Faulty Radio Headset

[Vinnie]

Hi folks,
I have owned a Black DS3 Sport for 18 months now, and enjoyed every minute of it, until recently.
I have been complaining for weeks about the centre dashboard speaker staying live without the headset switched on. The speaker would emit crackling noises when the ignition key was switched on or off. This would also occur when the headset was in use. After three attempts by Citroen to find a fault, they have finally conceded that the headset is faulty and will be replaced. Has anyone else met with these problems? Car is going in tomorrow for the job to be done. This car is also a victim of the THP power loss issue, which is also being dealt with, but that's another story.

[Bigfeet]

I take they did try another headunit just to eliminate the possibility that the wiring was at fault as well?

[Si-Bags]

Sounds similar to mine Vinnie. I was getting a crackling noise and also could hear a whistle coming from the centre speaker as I accelerated.. The centre speaker would also pick up the ticking noise when the indicator was on... It's been in several times and I think they've even replaced the centre speaker. The centre speaker is currently switched off by Citroen as they wait for a fix from Citroen uk... I've been waiting about 3 months now for them to get back to me with a fix....

[Bigfeet]

3 months?

Surely they would replace the centre speaker, think you should follow up!

[Vinnie]

Hi Citroen Bloke,
The Garage admitted to taking the speaker out as part of their investigation, then suggested the problem rectified itself as if it was a loose connection. I found out within a mile after taking the car back that the fault was still there.

[Vinnie]

Hi Si Bags,
I personally think that the speaker wires are susceptible to picking up signals from other cables that emit spikes, hence the ignition switch clicks, in your case the indicators. It may be that the fan is also causing the whistling noise in your car. The subject matter responsible is called EMC or Electro Magnetic Compatibility. These faults are usually caused by bad wiring loom design. Rover cars suffered badly from this in the late 80s. It's like banging your head against a brick wall discussing these issues with the garage

[cyclone]

Right, EMC to prevent EMI

[Bigfeet]

Vinnie has a point but I'm sure than on modern build the cables are shielded in some fashion to prevent this sort of thing.

[cyclone]

I do not believe that that the electrical systems in any car has more than rudimentary EMI / RFI protection. Think it would be quite costly fully protect a cars systems based on my experience in aviation industry where this is a very serious consideration.

Granted that full blown protection in a car would be overkill. More pertinent is that one bad ground could cause the problem

[Si-Bags]

Cheers for the info Vinnie, I'm awaiting a call from my local dealer to get my corroded wheels replaced (again) so I'll mention what you said and see what they say to that. I'll update the thread if and when it gets fixed.
Please let us know too if you get any joy fixing yours.
Biggie, the centre speaker has been replaced but that didn't fix it. Every time I chase it they just tell me it's a known problem and they are waiting for a fix from Citroen UK. Do you think they telling me porkies..??
Cheers, Si..

[furryjen79]

My DSport has a crackle too (nearly 4 weeks old) and like you said seems to be coming mainly from the centre speaker... My dealer investigated and have ordered me a new head unit so just waiting for the call to say its arrived. At first I thought it was just when streaming via Bluetooth (which is also temperamental) but its with all sources and driving me crazy. Really hope the new head unit sorts the problem... Will try and update the thread with how I get on!