Citroën XM Hydractive II Suspension Repair Kit
Restores / Protects the Original "Magic Carpet Ride"
Simple DIY fit in around 15 minutes - full instructions
Wiring identification provided - specific to your car
No need to get under the car. No soldering. No cutting.
Not satisfied with the ride quality in your XM?
Replaced spheres and it's still not right?
Don't know what to do next? Read on ..
But first - here's some of the feedback received from buyers of this kit:
"Great product - It Works!!! Great Service - Thanks for a great ride!"
"Excellent product, did what he said it would. Good fitting instructions. V Good"
"top product easy to fit fantastic results!"
"Very helpful. Product worked well. Instructions and help excellent."
"Fast, reliable, 100% professional"
"Great product and a great seller, highly recommended."
"lightning fast delivery.......great service and product..."
"Good response and details allowed for easy fitting of repair kit."
"Great product, dispatched promptly, very good comms - Highly recommended e-bayer"
The majority of XM's (even low mileage and well maintained ones) have lost the "magic carpet ride" they were designed to have.
Owners are enduring sub-standard & harsh ride quality (for an XM) that's little better than a "normal" car.
Even after replacing spheres - the improvement is only marginal.
So called "comfort spheres" are available - supposedly in an attempt to counteract this problem (didn't Citroën intend theirs to be comfortable then)?
Many garages - including Citroën dealers - won't even diagnose the problem.
Many XM owners have never experienced the level of comfort their car was designed to provide.
So what's going on? Here's the full story - and the solution..
When Citroën introduced Hydractive II suspension to the XM in February 1993 (left hand drive models from RP No. 5929 onwards & right hand drive models from RP No. 6383 onwards) the two centre spheres were operated by individual electro-mechanical firmness regulators. These regulators switch the centre spheres in or out of the hydraulic suspension circuit to make it softer or firmer. The suspension ECU (computer brain) monitors a variety of sensors (acceleration, body movement, steering etc) to detect the way the car is being driven and independently operates the firmness regulators to make the suspension firmer - and the car handle better / more safely - when necessary, and for the rest of the time to make the suspension softer - making your journey as smooth and comfortable as possible - the legendary "magic carpet ride". You can also select "sport" suspension using the slider switch on the centre console. Contrary to popular belief this does not set the car permanantly in firm more - cutting the centre spheres out of the hydraulic circuit all the time - but means the suspension ECU will activate the firmness regulators more readily (in anticipation of you making greater demands of the car). The 4 digit RP number is painted on the left front door pillar (see photo at foot of page).
So - what goes wrong? It's really quite simple. In each of the electro-mechanical firmness regulators there's a component that's designed to protect the electronics in the suspension ECU. These components fail - and when they do the suspension ECU detects the failure and to protect itself shuts down the circuitry that controls the electro-magnetic firmness regulator. When this happens the firmness regulator - by default - remains permenantly in firm mode. This can happen to front or rear firmness regulators - or both. In this state the ride is much harder than when you select "sport suspension" because the regulator is never able to operate in soft mode and it's centre sphere is permanently isolated from the hydraulic circuit.
So what does this kit do and how does it help? Quite simply - this kit replaces the components that commonly fail open circuit - for both firmness regulators. Just as it detected the failed components - the suspension ECU will recognise that the components are working and will immediately activate the circuitry that controls the electro-magnetic firmness regulators - allowing full suspension function! The failed components in the firmness regulators are encapsulated in the body of the unit and can't be replaced (although you can replace the entire unit) so this kit replaces them elsewhere in the circuit, this time closer to the suspension ECU. This means they're just as effective at protecting the suspension ECU and the kit connects easily to the wiring loom where access and identification is straight forward. See pictures below. The kit has only three wires and comes with clear instructions specific to your car. All you need to provide is the vehicle 4 digit RP No and indicate if it's left or right hand drive. There's no need to cut the wiring loom and there's no soldering involved because the connections are made using Scotchloks that tap into the existing wiring. All you need is a pair of pliers to close the Scotchloks. All work is carried out under the bonnet simply by opening the lid on the ECU container above the off side front wheel. (You may need to remove and replace about 100mm / 4 inches of insulating tape from around the loom as in the picture below.)
This kit is available for all XM models from RP 5929 onwards (LHD) & RP 6383 onwards (RHD). Just indicate left or right hand drive (LHD/RHD) and provide your RP No.
What else should I know? I think you'll be astonished at the results you get from fitting one of these kits. It's probably the biggest difference you can make to your XM relative to the cost & time involved! If the component in only one (front or rear) firmness regulator has failed you can still fit this kit because having more than one functioning component in the circuit is perfectly OK. It's actually a good idea to fit a kit even if neither have failed - because this can prevent the problem from ever arising. The replacement components I use are "heavier duty" than the originals and so are very unlikely to fail again. If you prefer I can supply the kit using original components. The kit is designed to do a specific job - but it's not going to compensate for spheres that need replaced / re-pressurised for example! (Front spheres should be done every 3 years and rear ones every 4 years. There are 3 on the front plus 1 accumulator & 3 on the rear plus on later models an anti-sink sphere at the rear. The hydraulic system should also be flushed and LHM renewed every 5 years.) If your car has suffered from this fault over a long period - it's possible, despite the sophisticated protection circuitry, that ECU control components will have overheated and failed. If this is the case you may not benefit from this fix until those components are replaced. In such circumstances however - fitting this kit is a useful and cost effective aid to diagnosing ECU control component failure. If your ECU components have failed I can offer a professional repair using original components and can assist with a replacement ECU (depending on model) to keep your car on the road. There's obviously an additional charge for ECU repairs.
(As I'm often asked - I can recommend Pleiades in Cambridgeshire who offer replacement spheres for £16 (plus exchange surcharge) each, and provide a free advice line on 01487-831239.)
Please contact me if you need any further information about this kit.
All Design Rights Reserved.
Suspension ECU is inside the container above the right front wheel
Connects to loom that feeds the white 15-pin ECU socket (front right) ..
Scotchlock connectors to tap into existing loom ..
(view from above - white 15-pin socket now on left)
Job complete in around 15 minutes..
Correct wiring for your car - just provide LHD/RHD & RP No..
RP number is located on the left front door pillar.
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