XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

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chrisjvm
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XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

Post by chrisjvm »

HAS ANYONE ON HERE FITTED AN E CROFTING SUSPENSION / ACTIVE ROLL REPAIR KIT TO AN ACTIVA ?
I SAW THEM ON EBAY AND WONDERED IF THEY WERE ANY GOOD...

REGARDS

CHRIS M
'96 Volvo 855 T5 auto
'97 Xantia Activa
'89 VW T25 Westfalia California
'89 VW LT Westfalia Florida
Northern_Mike

Re: XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

Post by Northern_Mike »

Yes, they work as advertised. You can however, as I did with one XM, buy the resistors for 99p each from Maplins and solder them in yourself. It's not that hard if you can solder, though I used a gas-powered soldering iron which made it a lot easier!
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Re: XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

Post by Peter.N. »

They are actually diodes :wink:

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Re: XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

Post by CitroJim »

The E-Crofting kit certainly does the job and for people who don't feel up to the job of cutting the loom and soldering in diodes it's ideal.

It's not a magic cure and its use is only indicated if the diodes in the electrovalves are at fault. Easy enough to tell: if the diodes are good then the electrovalve will operate with a good solid click at the start when switching to soft, hum nicely and then shut off with an equally satisfying click when switching to hard mode. Easiest tested immediately after shutting off the engine, waiting 30 s for hard mode to become effective and then opening a door. This will invoke soft mode and click and hum should be heard. Shut the door, wait 30s and at the end of 30s the hum should cease with a good click. If the clicks are not apparent or the hum sounds ragged then the diodes are likely duff.

Mike, have you noticed Rattiva has an E-Crofting box fitted?
Jim

Runner, cyclist, time triallist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
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Re: XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

Post by Northern_Mike »

CitroJim wrote:T

Mike, have you noticed Rattiva has an E-Crofting box fitted?
I did, but only about 2 weeks ago when i had the covers off to change the boost pipes. Everything works as it should as far as I can tell.
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Re: XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

Post by chrisjvm »

Thanks for the detailed and invaluable advice.
I'm just off to Gloucestershire to collect said Activa...
Haven't been this excited for ages.
Sad, I know.
Just hoping that I'm in for lots of joy and not much pain !
I've been looking at all things Activa since my purchase
Hence my query,just trying to keep ahead of the game.

Regards
Chris M.
'96 Volvo 855 T5 auto
'97 Xantia Activa
'89 VW T25 Westfalia California
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Re: XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

Post by CitroJim »

Excellent stuff Chris :-D Welcome to the slippery slope :lol:

When yu have the car home you may just find this useful: Activa Buyer's Guide

Looking forward to hearing all about your new toy :wink:
Jim

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Re: XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

Post by chrisjvm »

Thanks Jim...
I did read the buying guide retrospectively ! :oops:
I bought the Activa on trust from Dom on here ,so it was
Purchased unseen.
Seems good mechanically,but it does do the 'Activa shuffle'
When stationary at traffic lights sometimes .. and it has a lean to the offside when on a flat straight road.
Aesthetically the roof definitely needs painting and there's a few dents to sort out.
I really do like the car though ...
Though It's very early days !!!!

Regards

Chris
'96 Volvo 855 T5 auto
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Re: XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

Post by CitroJim »

Ahh, that's OK then. Dom's a good lad and I saw his (your) Activa back in June and it looked pretty good to me... One well worth giving some time and attention to...

Shuffles will be down to wear in the roll corrector linkages. They're all still available and not massively expensive. Getting an Activa level is fun though :twisted:

It's well worth checking the Main and Activa Accumulators are good as if these are well down or ruptured they too can cause a slow shuffle that coincides with the regulator ticking...
Jim

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Re: XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

Post by chrisjvm »

Hello Jim...
Thanks for the feedback re knowing my car.
(And sharing your 'Activa' knowledge once again)
It is reassuring that you think its an ok one!
Do you know anyone reliable that can work on Activas
In the Buckinghamshire area, if the roll corrector
Linkages need replacing?
I did a 90 degree spin today on a small tight roundabout
It was damp but I was only going a little faster than I would
In my Berlingo van... I know the road well so was suprised when the front end let go, I dabbed the brakes opposite locked and the back end followed round...
Maybe the driver was driving beyond his capabilities !
But the way it happened I would like to have the car checked out
Just to confirm the driver is past it!!!
I knew I should have kept my Ami 6 Estate!

Regards
Chris M
'96 Volvo 855 T5 auto
'97 Xantia Activa
'89 VW T25 Westfalia California
'89 VW LT Westfalia Florida
chrisjvm
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Re: XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

Post by chrisjvm »

Ps there's a distinct lack of accumulator ticking... From
Inside the car anyway.
'96 Volvo 855 T5 auto
'97 Xantia Activa
'89 VW T25 Westfalia California
'89 VW LT Westfalia Florida
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Re: XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

Post by Deanxm »

what are the tyres like? Activa's grip well for what they are but they do have a loose back end if your runnning old hard ditchfinders, what the Activa does really well is change direction, cornering grip is comparitive with any other sports car, its no impreza on a long sweeping bend but on tight twisties it comes into its own.

Are you planning on coming to CXM next weekend?

Congrats on the purchase anyway, plenty of help available here should you need it.

D
XM Prestige PRV6 92
Talbot Express Autotrail Chinook 89
Mitsubishi L200 Trojan 14
Xantia Activa 95, sold (missed)

Service Citroen is awesome, it shows me pictures of all the parts i used to be able to buy............
Northern_Mike

Re: XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

Post by Northern_Mike »

chrisjvm wrote:Hello Jim...
Thanks for the feedback re knowing my car.
(And sharing your 'Activa' knowledge once again)
It is reassuring that you think its an ok one!
Do you know anyone reliable that can work on Activas
In the Buckinghamshire area, if the roll corrector
Linkages need replacing?

Regards
Chris M
Whereabouts in Bucks are you Chris?

As for the handling, they are great, but you need decent tyres, and they do lift off-oversteer alarmingly if provoked. What I found is that they will corner considerably faster than you think they will, or you dare too. What then happens is that you decide you are going way too fast halfway round the bend, lift off, and the back starts to come round. Keeping your toe down prevents this, but it takes some convincing your foot to stay on the throttle :-)

I see you had an Ami 6. They're basically a 2CV aren't they? I had 5 2CVs. Drive your Activa like you'd drive a 2CV hard, it'll be fine. It's not like any other car I've ever driven.
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Re: XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

Post by chrisjvm »

Hello Dean,
Thanks for the reply.
I've got 3 Continental (Sport Contacts,I think)
And one Accelerra...
They all have approx 3-4mm on them
I will be changing them at the w/end for Michelin Energy's.
I appreciate the lowdown on the handling characteristics.
As the Activa's not like anything I've driven before...
Though I've had a fair few Citroens over the years.
I will be at CXM next w/end , maybe see you there if
You're going of course.

Regards
Chris M
'96 Volvo 855 T5 auto
'97 Xantia Activa
'89 VW T25 Westfalia California
'89 VW LT Westfalia Florida
Deanxm
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Re: XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

Post by Deanxm »

if the tyres on there are old hey may have hardened, energy's wont be best suited to the activa in my opinion but they are still good tyres and i think Jim uses them and is happy with them, tyres are a bit of a personal choice anyway, any new tyre is going to be an improvement.

I will be at CXM sat and sunday in my activa so will see you there.

D
XM Prestige PRV6 92
Talbot Express Autotrail Chinook 89
Mitsubishi L200 Trojan 14
Xantia Activa 95, sold (missed)

Service Citroen is awesome, it shows me pictures of all the parts i used to be able to buy............
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