I have a 1996 Xantia TD (lx) with trouble with the internal heater. i have been having trouble for a while (i am told its quite common) and i think its teh ignition barrel at fault here.
I can start the engine up and either have teh fan on about setting 3....or off. i have to fiddle with teh ignition barel adn teh key position to switch between the 2. no matter what i do with the fan switch it is either setting
3 or off.Can you tell me what is wrong here? or what could be wrong.
There are a multitude of problems with the ventilation fan!
Yours sounds like it is the control board (behind the switches), which I think is pretty expensive.
Another problem (to do with the ignition) is the fusible link melting, but if that happens your fan won't work at all.
I don't understand what you are going on about when you say you are fiddling with the ignition??? What is that achieving?
Matt.
not work at all. if i fiddle with the ignition barrel (ie turn the key very slightly one way or another wihtout switching teh ignition off of turning the starter) the fan will either stop or start and continue this way.
The fan is either speed 3 or off. and in either situation. altering the fan speed switch on teh dash makes no difference at all.
If the fan is on. even switching to AUTO or to the off position makes no difference. But its the ignition barrel movement which controls the fan, It also controls the heated rear screen the same. when the fan is on (speed
3 constant) the heated rear screen works. when off .. the heated rear screen does not work either.
Ah, right, that old chestnut! Yes, the ignition barrel on the Xantia is dodgy and controls lots of things apparently - amongst which is the rear heated screen. It probably needs changing - though I have no experience of this - mine stopped working breifly a while ago, but seems to have started working fine again now, so I'm hoping it will stay that way!! Best thing would be to speak to a local specialist, if you are good with a soldering iron you might be able to do something with it yourself, but don't ask me how!
Matt.
getting a basic idea of what i'm looking for before i take things apart. if i take teh ignition barrel apart i'll be able to see any bad connections. Thanks for your help. (hopefully i'll be able to get something sorted)
No problem! Might be a good idea to get hold of a Haynes manual as it has the electronic circuits in the back to give you an idea of which wires go where! eBay would probably be your cheapest route. £15 in shops. Note that there are several versions of the Haynes manual for the Xantia (93-95) and (93-98) there are a few differences in the electronics, so make sure you get the right one.
The Xantia is a good car for an electronics student :-) I've had the soldering iron out more than once!!
Good luck.
Matt.
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