Rheostat (Xantia)

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janie-c
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Rheostat (Xantia)

Post by janie-c »

Can anyone tell me what a rheostat is and what it does and where it's located on a Xantia? Is this something that can break and cause electrical problems? :?
jeremy
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Post by jeremy »

A rheostat is a variable resistor - as used for radio volume controls in the days when you turned the knob or moved a slider. I'm not familiar with Xantia but expect one is used for the unstrument lighting and if you have a continuously variable speed fan (as opposed to 4 settings) there is probably one there.

They can fail with or without use as the carbon track gets dirty or wears through and then can spark which is what caused those alarming noises on old radios when the volume control was turned. On those radios it was of no concern but the sparking may be enough to crash computers.

Rheostats are used in joystick controls and for example the forklift I use has 2 of these things and when they wear out which is quite often the computer controlling the forklift crashes and has to be reset by turning off the power, counting 10, and turning on again! (Must have Windows software!)

jeremy
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dnsey
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Post by dnsey »

The instrument lighting rheo on the Xantia (pre-facelift, anyway) is on the underside of the steering column shroud. It's an edge-on knob, not too easy to find without actually looking!
janie-c
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"Rheostat (Xantia)"

Post by janie-c »

Your knowledge impresses me and the fact you're willing to share it impresses me even more! Thanks very much to both of you. :)
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