Citroen xsara wont start

[allanamolly123]

hi to all and many thanks for any help in advance i have a 2001 Citroen xsara 2.0 hdi estate and car had lay unused for a weekend went to start car battery was flat went to halfords bought new heavy duty battery fitted it to car now car wont start cranks over but wont start also noticed no ignition lights on dash no heater blower and no headlights only lights on dash are airbag and seatbelt light the car is in great condition and dont want to scrap any ideas plz car normally runs perfect with no faults to old to take to dealer and get robbed so if anyone can help plz

[mirafioriman]

I'd check fuses and fuseable links sounds like a major one has blown. Not too clued up on your car but I'd say they would be under the bonnet somewhere. The clue to me would be the lack of ignition lights and major items like blower and headlights.

[allanamolly123]

thanks bud have checked all fuses and cant see any blown but dont know were fuse links are cheers bud many thanks

[CitroJim]

Sadly, I don't know the Xsara but from the symptoms you've lost a major feed to the ignition switch.

The big fuses referred to are what's known as 'maxi-fuses' and look like giant versions of normal fuses. They'll be under a cover somewhere in the engine bay but likely you'll find them good.

My feeling that as it coincided with a duff battery then that's the first place to look. If the car still has its original crimped battery connectors with multiple wires crimped into them then there's a possibility that a very high resistance has developed here. Try wriggling both sets of wires on both the positive and negative clamps where they are crimped in and see if that provokes some life. Also, check all negative wires leading out of the battery clamp to where they earth. You may find one going to the body earth point has corroded.

A common problem on the Xantia is a beak in the wiring loom that feeds the ignition switch - the break normally occurring at a 'splice' or joint in the loom.

To progress this, you will need the full wiring diagrams, which I don't have unfortunately, to enable you to fully trace supplies.

You may well need to engage the services of a specialist auto-electrician rather than a general garage. It won[t be a big fault but these sort of things can take some finding. Worth doing though, give the car is so good otherwise.

[addo]

I would trial swap the underbonnet relay panel. Threre are two versions, make sure you swap in the exact matching type from a car you know to run.

It's not code-matched or anything like that, but they can get a bit tetchy or just fail somewhere internally.

[dandare1980]

I found some info on Xsara Picasso fuse locations if these are any help.

On my Mk2 Xsara HDi the engine bay fuses are located in a box near the ABS unit above the transmission.

When the engine turned over, was it cranking at normal speed or was it slow?

Did you try charging the original battery before you swapped it for the Halfords one?

When our Xsara went flat the other winter (due to inactivity and a few short journeys), I don't think there was many dashboard lights showing up,just the battery and possibly the STOP light. Not sure if the ECU was throwing a fit due to the reduce voltage? Started fine after a full charge of course.