Xantia x2 speedo and rev counter stuck in full position

[falling-out-with-my-car]

Hello,

I have just had to jump start the Xantia S2 it is a 1989 model and the speedo and rev counter dials are stuck at the top of each scale can anybody please help me to release the needles back to zero with some good advice?

It has really been one of those days thus far.

many thanks in advance

Nigel

[reblack68]

It's never happened to me but I believe nudging the needle back down with a paper clip through the trip zero button hole is the way to go.

[DickieG]

It's never happened to me but I believe nudging the needle back down with a paper clip through the trip zero button hole is the way to go.

Either that or remove the instrument panel then flip it over to allow the needles to reset and refit, the problem normally occurs with a flat battery.

[andmcit]

What would you use that would be flexible and long enough to
nudge the rev counter if going with the mileometer button
opening route as this has just happened last Monday to my V6!?
I can see it working a treat for the speedo using a paper clip but
the rev counter seems more than a reach!

[CitroJim]

On an S2, it's not a big job to pop the instruments out so I'd go with Richard on this. Certainly easier than on an S1 that's for sure...

I have heard of some people drilling a very small hole in the dial glass to get a suitable implement in to reset the needles...

[falling-out-with-my-car]

since I purchased my 2cv and got it on the road in february this year I have been loosing interest with my xantia it is so much more complicated and a real pain in the neck at times. I have even been considering getting shot of it lately.
falling -out-with-my-car is what is happenning slowley it is a money pit unlike the reliability and easy maintanance of the 2cv
Thanks for the suggestions nothing is ever straight forward with a flamin xantia is it?

regards Nigel.

[CitroJim]

nothing is ever straight forward with a flamin xantia is it?

Compared to an XM Nigel, everything on a Xantia is very straightforward

[addo]

The trip reset button pulls off, leaving a skinny little shaft.

Wrap your paperclip tip in tape, to avoid scratching the dials.

Try nudging the rev counter closer to its hub. Once it is de-stuck, a few miles driving will allow it to return as a normal needle.

[Sam KS]

I had the same problem too. when i bought my car. you can reset the speedo with careful use if a 1/2 flat battery and crank the motor to bounce the needle just as you did to get it on the wrong side but instead have it land on the left not the right. but you need the piece of wire for the tacho.

doing the wire thing:- i used fuse wire as it was flexible enough and small enough to fit past the trip meter button. i folded the end back on it self so i wouldn't scratch the clocks. i did both needles in about 3 min..... then started it again with a flat battery about 1/2 an hour later. took me less than 1 min second time around.

it's a lot easer than you think and once you have done it you'll quite clever because according to Citroen you now need to replace the clock an they are $650.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

Right here is my S2 Xantia Solution it took me roughly ten minutes to get the pointers back in position.
The speedo has a reset and maintenance shedule reset button but the rev counter has no buttons at all.
so I pushed in the speedo button and let it slip from my thumb letting it out very quickly this created enough vibration to flick the needdle from 150mph to 60mph where it remained stuck I then switched on the ignition and it flicked itself back to zero again that was that one fixed but the rev counter was another problem altogether I decided to try wrapping cotton wool around the end of my 24volt battery hammer drill and undoing the chuck and leanning it against the front of the rev counter dial only turnning the chuck enough to tighten the chuck without the chuck rotating in hammer mode this did not damage the rev counter glass, the vibration wasn't enough to flick the needle around this one was going to be a pain in the neck.

fortunately there was already a crack in the clear plastic in front of the rev counter so I heated the end of a paperclip with a zippo lighter and put a very small hole through the plastic with my paperclip it will stop the crack from going any further and is virtually invisible anyway, I then used the end of my paperclip to tease the centre of the pointer of the rev counter back to its zero position, no dials out no removing them and turning them upside down and all in the space of ten minutes.
My Xantia is nearly 16 years old and has served me very well for the last 7 years a tiny little hole in the dash glass isnt really going to bother me very much it is an every day car not a pristene show car thank goodness, although I am told it is in very good condition for a diesel estate car.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions I hope others can solve this problem just as easily at least on an X2.

(Oh and dont forget to put the battery on charge at least over night or it will happen again)
I usually charge my battery at least 3 times a year but this I must have over looked it is probably due to the disgusting weather we have had through late summer.

Best wishes.

Nigel.

[andmcit]

Did my rev counter this afternoon - the wire and welding rod wouldn't work through the mileometer
reset button and a big cable tie kept bending away from the needle. A smaller cable tie did the trick.
Unfortunately I did catch the frame surround which left a small mark when I tried some stiff wire
prior to being successful. I'm forever going to have my eyes drawn to this imperfection instead of
the speedo - don't think that will wash when I try and explain being caught speeding though...

[citroenxm]

Pleanty of S2 speedos here..

Probably add up the milage of both clocks though....

[ken w]

Chaps,

Fixed the tacho in 10 secs.

The tacho in my Activa was reading 10000 revs when I bought it 2 years ago. So I dutifully took the instrument panel out and found I just needed to turn it upside down to get it to rotate back to the zero stop. I also took the PCB of the instrument meters and cleaned up all the electrical pressure contacts onto the board at the same time. Unfortunately I did not realise that my main beam indicator light was blown at the time so it still is.

I have just come back from a 6 week trip away where Frog had been ''minding'' the car to find the tacho wound right around again. So I have been thinking about this for 2 weeks then I decided to google the problem and up came this thread. So I read you thread and went down to try and pull the trip meter reset button off. No joy, fingers not strong enough and I was not game to use more force. So then I tapped the horizontal panel in front of the instruments and the needle moved. A few more taps and it was floating quite freely at about 9000 rpm. So I turned on the ignition, and the needle wound right back up to 10000 rpm trying to get back to 0 I suppose. So I thought maybe if I can rev the engine and hold it at 5000 rpm, then tap the panel in front of the instruments it might swing back anticlockwise to 5000 rpm. Hey Presto, tacho swung back to 5000 rpm and is now resting back against the zero stop.

So if you can get the needle to move by tapping the assembly somewhere, you just need to rev the engine to over 3500 and it will swing back as the needle comes loose. I suspect the speedo will do the same if you go for a 120km/hr drive and tap its needle loose as well.

Cheers,

Ken W

[CitroJim]

Now that is a good tip Ken, excellent

[falling-out-with-my-car]

i pushed in the spedo reset button and let it slip past my finger the vibration of it pinging out agian was enough to flip the spedo dial around the clock. I couldnt get the rev counter to move at all.