Hatch Tail Lights in Xantia

PeterMann · Post by **PeterMann** » 31 Mar 2005, 09:34

Hatch Tail Lights in Xantia
After a neighbour told me that one of my brake lamps was not coming on, I discovered that all of the globes in the hatch tail lights were pristine. A bit of dust on the outside, but no grey fog on the inside of the glass. These being 10 years old, methinks that they have never worked since the car was new (the numberplate lights and the brake light at the top of the windscreen work). Explains why the reversing lights seemed very dim (yes, the only time I look at the back of the car is when I'm washing the paintwork or opening the boot). So, in the anatomy of the wiring loom, does anybody know where to look upstream for a connector that feeds to the yellow 3 way connector behind the RHS hatch tailight, and maybe was never plugged in before she left Paris ?.

DoubleChevron · Post by **DoubleChevron** » 31 Mar 2005, 11:45

Hi Peter,
the car must have had working brake lights otherwise it wouldn't get a roadworthy. Your probably the 3rd owner ?? That means it would have failed 3 RWC's.
Your not confusing the rear fog lights are you. Press the button on the dash the operators the rear fog lights and see if there the globes in question.
seeya,
Shane L.

PeterMann · Post by **PeterMann** » 02 Apr 2005, 12:30

Hi Shane,
Logical but WRONG. No rear fog lights neither. 2nd owner. I always hypnotize the mechanic before roadworthy. Saves so much hassle.

davek-uk · Post by **davek-uk** » 04 Apr 2005, 19:50

A bit of a long shot but...
I've had odd light failures at the rear and traced them down to a big connector that seems to link the front and rear looms together. On a RH drive car the connector is located on the floor under the accelerator pedal beneath a plastic flap. Pull the door surround trim up at the front bottom corner, lift the carpet and its there under a 'protective' plastic flap.
My connector had started to come apart - it's held together by a lever as it's a big multi pin affair. Opened and closed it and have had no brake-light/indicator problems since.

ghostrider · Post by **ghostrider** » 05 Apr 2005, 00:07

The other possibility is the wires have broken where they come out of the hatch and into the bodywork, I have only worked on the estate but I presume it' sthe same arrangement, my central locking didn't work and finally tracked it to the wires where they come out of the tailgate, I have temporarily soldered mine and sleeved them but I'll get round to replacing them soon, on a RH drive car there is a connector behind the RH taillights taking the supplies up the c Post
Pete
________
CANNABIS NEWS

Post by **martyhopkirk** » 05 Apr 2005, 03:47

Am I being a bit dense here?
The tail lights in the hatch (boot lid) are the supplimentary rear lights / fog lamps and the rear lamps / brake lights are in the lamp pods on the rear wings.
Thats certainly the set up on my Xant. Are you sure its not your fogs which your looking at?

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 05 Apr 2005, 04:39

The hatch contains the fog lights and a secondary set of side lights along with the high level brake lights on mine.

Post by **c.morewood** » 07 May 2005, 21:56

I wish I'd read this thred before trying to replace the centre tail lights on my Xantia estate. Myself and a neighbour spent best part of an hour trying to figure out how the two points on the bottom of the stop/tail bulb could possibly form a circuit with the single point in the bulb receptor.. even took it down to my local Halfords (as I'd bought the replacement bulbs from there) They scratched their heads for another half hour... before we realised that the stop part of the bulb is redundant and the brake lights are not in the tailgate but in each corner light cluster!!
But why specify a stop/tail bulb when there is no way of connecting the stop side of the circuit...indeed it very little to insert the bulb the wrong way so that the stop circuit was on all the time and the tail circuit was redundant.. that wouldn't make you popular with other drivers!!
At least I know now that if ever I get a stop light failure .. all i have to do is swap bulbs between the rear light clusters.
Chris

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 07 May 2005, 23:12

Chris - I'm dead sure the single receptable socket is for single point bulbs ONLY [8)]
You must have a bit of a problem getting in that double bulb - as the bajonet fastenings are off-set between single/double bulbs.
The real nasty thing is that both type bulbs have the same SIZE - which makes for owners keep on making mistakes.

Post by **c.morewood** » 08 May 2005, 01:27

Hi Anders,
There are 3 bulb holders on each tailgate cluster .. 2 which are for single ended bulbs (reverse and Fog) and have 21w marked in the plastic beside them. the 3rd holder has 21/5w marked in the plastic and has an offset single point in the socket.. it also has locators for the off set bayonet pins... but the socket is not so tight that you cannot put them in the wrong way round.. I was just wondering why Citroen would make it that way and if it was maybe a bad batch which came from the factory, or are all citroens like that?
Har da,
Chris

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 08 May 2005, 01:34

Har da -
Got ya Chris [:D]
So a double receptable bulb holder - with only ONE - and OFF-set - spring contact to receive a double bulb [:p]
- yup that's Citro style [^]
- as you can NOT even turn the bulb 180deg to use the spare filament later [8D]

andycarter · Post by **andycarter** » 10 May 2005, 03:00

Probably done this way to use stocked 21/5W bulbs rather than needing additional parts bin in the assembly area just for 5W tail-lamp only bulbs. Infact it wouldn't surprise me if 5W single filament bulbs might even cost more than twin filament simply because of the volumes that are manufactured.
Having 2 onboard spare brake lamp filaments is no bad thing, have had to use these myself on a couple of occasions!

Stabs · Post by **Stabs** » 10 May 2005, 13:05

Peter,
Probably an obvious suggestion, but if the car has sockets for towing a caravan, check this first. It's a prime candidate for many problems with the rear light circuits.

dnsey · Post by **dnsey** » 10 May 2005, 13:46

I suspect that one or more of Citroen's export markets requires 21W tail lights under certain conditions - perhaps those countries where lights are required in daylight?

PeterMann · Post by **PeterMann** » 10 May 2005, 15:12

I have yet to fit a towbar to this car, and would be pleased to find one (hopefully in Australia) at a reasonable price. In the past, when fitting a towbar, I've simply tapped in to the wiring in the boot and run coloured wires down to the connector on the towbar.
I think the "fog" tail-lights have 21W globes.
Dave-UK's suggestion about the connector under the accelerator looks like the key to my question. Haven't been for a dive under the carpet yet . . . the car looks roadworthy during the day and at night, so this task is waiting on a back burner.