With cold months coming, cars tend to suffer, the most general scenario is to have troubles starting your Citroen C5 early in the day with very low temperatures. In general this is associated with problems recharging the battery of your Citroen C5 . There are some reasons that can explain why your battery does not recharge effectively anymore, and in this article we will try to help you to fix this issue that can prevent you from using your car. To accomplish this, first we will explain how recharging your car battery works, then the different problems of recharging a Citroen C5, and finally how to recharge an empty car battery.

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How does recharging the battery of a Citroen C5 work?

Before we detail the different problems of recharging the battery on a Citroen C5 , we will explain to you how its recharging system works so that you can understand the problems you are facing. A car battery works like a phone battery, it will store energy to start your Citroen C5 , turn on your headlights, play music, lower your power windows… However all these actions will consume energy and it might deplete the energy reserve that your battery can store. To handle this issue, the engineers have produced a element called the alternator , this element will use the energy produced by the engine unit of your Citroen C5 to generate energy thanks to a copper coil and a magnet. This energy will recharge the battery of your car . However, take into account that this process can just work when your car is running, using electrical elements of your car when it is stopped will drain the energy reserve of your car. It is considered that a battery of a xxx has a life span of 3 to 5 years.

Problems recharging a Citroen C5’s battery

We will now describe the different battery charging problems on a Citroen C5 you may be victim of. If your battery is not recharging because there is necessarily a issue in your electrical set up, we will now see the different situations.

Battery charging problem on Citroen C5: My battery is discharging regardless if I am recharging it with a specific charger

In this first circumstance, it is quite possible that your alternator is dead , indeed, if you manage to recharge your battery with a charger and your Citroen C5 to start, the problem most certainly comes from your alternator which should not be able to generate any more current.

Battery charging issue on Citroen C5: My car shuts off and does not start regardless if I have charged the battery

If you have recharged your battery and you have managed to start your Citroen C5 but it switches off although you are driving and then does not start, the issue with recharging the battery of your Citroen C5 is that your battery no longer holds the charge .

Battery charging issue on Citroen C5: My battery is discharged nevertheless it is new

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If you’ve just bought a battery and it discharges although you’re driving, the issue most probably comes from your alternator. It cannot come from your battery, which is new and consequently holds the charge. The second opportunity is that you have a ground somewhere in your electrical system.

How to fix the issue of battery charging on Citroen C5?

We will now give you the solutions according to the issue you are facing. Here are the different problems and their solutions:

  • Defective alternator: You can try with simple mechanics to verify it with a pressure gauge to see if it’s producing power. If it doesn’t, changing it is the best solution, based on your motor you will pay a few hundred euros. This fix is feasible in case your alternator is accessible.
  • Battery that no longer holds the charge: In this case, the purchase of a new battery is the just realistic solution. In actual fact, if you have already recharged it but it is still empty because it is good to be changed, count between 60 and 100 euros based on your engine.
  • Ground in the electrical circuit: If you cannot start your Citroen C5 but your alternator and battery are in good condition, it is possible that you have a ground on your wiring harness and that you lose energy, a verify by a car electrician is in such a case necessary.

How to recharge an empty battery of a Citroen C5

At last, to recharge the empty battery of a Citroen C5 there are just few solutions, using a battery charger is the most efficient solution, you can locate some for 50 to 100 euros at vendors like Oscaro. Otherwise you can use cables that will just provide the energy needed to start.

If you wish more guides on the Citroen C5, go to our Citroen C5 category.