Simon's new Xantia V6 and Leaf blog

[daviemck2006]

That refers to the orange dot at the top of the temperature guage

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[white exec]

I am guessing from Davie's last manual page, there is NO independent coolant level warning as such. The inclusion of the warning light inside the temp gauge suggests this, as does the absence of a "coolant level" icon anywhere.
The text entry above is a bit of a fudge, I think, simply designed to get drivers to check the most likely cause of overheating first.

Looks as if they had might have had second thoughts about omitting this active sensor.

Oddest thing, though, is to find the two-wire install detailed on the circuit diagram. What were they thinking of?

[daviemck2006]

This is the only other reference to coolant level/temp in the handbook apart from how to top it up. This just says the same as the other pic

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[white exec]

Come on someone . . . lower that coolant level! Has to be worth a pint.

[Mandrake]

Come on someone . . . lower that coolant level! Has to be worth a pint.

If you syringe it out into a clean container it could be put right back in again...

The normal level (about 1" below the end of the stalk thing in the middle) is about 1 litre inside the expansion vessel. So draining out 1 litre should be the right amount.

[daviemck2006]

If I had a decent syringe I would do it. I presume an activa would have the same system as a v6. I'm not going to disturb any hoses or the like to try it, as knowing my luck the hose wouldn't seal again!

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[white exec]

Or syphon some out with a length of tubing?

[Mandrake]

I doubt whether an Activa would have the same problem - this design of expansion tank is only used on the V6 and 2.1TD.

[Stickyfinger]

Depends on if you have a "proper" Activa...................

I may be able to check this tomorrow...swamped with this crap at the moment

[CitroJim]

An Activa has three wires Davie.... Can only be an S1 V6 or 2.1TD for the test to be valid...

[CitroJim]

Depends on if you have a "proper" Activa...................

I may be able to check this tomorrow...swamped with this crap at the moment

That's a good haul of rads. I can feel the warmth from here

[DHallworth]

I know Activa (V6) is an S2 and I'm not sure how many wires are on it at the moment but I know my low coolant light on the dash works.

When I had a weeping jubilee clip the light would come on when I started it occasionally which is what prompted me to investigate.

David.

[Mandrake]

I know Activa (V6) is an S2 and I'm not sure how many wires are on it at the moment but I know my low coolant light on the dash works.

Can you check how many wires it has ? It should have three.

Yes the low coolant light worked on my Silver S2 V6 as well - on many occasions...

Unless I see evidence to the contrary I'm now just going to conclude that Citroen screwed up the wiring in the S1 V6 and the error somehow wasn't noticed and rectified until the S2 released one year after the V6 first came out...

Which means the sensor never worked on this car even from new, so I'm no worse off than I was before. And now that I'm aware that the light can't work I'll be a bit more careful to check the coolant before long trips, and generally keep an eye on it more than I might have done had I still been relying on the warning light to alert me to a low level!

Electrically, retrofitting the warning light functionality should be dead simple, just by connecting pin 2 to the warning light control line, no extra circuitry required. Physically doing this would be a bit of a pain though - you'd need a new 3 pin plug to provide the missing pin, splice the new plug into the existing two wires from the loom, run a third wire around to the bitron sensor and splice it there. Sounds like a lot of bother for not a lot of gain.

[white exec]

If connecting two sensor/ECU outputs to a single warning light, then you might need to include a series diode in each output to prevent cross-feeding of output into the other sensor/ECU.

Think I would be tempted to install an independent warning light, or maybe make use of an indicator on the dash that isn't employed (if there is anything).

All in all, sounds like a real cock-up, unless anyone knows different.

[Actually, I do remember having heard about certain consumer durables that had buttons on their control panels that did nothing, but were there to contribute a certain "feel good" factor...]

Sleep well.

Tomorrow, I'm due to pay a visit to my local Citroen main dealer workshop to see whether some new spheres have come in. I'm tempted to show that S1 circuit diagram to one of the better mechanics there, and ask what he makes of that two-wire #4010!

[CitroJim]

Tomorrow, I'm due to pay a visit to my local Citroen main dealer workshop to see whether some new spheres have come in. I'm tempted to show that S1 circuit diagram to one of the better mechanics there, and ask what he makes of that two-wire #4010!

Should be interesting Chris I'd love to be a fly on the wall to hear what was said...