Citroen XM Forum

When i said leaks i meant the internal type, all components are designed to leak from new and have rubber pipes from almost all components to carry this leaked fluid back to the lhm tank, when something wears out it will pass lots of fluid back to the resovour thus lossing pressure, if you have fast regulator tick times the problem is not your pump, if it was your tick times would be further apart because it would take your pump a long time to presurise the system and cut out, it is almost certain you have a worn out hydraulic component, all you have to do is find it by checking the above mentioned rubber pipes.

If the alternator is new i would suspect the connections on it or the battery terminals to be loose/dirty/corroded, the battery terminals especialy where the cable goes into the moulded lead battery terminal clamp.

Good luck

D

Hi Citroeneer

Can I ask, other than the short clicking time at the pressure regulator, do you think the car functions well? E.g. do u get hard points as u steer while at standstill?

How fast does it lift from "lowest" to "driving" position? Like, 1-2 minutes? Or 15secs (=perfect)? (Your XM has the 1-output pump, which, with a clean hydraulic system, should be able to cycle the car's rear up and down almost in a continuum, when using the height lever).

Do your height correctors make noise i.e. a "hissss" when you operate them, e.g. lower the car? Clean correctors don't do any noise at all. If they r not clean they r likely to not close completely therefore constantly leak pressure.

If you do a full lift from "lowest" to "highest", how many times does the p.r. click till car gets to the highest? Should normally click only when it reaches the top, i.e. once. If it clicks a few times and car goes up in "steps", this could be an indication that your p.r. is producing too low a high pressure (see next).

Other than component wear, it could just and only be that your pressure regulator springs (that regulate cut-in and cut-out pressures) are mechanically tired and thus it doesn't feed 145 to 170 bar to the system, but something lower (on measurement, mine produced 137-157 bar). This results in frequent clicking as the pressure reserve is lower than intended. That would be my 1st point of call if I were u -problem is to find the appropriate gauge to measure-. The fix costs a few pennies -I can guide u how to-.

Finally, have you ever hydraflushed ur hydraulic system? I asked if u think ur XM functions well because, mine, despite having a steady clicking of 8 seconds due prob. to the general wear of 160,00mls, still functions perfectly, but then I've done 1,500 + 5,000 miles hydraflushing sessions in the last 30,000k.

cheers
George

Hi all,

Thx for your comments. Did not know that belt could have impact on alternator charging...thought if its not broken then it should be working, either yes or no Definately there's an electricity gremline somewhere down there..funny thing is that each time the battery lights appear (non-moving), the radio player and the wiper stops and starts back.

Well i've done hydraflush sometimes last year. Sometimes the rear sinks pretty fast ie 15-20 mins upon parking, the front takes much longer though. The ride isnt bad, but my friends xantia 2.0 (A) felt better. Guess its gonna be quite an effort to investigate the internal leakages.

The belt will slip under load, reducing your alternator output and thus slowing battery recovery time from starting. If that is the case, if you leave the engine running you should gradually see the voltage increase over a few minutes. A slipping belt on the pump will again give reduced output under load, as the steering imposes the maxaimum load you will, as mentioned, notice that the steering is initially heavy, especially if you move the wheel suddenly.

Peter

As jorgy says, start with having the distribution valve output pressure measured. If it's low then it isn't going to work too well, whatever you do.