help non starter citroen xantia!

[davo123]

Hello all, new to the forum never posted before because i can usually find my answer in previous posts but this time im stumped.
got in my xantia 1.8 petrol 2001 estate the other day put 20quid im the tank and topped up the windscreen washers,drove 35 miles great stopped for a drink then started again drove 100 metres and stopped.now i got back in and turned key-normally it fires on first turn of the engine almost instant this time it didnt...i let go of the key as usually would if it started then realised it hadnt and triedagain and again... And again nothing it turns other but just wont fire...also when it didnt start the first time I swear the suspension dropped.so i called the aa out and he checks fuel says its fine pumping it out but there s no spark...he reckons crankshaft sensor as prob not igniton coil as these have 2 apparently and doubtful they both go together..so i get it home charge the battery-ran it flat trying to start it amd replaced the crankshaft sensor- no go go. So now im stumped its our only car as my partners beetle blew its gearbox last monh and we are stranded any ideas? It was so weird almost like immobiliser or something but no key light on dash and no keypad....Help me citroen gurus!PLEASE! Surely someone else has had this happen?sorry about the typos im sending on my phone and the buttons are tiny unlike my fingers.

[addo]

A bit unusual. Are any of the people with Lexias, near you?

At a wild guess I'd suspect the 15-pin relay in the ECU box.

[davo123]

Not sure if anybody has a lexia close by-im in southampton...anybody happy to sort someone out with a bit of cash if they can!? In a plus side I have a scrapyard a couple of miles from me with 2 xantias im thinking this morning I might go in and fill my pockets with relays and just try em all one at a time i have a citroen specialist booked for monday but if I can solve it before then i save a fair bit of money..t he other half is taxi-ing to work and back monday at present 40 quid just for that

[oneday]

hi lexia owner in christchurch not to far from you look in supersticy forum at lexia locations pm him see if he can help you out

[citronut]

here is the link to DIS-LEXIA map

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... 19&t=29178" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

the ECU relay is usually a brown double sized unit also i would grab a coil pack or two,

service citroen only shows a single coil pack for all MK2 petrol XANT's except the V6,

who told you they have separate coils?????

[davo123]

Ha the aa guy...same guy who said my crankshaft sensor was the problem-he was a bit of a to**er in my opinion...he just couldn be bothered ill try coilpack and relays thanks for the info!

[davo123]

Ok So the scrapyard has got rid of both xantias...lucky or what? buzz arnold the citroen specialist came and looked at it finally, hooked up his snap-on lexia thingy and it wouldnt read it..tried 3 different engine codes and obd/ocd or something.he brought a coilpack but it didnt fit so he couldnt try that,he guessed that because his snapon wouldnt read it the ecu had gone. charged me 40 quid for the pleasure,I am no closer to fixing the xantia and i decide tonight whether I scrap it or carry on trying to fix it.any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.I love the car but its cost me 240 quid in the last few days and im starting to think where do i draw the line? do i try and find an ecu,a 15 pin relay and a coilpack cheap-in the hope its one of them? could it be anything else? any advice would really help me I dont what to do! Cheers

[davo123]

Also if i got a new ecu-theres one on ebay that matches mine for 30 quid would I need to do anything or can i just plug it in and go?

[addo]

At the very least to swap ECUs you need the transponder chip off the donor car's ignition key. Many aftermarket scanners won't talk to the PSA group computers, nothing unusual in that result.

[citronut]

i looked at a 206 a year or so back that wouldn't start, i tried my LEXIA on it but as your specialist found it could not read the ECU,
on this car it turned out to be the brown ECU relay, at some point its mounting lug had been broken off which left a hole in the plastic case, this had alowed the relay to fill with water,

fitted a second hand one and away she went

[davo123]

ok could it be anything else apart from coil relay and ecu with chip? im making a shoppin list...

[citronut]

always try the easy/simple things first, i would just try a coil pack or the brown relay, one then the other

were are you located

[davo123]

Im in botley near southampton...the guy with the ecu has no key so thats a no go...hes scrapped car so no relay or coil either...Im on the verge of scrapping it,taxs runs out end of the month and needs new seatbelts as the dog ate them last week,the thing is its really reliable uptil now and gearbox engine clutch all great...and I just did the spheres so no worries there,I dont want to buy something else and have that break down next week,but at the same point I dont want to throw much more money at this one without fixing it.im going to see if I can get hold of a relay or coilpack from anywhere,does anybody know which pug has the same engine in it? 1.8 16v 2001

[davo123]

Ok its not the relay-found a peugeot in the scrappies with same relay-numbers matched anyway and still nothing...if it was the actual ecu that was buggered surely it would be having more issues? All other electrics seem fine?i guess coilpack is next...any other parts it could be before i try ecu

[davo123]

Ok just thought id b cheeky and get the aa out again and get em to check coil and try and read ecu again....theres no switching to coilpack so he guessed ecu as id already chNged the relay..just as he was leaving he noticed a little red light flashing like a nutter next to drivers side mirror...he reckons immobiliser is the problem- I was at an army base ive never been to before when this happened and on his diagnostic it said army base interferance can bugger the immobiliser...so how do i kill my immobiliser? Its not got a keypad and I dont think its the fuelpump immobiliser as the fuel pump runs when you turn key...this makes more sense than ecu i reckon!