This evening I spent some time looking over the traction. One of the things noted in the condition report was that the number plate lamp was inoperative. After eliminating it was not the blown fuse, I took the light apart, and the problem was that it was just dirty. A good clean and the lamp was working again. I also...
Despite my overheating problems last year, I had enjoyed the Citroen Club drive up the Putty road last year, and was keen to have another go in the DS with a new water pump and flushed radiator. This year was the same format, drive up for breakfast at the cafe halfway along the Putty road, Lunch at one of the wineries and...
This evening I went over to the garage to look at the Traction in more detail. Overall I am still very happy with the purchase. A couple of things that I noticed: There was a frayed wire in the boot for the number plate light. I used electrical tape to ensure that it does not touch the metal. Not sure if this is...
Today I went and picked up the latest addition to the garage, a 1954 Citroen Light 15. Being a Light 15, this car is a Traction Avant and was built in Slough, UK. I don’t have a lot of history for the car, but it has been registered in NSW since 1984 and recently had $18,000 of mechanical work done by European Autocare...
In my view, Citroen has made two cars that changed the world – the Traction Avant and the DS (some would also include the 2CV in this list). The Traction Avant established Citroen as an innovative car company but at the same time bankrupted the company, leading to their ultimate control by the Michelin family. While Andre Citroen is probably better known for...
Previously, I had been working on a nicer faceplate solution for the Retrosound Model 2 radio in the Citroen DS. I am happy to say that this is now almost complete and back in the car. There are a few more adjustments to do, but overall it is a much better solution to the one I had before. With the rear knobs cut...
I came to start the DS the other day, and it started fine, but would not idle properly. Once the revs dropped below 1200 or so the engine died. The car had been running fine before so it was quite perplexing. I had some advice from the forum to try a few things, one was to check the float in the carburettor...
Previously I had started re-looking at the faceplate of the Retrosound Model 2 I have installed in the DS. The biggest issue is fitment of the secondary knobs. In my first attempt, I had tried to file away small holes in the side of the cubby housing for them to fit, but I found that they jammed easily and interfered with the...
Last year I installed a Retrosound Model 2 radio in my Citroen DS. Overall, I was happy with the result, but there were one or two small things that were not working as I expected. This was mostly down to so little space for the unit in the DS, as it is hard to get the radio face and knobs to fit inside...
On Sunday, I attended the Devil in Disguise drive with the Citroen Club. So the story goes the drive is named in memorial for a member of the club who is sadly deceased who was apparently a mild mannered man, until he got behind the wheel of his DS, when the Devil in Disguise came out! On this trip, the Devil was the...
The Citroen DS has a rubber hose that connects the air cleaner assembly with the top of the carburettor. This DS air cleaner hose had become so hard and perished that it tore when I tried to remove the air cleaner to take off the spheres. The condition of the hose is fairly evident from the picture. The new one was much more pliant. ...
When I got it, the DS had threadbare blue carpets. The previous owner also had a blue DS, so I suspect at some point he upgraded the carpets in that car and the blue ones were in better condition than the carpets in the red car. In addition it had marine carpet on the box sills which for a DS Comfort should...
Today was one of the regular tech days organised by the Citroen Club. I always enjoy the tech days, even if I am not doing much to my car – you can see the other cars, talk to the other members and sometimes learn how to do things by watching what other people do. One of the tricks I learned today was simple...
Previously, I had removed all my suspension spheres to check their pressure. Their pressure was checked at the Citroen Club tech day, and found to be acceptable. Given I had the system de-pressurized, I also wanted to change the DS accumulator sphere. The accumulator acts as a store of system pressure. This means that the pump does not...
Central to the Citroen DS hydraulic system is a set of ‘spheres’ that hold hydraulic pressure. The spheres have an internal diaphragm so they can contain gas on one side and hydraulic fluid on the other. One is used for each wheel to provide the suspension, as the gas forms the ‘spring’ and the amount of fluid in the sphere controls the ride...
I have tried a few times to get the rear trim that sits between the C pillars to not fall down on to the parcel shelf. My first attempt was to use the correct clips, however the trim would fall down over bumps. My second attempt, was a 3M product, which is sort of like Velcro and sold in little squares at...
It was time again for another service for the DS. Last time, the gear oil in the transmission was quite dirty so even though it didn’t need to be done again, I thought it would make sense to change the oil in there too. I also had a tip from the forum that using Castrol VMX with the Nulon gearbox additive makes...
The DS door contact switch that controls the interior lights based on the doors being open or shut had disintegrated, which meant that the interior lights were always on. Not the most helpful feature if you want to be able to restart the car after leaving it parked. The actual switches are easy to remove and install, but the problem is that since...
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