (pre 2011) Problems? / Presence of Water in the Diesel Filter - filter drained less than a month ago. - C4

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Presence of Water in the Diesel Filter - filter drained less than a month ago.	Please Register to enjoy additional Member Benefits

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AMO

Thu Apr 01 2010, 04:03am

Hi all,

I had a problem at the start of the year with the error message 'Presence Of Water In the Diesel Filter'. I posted here and was told that the diesel filter needing draining. My local Citroen dealer also came to the same conclusion and said that this was done as part of a major servicing.

I pulled forward my servicing and got this sorted. The error message came up 2 weeks later.

I also noticed another problem. In the last 2 months, whenever I start the car, whilst its idling, it sort of shudders as if its about to cut off. Twice before I put the car in for servicing, I would start it and then the engine would cut off. I thought that this was because of the cold weather and I did not wait for the glow plug lights to go off.

Anyway, even now, the car shudders in idles for the first few minutes each day.

I got worried when I saw this as I was Googling the presence of diesel error message:
- Click Here -
"Bad news I'm afraid. This morning the engine wouldn't stay started. I started the engine and it would fire but it would then missfire and rev (of its own accord) up to ~1300 revs and then conk out. no matter how much I pressed the accelerator it wouldn't make a difference, as if it wasn't connected.
It took about 15-20 starts to get it running prooperly. I had the above msg about "water in diesel filter". It must be related in my opinion but I've had a new filter from Pug. "

My car seems to show similar symptoms. Going to take the car into Citroen next week.

Any ideas what could be the problem?

Thanks.

Jimux

Thu Apr 01 2010, 05:50am

Member No: #8137

Joined: Mar 08 2009
Location: Kent, UK

There is always a little water in diesel which is filtered out in the fuel filter, hence the reason for regular draining. However this is effectively suspended in the fuel and pased through the system. In very cold weather this water can form ice crystals and these deposit at the bottom of the tank. You probably have a pool of water in the bottom of your tank and occasionally some gets sucked off the top and into the fuel lines. The solution is to completely drain the tank, or use an additive which combines with the water to convert it into a low grade fuel.

AMO

Thu Apr 08 2010, 06:14am

Okay - Citroen have said that I have a sensor problem on my car. They said that the error message occurs because of a faulty sensor. The charge is £140 to replace. Is this a correct diagnosis and is this a fair price?

Thanks

AMO

Thu Apr 08 2010, 06:47am

Just rang another dealer who also recommended the additive and also told me the cost of £20 for the part and 42.49 inc vat for the labour. Said that it was highly unlikely to be a sensor issue.

wheatchief United Kingdom

Thu May 27 2010, 12:11pm

Member No: #7711

Joined: Feb 14 2009
Location: hartlepool

did you get an outcome for this mate, would be nice to know what happened as i also get this message in the morning.

Pakovelli

Tue Mar 08 2011, 11:26am

I visited my local Citroen Service this morning with the question about this error, they just asked me the mileage I made after the last replacement of the filter (it was 30 000 km.), and they told it's time to replace it. Replacement cost me 30 EUR including work and the error dissapeared after:)

PPP7

Tue Mar 08 2011, 12:17pm

Member No: #135

Joined: Feb 25 2007
Location: South Midlands

I saw this error message flash up one morning about 1,000 miles before last service.

Never seen it since.

cybersimon United Kingdom

Mon Aug 28 2023, 04:12pm

Member No: #23406

Joined: Dec 19 2011
Location: Guildford

2005 C4 2.0HDi VTS. 75000 miles
Had this message last year and a getting the dealer to replace the fuel filter fixed it.
Recently the message is back and when displayed the car won't start.
I replaced the filter and put some diesel additive in the tank, the fault cleared and I took it for a drive. A week later and the message (and non-start) is back. Could this be a sensor? There was no sign of water when I changed the filter.

Farmerguy Denmark

Sat Sep 23 2023, 03:00am

Member No: #59597

Joined: Apr 10 2022
Location: Denmark west part

Here i would say the first thing is to figure out if there is really water in the fuel. Drain the fuel filter via the hose - it drain from the bottom where the water would be, is there water in the filter housing? Then drain water from filter until gone or use a emulsofier for diesel cars.
If no water is present there is a sensor with two contacts in the filter housing that can be checked. Maybe its corroded or shortet.

1 User said Thank You to Farmerguy for this Post :
cybersimon (23 Sep 2023 : 10:46)


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