Heater Blower

Hi Peter,

Same thing as you suspected with my S1 then, will check that tomorrow night.

Just on an interesting side point, with all the fettling with the S1 system recently, I've discovered it actually runs without the engine! Is it only S2 that checks for 14v, or do they all do it?

Cheers


Ciarán

Hi Ciaran

I knew I had been discussing this with someone - its the age This 14v switching arrangement seems a fairly modern inovation, I first came across it on a friends Berlingo, he said some of the instruments didn't work until he reached about 3000 rpm, that prompted me to check the battery voltage and eureka, the voltage stayed a 12 until 3000 rpm. The point of all this is that its quite possible that they didn't introduce this arrangement until the Mk2. I only discovered it as a result of repairing a motor which worked perfectly on the bench but not in the car. I left it lying on the carpet and started the engine and it promptly chased me round the passenger compartment.

Peter.N.

Hi Peter,

I've had the blower motor chase me around the car too, was quite funny

Checked the S2 battery voltage tonight, a nice healthy 14.3v with the engine running. While I was at it I thought I'd take a quick look at the now infamous Fuse 2.

That turned out to be quite funny:

First indication that somethings wrong with this picture, the fuse is looking a little dark


Nicely melted contacts and fuse leg still lodged in there:





So, I guess I'm off fusebox hunting tomorrow!
Does anyone know if the 406 / Xantia ones are a straight swap, or will I have to mess around with them?

Any thoughts appreciated

Ciarán

Hi

I have had multiple fuse plastic melting occurrences and I did wonder if it would be possible to swop the wires over to one of the spare 'ways' in the fuse box, always assuming that the blade terminals are fitted behind. Another round 'tuit' job I'm afraid!

Ken

Hi Ciarin and Ken

These engine compartment fuse boxes are standard across a whole range of PSA cars. On some models they are not obvious as they are inside a large box or have a plastic shroud around the base to keep them better weather proofed than in the XM. All I have come across are a direct replacement with nothing to modify to fit in an XM. Some have had 40amp fuses in them and these are ideal to use as the F2 fuse rather than the standard 30amp one. Wire swapping is not worth the effort as all the bottom connector plugs are uniquely polarised with no spare wires. The alternative is to fit a link wire with a standard inline fuse to replace F2.

Regards

XMexc

Hi Ciaran

Yes, that's the typical scenario, have had it happen to my series two's but strangly not to a series one!. My present one has the fuse blades bent into a 'C' shape, endwise, if you follow, to increase the effective thickness, and has been working OK for sometime now, but will have to get round to replacing it. I havn't actually tried a Xantia box but I am sure someone on here said that they were interchangable.

Peter.N.

Sorry about that John, you obviously type quicker thn me!

A 40A fuse became standard on the last series XM.
Someone did a mod of the fusebox and wired 2 fuses, one of 30A and another of 20A, into the circuit by doing some soldering work. This way the original fusebox can stay in service. There are some unused slots in the box.

I'm sorry if I speak nonsense but, aren't the fuses matched to the cables' and other elements' capabilities? If they have put a 30amp fuse does this not mean that something somewhere in the rest of the system can't cope with more than 30amp? So we risk damaging something else by fitting a 40amp to a non-40amp car? Perhaps in late XMs that have a 40amp for F2, they have also accordingly reinforced some other part? Unless of course Cit has done a silly mistake just with the F2's amperage.

cheers
George

Hi George

I suspect that it is the small profile 40 amp fuse that was the manufacturing afterthough as it is the only one in the range with bi-colour marking. I am satisfied that the cables are adequate for the larger fuse. The whole problem with this circuit is the crap pressed tin contacts in the fuse box and that all the positive contacts are pressed out of a single piece of tin.
Other than not liking 2 feeds to one circuit the solution that jan-H mentions is fine but unless you are willing to solder wires across plug connections the wires the fuse feeds have to be moved to new plugs and an extra piece of cable and connector contact found. Releasing Citroen plug contacts to insert into a new plug is tedious in the extream and in my experience usually ends up damaging the contact. The alternative of buying new contacts from a Citroen dealer I tried but ended up defeated by the system.

Regards

XMexc

Afternoon guys.

Thanks for the responses.

I had today off work, so given that it was probably the only chance I'll get this week, I went upto the scrappers in the pouring rain.
After trudging up the hill (I'm surprised the cars weren't sliding down it!), I found two 406s. However, some considerate person had left both their bonnets wide open, leaving the fuseboxes bathing rather nicely in the elements, I found a Xantia, but it had no bonnet at all, so same story with it.

As I was heading back down, I spotted a very clean looking Mk2 Xantia. Lifted the bonnet to find some kind person had already cut all the fusebox wiring, so it was just sitting there ready to be lifted, handy!

I haven't yet put it the XM though, as the rain just will not stop, and I don't want it getting soaked. That, and this will sound daft, but I can't figure out how they release? Its like a rubix cube!

But yes, should be interesting to see if this works any better. Must get a 40A fuse for it too actually...

Ciarán

Hi Ciaran

You push the two yellow locking bars in the black base until the latches release the wiring plugs which can then be pulled out. All the plugs are colour coded and polarised so refitting cannot be got wrong.

Regards

John

That is EXACTLY what happened to mine, except the fuse biody had disintegrated more.
Same leg stuck in the melted plastic!

Less rainy here today, did you get it replaced?

Morning

A quick update, I finally got it replaced, in the freezing cold, on Thursday night. Its working pretty well now. The little plugs and corresponding yellow slidy things are actually quite ingenious, given how they're all locked in and can't be removed. Felt like a bit of an idiot when I saw how simple it was, after the explanation here, thanks John!

The grey plug below F2 has had a nice layer of melted black plastic seep into it from the fusebox above, so I guess I should replace it at some point.

Regarding the earlier mentions of using the empty fuse slots in the box, I would guess this is entirely possibly if you removed the specifically shaped plug and put on a single, generic spade connector. Obviously you would have to be very careful that you had the polarisation right, and labeled it, but it could work.
I didn't realise these boxes were common to most PSA mobiles, should be good for a continuing supply, seems Peugeot are good for something, besides making Citroens bland and 'non quirky' I guess

On a side point, the heater is currently on a 30A fuse again, as I haven't been able to find a 40A in standard size anywhere... then again I've only tried 'Frauds so far so maybe they're more widely available at a decent motorfactors...

Cheers again for all the help.

Ciarán

Hi Cairan

Glad it worked out Ok. Many things on an XM are easy once you know how. Finding out how usually involves breaking it to get it apart.
My logic to justify the 40amp fuse is that these fuses do not blow instead they progressively burn out. They must be running at high current most of the time. The thin metal of a 40amp fuse will not get as hot in use as a 30amp one so it might slow or even stop the burn out process. I suppose you could file the polarisation lugs off the fuse box plugs to use another slot.

Regards

John