How many spheres have i got?

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andy99
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How many spheres have i got?

Post by andy99 »

How many spheres does the 1.9TD (1995) have. I have counted six. (2 front, 2 rear and 1 front centre) Is the front centre one the accumulator?? Some people on here are refering to 7 spheres, but i cant find it. Im not sure if i Have hydractive suspension. The car sometimes sinks when i turn off, but most times it stays up.
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Dave Burns
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Post by Dave Burns »

Only the hydras have 7, Activas have 8 if i'm not mistaken.
Hydractive cars have a switch on the console between the seats.
Dave
Oops, technically they are all accumulators, but yes the front centre one is the main accumulator and is screwed on to the regulator.
Edited by - Dave Burns on 25 Aug 2002 13:02:11
Edited by - Dave Burns on 25 Aug 2002 13:03:12
andy99
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Post by andy99 »

Ok, so I dont have hydractive. Does that mean my car should sink when i switch off or will it have the non return valve?
In andyspares on line shop, they list a front centre sphere as well as a accumulator sphere, why is that?
Dave Burns
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Post by Dave Burns »

Hecky thump, it looks like hydras have 8 spheres and activas have a wacking great 10 sphere's, glad I haven't got one of them sheds.
Take a gander at this site.
http://www.kolumbus.fi/anttijp/index2.htm
Dave
andy99
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Post by andy99 »

I see what you mean!! So how come i got 6 speheres? Is the one in the centre at the back the anti-sink sphere? Have i got an anti sink sphere??? Im so confused!!!
allmond
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Post by allmond »

OK. Normal car, 4 wheels, 4 springs. Citroen, 4 wheels, 4 spheres. Then you need an accumulator sphere at the front to keep a reserve of pressure if you like. (5 spheres) Then people who hadn't bought Citroens before started buying them but didn't like the way the back sinks when it's parked, so Citroen fitted an anti-sink sphere at the back in the centre. Now we're up to 6 spheres - sounds like yours.
Then they decided to invent hyrdractive suspension which limits among other things body roll in corners. It does this by stopping fluid flow across the car. You need another sphere front and back to operate the valve (simply put.) Now we're up to 8 spheres.
Then they invented Activa which limits body roll actively rather than passively by actually pumping up the low side during cornering. I believe we're now up to 10 but I haven't actually bothered to crawl under one and count!
There you are - clear as mud.
Jamie
PS Can someone with a Hydractive 2 Xantia look at the first part of my posting "Is this normal" and see what happens when they bounce on their car? Thanks.
Edited by - allmond on 26 Aug 2002 09:41:37
pwatson
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Post by pwatson »

Jamie,
With ref to your "is it normal?" question - it seems to be. Just went and tried my wifes 2000 HDi Exclusive and, as you say, there is initially travel in the suspension though, being a deaf old so and so, I couldn't hear the whirring. However, after about 30 secs there was a "click" and the suspension went hard. Without knowing much about about it I would suggest that this is the "anti-sink mechanism/valve" (?) coming into operation. Perhaps there is nothing wrong with yours. Pity the handbook doesn't give much detail on things like this. Or, come to that, how the locking works. One press on the fob locks the car and if it is pressed again the deadlocks seem to come on (same as on our old Xantia SX), but the second press is not mentioned in the handbook. Do you know anything about this?
PhilW
Phil
NiSk
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Post by NiSk »

Good job Citroën never fitted Diravi steering to the Xantia - there's nowhere left put any more spheres!
//NiSk
Rich
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Post by Rich »

Hello everyone,
Just read the recent posts and it seems i have the same answer to the question, "is this normal?" I have a 2000 model Exclusive HDi with Hydractive 2, i went outside earlier to have a bounce on the rear wing(!!) Anyway, it seems to go as follows;
1 Door or hatch opens, "buzzing sound" starts up.
2 Suspension now soft and "magic carpet like."
3 Door or hatch closes then short while later "buzzing sound" stops.
4 Suspension now hard with little travel.
On the subject of spheres on Hydractive 2; i have found seven in total, but i may be wrong as i have not had a good look under the car yet as i have not had it long. My dad has a '94 SX/TD, i know for a fact that his has six; four for the wheels, one for main accumulator and an extra one between the two rear wheels for the anti sink.
Hope this helps!
Rich.
allmond
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Post by allmond »

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
One press on the fob locks the car and if it is pressed again the deadlocks seem to come on (same as on our old Xantia SX), but the second press is not mentioned in the handbook. Do you know anything about this?
PhilW
Phil
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Phil
Just had a look in the handbook when my dear lady wife finished work. The main bit doesn't mention deadlocking, but after the index (page 177 in mine) there are some extra addenda type pages. One of them explains all about what you rightly assume are the deadlocks. I can't remember how I knew about it, I think it was from a friend telling me rather than reading it.
Now if only my wife could see the reason behind using them.......
Jamie
shaunthesheep
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Post by shaunthesheep »

phil,
this is what happens with the deadlocking. when the key fob buttons are pressed:-
press front button - doors lock.
press second button - 1 doors deadlock (can't be opened from inside)
2 ultra sonic sensors mounted on front doors are activated
3 indicators will stay on for a couple of seconds
4 alarm will be active, if you look thought the rear window you should see a flashing red led beside the clock.
i always lock & alarm my xantia when ever i leave it, incase anything should happen to it.
dom
Edited by - shaunthesheep on 27 Aug 2002 01:02:41
pwatson
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Post by pwatson »

Thanks chaps for that on the locking system. Maybe I should read the handbook properly! Always give the button two presses anyway since that was the system on previous Xantia
PhilW
Phil
David Goddard
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Post by David Goddard »

This topic sparked some interest!
Mine is just an observation on Hydractive AND the Channel Tunnel (what??). The following has happened every time I have taken my Xantia on the tunnel train. No doubt due to the anti sink system, the suspension goes rock hard. Sitting in the car whilst the train is in motion is uncomfortable. Then when I attempt to start the engine it will miss fire or even stall. After a few moments all is OK again. Stalling when there is a line of other cars behind you is not the way to start a continental holiday.
Having read the above forum messages, perhaps leaving a door open will allow the suspension to work and avoid the above problems. By the way, the engine is the V6 so the mis-running may not effect other variants.
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