Dashboard warning and footwell lights

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andy5
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Dashboard warning and footwell lights

Post by andy5 »

I have a Xantia HDI SX from 1999

The door open warning light on the speedometer has been intermittently on while driving for the last few days. There is one light for the lot on this car, not a specific one for each door.

To begin with, opening and slamming the front passenger door would turn it off, but it might reappear and disappear in a few miles.

Now it's started staying on most of the time, and the driver's footwell light has joined it. And now this evening they are still on even when the car is locked, which means the battery will be slowly going flat overnight.

So far all I've established is that the switches for the courtesy lights are a lot less obvious than they used to be on older cars, which had just a push switch on the post. Can anyone tell me exactly where they are, inside the door or somewhere else? Any other suggestions of places to peer at in the morning? Does a Lexia test detect this sort of thing, or only on later cars?

A previously occurring problem is that the central locking would undo after a while, particularly in hot weather. I assume I needed to get a door card off and look for something jamming one of the rods connected to the lock solenoids by a fraction of a millimetre. It's not been fixed yet but has gone away while it's colder. This may be related to the lights issue or it may not. It seems to me probably not, as the lights are on as if the car is open, but locking is fine, so there's no actual interlock.

All suggestions gratefully received.
Hell Razor5543
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Re: Dashboard warning lights

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

I think that there are three micro switches in the front door locks. IIRC one is for the key barrel, the second is to monitor the button position (for locking from inside, only on the front doors), while the third is for the lock itself. This third one may (only may, mind you) also be used for the lights and door monitoring.

I wonder if the lock has become slightly loose, which might mean that the switch isn't getting fully closed. That could be worth checking first. Otherwise it could be removing (and, possibly, replacing) the lock and cleaning it up, but I cannot offer advice on this, as I have not yet had to do so.
James
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andy5
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Re: Dashboard warning and footwell lights

Post by andy5 »

Thanks. I went out to check the car when I read that, and the lights had gone off. Then I opened it and messed around a couple of minutes and the lights stayed on when locked. So I checked half an hour later and they were off.

So at least the worry is reduced - if the lights go off after a while I might be avoiding a flat battery if I don't use the car for a couple of days.

I wonder if there's a timer for fading the footwell light out, and that's gone out to a longer time, and also locking hasn't bypassed it
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Old-Guy
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Re: Dashboard warning and footwell lights

Post by Old-Guy »

andy5 wrote:I wonder if there's a timer for fading the footwell light out, and that's gone out to a longer time, and also locking hasn't bypassed it
I'm not sure about differences between S1 and S2 Xantiae. On our S1 sx, there's a fader on the interior lights, but they go off instantly as central locking operates. Central locking won't lock if any of the 5 'doors' aren't fully closed ('locks' then immediately unlocks itself) - this isn't triggered by the interior light switches visible in the door shut as a door caught on the safety latch won't light the interior lights but the car won't lock.

I suspect your locking and lights problems to be different symptoms of the same underlying (electrical) fault - maybe as Hellrazer suggested, just a loose lock or switch.

Might be a wire fractured in the length of harness that flexes as the door opens/shuts. It's quite common for such failures to produce intermittent faults for a while - when the last wire strands break inside the insulation (which is much more flexible) the broken ends sometimes touch so the fault goes away temporarily; eventually all the sparking burns away the broken ends.
2011 Grand C4 Picasso VTR+ 1.6HDi in Kyanos Blue
1995 Xantia Estate SX 1.9TD in Vert Vega "The Green Lady" - after 11 years now owned by XanTom
1998 Xantia 2.1 VXD Estate in Mauritius Blue - R.I.P. (terminal tin-worm)
andy5
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Joined: 05 Nov 2010, 13:40
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Re: Dashboard warning and footwell lights

Post by andy5 »

Old-Guy wrote:
andy5 wrote:I wonder if there's a timer for fading the footwell light out, and that's gone out to a longer time, and also locking hasn't bypassed it
I'm not sure about differences between S1 and S2 Xantiae. On our S1 sx, there's a fader on the interior lights, but they go off instantly as central locking operates. Central locking won't lock if any of the 5 'doors' aren't fully closed ('locks' then immediately unlocks itself) - this isn't triggered by the interior light switches visible in the door shut as a door caught on the safety latch won't light the interior lights but the car won't lock.

I suspect your locking and lights problems to be different symptoms of the same underlying (electrical) fault - maybe as Hellrazer suggested, just a loose lock or switch.

Might be a wire fractured in the length of harness that flexes as the door opens/shuts. It's quite common for such failures to produce intermittent faults for a while - when the last wire strands break inside the insulation (which is much more flexible) the broken ends sometimes touch so the fault goes away temporarily; eventually all the sparking burns away the broken ends.
Thanks. That's what mine usually has - interior lights fade but locking turns them off straightaway

Anyway, strange, but for now it's gone away, so the lights may well be down to an intermittent wire. Returning from the supermarket yesterday afternoon I noticed the light go off as the last door shut, and it hasn't been a problem on two trips in the evening. Don't want to speak too soon ...
Hell Razor5543
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Re: Dashboard warning and footwell lights

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

The time taken for the interior lights to go out is dependant on what other actions are taken. If the doors are closed (and nothing else is done) the lights fade out after about 30 seconds (on an S2 Xantia, anyway), but if the doors are then locked or the ignition is turned on then the lights fade out at that time.
James
ex BX 1.9
ex Xantia 2.0HDi SX
ex Xantia 2.0HDi LX
Ex C5 2.0HDi VTR
Ex C5 2.0HDi VTR

C5 2.2HDi VTX+
Yes, I am paranoid, but am I paranoid ENOUGH?
Out amongst the stars, looking for a world of my own!
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