Xantia Estate electric front window fault

[NAM]

Front windows in my MK2 Xantia Estate have just started an intermittent fault. I have had an intermittent up action on the drivers side for a while but now both passenger and drivers side don't work at all. Leave if for a while and then they work again!

Any ideas what might be the reason and does anyone have a cure?

Thanks

Nigel

[Peter.N.]

Hi Nigel

Most likely the switches, prise them out of the door panel and squirt some WD40 into the back and give them a good work out. The passenger window switch in the drivers door can stop the passenger window working at all.

Peter

[NAM]

Peter - thanks for the reply. I'll have a go this afternoon. Not done this before but guess it is fairly easy. I'll have a look at Haynes to see if they show you how to do switch removal.

Nigel

[Peter.N.]

Just prise them out with a flat blade screwdriver.

Peter

[citroenxm]

Xantia switch's do not "just" prize out like XM switch's, they are fixed in place in a much stronger way! And they are micro switch'd, NOT contact switch like XM switch's. Im YET to have a Xantia window switch fail on me even cars with big miles!

Id not look at the switch's but more at the wiring between the drivers door and Pillar, wires break here and cause all sorts of intermittent problems

[NAM]

I've given the switches a blast with WD40 (removed the small screw to access) and all seems to be fine. If the fault returns I will take a look at the wiring - thanks to both for replies and help. Nigel

[citroenxm]

Interesting that will be a first for me with xantia window switchs!!

[Peter.N.]

Apologies - I obviously just just assumed that all the switches were the same

Peter

[Old-Guy]

The driver's window switch failed on my estate at around 100,000 miles. I suspect the previous owner used the car mostly for shopping trips, and the wear on the switch panel suggests that the window switch got used a great deal. My initial solution to swap the switch with the O/S/R door (wrong symbols but who cares), subsequently sourced a replacement from a scrapper.

BTW the door switch panels are retained by a small screw underneath the bulge of the panel (hidden unless you bend double or use a mirror!). The switches can be pigs to remove even when you think you've compressed the 'ears' completely.

[NAM]

The fault has re-appeared and I have managed to trace the fault to the wired between the door and main body of the car. There is a black rubber sleeve which the wires pass through. I've managed to loosen this from the door and body of the car but can't move/compress sufficiently to see which of the wires is damaged. I feel this is the area I need to work on because moving the sleeve can make the window mechanism work or not. The damage seems to be nearer to the door than the body of the car.

So - how do I strip it back? I am reluctant to start cutting the black sleeve - clearly don't want to snip any of the wires but careful use of a sharp blade would allow me to open the sleeve (cut lengthways). Has anyone else done this? How did you open up the sleeve and can you recall which of the many wires was at fault?

All assistance welcome!

Nigel

[NAM]

Ok - I bit the bullet and managed to reveal wires including a broken - green sleeved, quite thick one. Other smaller wires (pinkish colour sleeves) show early signs of wear - I will carefully tape these another day.

So - I manged to find the other half of the green wire and used a connector to re-connect. Not easy as there is not much slack and not much room to work in but hey-presto we are back in business.
Thanks to all for help - I will be selling her before the year end but need to keep her running (which she does really well) for a while yet.

Nigel