bitron sensor

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rolyh
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bitron sensor

Post by rolyh »

Hi I'm new to this site, having owned two XM's a BX in the past and a Xantia V6 needless to say I a bit of a Citroen fan. I'm having a problem with the Xantia v6 at present. The warning light in temp gauge+stop lamps stay alight but the temperature gauge is just under 80c as usual, and the coolant level is OK. Also the fans stay on for a long time after switch off.
Having read my Haynes Xantia general manual (no Haynes manual for V6), it appears to be a faulty Bitron sensor, but I don't know where that is on the engine or radiator. So have a few questions.
1) Where is the bitron sensor in the engine bay?
2) Where can I purchase a Xantia V6 manual?
3) Any other ideas relating to my problem.
One last bit of information. This fault is intermittent, and the problem is not always there and the car works OK for a few days.
I hope somebody can shed a light on my problem.

Rolyh
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CitroJim
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Re: bitron sensor

Post by CitroJim »

Hi Roly and welcome :-D

Answers in turn:

1. Bitron sensor on the V6 is almost inaccessible :twisted: It's screwed into the rear bank under the throttle body. One thing that may be worth checking is that it's on the end of a fly-lead and therefore effectively has two connectors. It's also in a good place to get sloshed in spilt coolant so electrical connections are worth a check initially...

2. Nowhere. However this forum has several V6 owners on it and can supply almost all of what you need..

3. Are the fans running constantly at top speed when the fault is apparent? The fans run like this in case of a Bitron fault as a sort of fail-safe.

Does it change depending if the A/C is on or off?
Jim

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Re: bitron sensor

Post by citroenxm »

The Temp light and stop light for a few reasons... Not just one...

As follows.. The Temp light and stop will flash if the waer level is low. and ALSO it will flash when the air con is switched on and the cooling fan slow speed does not work, caused a faulty relay or wiring to a relay, located in a small triangular box between the two fans...

With the Air con on, the cooling fans should run constantly at a slow speed.... when the engine gets to temperture they should then speed up....
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Re: bitron sensor

Post by xantia_v6 »

It is not quite as inaccessable as Jim suggests, I changed one a couple of months ago, only removing the air filter box and the iar hose to the throttle body. Unclipping the connector from the sensor is the hardest part.

I think that Mk1 and Mk2 Xantias have slightly different behaviour of the coolant warning light. I recall DickieG reporting that on his HDI, the light stayed on (or flashing?) until the fault was reset with a Lexia.

Is you warning light on solidly and permanently?

Both of my Mk1 V6s have had trouble with the coolant light coming on intermittently for about 30 seconds at a time, but both were fixed by replacing the Bitron sensor (although one needed to be replaced twice!).
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Re: bitron sensor

Post by CitroJim »

xantia_v6 wrote:It is not quite as inaccessable as Jim suggests
:lol: :lol: :lol: You and I enjoy different interpretations of the word 'inaccessible' then Mike :lol: :twisted:
Jim

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rolyh
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Re: bitron sensor

Post by rolyh »

Thank you all very much.
To answer Jims question, the fans run full pelt when the aircon is both off or on.
Also Citroenman and xantia_v6, the water temperature light is permimently on (not flashing) and the temperature is correct. The fans go to half speed when the engine is switched off. I did top up the coolant when the problem appeared last week end, as I have had problems with a similar problem with my XM's, where the coolant level was slightly down triggering the coolant level switch
The car runs fine in all other respects, my wife has been using it all week.
Hopeful; if the weather is kind this week end, armed with the information that you have kindly provided I shall investigate the problem further.

Rolyh
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Re: bitron sensor

Post by spider »

There may be a fault with the fan relays. The stop light (may be the temp light in your case) will be on if there's a fan fault. This would happen on a late 306 with AC , the stop light would come on even though it was temp wise OK and the fans run at full speed.

The other thought is the temp sensor *if* you have an additional one for the warning light on its own. My 205 had two fitted in the thermostat housing, one for the gauge and one for the light.
Andy.

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