Hi,
I have just bought a '96 P plate Xantia Activa which I had thought of as something of a bargain.
However, two days later, the central locking has gone loopy:
Using either keys or the plipper, the car unlocks all of the doors and then immediately re-locks them. You can repeat this several times until the locks take control and cycle the lock/unlock process about ten times until they stop, in the locked position.
If you lift the door handle before it has time to re-lock, you can get into the car, but with the key in the ignition, the doors re-lock themselves.
NB:
The doors have never unlocked themselves from the locked position (yet).
With the central locking doing this, the deadlock function does not work and of course, neither does the alarm.
However, the system works perfectly well on a random basis and everything ~ alarm included, does what it is supposed to.
I have soaked all of the locks with WD40, but this doesn't seem to have helped much.
Can anybody throw some light on this problem?
In addition, the guy I bought the car from said that he only used the alarm once because it went off at the slightest provocation.
Is there a simple adjustment that can be made to it that will reduce its sensitivity?
I have read that the unit itself is under the carpet in the passenger footwell. Is this so??
Thanks for your time,
simon.
Xantia Central Locking Craziness
Moderator: RichardW
Hi Simon,
I also have a Xantia (petrol LX 1997) which does some funny things with the locking and the alarm, but nobody, including Citroen dealers, seems able to shed much light on the problems at all, after a few postings looking for some info. I can set the alarm with the deadlocks and everything looks normal, flashing L.E.D. etc. and the alarm will suddenly go off, normally at 4 a.m. for no known reason. Problem is it is not a full activation but "howls" and flashes headlights for about 6 times then resets. The only indication that the alarm has been activated if you do not hear it, is the quick flashing l.e.d. on the dash, when you re-enter the car. I have tried setting the alarm with the inside sensors de-activated. Same problem. I have been into the control box under the passenger seat and found no adjuster in the black box. DO NOT connect up the 2 wires lying loose (purple coloured I think). I found out by connecting it up that it will keep triggering the alarm. Must be a test wire, but looks as though it should be connected. Don't. Checked all the visible connectors around the car. Not been into the doors yet, which seems to be a favourite place to check. Cannot find anything that would point to the problem yet. Local Citroen garage told me that I would need to change the control box between the front seats at a cost of £200 (No Chance). No guarantee that this would cure it. I would say that the biggest problem is getting any info of any kind i.e. circuit diagrams or setting up procedures etc. concerning the alarm circuits, which leaves us very much in the dark. Problem is that we bought the vehicle and are surely entitled to some info as to how things work, if we are interested, even if we had to pay a little for the info. My Son for example bought from a Main dealer a CD Rom (choice of manual as well) for his U.K. vehicle at a cost of around £30. This manual explains absolutely everything, how it works and how to set things up. Of course it may be that the dealers do not want us to know too much, but that is another argument.
Lozian.
Why not try my website at http://www.lozian.co.uk
No Citroen stuff here, but have a look anyway. Feedback, critical or appreciative most welcome.
I also have a Xantia (petrol LX 1997) which does some funny things with the locking and the alarm, but nobody, including Citroen dealers, seems able to shed much light on the problems at all, after a few postings looking for some info. I can set the alarm with the deadlocks and everything looks normal, flashing L.E.D. etc. and the alarm will suddenly go off, normally at 4 a.m. for no known reason. Problem is it is not a full activation but "howls" and flashes headlights for about 6 times then resets. The only indication that the alarm has been activated if you do not hear it, is the quick flashing l.e.d. on the dash, when you re-enter the car. I have tried setting the alarm with the inside sensors de-activated. Same problem. I have been into the control box under the passenger seat and found no adjuster in the black box. DO NOT connect up the 2 wires lying loose (purple coloured I think). I found out by connecting it up that it will keep triggering the alarm. Must be a test wire, but looks as though it should be connected. Don't. Checked all the visible connectors around the car. Not been into the doors yet, which seems to be a favourite place to check. Cannot find anything that would point to the problem yet. Local Citroen garage told me that I would need to change the control box between the front seats at a cost of £200 (No Chance). No guarantee that this would cure it. I would say that the biggest problem is getting any info of any kind i.e. circuit diagrams or setting up procedures etc. concerning the alarm circuits, which leaves us very much in the dark. Problem is that we bought the vehicle and are surely entitled to some info as to how things work, if we are interested, even if we had to pay a little for the info. My Son for example bought from a Main dealer a CD Rom (choice of manual as well) for his U.K. vehicle at a cost of around £30. This manual explains absolutely everything, how it works and how to set things up. Of course it may be that the dealers do not want us to know too much, but that is another argument.
Lozian.
Why not try my website at http://www.lozian.co.uk
No Citroen stuff here, but have a look anyway. Feedback, critical or appreciative most welcome.
Hi there!
It might be worth to check the off side front AND back footwell for water as the alarm/locking ICU is located underneat the passengers seat. My Xantia (1997 - R plate) did act a bit funny when the locking and alarm when I bought it a couple of months ago. Xantia seems to be famous to collect water in the footwells. I dried my car out and keep checking it and the locking and alarm works fine. I finally pinpointed the leak to some bad sealant in the wheel arch. Gonna fix that whenever I got the time to do it.
Hope you sort it out!
Cheers,
John
Dumped my Escort XR3I for a Xantia <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
It might be worth to check the off side front AND back footwell for water as the alarm/locking ICU is located underneat the passengers seat. My Xantia (1997 - R plate) did act a bit funny when the locking and alarm when I bought it a couple of months ago. Xantia seems to be famous to collect water in the footwells. I dried my car out and keep checking it and the locking and alarm works fine. I finally pinpointed the leak to some bad sealant in the wheel arch. Gonna fix that whenever I got the time to do it.
Hope you sort it out!
Cheers,
John
Dumped my Escort XR3I for a Xantia <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
Hello Surfer,
I've had so much trouble with my alarm that every time I see a Xantia I look inside to see if the alarm light is flashing. Usually it isn't which seems to suggest the installation is flawed in design.
The fix is to isolate the alarm by removing Fuse 17. Thereafter both the contact key and the plipper should lock and deadlock the doors. As a preliminary you might try recycling Fuse 17 in and out: this seems to jump the locking to another position.
I've had so much trouble with my alarm that every time I see a Xantia I look inside to see if the alarm light is flashing. Usually it isn't which seems to suggest the installation is flawed in design.
The fix is to isolate the alarm by removing Fuse 17. Thereafter both the contact key and the plipper should lock and deadlock the doors. As a preliminary you might try recycling Fuse 17 in and out: this seems to jump the locking to another position.
Thanks to all for the suggestions!
The car had been kept in a garage by the former keeper so I hope it isn't damp under the carpets.
As for the electrics in general, I was not expecting them to be bullet proof ~ I had an AX GT once and the heated rear screens, electric windows, rev counter and, quel surprise, the central locking all lost the plot at least once.
I will look at the fuses and the relays. I would rather they were the cause than the ECU.
Cheers,
simon.
The car had been kept in a garage by the former keeper so I hope it isn't damp under the carpets.
As for the electrics in general, I was not expecting them to be bullet proof ~ I had an AX GT once and the heated rear screens, electric windows, rev counter and, quel surprise, the central locking all lost the plot at least once.
I will look at the fuses and the relays. I would rather they were the cause than the ECU.
Cheers,
simon.
Hi Simon,
It doesn't matter if the previous owner kept the car in the garage. With my car the water comes in through the wheel arch due to bad sealant. Especially when it is raining big time (like it does a lot over here in Northampton) you will be amazed how much water can come in on a 100 mile drive on the motorway. I always have some towels in the car to sort it out, but if I had to guess, there comes in about a pint of water every 100 miles ..... weird stuff eh?
Cheers,
John
Dumped my Escort XR3I for a Xantia <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
It doesn't matter if the previous owner kept the car in the garage. With my car the water comes in through the wheel arch due to bad sealant. Especially when it is raining big time (like it does a lot over here in Northampton) you will be amazed how much water can come in on a 100 mile drive on the motorway. I always have some towels in the car to sort it out, but if I had to guess, there comes in about a pint of water every 100 miles ..... weird stuff eh?
Cheers,
John
Dumped my Escort XR3I for a Xantia <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
John,
It does indeed rain a lot in Northampton: I was there at the weekend fitting a multi changer under the passenger seat.
Whilst hoovering up the mess after I'd finished, I noticed that....
the carpet in the front footwell is damp!
Not rain water either, by the taste or smell of it. It is either coolant or maybe Air Con refrigerant.
From reading around this site, matrix failure is not uncommon so I will have the dashboard out to have a look. Certainly, if I do have flooding, it would explain my lock/alarm issues which are continuing to annoy me.
Actually, since it has a full tank of petrol, I would be tempted to throw a match in, but since I can't open the filler flap, I can't. Throwing one through the sunroof wouldn't work either ~ it would land on the wet carpets and go out at once!
Unfortunate, because the car is so very good to drive.
Cheers,
simon.
Good move dumping the Escort by the way.
It does indeed rain a lot in Northampton: I was there at the weekend fitting a multi changer under the passenger seat.
Whilst hoovering up the mess after I'd finished, I noticed that....
the carpet in the front footwell is damp!
Not rain water either, by the taste or smell of it. It is either coolant or maybe Air Con refrigerant.
From reading around this site, matrix failure is not uncommon so I will have the dashboard out to have a look. Certainly, if I do have flooding, it would explain my lock/alarm issues which are continuing to annoy me.
Actually, since it has a full tank of petrol, I would be tempted to throw a match in, but since I can't open the filler flap, I can't. Throwing one through the sunroof wouldn't work either ~ it would land on the wet carpets and go out at once!
Unfortunate, because the car is so very good to drive.
Cheers,
simon.
Good move dumping the Escort by the way.
Hi,
Just to add my hapenny to this, I too have had craziness with central locking/alarm on my N-reg Xantia.
The plip works fine to lock the car, but if it is used to unlock/disarm the alarm (which flashes the hazzard warning lights), sometimes the hazzards stay stuck on. Letting the battery run down seems to reset it. Removing the battery does not. When the hazzards flash on an alarm de-arm, ther is to realy-ticking noise, so I guess there is some kind of solid-state swithc (probably a FET) inside the alarm control unit. I have been meaning to take it apart to have a look inside - anyone succesfully removed the alarm for inspection?
I have suspected moisture ingress as a possible cause. I am an electronicsy type person, so have an idea what I'm doing (albeit a vaugue one!) - if I have any joy, I'll post here.
I am also now suffering from intermittent red flashing alarm light on the dashboard - from which, I wonder if there is part of the circuit which is getting reset or has intermittent power supply - this could explaing the 'suddenly going off but not full activation' problem that iozian is having.
By the way, Iozian, I totally agree we should be able to get information about the product we have purchased - if it was a telly or even a cheapo personal stereo, I would expect to be able to get the circuit diagrams.
Thanks to oskin for the fuse advice - might mean I have to swap my battery less when the hazzards stick on!
Best regards,
Nat
Just to add my hapenny to this, I too have had craziness with central locking/alarm on my N-reg Xantia.
The plip works fine to lock the car, but if it is used to unlock/disarm the alarm (which flashes the hazzard warning lights), sometimes the hazzards stay stuck on. Letting the battery run down seems to reset it. Removing the battery does not. When the hazzards flash on an alarm de-arm, ther is to realy-ticking noise, so I guess there is some kind of solid-state swithc (probably a FET) inside the alarm control unit. I have been meaning to take it apart to have a look inside - anyone succesfully removed the alarm for inspection?
I have suspected moisture ingress as a possible cause. I am an electronicsy type person, so have an idea what I'm doing (albeit a vaugue one!) - if I have any joy, I'll post here.
I am also now suffering from intermittent red flashing alarm light on the dashboard - from which, I wonder if there is part of the circuit which is getting reset or has intermittent power supply - this could explaing the 'suddenly going off but not full activation' problem that iozian is having.
By the way, Iozian, I totally agree we should be able to get information about the product we have purchased - if it was a telly or even a cheapo personal stereo, I would expect to be able to get the circuit diagrams.
Thanks to oskin for the fuse advice - might mean I have to swap my battery less when the hazzards stick on!
Best regards,
Nat
-
tomsheppard
- Posts: 1801
- Joined: 19 Dec 2002, 14:46
- Location: United Kingdom
- My Cars:
I think that aircon refrigerant would evaporate but if your ingress is coolant, then it is rather more conductive and persistent than simple water and liable to give bother to any electrical gadget it could find. If you have drownded it, then do the following: Remove the offending object and rinse it thoroughly in a bucket of cold BOILED water. Shake it as dry as possible and then place it in the airing cupboard or atop a radiator for 48 hours. (This works for all low voltage electrical devices. Woman Belong Me has a talent for spilling red wine into the 'phone, mobile or any of the numerous remote controllers that operate the home entertainments. This technique has never been known to fail.)
In removing the alarm box on my 96 Xantia TD, I discovered a small swimming pool under the carpets on the passenger side (and seats etc). I have removed the carpets and they are nearly dry now (there was no apparent wetness from the top of the carpet - i.e. you could only tell it was wet by lifiting the carpet up and feeling the foam underneath).
Looks like my sitcking hazards is due to a knackered relay in the alram box. I have bought two new relays (to replace a double pole one originally fitted with some wire, glue and a little bodgery)
Iterestingly, I am experiencing exatly the same problems as surfer with crazy central locking. I have the alarm box disconnected at the moment - I don't know if there is a link here? I have not hat central locking craziness before - even with the swimming poolin in the passenger side!
Despite the quantity of water present in the under-carpet foam, the alarm box appears to have avoided getting drenched (although humidity could have contributed to premature relay death). I cannot find any source of leak from outside the car - went down to the local jet wash and sprayed it up under wheel arches. The water appears to be clean and without odour of antifreeze. very strange - we have had lots of floods round my way recently, so maybe I drove through somthing deeper than I ought to have?
I intend to reconnect the alarm box tomorrow - if my new-found central locking craziness goes away when I reconnect the box, then perhaps there is an interaction between the alarm and the plip control unit here such that a broken/disconnected alarm box can cause strange behavior for locks?
more in a few days...
Cheers,
Nat
Looks like my sitcking hazards is due to a knackered relay in the alram box. I have bought two new relays (to replace a double pole one originally fitted with some wire, glue and a little bodgery)
Iterestingly, I am experiencing exatly the same problems as surfer with crazy central locking. I have the alarm box disconnected at the moment - I don't know if there is a link here? I have not hat central locking craziness before - even with the swimming poolin in the passenger side!
Despite the quantity of water present in the under-carpet foam, the alarm box appears to have avoided getting drenched (although humidity could have contributed to premature relay death). I cannot find any source of leak from outside the car - went down to the local jet wash and sprayed it up under wheel arches. The water appears to be clean and without odour of antifreeze. very strange - we have had lots of floods round my way recently, so maybe I drove through somthing deeper than I ought to have?
I intend to reconnect the alarm box tomorrow - if my new-found central locking craziness goes away when I reconnect the box, then perhaps there is an interaction between the alarm and the plip control unit here such that a broken/disconnected alarm box can cause strange behavior for locks?
more in a few days...
Cheers,
Nat
OK, an update
The coroded connector under the carpet seems not to be the problem with my central locking. I have cleaned/soldered the joints (on one side of the connector there is a pretty dodgy BT-style IDC connection, which I have now soldered) but it is still misbehaving.
On the up-side, I have fixed the alarm box with two new relays (to replace one doble-pole one) - I glued them to the PCB with Cyno, and wired them in - no more sticking hazzards!. I have taken some photos.
To Fox: I took out the passenger seat and unbolted the rear of the central collumn (didn't remove it entirely) - it is not too difficult, provided you have right-angled screw driver with a range of Torx bits. With the passenger seat removed, you can take out the front piece of the carpet. This has sat in my living room for a few days, and is quite dry now (there is a slight dampness if squeezed). I didn't remove the rear piece of carpet since I would have to take out the rear seat too - I doesn't look that difficult tho... Anyway, so I wrung & squeezed the foam to get as much of the water out as possible and mopped it up with a sponge. Then I propped up the remiaing damp bits (so the air could get underneath) and left the engine running for a whole day with the heaters on full blast (I STRONgLY suggest you leave a window open enough to get an arm in if you are having central locking troubles as well - I found this out the hard way!! Fortuneatle, my window was open just enough to poke a handy piece of ally in to unwind the electric windows when the C_locking fired with the key in the ignition and engine runngin!!)
It was fairly dry after one day, but I did a second day with a portable air-con unit in the car.
Wheeler: thanks - it looked OK, but I'll check it again to be sure!
I still have been unable to find where the water is coming in
Anyone know where the central locking control unit is hidden (96 Xantia TD Dimension)?
Nat.
The coroded connector under the carpet seems not to be the problem with my central locking. I have cleaned/soldered the joints (on one side of the connector there is a pretty dodgy BT-style IDC connection, which I have now soldered) but it is still misbehaving.
On the up-side, I have fixed the alarm box with two new relays (to replace one doble-pole one) - I glued them to the PCB with Cyno, and wired them in - no more sticking hazzards!. I have taken some photos.
To Fox: I took out the passenger seat and unbolted the rear of the central collumn (didn't remove it entirely) - it is not too difficult, provided you have right-angled screw driver with a range of Torx bits. With the passenger seat removed, you can take out the front piece of the carpet. This has sat in my living room for a few days, and is quite dry now (there is a slight dampness if squeezed). I didn't remove the rear piece of carpet since I would have to take out the rear seat too - I doesn't look that difficult tho... Anyway, so I wrung & squeezed the foam to get as much of the water out as possible and mopped it up with a sponge. Then I propped up the remiaing damp bits (so the air could get underneath) and left the engine running for a whole day with the heaters on full blast (I STRONgLY suggest you leave a window open enough to get an arm in if you are having central locking troubles as well - I found this out the hard way!! Fortuneatle, my window was open just enough to poke a handy piece of ally in to unwind the electric windows when the C_locking fired with the key in the ignition and engine runngin!!)
It was fairly dry after one day, but I did a second day with a portable air-con unit in the car.
Wheeler: thanks - it looked OK, but I'll check it again to be sure!
I still have been unable to find where the water is coming in
Anyone know where the central locking control unit is hidden (96 Xantia TD Dimension)?
Nat.
To drain the lake, there are rubber drain plugs in each footwell. Painted over on the inside and undersealed on the outside but they are quite obvious nipple like protrusions underneath the car. Yank these out and the water cascades out. Leaks I’ve found so far are rear sunroof drains and in the rear wheelarch there is a big square plastic plug in the sill, the sealant came away around this, not sure if the water got in here but it looked dodgy. I’m still looking for the bilge pump.
I think the central locking ECU is the box inside the drivers door, there is another PCB in the centre console (accessible beneath window switches) but this may be windows.
xantia sx td 95 diesel motor yacht
I think the central locking ECU is the box inside the drivers door, there is another PCB in the centre console (accessible beneath window switches) but this may be windows.
xantia sx td 95 diesel motor yacht