Citroen Xsara Picasso - High pitched whine from rear of car.

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Thu 30 May 2013 20:31
Citroen Xsara Picasso - High pitched whine from rear of car. - ian1277

My 2006 1.6 hdi Picasso has done 96000 miles and a high pitched whine has just started coming from somewhere at the rear. It occurrs when the key is turned to the first position and also when the ignition is turned on and when the engine is running. I can't pinpoint where the sound is coming from. My local garage think that it might be that the diesel additive has run out but I got the impression that they weren't really sure. I've never heard of "diesel additive". There are no warning lights on. Does anyone have any ideas ???????

Ian

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Thu 30 May 2013 22:12
Citroen Xsara Picasso - High pitched whine from rear of car. - Peter D

A failing Intank fuel pump would be the place to start. With igniton on they run to 2 or 3 seconds then stop. They start again when cranking or when the engine is running. Regards Peter

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Fri 31 May 2013 14:26
Citroen Xsara Picasso - High pitched whine from rear of car. - TeeCee

I've never heard of "diesel additive".

I wonder if they mean that Eolys stuff for the DPF? If it had that and it were out, I'd have thought you'd get a fault lamp on the dash though.

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Sun 2 Jun 2013 17:23
Citroen Xsara Picasso - High pitched whine from rear of car. - ian1277

Thanks for the replies. The sound is constant when the key is turned to position 1 and 2 it's also constant when the engine is running. There are no warning messages or fault lamps. I've now found the handbook which says;

"If the diesel fuel additive level is low, a message appears on the multifunction screen accompanied by a sound signal.It is necessary to have the additive level topped up"

The last service note says, "Diesel particle filter cleaner added"

I presumed that they'd topped up the EOLYS fluid ---maybe they didn't. Is EOLYS the same as "diesel additive"

I'm confused and need to lie down.

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Mon 3 Jun 2013 11:29
Citroen Xsara Picasso - High pitched whine from rear of car. - dieselnut

Yes, EOLYS is the same thing as diesel additive. Also the additive pump only runs for a short calculated period after adding fuel.

On my old Citroen XM there was a tiny fan associated with the climate control that was located in the cluster around the rear view mirror, that used to make an anoying noise all the time. Maybee they have moved it to the rear passenger courtesy cluster on the Picasso. Other than the fuel pump I can't think of anything else that would run constantly at the rear of the car when stationary.


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Tue 4 Jun 2013 07:16
Citroen Xsara Picasso - High pitched whine from rear of car. - oldtoffee

I had this type of noise on a year old, 25k 03 Picasso 2.0 HDi and it was a faulty fuel pump replaced under warranty.

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Tue 4 Jun 2013 08:20
Citroen Xsara Picasso - High pitched whine from rear of car. - alastairq

Slightly 'off-topic', I know, but......I had....once...an old Volvo 740 with a main [HP] fuel pump that positively howled.

The in-tank pump [lift pump, effectively]....was checked, filter sock replaced, etc...no change.

The noise was there rfom the first day I had the car...I bought a new HP pump, meaning to replace said item at some point......6 years , and well over 100,000 miles later, the new spare was still under the boot floor!

Then, one snowy day in a nearby town...the pump finally failed.[knew something was going wrong..couldn't hear anythng]....

Called the AA....diagnosed the fault for the patrol....happened to mention I might have a 'new spare' in the boot.....thus I took 'advantage' of the AA's then-current policy of 'repair if possible', before thinking of recovery....the Patrol swapped the pump for me..in the snow...took him about an hour.....and the 'rest'....[it's underneath on those cars].....and off I went....another 100,000 miles....

Using the AA membership fee as a labour charge...is that ethical?

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Mon 10 Jun 2013 10:21
Citroen Xsara Picasso - High pitched whine from rear of car. - ian1277

This is now SORTED

I couldn't pinpoint where the noise was coming from but I wasn't convinced it was the tank area.

Whilst leaning on the car pondering the problem I noticed a slight vibration through the rearlight lens.

I discovered that the tow bar relay was tucked down behind the lamp cluster deep in the body work and was buzzing loudly. I removed the fuse and the buzzing stopped - SORTED.

Interesting to note that 2 local garages diagnosed fuel pump or diesel additive pump and were quoting £200 --- Glad That I looked further

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