Pressure regulator faulty??

[robin hughes]

Had this fault for a while now and still unsure of what it could be. Basicly the suspension all feels fine as does the powersteering but with the engine idling when the accumulator clicks it almost stalls the engine ( and has actualy done it twice ) I have changed the accumulator sphere thinking it was that but still no joy. Could it be a faulty pressure regulator over pressurising the system as it seems to be putting quite a load on the engine.

[Vanny]

when it clicks the PUMP stalls, thats whats makign the idle drop and the engine stall, its not a case of the system being over pressurised but the pump being stopped.

I guess it could be the PR blocking the pump completely ( it should be dumping the pressure back to the reservoir, but stalls a little as it switches the circuit over), swap in another PR, its certainly not a difficult job!

Could also be a problem with the HP pump, but if the system was being over pressurised then you would be getting leaking unions and blow outs, though i have understanding of how the pump generating more pressure could cause the stall.

[Toddman]

I would think Vanny is right Robin but all I can add is what is your idel rpm like? worth checking it is idling correctly and definitely in idle mode so just check the revs nad the TPS to eule that out.

Have to say the only issues I have ever had with the hydraulics is spheres and pipes never ahd anything else cause trouble - now I am dreading the next rip out LOL!

Cheers
Luke

[robin hughes]

Hi,

Luke the idle is fine. From cold its just below 1000 rpm and warm its 900 to 950 rpm. But there is definitly somthing puting a surge on the engine and vany has a valid point id never thought of it like that before. I changed the hp pump in 2005 for a nearly newish one off a grey phase 2 we scrapped and it still seems fine and is a quiet pump. Maybe the pr has gone all to pot as it did seem to kill an accumulator sphere. Anyway with this problem ill have to look in to it more because im frightened that putting a that kind of surge on the engine will in turn put a load on the cambelt and snap it .

[Vanny]

Well its more likley to snap the cam first i imagine but either way i would agree that its not a good thing. surely you have another PR you can swap in to rule out the problems?

[robin hughes]

Actualy decided to do somthing about this today so got up early armed with a secondhand pressure reg. Me and dad changed it within a few hours started it up and the car run fine with 40 seconds between the accumulator clicking and no drop on the revs.......... Untill the dam thing started leaking from the side that screws onto the bracket. Managed to seal it for the mo and have a recon on on order from pladies. Now with this leaking pressure reg fitted the click time is much better and it doesnt always stall the pump when the accumulator clicks but it STILL does it just not as frequent. Could it be the flow valve up the wall as well??.

cheers rob

[Toddman]

Worth checking the AEP thread in the members area Rob as AEP supply Pladies with recon parts like pumps etc and we get a discount at AEP and they carry a LOT of genuine Citroen parts that are not listed on their website and they really are good value.

Cheers
Luke