Simon's new Xantia V6 and Leaf blog

[myglaren]

I was rather shocked this morning. Overtaken by a BMW that was signalling every turn and lane change.

[Hell Razor5543]

I was rather shocked this morning. Overtaken by a BMW that was signalling every turn and lane change.

It must be somebody who has either only just bought it, or has been lent/hired it. No (dis)reputable BMW owner EVER signals their intentions, as they own the road and everybody else has to get out of their way!

[xantia_v6]

I have located the diagrams for the indicators.

The indicator relay is 2305 in each diagram.

[Hell Razor5543]

Just a thought. Have you got the cables properly connected? I had an issue with an indicator stalk (on my silver Xantia) that I thought was faulty, and it turned out the 'clamp' had shifted, so the cable did not sit properly. Once I had a look and spotted the problem I got the cable properly seated, and the stalk and (correspondingly) all of the lights worked properly.

[mickthemaverick]

I think I've found the problem:

Hmmm!

[xantia_v6]

Just in case you missed it Simon, I posted the wiring diagrams in the previous page

[Mandrake]

Just in case you missed it Simon, I posted the wiring diagrams in the previous page

It's showing on the same page for me. Thanks - that's brilliant.

Should be relatively easy to trace when the dashboard is off and the loom fully exposed now that I have a diagram.

[Mandrake]

Well I'm an idiot!

The problem turned out to be that I'd mixed up two of the connectors to the row of switches including the hazard light switch which the blinker power comes through.

I didn't realise until I started tracing the diagram and found the plug was missing two wires it ought to have!

[Hell Razor5543]

Well I'm an idiot!

The problem turned out to be that I'd mixed up two of the connectors to the row of switches including the hazard light switch which the blinker power comes through.

I didn't realise until I started tracing the diagram and found the plug was missing two wires it ought to have!

Oops! But at least you were able to quickly resolve the problem once you had the relevant information.

[Mandrake]

So I've been out for a "naughty" test drive with no dashboard, airbags or windscreen wipers, (I did at least plug the instrument cluster in though!) and everything seems fine on the coolant front - no leaks that I can find anywhere either at the matrix joint or under the bonnet.

So I'm satisfied that I'm ready to start reassembling everything, which is looking a bit daunting now because it's nearly a month since I did the initial disassembly and my memory is starting to fade as to what came off in what order!

Hopefully I can reassemble it without having to back up and redo things too many times because I forgot something and hopefully I don't have anything left over!

My plan is to just use a tube of standard black silicone to seal the scuttle to the window glass so that it's not too difficult for the window guys to get it back off again to replace the glass....

[Mandrake]

Only managed to snatch a few hours to work on the car over the weekend but I've made some good progress.

The dashboard is bolted back in place, the steering wheel column is bolted back in place, the instrument cluster is back in, the switch gear is all reconnected, and the heater control box is back in, along with a repair to the kinked recirculate cable. (Straighten with pliers then turn 180 degrees in the fitting so the remaining kink faces in the other direction...

However I have a tiny 2 pin mystery plug I'm trying to find a home for:

It is part of the small cable bundle that includes the 6 (?) pin plug which connects to the heater control box. However I can't find another socket on the heater control box nor in anything anywhere nearby, and at the moment it's the only unaccounted for cable I have.

Can anyone remember what this 2 pin plug is for ?

[Skull]

Can anyone remember what this 2 pin plug is for ?

Is it for the back-light bulbs in the heating control box ? Maybe the ashtray illumination ?

[xantia_v6]

I think it is probably for the ashtray illumination.

[Mandrake]

I think it is probably for the ashtray illumination.

You could be right! I didn't even realise it had illumination.

[Mandrake]

Home early so a bit more progress.

The two pin plug turned out to be the illumination for the heater controls itself - the plug connects at the top and is easy to overlook it.

I have the whole centre stack around the radio put back together now. There are several things not working, most of them previously not working.

The illumination for the heater controls doesn't seem to work and I don't recall it ever having any. The illumination around the cigarette lighter socket doesn't work even though I've got the spade connector for it connected. (The cigarette lighter socket itself does work though)

The radio is still not working - that stopped some time last year. It flashes the security LED even when the ignition is turned on so acts as if it doesn't have any switched live. No time to fix it now as I'm in a desperate hurry to get the car back together and get the window repaired before the MOT is due. Another time.

I've also managed to destroy what was left of the light in the A/C switch - it turns out the reason why it was nearly impossible to see is the little coloured plastic cover that goes over the bulb was burnt nearly black so is nearly opaque... I tried to scratch it with a small screw driver and it just crumbled into dust...

So initially it was nice and bright again - albeit the wrong colour - a sort of light yellow instead of green without the correct colour filter, but I would have been happy with being able to see it in daylight again, however it was very intermittent and kept cutting out when I wiggled the plug so I took the switch apart and unfortunately the bulb is now completely open circuit and I don't have anything to replace it with so now I have no A/C switch light at all.

They don't seem to be designed to take apart - while you can do it it is very difficult and the bulb has its wires wrapped around little spigots in a very odd way. Drat.

All the steering wheel switch gear and cables are connected up again so I now just have the steering wheel cowling, the plastic around the fuse box etc, the steering wheel, airbag and glovebox to go back in inside the car.

On the outside I have to reinstall the wiper motor assembly and silicone the scuttle back to the window.

This job has been an ordeal and a half and I'm still not sure if I'm going to be able to get the windscreen replaced in a timely and affordable fashion. (Window replacement excess is £100, assuming they go for it, no idea how much it would cost to pay for it myself!)

The crack on the glass continues to grow by itself - it's gained another inch or two in the few days the car has sat since I last worked on it.