Newbie with a dead picasso HDI that decided to catch fire

abz2005 · Post by **abz2005** » 04 Feb 2011, 20:50

Hiya hope everyone is good

I have a 2000 w-reg picasso HDI 2.0 8v, the other night my car decided to set itself on fire, luckily i wasnt in the car at the time and was outside talking to my brother, otherwise i wouldnt have known and wouldve come out to a smouldering mess. Too look at the car you wouldnt tell it caught fire.

The arch lining in the front passenger side arch hasnt been there since i bought the car, theres a loom that comes from inside the car, through the bulk head then into the engine bay, i couldnt see properly but i think it goes into the fuse box, will need to double check when its light outside.

a small section of this loom thats in the arch caught fire, I like the car alot and would like to repair it (thats if it hasnt done any damage to the ecu etc)

Im after some advice really, i took the glove box out and noticed the loom goes behind the dashboard, does anybody know how to remove the dash board in a Xsara Picasso? Whether the loom is split into sections or one complete one?

If the ecu is damaged then i will end up breaking the car which will pain me to do so because i loved driving it.

sorry for the long post but any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Abz

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 04 Feb 2011, 21:02

The whole point of anyone posting here is to go into detail describing their
observations / issues so that the guys here who may have encountered
similar scenarios can advice with more accuracy so don't hold back!!

As far as picassos go, it's a blind spot for me personally but I would expect
sections of the loom to be coupled and split at the bulkhead into the engine
bay and aft into the cabin - can you determine yet whether it's solely based
to damage in the engine bay or from the mention of the dash is it more
extensive behind?

A decent dismatler will have a bodyshell stripped out to the loom so there's
a good chance that it can be bought although there is a value to all the wiring
so a shop around may be necessary.

Andrew

abz2005 · Post by **abz2005** » 04 Feb 2011, 21:35

hiya andmcit thanks for the advice, the section of loom that caught fire was only a small section say about 4 inches in total in the passenger side arch, the same loom in the engine bay and interior is fine, i dont want to repair it id rather replace it, the dash board definately needs to be removed i just cant see how or where to start.

this is how my problem started, driving back from work i flashed somebody out, the headlights immediately went off and wouldnt come back on, i popped into the shop on my return i started the car, the horn started blaring, not an alarm sound just continuous blaring without me pressing the horn button, then the instrument panel starting flashing like a christmas tree, all manor of lights and fault warnings etc, it was like this for about 100 meters, then all went back to normal apart from the headlights working

i got home and parked it up, had a ciggie with my brother outside my back was turned to the car then he said causally as you like, "your cars on fire" i turned round to see plumes of smoke billowing out of the wheel arch, at this point the car keys were in my pocket and the car was trying to start itself

scarey???? too right lol

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 04 Feb 2011, 21:42

Sounds like the light switch stalk has shorted out and melted the loom.

You may need to consider renewal of the whole loom in one go rather
than try and splice damaged wires. I know that there are scares over acids
that can allegedly leech out of burned wiring looms and this can be very
danagerous to handle so GREAT care is needed - or at least a bit of thorough
Googling first!

Another factor to consider when contemplating removing the dash is the
one off opportunity you'll probably be offered to renew the heater matrix
that lives buried down in the bowels of the bulkhead behind the dash
- worth researching and costing up a replacement - have a practice too
on a car in a local breakers so yoiu can damage/learn how your car works
before putting into practice the take apart!!

Andrew

abz2005 · Post by **abz2005** » 04 Feb 2011, 21:46

andrew thanks for the great tip, im getting up nice and early tomorrow to get down the scrap yard hopefully theyll have a picasso in, last thing i want to do is splice wires rather get a new loom, i really dont want to break the car either as its a nice motor

Post by **RichardW** » 04 Feb 2011, 21:56

Hi abz!

There's a Haynes manual for the Picsso, which will no doubt tell you how to take the dash out. I can't make sense out of the pictures on service.citroen to see if the loom in question goes through the bulkhead.

abz2005 · Post by **abz2005** » 04 Feb 2011, 23:13

hiya richard thanks for looking it up for me, much appreciated, haynes manual i must invest in then lol

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 05 Feb 2011, 14:40

at least it being a 2000 modle it wont have COMM 2000,

even though it still has an ECU,

you might find the fire was caused by a chaffed wire,

were abouts are you,

regards malcolm

abz2005 · Post by **abz2005** » 05 Feb 2011, 16:21

Hiya malcom im near birmingham mate, im hoping the ecu hasnt been cooked, think im going to go for a repair now

P616VKX · Post by **P616VKX** » 05 Feb 2011, 19:03

Hi there,

From experience of having a HDi SX Y-Plated Citroen Pic'... I used to have Christmas tree lights on the dash all the time... Lights that made no sense being on in some cases!!!

Replacing the entire loom would probably be the way to go if you have patience. I'm guessing removing the battery first would be the way to go... To discharge the airbags... I've always left myself a safety net of "A Cup of tea, and a smoke"... About 20-30 minutes. Then, get removing! The radio comes out relatively easy, steering wheel has some allen bolts on the back of it to remove the airbag... (Don't go playing football with it though, it's rather delicate)...

Remove the surround of the instrument panel, gear knob, gear stick gaiter, vents, ashtray, bottle holder, steering wheel, column cowling, stalks and aircon switches. Then, locate the covers that conceal the bolts that hold the dashboard in. Undo them, and then look for signs of resistance. Take your time and don't rush.