Xsara Pic won't start SOLVED

[Brian60]

I installed an android head unit which meant being creative with the wiring harness - none of the wire colours matched those shown in the owners/haynes manual. During this process I must have shorted a wire to earh, because not only did the new head unit not work, the windscreen wipers activated! Then 30 seconds later again and again, hmmm, head scratching. Putting the key in the headlights came on without touching a switch, turning the key to start and nothing, just the engine turning over. OK problem solving, wipers , lights working when they shouldn't, immobilser on when it should be off.

Putting the key in and turning you can hear the fuel pump priming ok, but still no start. I reset the key to the immobiliser - Insert key, turn to position 2 - on but no start, press lock key on fob and hold for a few seconds. Problem still there.

OK so I was tampering with the radio circuit so back to the Haynes manual and check out which fuses are linked to it and the ECU, those being F3 F4 F8 F15 under the bonnet. Those all checked out fine. However there was also listed an F4 in the cabin under the drivers right side of the dash. Of course this was the most innacessible, only reached with long nose pliers! I pulled it out and it had blown, Phew! Replaced fuse and all was fixed. I was getting desperate and thinking this just may be a tow job to the main dealers, at which point I would have to question whether it was feasible to repair or scrap!

She may be 19 years old now and looking tatty, but she still runs as our daily driver and as cars go has been vey frugal with repairs. In all that time just 4 clutches, 3 sets of brakes a coil pack, 1 exhaust system and plenty of tyres. The only real mechanical failure was the gear shift, one of the link pins on the dash mechanism sheared (at the time 75€ for eurocarparts) As we are planning to move back from Spain to the UK next year, the last thing I want to do is blow a couple thousand euro on another car.

[mickthemaverick]

You don't say what mileages you've done but 4 clutches in 19 years sounds horrendous to me. Me thinks one of the drivers has not mastered clutch work, or is resting their foot on the clutch or something.

[Brian60]

Just coming up on 210 thousand now, its a 1.6 16valve Desire. Where we are in Spain is very mountainous and requires plenty of downshifting to get up some of the roads due to the switchback nature of them. We have two close by that requires only 2nd gear for over a kilometre to get to the top, with 4 in the car I've even had to use 1st for the last 200 metres or so. Its a road that smaller cars don't use because of the steepness.