Hello all,

I have scoured the internet and found lots of tips, clues and potential fixes. I've tried the fixes but before I spend anymore money on this I want to try and get to the crux of the issue. So I was hoping you could all help me on here. Here goes.

Back in September 2011 I purchased a Citroen Saxo 1600cc VTR. Its on a 2000 plate which means its one from the crossover year from the MK1 to the MK2 model. A recent driveshaft change has identified that the engine is a silvertop engine from an earlier MK1 saxo with a 3 plug ECU but in a MK2 body. It has just reached 60,000 miles and has had 5 owners, it's mechanically pretty sound and looks in good nick for its age.

Issues from the start

So, ever since I had the car I have had intermittent issues regarding the indicator relay. The indicators have worked when I wanted them too, however I would regularly hear a fast clicking noise coming from the relay area near the internal fuses under the dash.

The rear de-mister in the car has never worked. The light doesn't come on at all on the switch and the rear window never de-mists. The connectors are firmly on the spades either side of the window at the rear and i've had a good look at the cabling at the top of the boot by looking at the cables whilst pulling aside the rubber. Everything looks ingood nick and is OK.

The final issue i've had since I've had the car is that it has an aftermarket alarm which also controls the central locking via a fob. Sometimes when I press the fob the car will not lock but it will set the alarm. When I am in the car and do this, the red battery light shows on the dash clocks and I can hear a strange 'buzz' noise that seems to come from somewhere behind the dash. As I said before this is intermittent and occasionally it works fine.

Issues now

All of the above and the following

Over the last 2 months, this issue has been getting far more prominent. I start the car usually in the morning and the steering is heavy and the blower fans will not work at all. I've read on the forums and done the fix, by joining the two brown wires together next to the ignition barrel and this has not solved the problem. I also bought a brand new battery which has also been unsuccessful in fixing this.

The last two mornings I've had some major issues possibly related to very cold mornings. As the above the power steering and the blowers didn't work for 20 minutes. AND the indicators didn't work either. Until the 20 minute mark when everything worked. All this time the headlights, radio and wipers seemed unaffected. The washer bottle motor even worked after the pipes had thawed out. The electric windows didn't work either from memory too.

So I guess I want some advice really on how to go about fixing this below is what I have already done to try and remedy the issue:

• Replaced the battery and checked the connections are tight on the battery.(2 week ago)
• Tapped the top of the relays with a spanner to loosen any sticking relays (September)
• Done the column fix, joined the two brown cables using a crimped link.
• Checked all the fuses in both the engine bay and under the glove box.

If anyone can offer some good advice on this I would be very grateful. If you need anymore info please let me know, i've been at through as I can. One final point is that I think that there is a leak on my drivers side door seal which leaves the drivers side carpet damp (I don't think any electrics run under here though.)

I half believe that the relay contacts may actually have frozen or there is a terminal issue with the ignition barrel.

I am quite handy with electrical testing as I used to fault find on diesel generators for a living. However I am not skilled in auto electrics/french cars and I have no diagrams to go off as of yet.

Thank you in advance.

Andrew.