Xantia Electrical fault help needed

gotanothergrot · Post by **gotanothergrot** » 23 Aug 2009, 22:12

My battery on my xantia hdi estate has been losing its charge, so i did a test with the negative lead removed and connected a test light from that to the battery - terminal. straight away the test light started flashing about 3 to the second. with this happening i could also here a clicking like a relay under the dash. I checked the relays by removing one at a time to see if any were at fault, none were so checked the fuses by removing one at a time until i got to fuse 25 so by removing the test light was extinguished and the ticking ceased.

In the Haynes manual f25 protects Radio, Digital clock, Alarm LED, Body Computer, Instrument Panel, Ambient Temperature Display.

Why the ticking, what is body computer. fuse is now removed to save battery.

Any help most appreciated on this please.

Post by **CitroJim** » 23 Aug 2009, 22:27

You may have a red herring there. If you disconnect and reconnect the battery, the alarm will operate and this is the three to the second flashes you see as the alarm is active.

The correct procedure is to put an ammeter in series with the negative lead and reconnect with the ammeter on a high (say 10A) range and then reconnect. Reset the alarm and give a few minutes for everything to settle and then take a current reading.

Last time I did this check, the ignition-off current consumption was somewhere just under 50mA total. This would be the standby supplies to clock, alarm, central locking, ECUs and so on.

This PDF Document may be of some assistance as it lists the current draw of all permanantly live devices.

Check the glovebox light or boot light are properly switching off as a first check and if your car is an Exclusive with Hydractive suspension, check the Hydractive electrovalves are switching off 30s after the last door was closed. The tailgate switch on estates is a known weak area that can cause the Hydractive system to remain in soft mode constantly even with ignition off, thus draining the battery.

gotanothergrot · Post by **gotanothergrot** » 23 Aug 2009, 23:33

Thanks for the replyCitrojim will check that out tomorrow and report back.

gotanothergrot · Post by **gotanothergrot** » 30 Aug 2009, 22:18

This problem is now sorted, it turned out to be just a faulty battery.