Drivers side indicator stuck on when locked

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egrid1
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Drivers side indicator stuck on when locked

Post by egrid1 »

Hi guys
My Xantia has developed a problem over recent weeks whereby when locking the car the drivers side indicator light would stay on (not flashing) permanently. Unlocking then relocking the car several times would eventually resolve the problem, however it now appears to be stuck permanently, whether locked or unlocked even when driving! I thought it might be to do with the alarm and tried switching this off by key switch under bonnet, to no avail. I have tried disconnscting battery for a few hours, to see if this would "reset" something. But on reconnection the indicator light was back on. This seems to have nothing to do with parking lights etc as same side indicator remains on even when indicator is put in opposite position.
M reg Xantia saloon 1.9TD.
Any ideas where I should start looking?
Thanks
wheeler
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Post by wheeler »

try disconnecting the alarm ECU which is located underneath the carpet under the pasangers seat & see if it still faults.while your under ther check to see if the carpet is damp.it could be water in the ECU or a sticking relay inside the ECU.
egrid1
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Post by egrid1 »

Wheeler, I will have a look at what you have suggested. Will I need to remove seat to get to it? I assume it will be a small control box I am looking for, do I just remove the connecting wires. Assuming this then resolves the fault, do I simply replace ECU (assuming not damp)and is this an expensive part?
Thanks
Eddie
egrid1
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Post by egrid1 »

I have been studying my Haynes manual re the ECU, but it states this is under the center consul, the removal of which seems quite long winded, including disconnecting handbrake from calipers. I know that it is not unknown for Haynes to get details wrong, so if you can confirm under passanger seat, and whether I need to remove seat, or is it located more between consul and passanger seat?
Thanks
wheeler
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Post by wheeler »

the alarm ECU is definitely under the passangers seat near to the sill its a small black box about the size of two ciggarette packets with two multiplugs on it.i THINK you have to unbolt the seat to remove it but you MAY be able to unplug it to test with the seat in place.if its damp you will need to sort the water leak first before replacing the ECU,the ECU's are quite expensive to buy new,dont know offhand how much though.there is also a 30pin brown connector under the carpet in the passengers footwell you may want to check for water/corrosion aswell.
Haynes may be referring to the central locking/interior light timer control unit under the centre console.
James.UK
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Post by James.UK »

If the seat fixings are similar to a ZX then undo the rear seat fixings first, otherwise if the plastic surrounds on the front fixing sticks to the bolt and just goes round and round with it, then although the bolt will come undone ok, you still cant remove it from the frame, so the seat wont move forward enuff to allow access to the rear seat bolts... grrr.. I Speak from experience!! lol...
gjb02
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Post by gjb02 »

Has your PLIP got a deadlock function as well? If you are locking the car on the deadlocks as well as the normal close door/set alarm button this problem can occur. My friends 406 coupe did exactly the same thing, it's something to do with the relay that flashes the indicators within the alarm module?? For some unknown reason it only causes a problem when the deadlocks activate. He was told it would cost alot to fix it.
If the indicator only locks on with the deadlock, don't use the deadlock...it's either that or a costly, sometimes inconclusive, fault finding excercise with the local dealer. Or not ?!
Kered
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Post by Kered »

The button on the plip that sets the alarm also sets the deadlocks. You can't have one without the other - as the old song goes! Unless you deadlock by key of course.
I can speak from experience on the stuck on offside flasher. It behaved exactly as you describe. The problem was the relay in the alarm module under the seat that has been mentioned above. As I have an electronics background I was not worried about opening the module and checking it out. The relay is physically very small to handle a lamp load, which has a current inrush similar to a capacitive load. The end result is that one on the contacts welds (literally) together so the light is always on. The relay itself is of a standard form but odd contact arrangement. I decided to remove the relay and all worked perfectly from then on but with no flashing lights. You can easily tell if the alarm is set by the red flashing light on the dash.
Derek
egrid1
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Post by egrid1 »

Thanks for all your replies.
Kered, you say you removed the relay and all worked well. As the problem seems identical to the one you faced it sounds likely that I may need to take the same route. Will I need to open up the alarm module to get to the relay? Having opened it is the relay self evident, and do I just pull it out or unsolder it. Anything else I need to do to ensure everything else continues to work?
Thanks
Kered
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Post by Kered »

Hi Eddie
The relay is a square black plastic block soldered to the board and is (as I recall) about a 1 inch cube.
Care needs to be taken with removing and a desoldering pump or wick is necessary or else the PCB could get damaged.
Hope this helps.
Derek
gjb02
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Post by gjb02 »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Kered</i>

The button on the plip that sets the alarm also sets the deadlocks. You can't have one without the other - as the old song goes! Unless you deadlock by key of course.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
My mates 406 had a 'deadlock by button' on his PLIP as well as the standard 'doorlock/set alarm' button.
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