no light on dashboard

[johnhuggett]

hi there
i have a citroen xantia v6,it will not start and is dead in the water.
when i turn the ignition on all i get is the batt light, nothing else
i have checked all fuses and meterd them out .
i also checked the contactcs on the switch they are ok .
have also checked the wiring to the switch , i have power in and out
the circuit that is not working ,is the one where the ignition acts only as a switch and i have tried shorting it out
witch should bring all the lights on in the dash , is there a relay further on in the circuit ?

[CitroJim]

Hi John and welcome

Firstly, is this a series 1 (MK1) or series 2 (MK2) V6?

The normal cause of this problem is either a break in the loom where it runs under the radiator or a faulty fuse box in the engine bay. The former is the most likely..

The loom under the rad suffers as it can get doused in coolant and the wires concerned have splices (soldered joints) in them that will corrode in the presence of moisture and cause this very problem.

If you let me know what series the car is, I can post up some wiring and harness diagrams to help you.

A Series One car can most easily be recognised as having the outside temperature gauge in the tacho rather than as part of the digital clock... The grille lifts up with the bonnet on a Series two but stays put on a Series 1.

[johnhuggett]

hi jim
at last someone who knows what they are talking about .
it is a mk1
when you say radiator , do mean the heater matrix
i have had a very small leak there

[CitroJim]

when you say radiator , do mean the heater matrix

No, the main coolant radiator John, there's a loom (harness in Citroen-speak) that runs right underneath it attached to the front cross-member...

I'll go and dig out the diagrams you need...

Sadly, heater matrix leaks are quite a common occurrence on Xantias generally and it's a dash-out job to replace it. Luckily, the V6 is one of the easier ones to do, easier being used in a relative sense. One word of warning: Don't try stopping it with any rad sealer except for Forte Stop Leak. I have firm beliefs that using things like Radweld, K-Seal and other nasty potions can cause an early gearbox failure due to the clogging of its cooler..

Tell me more of your MK1 please. You know they're very rare cars in the UK? They were only made for a very short time before the MK2 was released...

[CitroJim]

John, these diagrams will help get you started:

MK1 V6 Injection Circuit Diagram

MK1 V6 Injection Harnesses

MK1 V6 Injection Component Locations

The bit you're really interested in is the wiring between the engine bay maxi-fuses BMF1 and the engine bay fuse box BF00 and the ignition switch CA00

With reference to the harness diagram, you'll see these run in the 10AV harness tat is shown on the locations diagram as running under the front cross-member. References in boxes beginning E0 are the locations of splices.

All component references can be cross-referenced by looking at the table in the Xantia Haynes manual...

Hope that'll help you a little John..

More help available as and when you need it...

[johnhuggett]

sorry jim
keep getting loged out
thanks for the imfo
had to replace rad 2 years ago as core was shoot.

[johnhuggett]

as for rad weld , done that one , had small leak near stat . 4 months later replace gearbox ,
what joy in changing that .

[johnhuggett]

the car is R reg , 78k , good paint no dents
had to disconect steering wheel control as rad was going mad
and of course , cruse control brake pedel switch needs cleaning

[CitroJim]

as for rad weld , done that one , had small leak near stat . 4 months later replace gearbox ,
what joy in changing that .

Ouch My MK1 has now done 194,000 miles and on it's original gearbox too although it was rebuilt at 140,000... I know what a job it is to swap the gearbox. Done several now...

Yours is just a youngster at 78,000 miles. How did the gearbox fail? What were the symptoms?

Cruise control works more by luck than judgement in my experience. It's great when it does but you can't rely on it

[johnhuggett]

hi jim
the tork converter went , had it rebuilt , put it back no good
replaced =oil pump , no good , found out the tork shaft out of round .
got new box of ebay , still have old box

[CitroJim]

Oh gosh, so you had the engine and 'box out a few times to discover that then John...

Keep the old 'box as it'll have a wealth of useful spares in it... Not heard of one with a bent shaft before but every one I've seen has failed in a different way although in the end the root cause is thought likely to be connected to torque converter (specifically the lock-up clutch) or cooling system failure...

[johnhuggett]

i think it was a cooling problem , due to rad weld.
the torque converter goes into the oil pump , and if i remember it is a plain bearing,
that got to hot , so made the torque shaft out of round.
the old box is fine , and has new oil pump .
i never took the engine out , i droped the gearbox .

[johnhuggett]

hi jim
i have been looking for the wiring harness at the front cross member,
but only can see a cable going to a pressure switch.
do i have to take the front bumper off to see it ?

[CitroJim]

do i have to take the front bumper off to see it ?

On the V6, yes you do John.

Before that though, check using the diagrams you have the correct voltages on the ignition switch and elsewhere. The loom only needs to be attacked when you find what wire is causing the loss of power.

You got a gearbox out without removing the engine? How? I've done three now and an XM and decided on each occasion it was impossible so lifted engine and gearbox complete...

[Chris570]

You got a gearbox out without removing the engine? How? I've done three now and an XM and decided on each occasion it was impossible so lifted engine and gearbox complete...

B L Autos take the boxes off without dropping the engine, Certainly on the XM it is possible to take the gearbox off with the engine in-situ as the box won't need to come backwards much. Just in my 3 cases it was just a load easier to lift the lot out as a unit.