Xantia HDi oil temperature sender

[CitroenCrazy]

Sorry, I admit, this is me being lazy.

Could anyone tell me where to find the oil temperature sender on a Xantia HDi (110) engine ? The gauge is getting intermittent.

I know I should just go out there and look, but it's minus 5 !!

Cheers

Andrew

[CitroJim]

Back of the sump...

Bet it's not the sender. I find that MK2 Xantia gauges often suffer intermittent connections within the instrument pod. The gauges connect to the printed circuit board via spring 'fingers'.

Next time the gauge plays up, try giving the instruments a quick rap/flick with a finger in the vicinity of the gauge in question on the glass front.

Rattiva suffers this on both her oil and water temperature gauges occasionally, causing them to read high. Giving them the 'finger' always brings them back in order.

[Northern_Mike]

Back of the sump...

Bet it's not the sender. I find that MK2 Xantia gauges often suffer intermittent connections within the instrument pod. The gauges connect to the printed circuit board via spring 'fingers'.

Next time the gauge plays up, try giving the instruments a quick rap/flick with a finger in the vicinity of the gauge in question on the glass front.

Rattiva suffers this on both her oil and water temperature gauges occasionally, causing them to read high. Giving them the 'finger' always brings them back in order.

I can confirm that this is definitely the case with Rattiva.. Gave me quite a scare the first couple of times it happened, I thought the headgasket had gone when the temp suddenly shot up. I also found that they reset if you turn the ignition off and on again.

[CitroJim]

Gave me quite a scare the first couple of times it happened

It did me too Mike

Indeed an ignition off reset works too but not the best thing to do hacking along the M3 at 80

A better cure would be to have the instruments in bits and clean the fingers and the pads on the PCB but that's a lot of work that could also upset something else for a minor fault...

Mike, no worries with Rattiva She uses no oil, LHM or water at all.. Not bad for an HDi with 202,000 miles under her wheels

She doesn't use much diesel either

[CitroenCrazy]

Thanks guys, that was quick !
I have noticed that on the odd occasion the gauge dies, it seems to return to life only the next time I start up, not at some random point a few miles later, which points strongly to your diagnosis.
The fuel gauge has started to, very occasionally, move by about 10% as well, which is further evidence of old age creeping into the connections (147K miles now).

Presumably it's an epic task to get the dash pod out & reseat the connectors ?

[CitroJim]

Presumably it's an epic task to get the dash pod out & reseat the connectors ?

Not that epic but epic enough. Remove the trim panel under the drivers side dash around the fuse box, the steering wheel cowls, the switch panel below the instruments, along with the radio and heater vents and the instrument pod itself is held in with just three screws.

If you want to disassemble the pod itself to expose the 'fingers, remove the black cover on the back, remove all bulbs, remove all the screws holding the printed circuit board to the white framework, release the ribbon cable from the board to the mileage recorder display (be gentle, ease the top half of the PCB connector up a little to release the ribbon), release the clips holing the edge of the board to the frame and gently ease the board away.

Here's some pictures:







I didn't remove the bulbs there but it's best you do. Also replace all the illumination bulbs whilst you're there. Some always blow if you don't. Replace all those that look a bit blackened in the glass as a matter of course as they're imminent failures...

[CitroenCrazy]

What a fantastic response. A thousand thanks for being so helpful.
I'll definitely do the job now, armed with such good guidance................but maybe not 'til the weather warms up a bit !
Cheers
Andrew

[CitroenCrazy]

Hi Jim

Follow up question, if you don't mind. Do you know the details of the dash bulbs ? I'm thinking I should buy a handful of spares from Maplin before taking anything to pieces.

I guess they are the common wire-ended type that push into a plastic base, but there seem to be 2 or 3 variations on the theme. Nightmare scenario is I use some that look right, but prove to be slightly higher wattage. Prefer to avoid driving along to the smell of melting plastic....

Cheers

Andrew

[CitroJim]

These are the ones you want Andrew:

R286 Instrument Bulbs

The old bulbs will pull out of their plastic holder and the new ones will slip in.

I recommend you test each before you put them back as I've known new bulbs be duff...

[CitroenCrazy]

Cool. Thanks