i have read many comments on this forum where people talk about a common annoyance with the suspension going into hardmode but how do you tell? and if so, what are the various cures?

i have recently changed all spheres and lhm to find the suspension at the back end a huge improvement but overall i find the ride (occasionally and randomly) more firm as if its in going into hard mode.

if this is a common quirk what are the views to overcome it?

i've also noticed the pump leaking a bit making a small mess locally but this cant be affecting the ride - just annoying when you start the car in the morning and the first thing it does is sink!

If its normally riding well but intermittently going hard the only thing I can think of is that it has a faulty sensor somewhere, although I have never heard of that happening so I dont know what to suggest. Does it stay hard or revert to normal, and under what circumstances does it go hard? You could try another computer if perhaps you can borrow one but they dont usually go intermittent. If you have hydractive, which I think you do as yours must be a Mk2 (they didn't make a Mk1 2.5 td) you cant test it by switching to sport mode as this only increases the sensitivity of the system. The only way that you can check that it is switching is bouncing it with the engine running, the switching it of, shutting the door and waiting for the click from the solonoids and bouncing it again.

Peter.N.

I've got an early H plate SEi 2.0 which rides really beautifully over potholes ridges etc and all feels well with it about 60% of the time.

The other 40% the whole car is rigid and I mean like being on the high setting. It's downright lethal. I've changed the computer ECU, the sphere's the LHM, the brake sensor and speed sensor and have checked all the connections to the front electrovalve etc. In fact, the only thing I didn't get round to doing was actually changing the electrovalve for a known good one.

The only clue to this annoying trait was 9 times out of 10 it would reset to proper soft once the car was stopped and restarted on the ignition. The likely trigger to make it undrivable was either sharp acceleration or braking - never got to the bottom of actually pinpointing this.

It's a nice straight car in the nice mauritus blue and fully loaded with all mod cons that DO WORK. but I've got more interesting fish to fry and will probably end up scrapping the damned thing as frankly, I eventually got so hacked off with it I banished it to the corner of the garage I store cars in and conveniently ignored/punished it for being a right git!

If someone said, yeah it's the front central electrovalve I'll fit the one I've got in the glovebox spare.

Andrew

i'll have a play listening to the clicking solenoids after turning the car off - where are the specific ones or will be that obvious?

the trigger for my car seems to be sudden jolts, like a rough road or drain. Not always though and fortunately not 60% of the time, yet! I have the same symptoms for reset as Andmcit by turning the car off and restarting. i assume its a dodgy sensor of some sort.

given that the dash light does not come in to indicate hard mode how else could the suspension characteristics change so dramatically?

It's going in and out of 'hard' mode all the time you are driving, it will only indicate 'sport' when you are permantly switched to that mode, which actually isn't 'hard mode' it just increases the sensitivity of the switching circuit so it stiffens the suspension with less stimulus.

Peter.N.

Maybe my memory is going a bit, but I do seem to recall a sharp jolt or ridge on the road would et the system into what I call ultra hard mode.

It's not just hard it's totally rigid; the total opposite to the wallowy ride I know the car is capable of. Clearly the fluid is locked in the circuit not permitting any movement for the piston on the rams to operate onto the sphere. The height correctors don't show any vices and the Citroebics are operated smoothly and quickly too.

As I say, I got totally fed up with and couldn't use the car...

Andrew

I would have said that the problem was almost certainly connected with failure of the diode in the softness valves (if that is the right description). If it's a S2 then you could do what I have done - or a variation of it - which is the either replace the valves (under the car) or insert replacement diodes in the wiring near the suspension computer or in the computer (ECU) itself. It's on file here, probably in the suspension or electrical sections. Some months ago. If you can't find it, come back with a message and I'll see if I can direct youi there.