Rob's SED Now V6 Exclusive

[CitroJim]

and then unemployed graduate daughter wanted money spending on her in the afternoon...

I know that so well Rob...

And we do don't we

[ragger]

Tried Evans Halshaw, Darlington this morning, still waiting for a call back nearly seven hours later. Fortunately their Stockton branch could be bothered to answer the phone and so a new aerial is on order. Apparently there are two types listed, the shorter one being more expensive.

Rob

[Dieselman]

You want the regular longer one that fits most Citroens from Saxo up.

[citroenmad]

I thought it might be the belts, I bet the lack of that noise has made a massive difference to the car.

I very rarely see older Citroens around here. A did spot a silver 16v XM estate a few months back, I see the odd Xantia but not many now. It must be a good 6-8 months since I saw a 2cv on the roads around here. About 18 months for the last BX.

We do still have our XM but its more ornament than car now

[ragger]

Having just seen the thread in the For Sale and Wanted section about a breaking/project SED, I was wondering how difficult it is to upgrade mine to cruise control?

Now I've got a working radio under a brand new citroen aerial I'm also wondering about the availability of CD autochangers (I know it's old tech, but still ) that will work with the original head unit and steering wheel controls.

Rob

[CitroJim]

Rob, you may find the wiring is already in place for cruise. The give-aways will be a spare plug for the ECU and a relay base in the piggy-back ECU box in the engine bay. The ECU plug looks identical to that used for a double injection relay and has 11 or so pins.

A spare connector for the arming switch in the top left corner of the centre console panel just above the suspension sport/normal switch, a socket for the stalk under the steering wheel cowl and two connectors - a round three pin and a square two pin - dangling in the nearside inner wing area - to gain access will need the front bumper coming off - this is where the vacuum pump lives.

If the wiring is there then all you need is the bellows, arming switch, the ECU, the stalk, a purple relay, the special brake pedal switch and some rubber pipe.

Exactly the same system was fitted to some automatic Xantias which increases your donor potential.

You might find this article on the FCF useful as to a cruise background Rob...

[ragger]

Here's another thought/question in the never ending quest for improvement of a twenty year old XM: are the tailgate gas struts still available at a reasonable price? If so does anyone have a part number?

Rob

[ragger]

And thanks, Jim for the info on cruise - I think I shall leave well alone.

[CitroJim]

And thanks, Jim for the info on cruise - I think I shall leave well alone.

Rob, it's worth having a go at getting cruise working as once it is you'll wonder how you ever lived without it!

I have a pal with a Xantia V6 and the cruise packs in regularly due to an old wound on the vacuum bellows where an errant wiring loom wore a hole in them. Every six months a new bicycle patch is required on the hole and then all is again fine. Engine heat and bicycle patches seemingly don't like each other very much...

[ragger]

I am something of a fan of cruise control, in the right situation; my V6 XM had it and so did the Saab I sold recently and that seemed a very good system to me. I'm a little hazy in the memory department, but I think my first experience of cruise control was ona Fiat 132 of about 1976 vintage, I think. It was my first big car after a number of Renault 4s, a Moggie and Renault 8 engined R10. The Fiat was just so sophisticated - and quick with its 1.6 twin cam engine. I do remember that it ate brake pads though!

Speaking of Fiats, I have just retuurned from my parents in Stroud today in my wife's Fiat Multipla. The journey wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be when I set off in several degrees of frost and threats of serious fog, but it could have been bad as I passed quite close to the nasty incident on the M6 when I was using the M42. I had gone in the Multipla simply because it was sitting with a tankful of diesel whereas the XM was low on fuel (too close to Christmas syndrome!). In the end I am glad because there was a lot of salt being chucked around and the Multipla isn't a bad car; it goes reasonably well with pretty good economy and as a load carrier it is excellent. The lights are much better than the XM has to offer in these difficult driving conditions but it is absolutely nowhere near as comfortable or enjoyable. Given my penchant for changing cars it is a bit of a surprise to realise that apart from a period of about four months (when I really did incur the wrath of SWMBO) we have had a Multipla continuosly since March 2000.

When the weather warms up at the week-end (allegedly) I intend to give both the XM and the 2CV a run; it's about a month since I put some new heater tubes onto the 2CV and it hasn't moved out of the garage yet! I hope all is well with it as I quite fancy doing the Tan Hill Raid in it this January - trouble is, it's on SWMBO's birthday and by then she will be recovering from a knee replacement op, so I shall have to wait and see...

Rob