1998 xantia v6 not starting

[xantiav6nz]

hi everyone,
i have a 98 xantia v6 petrol not starting. i had this problem last year intermittently, every now and then not starting but most of the time it did. then it was parked up for about 30 days and now when i try it is like dead. interesting on the dash when i turn to ignition only the red battery light is on, no other lights, nor the screen with mileage. also the break switch that normally releases the gear stick from park does not work either and i have to release the gear stick with a screwdriver.
i have jump started - no luck.
i think the issue is between battery and ignition key but am unsure.
any idea or anyone has had similar issues

[xantia_v6]

Welcome to the forum

The usual suspect for the type of issue that you are having is the 10AV harness (a very thick harness that runs under the radiator), this often suffers from corrosion of the wires, causing odd symptoms.

The other common point of failure is the fusebox under the dashboard, which gets fatigued solder joints on the PCBs, causing intermittent faults that are often temperature-sensitive. On the MK1 (which does have several differences in the wiring) a faulty fusebox can cause the symptoms you describe.

To track down these issues you really need access to several pages of the wiring diagrams, to localise the problem, based on measurements, and noting which circuits are or are not dead. I don't have many MK2 diagrams, and Jim, who has a complete set may not be able find and scan the correct ones at short notice.

I will look through what I have later.

[xantia_v6]

There are some Mk1 diagrams linked from: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=40570&p=326638&hili ... av#p326638 Note that although similar, the Mk2 harnesses and connector pin-outs are different. I will see what else I can find.

[xantia_v6]

I have managed to locate some diagrams which have previously been scanned, and should be applicable to your car:

The first 3 are for the fuel guage (on the assumption that yours has stopped working), as it is a fairly simple system to trace and diagnose.
http://eastment.me.uk/XanWD/mk2fgcct.jpg
http://eastment.me.uk/XanWD/mk2fghar.jpg
http://eastment.me.uk/XanWD/mk2fgloc.jpg

Then there are the engine management diagrams:
http://eastment.me.uk/XanWD/mk2es9j4injcct.jpg
http://eastment.me.uk/XanWD/mk2es9j4injhar.jpg
http://eastment.me.uk/XanWD/mk2es9j4injloc.jpg

Here are the diagrams of the dashboard fusebox (not 100% sure if this is the correct one for your car)
http://eastment.me.uk/XanWD/mk2cbfb_1.jpg
http://eastment.me.uk/XanWD/mk2cbfb_2.jpg
http://eastment.me.uk/XanWD/mk2cbfb_3.jpg