Bergen Xantia Activa CT

[HansNOR]

soo ... changed sparkplugs today so i could drive the car home ...

no go .. absolutely no spark and no wonder as the coil pack isn't getting any power. So my question is ... anyone got the schematics for the electrics on the Activa ? Or an idea of what might be wrong. All fuses seem ok .

[CitroJim]

It may be the ignition amplifier Hans.. This is a standard Bosch job screwed to a flat alloy plate to act as a heat-sink. Generally they cause a misfire before failing though...

But before suspecting it, is the immobiliser working correctly? If not then there will be no sparks or injection..

Can you hear the fuel pump run briefly when the ignition is turned on?

Else that it may well be an electrical problem causing a loss of a supply or signal to the engine ECU... I have the wiring diagrams if you need them...

[xantia_v6]

It is worth checking the fuses in the box behind the battery. There is a fuse (F7?) that feeds the injection and ignition and I think there was a case recently where the fitted fuse was the correct value according to the handbook, but too small for the load. See http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... hp?t=52989

[HansNOR]

the car has been misfiring and was a pain to start the last time i was in the garage . fired on only 2 and 3 cylinders .

The fuses were sound I'm afraid .

Immobiliser .. ? I only got the key. No code etc .. is there something i do not know ? (another thing :p )

as to the fuel pump - i will have to check that tomorrow. A wiring diagram would be appreciated - my uncle is a Citroen tech but is lacking the schematics .

[CitroJim]

That really does sound like the ignition amplifier Hans!

[HansNOR]

Ok, thank you Jim. I will look into that tomorrow. If i can measure some juice to and not from the little thing I guess I will know .

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CITROEN-XANTIA- ... Swv0tVYlDx

I guess this is the correct one ?

[CitroJim]

That is the correct one Hans

[HansNOR]

There is simply not enough hours in a day. Between going to work, tending to house and family, cats, rats, guinea pigs and a dog, 3 vw beetles in various stages of roadworthiness, a Kawasaki longing for open roads, one C8 leaking like a ***********! and a Xantia not willing to play ball I think I might owe hours for each day that passes.

Anyways. Since last time I've waited for the shipment from the UK containing the ignition module. Due to simpletons at the local post/grocery shop the shipment sat there for a week before I tracked it down. Anyways. Once in my hands it took 5 mins to swap and less than 1 min to realize that was not the fix. There just is no spark at all coming from one of four outs on the coilpack. Called the local Citroen dealership and they could order one to the healthy price of 200 pounds .. . Neh, I think I will source it from somewhere else.

Question time. Should I go for a high power coil sooner rather than later considering the car will have more boost in its future? And high power or not - from where should i buy it ? random ebay listing ?

Picture time. Not much to add. I mocked up a center console thing from cardboard to see what would fit before I draw it out in autodesk inventor and 3D print it. Not a beauty - but I only needed location and dimension. Hopefully i will get it to look remotely stock once done.






The ignition module that was innocent after all.

[Stickyfinger]

A bit low for easy vision when driving maybe ?

Some guys mount them on the screen pillar

[CitroJim]

Question time. Should I go for a high power coil sooner rather than later considering the car will have more boost in its future? And high power or not - from where should i buy it ? random ebay listing ? .

No Hans, the stock OEM coil is fine. I know a TCT running very high boost and it runs standard ignition with no issues at all...

[HansNOR]

@Alistair, hopefully i won't need to watch boost and AF all the time. I agree it is low but they are angled in such a way that they are relatively easy to glimpse at. What I could do was to not have a headunit(use phone)/relocate headunit and stick the guages in its place and angle them a little from there.

@Jim, I almost thought as much, but I like to ask people in the know so I can be sure. Guess only tighter sparkplug gaps are needed if "enough" boost enters.

[CitroJim]

I doubt you'll even need to adjust the sparkplug gaps unless you are going to run very silly amounts of boost Hans!

[HansNOR]

there is no such thing as silly amounts of boost

Anyways - i looked into the issue of boost vs spark plug gap. Most say 0 - 15 PSI / 0 - 1 bar requires little to no change in gap and that as rule of thumb gap should be in the 0,072mm to 0,081 mm range.
Beyond 15 PSI u can start adjusting the gap if you notice rough idling or misfires. In the 2 - 3 bar range spark gap is recommended at 0.045 - 0.055 mm

I have no particular interest in running much beyond 1 bar as long as the internals are stock so that means no change for me like you said Jim.

[BenC5HDi]

When I had an Audi TT 1.8 225, the tuners liked to use cheaper copper - cored plugs set to 0.8mm when running higher boost. They handled the heat dissipation better and were more stable. They also cost a tenner a set instead of £55, but needed changing every 10k.

[Stickyfinger]

ANY gauge you look at needs to be is "line of sight" IMHO and should not need head movement to view it if at all possible. A few milli seconds is all it takes to avoid that moose/kid/Euro pallet in the road
Radio can be done by feeling if it has buttons and knobs on it for "general" control.

Is there not space if you remove the AshTray to fit a head unit into that area ?