Xantia HDI takes ages to warm up

mattpc · Post by **mattpc** » 24 Apr 2008, 14:29

Hi, I have a problem with my xantia hdi where it takes ages to warm up. I can drive for a good 10 minutes sometimes even on the motorway and its still not up to temperature. I'm worried that the thermostat is opening too quickly??? The bitron sensor seems to be shot or iffy because often when I start up the red coolant light and stop light will come on but disappear when i drive away. Even when that fault does not occur i do feel it is taking a long time to get up to temp which is surely not good for the engine?

MikeT · Post by **MikeT** » 24 Apr 2008, 16:01

A few facts might help the diagnosis - what temperatures are you reading and under what conditions?

However, if it's an easy job on the HDI as it is with the 1.9TD, why not renew the 'stat, it's cheap enough and a very important service item.

Post by **RichardW** » 24 Apr 2008, 16:19

They do take an age to warm up - if not worked hard mine is still cool after 8 miles. Provided the temp stays constant at about 80°C once it's warmed up, then the stat is probably OK.

mattpc · Post by **mattpc** » 24 Apr 2008, 16:22

Ok, Well normal operating temp which it takes a long time to get to is about 15-20% below half way. If its sat in traffic for a while (like traffic jam then it will get up to or just past half way). The rad looks new ish so its obviously been replaced at some point. There are no coolant leaks but the matrix is not good. I am going to replace the coolant and put forte stopleak in anyway. My point is I can do a ten minute journey stop/start and it not warm up and today I did that. Left the car for half an hour and drove another ten minutes and it was still not up to temp. I wonder if the thermostat is stuck open? The fans seem to operate correctly as they cut in and go on full pelt if it starts to overheat in traffic.

marsalek · Post by **marsalek** » 24 Apr 2008, 16:26

Hi mattpc,

HDis used to have (here in Germany) an auxillary diesel heater Eberspächer D3WZ that automatically starts, if the ambient temerature is bellow 6 degrees Celsius. The heater is placed in the front left wing, you may notice its exhaust pipe in front of the wheel.

The heater warms up the engine and then shuts down automatically. They are pretty faulty. If you have something like Bosch Service there, they should be able to diagnose it.

The diagnosis "socket" is in my Xantia in the fuse box in the engine compartment.

Karel

nick · Post by **nick** » 24 Apr 2008, 16:57

mattpc wrote: My point is I can do a ten minute journey stop/start and it not warm up and today I did that. Left the car for half an hour and drove another ten minutes and it was still not up to temp. .

That could well be normal, my previous commute was about 20-25 mins in stop start traffic and in winter the temp gauge on my Xsara HDi would barely move off cold. In summer it would just be up to temp after about 20 mins in heavy traffic.
All perfectly normal for a direct injection diesel.

Post by **myglaren** » 24 Apr 2008, 17:04

nick wrote:
mattpc wrote: My point is I can do a ten minute journey stop/start and it not warm up and today I did that. Left the car for half an hour and drove another ten minutes and it was still not up to temp. .
That could well be normal, my previous commute was about 20-25 mins in stop start traffic and in winter the temp gauge on my Xsara HDi would barely move off cold. In summer it would just be up to temp after about 20 mins in heavy traffic.
All perfectly normal for a direct injection diesel.

My C5 HDi surprises me with how quickly it heats up. It is warming up by the time I have done 2 miles and up to temp after four.

Post by **CitroJim** » 24 Apr 2008, 17:04

My 2.1TD shows precisely the same behaviour. It takes an age to warm up in the cold despite the fact I know the thermostat is OK. In winter, it's just barely warm after my six mile journey to work.

It's just the excellent thermal efficiency of a good diesel engine working against you

mattpc · Post by **mattpc** » 24 Apr 2008, 17:24

Cool, I'm not used to the old girl yet. Previously I had a Honda Accord Aerodeck 2.2 that used to warm up very quickly. Thanks for your help. I'm going to leave it well alone I think and just change the coolant and add the Forte StopLeak.

nick · Post by **nick** » 24 Apr 2008, 17:26

The problem is some 2.0 HDis had a diesel powered auxiliary heater, some had a 12V electric coolant heater and some had neither, which makes it difficult to compare between models!

Also, I don't know if all HDis had them, but my Xsara has an exhaust gas to coolant heat exchanger, which cools the gasses coming from the EGR valve and in doing so helps the coolant to warm up faster. I notice a definite difference in warm up time with the EGR disconnected. It takes a few minutes longer to warm up, even in mild weather.

Clogzz · Post by **Clogzz** » 25 Apr 2008, 13:03

often when I start up the red coolant light and stop light will come on
The fans … cut in and go on full pelt if it starts to overheat in traffic.

That’s an indication of temperature sensing fault.
The fans shouldn’t go to high speed in traffic by cool weather.
The fans may be turning unnecessarily at the low speed when the engine is cold or cool.
The Bitron works very well, otherwise it wouldn’t operate the fans so enthusiastically.