Heater Fan and Demister Problem-Ongoing

Waxee · Post by **Waxee** » 15 Nov 2004, 03:57

My VSX developed this known problem a while back so I trawled through this fantastic forum and settled on contacting Peter Mann for his details on how to remedy the issue. Thanks Peter for the quick reply.
I followed all the steps, first checking all earth points in the battery area (removed all, cleaned and oiled)then set about fitting the relay in the steering column area. After a full day working on it the damn this still didn't work the next day. Following day, it sprang into life and worked perfectly for 2 weeks. Then it went down for a couple of weeks. Yesterday it worked again. I think I wired everything up correctly. <i><b>Now here's my question</b></i>. If the problem stems from the ignition switch then surely by fitting a relay that is still getting it's signal from the faulty ignition switch my problem would still exist. Should I not be energising the relay from some other circuit that is live when the ignition is switched ?
Please help I need to get this sorted before it gets even colder.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 15 Nov 2004, 13:22

yes - sounds as though you are right. What seems to happen here is that the xantia puts a heavy load on the ignition switch contacts which eventually expire. Sometimes the contacts are adequate to pass a smaller current hence the sugestion of installing a relay but it may be that your switch is too far gone for this modification to work satisfactorily.
yes you could try and find another circuit to power the relay but perhaps the time has come to replace the ignition switch itself as it could be that more failure is on the way.
I am of course assuming that all your wiring is sound and that nothing else has been dislodged during the dismantling and re-assembly
jeremy

Waxee · Post by **Waxee** » 15 Nov 2004, 16:10

Thanks Jeremy. I'm going to try the cheap route first ie link into another circuit. I dont fancy the thought of the expense and labour involved in changing a complete lock-set. I'll post the results later, good or bad. Tomorrows job.

den169 · Post by **den169** » 15 Nov 2004, 16:41

Same happened to my xantia i got an auto electrician to bypass the ignition and put a relay in,cost me £40