Xantia Remote Access Not Working

[Sam KS]

My 1998 S2 Xantia remote access has stopped working. It was getting intermittent and now no longer works at all. I have replaced the fob battery and still not working. I don't know if I have to do some strange ritual to reprogram it in but bought a French style baguette (from a proper French person in a posh foggy patisserie) some smelly cheese and a chain of onions just in case.

To make matters worse when using the key in the door lock it will just turn and turn when my wife dose it, when I do it I find I put the key in a little deeper and it works fine. Is this another problem or just a anti theft device?

Finally this all come to ahead over the last week when we have had 40c+ days and big storms in the evening. Could the heat/humidity be the cause of a fault?

[addo]

Are the fob buttons intact, on the circuit board? That's the first place I'd look.

If they are, have you tried re-syncing it?

Getting technical you might dig out the Texton box and resolder the aerial wire if it looks oxidised...

[Sam KS]

the buttons look like they are still attached and when i press the buttons i can feel them depressing. I have the fob open but cant get the circuit card out with out forcing it. is there a trick to this?

[citroenxm]

Yes, lift it slightly, theres a small plastic "Pin" in the body that pokes through the cuircuit board to help locate it...

[Sam KS]

all right, it's out and looks like bloody new in there. So next step where is the "Texton box" and is the aerial obvious?

[Xantidote]

I'm assuming that the buttons are mounted/soldered on to the circuit board, as is the case with the earlier S1 cars, in which case, it's worth carefully scrutinising the soldered joints where the buttons are fixed on to the board, as these can fracture over time, effectively creating a dry joint. Magnifying glass can be very useful.

The key turning in the lock is, alas, the result of wear & tear. I've switched the passenger and driver's door locks because of this.

[Mandrake]

Getting technical you might dig out the Texton box and resolder the aerial wire if it looks oxidised...

Any pictures or hints on exactly where it is and how to get it out ?

As you know I've got poor range with my remote (just 2-3 metres typically) so I wouldn't mind checking the antenna connection if its not a total nightmare to get it out...what sort of antenna does it have ?

[Mandrake]

The key turning in the lock is, alas, the result of wear & tear. I've switched the passenger and driver's door locks because of this.

It is possible to repair the locks if they aren't too far gone, I've done a few successfully.

The lock spins due to an anti-theft mechanism which is supposed to let the barrel turn freely if the wrong key is inserted, when the sliding part of the mechanism gets worn or corroded and doesn't push in properly the lock just spins around.

Sometimes a good squirt of a thin greaseless lubricant and working the lock with the key quite a bit will free it up - my current V6 was intermittently spinning the drivers door barrel, I gave it a few squirts of LPS1 and worked the lock with the key and within a few days it was back to normal and hasn't given any trouble since. Grease isn't a good idea as its too thick and can cause the tumblers to stick hindering the operation of the lock.

If the above won't free it up the lock can be removed from the door and dismantled, giving it a thorough clean and lubricate. On my Dad's Xantia one lock was intermittent and the other one only ever spun, the sliding section of the barrel was seized up on both, totally seized on the one that never worked, very stiff on the other one, it took a bit to get it freed up, but we were able to get both working normally again and 7 years later they're still working.

[Sam KS]

a good squirt of a thin greaseless lubricant......

WD40/PR7? or something like Wurth HHS Lube? or is that to think.

[Mandrake]

WD40 I wouldn't spit on. The other two I haven't heard of...

[Sam KS]

WD40 I wouldn't spit on. The other two I haven't heard of...

Wurth HHS Lube is like a much thinner version of HHS2000. I agree with your thoughts on WD40. and RP-7 is a Selleys version of WD40 (also crap). Wurth don't do Ultra2040 here.

[Mandrake]

LPS1 is readily available off the shelf in New Zealand, I imagine it wouldn't be too hard to find in Australia either. Might be worth finding some, its brilliant stuff for many other uses like unfreezing rusted bolts as its a penetrating lubricant...being thin and greaseless it works well in locks and it was successful on my V6 locks. I can't vouch for anything I haven't tried for the purpose before...

[Old-Guy]

I have to disagree about WD40 - it does have it's uses. Supposedly, it was developed for protecting ICBMs in their silos (it used to be called Rocket WD40. It's primarily a de-watering and protective agent, but it's also a very good glue/biro/magic-marker remover on impervious plastics that might be attacked by more aggressive solvents. I've just salvaged an expensive electric motor in which the lubricant had dried out. I soak the seized bearings overnight in WD40 (the volatile solvent component carries the non-volatile components into the finest cracks) to re-liquify the grease, then washed out the mixture with brake cleaner before re-lubricating the bearings. It's brilliant for cleaning plastic curtain tracks too but you have to wipe off very thoroughly otherwise they become even worse dust and dirt traps.

WD40 is not much use as a serious lubricant, nor as a penetrating fluid for corroded items.

I has exactly the same problem with spinning lock barrel the winter before last. Moisture froze the lock tumblers but using lock defroster washed out any remaining lubricant with the moisture. The next day, the key would go in but the barrel spun - de-froster freed the tumblers after much jiggling of the key so, once the car was thoroughly warm (150 miles) I gave the lock a good squirt of WD40 - job done permanently. A couple of months ago, the Chubb lock on our front door developed same problem (spinning not freezing!) - same solution worked a treat.

Whatever you use, remember to soak up all the surplus lubricant with rag/paper towel. An oily key in madam's hand-bag will get you no end of grief!

[Mandrake]

WD40 is not much use as a serious lubricant, nor as a penetrating fluid for corroded items.

I has exactly the same problem with spinning lock barrel the winter before last. Moisture froze the lock tumblers but using lock defroster washed out any remaining lubricant with the moisture.

Having disassembled and successfully repaired a number of Xantia locks that have kept working for years after repair I can say with some confidence that the spinning problem is not caused by frozen tumblers, but by the slide mechanism itself seizing up - even when the tumblers are properly engaged it will not slide due to corrosion between the sliding sections bonding them together.

A penetrating lubricant is exactly what's needed here to initially get these surfaces unstuck to allow them to break free and start sliding smoothly again, so I stand by my original suggestion that WD40 is not suitable for the task.

I'm sure there are some things that WD40 is useful for but this isn't one of them.

Some lock barrels respond well to just penetrating lubricant and a bit of exercise with the key (usually if they at least work sometimes) but if they're really bad and only ever spin they sometimes require a strip down to free them up properly.

Whatever you use, remember to soak up all the surplus lubricant with rag/paper towel. An oily key in madam's hand-bag will get you no end of grief!

Not a problem with LPS1 as its non oily.

[Sam KS]

I've got some Wurth Rost Off. sounds like the right stuff. I'll give it a blast with that but the car will be in the shed for the next couple of weeks. about to head down to Sydney for Christmas and taking the work car (unfortunately) as it's free.

(as you can see I have a bit of Wurth stuff kicking about)