Citroen XM Forum

So going to Belgium hasn't happened started getting warm on the way home from work, so turned up the heater and nothing! Not wanting to chance such a trip with no way of increasing the cooling, I bought some bits and pieces from the local factors before popping round to Tony Weston's for some advice. Andy managed to get the heater fan working by reaching into the passenger footwell and hitting the insulation under the blower motor - seems the plug into the motor is loose. A quick bypass of the cooling fan switch (which wasn't where I was looking for it) showed only one fan working. This means the lower fan setting wouldn't work at all, with only 1/2 power when full is needed. The radiator is also much cooler on one side than the other, so a flush is definately in order!

Anyway, with no trip to Belgium, today I'll be off to the 'long term storage' barn to work on Visal Diesel, leaving tomorrow to play with the XM.

I would fit a new thermostat as well, not a bad job with a 1/4" ratchet.

Regarding the radiator fans

I can't remember if there are any relays involved, but if so, remove and clean spades and housing

Remove motors, apply 12v very briefly from battery to ensure they work! (remember that the screws on the fans have reverse threads)

Check out the circuit (yes,I know this is very vague, but I haven't got the circuit diagram handy or even an XM now)

If everything else is ok and there's still no joy

If one or both radiator fans aren't working at all, having exhausted all other possibilities, but the fan motors are known to be working, try removing the fans, then remove the motors. They get their electricity via two metal prongs on the motor housing which fit into a plastic clip. Check carefully that the plastic clips haven't been damaged, allowing the clip to be pushed backwards, as when the motor is refitted, the plastic clip can simply be pushed back by the two prongs instead of them going home to make contact (you can't see them when the motor is fitted). The spades can also go rusty.

The Heater Blower

The thick cables to the blower motor and even those inside the blower motor to the terminals re often very slack. Check the underbonnet fuse box too, the fuse may be ok from the top, but the fuse legs completely burnt away underneath.

The thermostat was changed not long ago, but I will check it.

Yes there are relays (in front of the battery), and they click when the temperature switch is bypassed, which means either a motor problem, or no power for the relay to switch on.

I took the XM out last night, and checked the switches and stuff for duff bulbs - not as bad as I thought! The heater controls are almost totally dark, the mirror switches are dark, and the window switches in the doors are either dark or so dim they might as well be, but everything else lights up! I have some spare window switches that I'll strip and check before swapping in, and I have to pull the mirror switches anyway as they don't work well, so pleasantly surprised all in all.

One other, which I suspect is an earth, is an intermittent message for the rh tail light - sods law meant that it went out when I stopped.

Grand to see you on here Mike, you've got a cracking project there! Great colour too, I love the XM's in dark colours. Shame mine is Mandarin!

Well I managed to finish polishing the paintwork today, checked the rear light connections (nothing obvious found) and had a look at the cooling fans - didn't get the 2nd one to work, but did confirm power supplies, so next step will be to remove it. I also lubricated the sunroof mechanism - running much quicker now. It was at this point that I ran out of juice in the battery and didn't have the power to start he engine. I managed to connect another battery with some jump leads and start it, but now the radio (the original Clarion unit) is dead! It ejected my cassette adapter for the MP3 player but refuses to turn on. A visual check of both the in line and fuse box fuses shows they're OK so now I'm at a loss. I'll be posting a help topic on this shortly.

All this took place at the barn, where I've also been welding Visa front inner wings, and once started the trip home went well, with it seeming to run a bit cooler.

Try disconnecting the battery for a while, it maybe that the processor in the radio just needs a god reset.

Mike, IIRC, on slow speed the two cooling fans are operated in series, and on high speed they're in parallel. This means that on high speed, it's possible for one to operate at full speed, and the other not at all . . . but at slow speed, both have to pass current, being in series. Yes, check the relay contacts, and the IGN-switched supply to them. Very possibly a fuse(holder) problem.

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll try these today.