ZX Volcane electrics problem

Owen101 · Unread post by **Owen101** » 11 Apr 2003, 18:41

Hi there,Recently having some strange electrical problems with L reg volcane 2.0i.Quite annoying as otherwise the car runs great;
1/Electric mirror only works occasionally. At the moment not working but could be driving home later from work and suddenly it will start working again. I checked connections on the switch in the dash and in the door itself.Appear ok.
2/Heater blower not working.Was down in the local citroen dealer and says no power getting to motor.Was working fine last wk.
3/I can lower the passenger side window from the drivers side switch but not raise it again. It will raise ok from the passenger side switch. Switch gone? Sometimes when I try and raise it from the drivers side it will 'knock off' half the electrics in the car (sunroof,locking,rear-screen,hazards etc). These will all work fine again as normal next morning . Any idea whats going on here, how would it 'fix itself' after a period of time?
thanks very much for any assistance.

Unread post by **alan s** » 11 Apr 2003, 19:02

I'd be looking for possible internal breaks in wires and dirty pins on plugs. Internal breaks usually occur where wires bend or flex.
Intermtittent faults which cause a pile of other accessories to fail at the same time is often caused by dirty connections on the fuse holder or ends on the fuse.
Check to see if the failing components are on the same fuse & if so, remove fuse and clean & if possible tighten fuse & holder.
Alan S

Owen101 · Unread post by **Owen101** » 19 Aug 2003, 17:10

Further to point 3 above -
Same thing happened again the other night. Flicked the sunroof for a sec then all dead again - windows, locking. All accessories basically.
Removed cover holding sunroof switch and all the conenctions up there are A1.
Checked the connections and fuses again on the main fuse board and all was well also. With the ignition off checking the voltage using a meter showed 0v on any of the fuse connections. I would have thought at least one of these would carry a 12v feed from the battery to the board to enable hazards, lights buzzer, central locking etc. When I turn the key to batterylight-on I get 12v feed on a large black wire. I assume that to be the main battery feed. Some readings from the meter then are;
Fuse 2 (radio, buzzer etc) - 12v
Fuse 9 (Locking, windows) - .8v
Fuse 6 (Hazards) - .8v
Fuse 4 (Locking) - .8v
Why only .8v with Ignition on? If I turn on the radio it is lit very dimly and obviously not getting enough juice to work. The Sunroof motor makes an effort but again sounds like it is not getting enough power to work.
The altenator is charging perfectly and the battery is brand new. Starts fine, headlights all working full.
What could knock out the battery feed to the fuse board? Is there relays or something else controlling this that may be dead? How do you check? Is there an area in the car where alot of circuits are earthed? I would like to check these out but havent a clue where to look as the Hayes manual is very grey in this area.

The weirdest thing of all is it rained last night and I started the car this morning to find all was working again. I guess the battery feed is back again. Ive heard of Citroen electrical gremlins but this seems crazy.
Any ideas at all or should I just bow out and proceed to the Citroen dealer to get fleeced.
Thanks

AndersDK · Unread post by **AndersDK** » 19 Aug 2003, 18:32

The fuseboard (fuse/junction box) circuits is mainly feeded off your ignition key switch - which have to carry a lot of current then. It's a known problem that this switch's contacts burns out because of this.
Happens to ALL cars.
On the RHD export BX models - an extender cable is used on the ignition key switch - this may also be true on your ZX Volcane.
The extender cable's connectors are then hidden behind the carpetting/dashboard somewhere. Chances are that this connector has burnt/corroded contacts. Try pull the wiring bundle from the keyswitch - and look for the wiring run - to see any possible hidden connectors.
The ignition key switch block may be replaced separately - with some fiddling - to prevent replacing the complete key barrell. In any case your dealer will most probably be able to deliever a new barrell assembly made to your existing key.
On most Citroens/PSA cars : the key switch wirings directly off the fusebox (battery feed to switch) are red colour. The switch feed to fusebox circuits are white wires. The key switch wiring bundle is easy to recon with it's heavy gauge wires.
To protect against any possible fire hazards in the wiring - please remove the negative pole from battery - when fiddling with the wiring.

Owen101 · Unread post by **Owen101** » 04 Sep 2003, 18:53

Quick question; is there a general area in the ZX where most circuits are earthed? ie on the wing, engine compartment somewhere. I would like to check these out thoroughly but dont know where to start. Thanks guys.

jeremy · Unread post by **jeremy** » 04 Sep 2003, 21:18

On the BX there is a large plug in one of the battery leads under the battery. I've noticed its existyance and seen others refer to it but which pole its in i don't know. have a good look on your ZX and see if it has something similar. I agree its a bad connection possibly with some corrosion. The corrosion would account for it working well when wet - acid/alkaline powder/muck will conduct beautifully when wet. A clue?
jeremy

Owen101 · Unread post by **Owen101** » 15 Sep 2003, 20:05

Resolved this problem via the lazy option - replaced the poor (.8v) feed on the fuseboard with a known good battery feed (12v) with ignition off and all is well again.
I am none the wiser regarding what was causing the high resistance in the existing circuit but its just wasnt feasible to strip out the whole dash to find out.