Hi All
I'm helping to resuscitate a friends '99 Saxo VTS and there appears to be something *very* strange happening with the electrics. I've owned and worked on everything from CXs to Xantia Activas but never seen a thing like this.
The near side indicators all stay on with or without the key in the ignition. I have tried:
- Leaving battery disconnected for 24hrs
- Changing Flasher relay
- Checking and re-checking all fuses
- Cleaning and inspecting all earths
- Wiggling any and every wire/connector/component.
- Repeatedly arming/disarming the alarm
I should point out that this does have the factory fit alarm and this does flash the indicators when arming so I am assuming this to be the culprit.
Is this a fault anyone else may have come across?
Another issue is that the blower fan and power steering aren't working. From looking at the car it seems to be an electric pump but again I have checked all the fuses and can?t find a relevant relay.
All and any help would be very much appreciated!
Tom
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Are all earthing points clean and secure?
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Are all earthing points clean and secure?
Yes, was the first thing I checked.
I should have added that to my list!
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Indicators staying on one side is probably an alarm fault.Inoperative power steering & heater blower is usually a fault with the ignition switch.(common problem with Citroen/Peugeot variants).D'ont forget these 2 items only work with engine running.
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Change the ignition switch first - they are a very common problem on the Saxo. That will almost certainly fix the heater blower and PAS. See if GSF stock the switch because it'll be much cheaper than a dealer from there.
Indicators could be faulty alarm but the stalk contacts failing are also not uncommon, that coupled with the ignition switch problems could produce the strange fault.
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Thanks for some very good feedback.
What are we talking about with the ignition switch? Would this be the barrel itself or something else? The Haynes (or car) isn't close to me at the moment so any pointers as to location of the switch would be greatfully recieved!
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I don't know if this has any bearing on the problem, but my old Xantia once set it's alarm off and would not stop - even after disconnecting the battery!! (They obviously have their own internal battery) The solution, however, turned out to be a new vehicle battery (disappointing really, because it was the original and only 9 years old........:-) I had to drive 10 miles to get a new battery with the alarm going like a siren all the way! A new battery + lock / unlock doors sorted everything.
Apparently the Cit alarms are sensitive to the state of charge of the main battery and if it drops (as with faulty / badly discharged one) it assumes someone is making off with it and goes into panic mode. Migt be something along this lines is the car has been laid up for a while.
You might manage to borrow another battery temporarily to check this out.
Otherwise, it could be an earthing problem.
Graeme
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Interesting idea Graeme. It has been laid up for a month or two but after a full charge the battery didn't seem to be tired - and the indicators are staying on only on one side. Well worth the time to tset though..
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Here's another daft theory! Have you checked all the bulbs? I've seen bulbs failing and hanging up the indicators on 'on'. Sometimes the cap comes away from the glass or filament breaks and falls in a way that shorts everything out.
Try taking them out one at a time and see what effect it has!
Mind you, if it's only one side that looks a bit like an iffy switch somewhere. Is the hazard warning switch OK? Could of course be the stalks, but if they were working before the car was laid up, it's unlikely they would have failed while out of service.
Bet it's something dead simple!
Graeme
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Is the central locking OK? A sticky solonoid / motor might be interrupting the 'arming' sequence.
Are you sure you got the correct flasher unit and that it's not faulty?
Just guessing aloud!
Graeme
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Thanks again for all feedback, very much appreciated.
I had to resort to a local auto electrician for the indicators and it seems that the alarm is at fault. Apparently PSA have a reputation for fitting substandard alarms - indicators staying on can be a quirk of them. I opted for a workaround and just disconnected the indicators from the alarm.
After trying the ignition switch fix as advised the PAS (electric motor BTW) and blower - it still failed. They had infact both packed up independently - no wiring issues at all!!
It turned out that the PAS motor was suffering from water ingress and is now working. The blower motor just seized.
Nothing is ever simple is it :-/
Now this is sorted I'll have to see if I can get my Xantia Activa to raise to ride height from starting in under 2 minutes and actually correct it's body roll as advertised. Should be a much simpler troubleshooting exercise ;-)
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Boris, my Xantia(non Activa) was taking its time to settle at the correct ride height, first thing I did was a fluid change and filter clean. It did make a significant difference. The problem is that a simple change only replaces about half the fluid.
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I've also hydraflushed the Activa, and I think a lot of the old fluid stayed in the Activa rams - I wasn't aware that non-Activas witheld a lot of fluid too.
I also need to look at the antisink valve (all spheres changed), height correctors, Activa control rods and finally Activa Ram bushes!!
Maybe this is going a little too OT now ;-)
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