Xsara Electrics

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cducklin
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Joined: 25 Feb 2003, 19:16
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Xsara Electrics

Post by cducklin »

Have a r plate VTS,
Today the car would not start as the battery appeared dead. I had a jump start from a colleague & electrics appeared to run fine when motor running. Then returned to car park after 10 mile drive and turned car off and then tried to turn engine over, car wouldn't start again.
I would guess this is a dead battery, last few morning starts were not as instant as other starts (still on one turn) but assumed this to be due to damper / colder mornings after a blazing summer.
Before I go and get a new battery can anyone think of any electrical faults other than a dead battery?
adrianeaton
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Post by adrianeaton »

Hi Chris
Jane's V-plate VTS suffered from total battery failure - it was starting the car fine every morning with no sign of any problems, Jane parked it up at work and came out to it in the evening and it unlocked OK, but when she turned the key nothing much happened except the rev counter and speedo started whirring round!!
Got a jump start from a recovery driver (don't put jump leads straight across the battery, earth needs to go on the body or inlet manifold from memory) and she picked me up and lightened our wallets to the tune of 60-odd quid down Halfords for the highest capacity 4 year warranty effort they had!
One giveaway that the battery wasn't doing what it should was that the fan, when set to 'auto' would increase in speed with engine revs! When we got to Halfords (this was 7.30pm!) and switched it off EVERYTHING went dead, including interior lights!
Before you try getting another battery try undoing the screw on tops (but don't take them off) as they can be so tight that they break off in which case get some more from the dealer first. Once they're off you prise off the metal frame from the battery posts and put these on the new battery - ours came off OK but the Halfords monkey wasn't too keen on swapping the battery (they claim to fit them free while you wait). I ended up holding the torch and preventing him shorting the leads on the body [;)]
Adrian
jeremy
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Post by jeremy »

To test the battery roperly you should use one of the high current testers designed for the job. if you have a hydrometer you may be able to work out if a cell has gone down.
the fact that once it is going everything is ok suggests battery rather than alternator or other charging circuit problems. Usually if an alternator fails, one phase fails and it trys to charge at about 10 or 11 volts. This state of affairs can continue for a very long time and is most noticeable by a sluggish starter which will turn the engine slowly for a long time, and also dull lights, slow indicators etc.
Your problem sounds like battery but could I suppose be a high leakage somewhere. I'd suggest taking a terminal off and putting a test lamp in series with everything apparently turned off but this will probably decode everything and a wrongly replaced battery would seem cheap.
Incidentally I expect GSF have batteries cheaper. Don't be tempted to drop a size. It ma be possible to preserve the codes by using an additional power supply to the cigar lighter socket while the battery is changed. Please seek advice before doing this.
jeremy
adrianeaton
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Post by adrianeaton »

Forgot to mention the obvious 'get the battery tested with a proper drop tester' bit [:I] not one of those 2 pronged efforts across the terminals which'll just cook the cells if it is OK!
Halfrauds will do this for free (the one on Purley Way has one) and no obligation to buy a battery. Ours showed minimal cold crank capacity when tested...
Adrian
cducklin
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Post by cducklin »

Ta for the advice,
I'll probably take it home & see if one of my bx16v ones fit (whilst trying hard not to break the screw cap) if not, i'll use the 16v one to crank it and then pop off to half**ds to test it.
Cheers
Chris
cducklin
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Post by cducklin »

Got new battery,
screw tops are bas***ds to get off,
car runs & starts fine at the mo
thanks all.
p.s. just got insurance renewal through and jaw has hit deck, but thats another topic.
adrianeaton
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Post by adrianeaton »

Hi Chris
Glad she's running OK again!
I know the Xsara isn't the cheapest to insure - when we sold the ZX we had to pay an extra £250 for 5 months! When it came up for renewal we changed it to my name as I had full no claims not being used, and with Jane declared as the main driver and it cost £470 FC. Moving outside the M25 has dropped it to £420 [:)]
Give Adrian Flux a try - they were the cheapest by an absolute mile, and as I've just found out don't charge for making changes to the policy [:)]
Adrian
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