2000 Xsara - Aftermarket Stereo Fitment

[Mad Ax]

Hi All,

Long time no speak - but I've just been given a rather tidy 2000 model Xsara HDI Estate by Mother Dearest, which makes a nice replacement for my 180,000 mile Xantia TDI.

Anyhoo, tonight I decided I would fit my Blaupunkt Santa Cruz MP34 stereo into the car. The ISO plugs fit, the extra adaptor from the Phillips fits, even the factory-fit cage fits. So imagine my surprise when it doesn't actually work.

When the ignition is on, it works fine. When the ignition is turned off, the stereo remains on for several minutes before it goes off. When I turn the ignition back on, the stereo doesn't come back on unless I push the Power button. Pushing said button turns the stereo on, but the MP3-CD reverts to Album-01-Track-01.

On Friday I will be using the car to deliver pizzas. If I deliver 20 pizzas in a night, that will be 40 times that I turn the ignition on and off. That will be 40 times I listen to Album-01-Track-01. This is simply NOT COOL!!!

I'm pretty certain I've had this before (probably on my Xantia TD). I think it's because Citroen got the permanent live and the switched live the wrong way round on their ISO.

Now, I know I can buy a Blaupunkt adaptor that will make the rather cool steering wheel controls work for my stereo. My question is:


Will the Blaupunkt adaptor also fix this problem, or do I have to devalue my totally standard and factory-original car by messing about with the stereo wires? I don't intend to keep it very long, just long enough to look grateful, because TBH I hate diesels, I hate citroens, and I hate estate cars, and I want another Nissan Primera because they are much better for delivering pizzas in - not long enough to want to mess around with the wiring, but long enough that I want to have MP3-CDs instead of tapes when I spend 4-5 hours solid behind the wheel of an evening.


Does anyone want to buy my Xantia TD for very cheap?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Citroen-Xantia-1- ... dZViewItem


Does anyone have a nice 2000 Primera Sport that they will want to swap in a few months time for a tidy Xsara HDI Estate with 80,000 miles on the clock?


Thank you in advance

[LeeDJC]

Sounds like you need a halfrauds type iso adapter for the head unit to function properly. Can't comment on the remote wiring tho.

[Mad Ax]

IIRC Halfords don't list an adaptor for the Xsara because officially it has standard ISO connectors already, but I'll drop by and have a look next time I'm in the area. Halfords don't list their adaptors on the internet.

[LeeDJC]

I haven't looked, but try the autoleads website.

[Mad Ax]

Cheers Lee, I did a web search and came up with a site that listed adaptors for ISO and for Blaupunkt steering controls, hopefully that will sort it without me having to chop wires about

[LeeDJC]

No probs. I'd imagine it's similar to the iso setup on my xantia or old fiesta, I can't remember which one, but they both had iso plugs that would fit the headunit loom, but the constant feed and switched feed were the wrong way round IIRC. Although it's a pretty easy job to swap them over, it's even easier to get an adapter loom - saves the butchering! lol

[philhoward]

Am I going mad, or do I recall something about moving a fuse to make the switched feed a live feed? Or was it on a Xantia?

[wheeler]

check this post,its for a C5 but excactly the same applies

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... iplex+feed

[Mad Ax]

Well for just under £40 I managed to get some Audioleads adaptors from an online shop called Nexxia - very fast service indeed, especially as I didn't pay for special delivery and just chose the standard option - delivery took only 24 hours!!

Anyhoo, back on topic, the switched and permanent lives are indeed the wrong way round on the Citroen ISO; it's clear to trace how they are crossed over on the adaptor. With the adaptor in place the steering controls work, the stereo keeps its memory, and everything is fine and dandy, EXCEPT when I turn the ignition off the stereo keeps on playing merrily away to itself for 5 minutes.

This is a bit annoying; all I can guess is that the switched live somehow stays powered for a few minutes after the ignition goes off (maybe some overly-complex and totally unnecessary Citroen gizmo like the Powered Coat Rail or the Automatic Passenger Hat Remover requires power after the ignition is off). I shall be confirming this in the next 30 minutes with a multimeter and a hammer.

Hopefully (as the other thread indicates, thanks Wheeler), the live to the blunt lighter will be switched properly, so I can splice into that and chop up my £40 adaptor rather than chopping up the car wiring.

It's amazing how a simple job ends up so complicated as soon as the word Citroen is mentioned

[Mad Ax]

SUCCESS! The switched live to the ISO plug is indeed controlled by some kind of special relay thing. I stays live for a minute or two after the ignition goes off. There is a little click from the fusebox when it goes off and everything.

The central spliff lighter runs from a different fuse, which goes on and off exactly when I want it to. Which is nice. It took about 5 minutes to carefully prise off all of the fascia surrounds to get to the spliff lighter, and about half an hour to run a piece of wire across the 8 inches between stereo hole and blunt lighter feed. Interestingly, my roll of red wire seems to be about 30 inches shorter than before I started, so I can only imagine the wire has routed itself to the blunt lighter via the wingmirrors.

Still, the whole job is tidy, functional and entirely less annoying than it was before I began. Hopefully this is one job that will stay jobbed

[wheeler]

SUCCESS! The switched live to the ISO plug is indeed controlled by some kind of special relay thing.

That would be the BSI then,its called the VAN+ feed & is only supplying power when the network is awake.

[Mad Ax]

[quote="wheeler]That would be the BSI then,its called the VAN+ feed & is only supplying power when the network is awake.[/quote]
Citroen must have almost as many TLAs as the IT industry