Xantia MK II - Detaching fuse box under the steering

[lancia58]

Hi

I posted a thread on this problem and since it didn't happened again ( I guess since spring came and then the summer ) I didn't cure it. Now as the winter is back it happened again. I check on it and found out that the problem is at the fuse box under the steering. When it happened I measured the voltage at the pins of the Bitron relay connector of the ignition ECU and one of them had only 7.5 Volts while the other showed 12 Volts. I took a hair fan/drier and heat the fuse box. After couple of minutes I measured 12v at the connector pin that previously showed 7.5 volts. Today I decided to detach the fuse box in order to clean the contacts. After removing the screws that secure it to the dashboard I found that it is not detachable since most of the wires are hooked. I found two photos on the web of the same fuse box that came out of a Xsara

Top image



Bottom image , no connectors , wires cut in order to detach:



How do I detach it without cutting the wires ?

Thanks

[xf1ref]

Hi,
The fuse box for Xantia MK2 is different, I dismantled a year ago and I remade all the soldering.
The fuse box is detachable and all the wires have jacks.

[lancia58]

Hi

The one that is mounted on my car is the same one as in the pictures I added to the post. I guess/hope there is an easy way to detach it. I think the only way is to open the lid and remove it wire by wire , remembering how to hock each wire back

Thanks

[lancia58]

Any help please ?

Thanks

[Stickyfinger]

You can get a tool for disconnecting the wires from the unit, they are called "Terminal Release" tools and are little push in probes.

You would need to mark and number every wire

[lancia58]

Hi

Have you done this job ? Do you know which type of terminal release tool ? I checked on eBay and there are lots of them.

Thanks

[Stickyfinger]

I do not know .....this may help however
.....I ?.think.? that its the type shown @2:00

I would think you could make one or two that would work ?

[Xantidote]

Seems you are taking on quite a lot of work & hassle to solve what you suggest is an intermittent problem, and I'm wondering if there's a "work around" alternative, although I accept it's best if the fusebox etc all works as it should.

From the testing you've done, you know where the voltage is suspect, so couldn't you run a new power supply to where you need it, and avoid taking the fusebox apart?

Out of curiosity, I pulled apart a fusebox like the one xf1ref has pictured, and it looked a nightmare inside. I hope yours is much simpler if you do take it apart

[lancia58]

I guess there is a work around but from my experience all should work as it should else it is like a rusted pipe , you block one leakage and it will leak elsewhere in the pipe. It defiantly lots of hassle but as I like my Xantia a lot it worth doing it. Before starting doing the job I was sure that I'll detach some connectors and the fuse box is out, I was quiet surprise not to say disappointed to see that it is not an easy task. I just wander what was on the mind of the Citroen engineer who design it that way. With MK I it is a 20 minutes job to detach it.
Hope it doesn't look nightmare as the fuse box you pulled, but knowing Citroen it will

Thanks

[citroenxm]

Ive also never seen that fuse box you have posted on all of 25 xantias or so that have passed me.. but then ive only seen rhd ones and uk rhd box's are all plugged.. ive piles of fuse boxes.. however are you 200% certain its the box and not wires at fault. Citroën or PSA used a low grade of copper cables and brass rot is a common thing that happens inside the cable insulation and isnt seen...

Just my views and experience on uk cars...

[lancia58]

I got a 1999 scrap Xantia and it has the same fuse box xf1ref posted, BTW on Citroen service my car's fuse box catalogue number is 6500H5 that is the same one as xf1ref posted, so there is a mismatch between what Citroen service shows and what is installed in my car, it is not the first time of a mismatch though.
When it gets cold ( below 13 Celsius or so ) beside the voltage cut to the ECU the interior light ( the one lit when the door is opened ) starts to blink. When I pulled some wires at the back of the fuse box the blinking stops so I assume there are some bad electrical contacts in the fuse box. What supports it is that when heating the fuse box with a hair drier after five minutes every think works Ok.

Still I can not understand the logic in a design of such a fuse box.



Thanks

[xf1ref]

In your case I think you should cut the wires and remake all the soldering at the fuse box.
After that you can simply connect the wires with some cable connector with screw.
If you have enough space you can solder the wires directly and you can isolate with some thermo shrink tube.

[Xantidote]

I still think it's potentially a lot of work. I'd waggle the wires behind the fusebox, individually, to help identify the problem a little more. Might persuade you to do a "work around", even if only temporarily

[lancia58]

Hi

I found a used fuse box that is identical with mine ( I posted a picture ) that I detached from an old Citroen Berlingo, . I learned how to take it apart, and remove a terminal from the fuse box. I checked the fuses in my Xantia ( that are mounted on the fuse box ) and found a 10A fuse that its plastic cover is distorted as a result of heat. I pull it out and it affected all the items that behaves "weird " when it is cold. I guess the terminal inside the fuse box has a bad conductivity. Next step is to take apart the fuse box on my car pull out the suspected terminal and replace it. Since I am going to take it apart I am looking for the fuse box wiring diagram and the engine ECU connector pin assignment, does anyone have these diagrams?

A weird thing is that Citroen service shows that my car is fitted with a fuse box that "xf1ref " posted its picture although the one that is fitted on my car is the same one I took of the old Berlingo ( make year 2000 ) and identical to the picture I posted. Even in the original User Manual that comes with my car, the sketch of the fuse box is like the one "xf1ref " posted its picture . I am looking for a User Manual at witch the layout of the fuse box is identical to mine so I can know the function of each fuse



Regards
Zohar

[CitroJim]

Zohar,

I possibly can provide the diagrams you need. I'll look to getting you the diagrams for both an S1 and S2 fuse box...

Will that help?