New Member

New to the forum? Feel free to introduce yourself / your cars. Also have a look for any frequently asked questions and information.
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citroenxm
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Re: New Member

Post by citroenxm » Sat Oct 17, 2015 10:16 pm

A very common problem that stops prv engines from starting on the xm is the wiring harness. Ive had it on three now. Two 24v prv and a 12v .. try this dave. On the front of the ecu box under the hood there is a line of relays connected to the harness loom. With the ignition switched on give the wire s to the relays a wriggle and shake and listen for any new electric noises around the engine. When you do try start her. The relays control fuel pump injection air con compressor and ignition. I dont beleve its an imobilizer problem more a wire. Or two.

These relays caused an issue on all three cars. I removed them from their fixing point and shook mine and one came back to life.. put them back and it died again.
Projects:(eventually if theres any bodywork left)
93 L Xm 2.1t D auto project
93 L xm V6 12v Sei Manual

Others
In use.. 1995 M reg S2 2.1td auto exclusive

xmexclusive
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Re: New Member

Post by xmexclusive » Sat Oct 17, 2015 10:46 pm

Diagnostic pages added from XM1 No.23.

Try Paul's suggestions above as he is well experienced with these engines.
In my experience rewiring to bypass problems should be avoided.

John

Citroen/Dave
Can find the S1 radio
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Orga / RP numbers: VF7Y3AL0000AL1619 5111 1990 XM Citroen V6 24v

Re: New Member

Post by Citroen/Dave » Mon Oct 19, 2015 1:21 am

Thanks John,

This is certainly not DS technology! I thinking that a simple cleaning of the electrical connections of the ECU may be of benefit, after disconnecting the battery. The fact that the car ran almost flawlessly on the 14 hour drive home indicates that everything did work. Only after the hot engine(?)-no start showed up did I began to realize I had a problem. Looking through the wiring diagrams has convinced me that there will be no "hot wire" cure.

Dave

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russ92xmsed
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Re: New Member

Post by russ92xmsed » Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:48 am

Hi Dave, what an interesting Citroen background you have. I have often wondered about the XM/USA story and CXA a importing some XM's... so any more information would be very interesting.

You have a very rare and special XM there. Very lucky indeed. Does it have the modified headlights? Or is yours standard?
Hope you sort out it's starting issues soon.
Russ

1992 K reg XM 2.1 Auto SED RP 5712
1992 K reg XM 2.1 Auto SED RP 5705 (D)
Also
2003 C5 2.2 HDI Exclusive

I sell Engine bay, 1990 COTY, Total & Club XM Sticker Decals
http://www.rjwcreativedesign.co.uk

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MTXM
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Re: New Member

Post by MTXM » Mon Oct 19, 2015 1:22 pm

Hi Dave,
A further warm welcome to the Forum and it is good to know that the XM has some fans in the US! I am lucky enough of own a pair of early V6 24v including a lhd car that has to be the ultimate XM!! Please let us know which colour you have and it would also be great to see some photos in due course.
With regards,
Matthew T.
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1989 V6 Exclusive (Poland car) - Now living in a local Motor Museum!
1990 V6sei auto (grey auto)
1990 V6sei manual (gold car)
1990 V6.24 Pallas (Germany car)
1990 V6.24v (Scotland car)
Other previous XM sold and broken too many to mention!

Citroen/Dave
Can find the S1 radio
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2015 7:54 pm
Orga / RP numbers: VF7Y3AL0000AL1619 5111 1990 XM Citroen V6 24v

Re: New Member

Post by Citroen/Dave » Mon Oct 19, 2015 1:48 pm

Gentlemen,

With the observation of a progressive failure, I got to thinking about my 14 hour drive after taking ownership of the car. What had changed overtime? When I first looked under the hood I noticed overflow staining from the radiator cap and overflow tube plus wetness. The cooling system obviously had not been well maintained and I was fearful of a rotted out radiator. Several times during the trip, after things cooled a bit, I took the cap off to check and top up with a 50/50 mixture and at least once I did not fully tighten the cap causing a near immediate overflow when I started the engine. That happened again at my local garage when we started sorting out the car. The first and subsequent overflows from the tube poured dirty fluid to a spot in front of the fuse box. I have since rerouted the overflow tube to a strait down position, not onto the chassis. Fluid has several times been dumped right on top of several electrical grounding or earthing points. Humm. Might not the weaker green light be part of a poor grounding plus the intermittent starting after the engine (?) started to cool? For todays job, after frost leaves the car, I will dissemble each wire terminal and clean. Perhaps one of those leads grounds the ECU underneath. I am hopeful of an easy fix. More to come. (No further leaks have been spotted on the cooling system. I will flush the cooling system, soon, and totally replace the antifreeze mixture. By mixing 50/50 with the old I'm sure about half the volume of the anticorrosion part has been replaced to stabilize corrosion. In the future, I may remove and flush the radiator. At which time I may try to replace the third suspension sphere plus mount which resisted the pipe extension on a chain wrench at Dave Burnham's shop.)

John, Thanks again for your diligent research and additional pages.

Dave
Last edited by Citroen/Dave on Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

xmexclusive
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Re: New Member

Post by xmexclusive » Mon Oct 19, 2015 1:57 pm

Hi Dave

Early XM's used spade connectors as earthing points.
These caused so many earth problems that Citroen had a programme of retrofitting with ring connectors.

John

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MTXM
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Re: New Member

Post by MTXM » Mon Oct 19, 2015 2:41 pm

Hi Dave,
It would be worth checking or replacing the header tank cap as the seals can occasionally fail and you should ideally top up with the engine cold. Although John is of course quite correct about the earths, most of my cars still have original connectors and if maintained these should be fine. I see your car is age-wise in between mine, which have rp numbers of 5072 and 5135. We are booking forward to those photos including if possible of the engine bay!
With regards,
Matthew T.
1989 V6 Exclusive (Poland car) - Now living in a local Motor Museum!
1990 V6sei auto (grey auto)
1990 V6sei manual (gold car)
1990 V6.24 Pallas (Germany car)
1990 V6.24v (Scotland car)
Other previous XM sold and broken too many to mention!

Citroen/Dave
Can find the S1 radio
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2015 7:54 pm
Orga / RP numbers: VF7Y3AL0000AL1619 5111 1990 XM Citroen V6 24v

Re: New Member

Post by Citroen/Dave » Mon Oct 19, 2015 4:58 pm

Correction: what I thought was a fuse box was a double box, the first contained three green and two purple relays, the other box has some heavy duty computer stuff. Cleaning two earth or ground terminals and wires that were drenched in coolant had no effect on the week green light at the key board, or in starting. I tried tapping the relays with no effect. I do have a strong spark and fuel pressure at the injection rail. Maybe it will require a new computer to get the injectors and the engine running. A main electrical connection in the engine compartment is round and looks original.

Cross referencing provided no American oil filter, although I cross referenced the serpentine belt and air filter from ones advertised in Australia. No surprise since Citroen, Renault, and Peugeot have long departed the US. Brad Nauss in Pennsylvania is another of the old Citroen dealer network in the US who is looking for an aftermarket dip stick, alternator/water pump belt, and oil filter. I expect I will be asking around for a computer source; I think I found one in Germany.

My car is maroon like the opening page photo in the upper left corner with black cloth interior. It is like new inside and looks good topside, but has a bit more rust than I expected underneath. The advertised galvanizing of the frame did not do its job as well as I had hoped. It is still strong except at one of the jacking points. It has one slight ding over the back right wheel arch. The third suspension spheres probably are original; at least they were not scratched and they refused to come out. The main accumulator and brake spheres were replaced by David Burnham after removing their mounts. Front spheres were in spec., Dave refilled the back two. The ride in "automatic" is not as smooth as hoped but better than my other cars. I did not compare the ride to "Sport". Time will tell if I can get the third spheres replaced. The car is left hand drive. It has the most powerful engine that I have ever purchased and corners beyond belief with Pirelli tires. The header tank cap seal is adequate for the time being.

My left computer screen was "speaking" German until I added the fuse. The individual I purchased the car from gave a good description on E-bay backed up by my initial inspection but he was not truthful about himself. He did not speak German. He had 100% good feedback. His accent changed from grandfatherly Mediterranean(?) on the phone to American English to French Canadian in person. He was not the owner who "used the car in his overseas business, later described as designing jewelry for a manufacture in Canada". He gave convincing but incorrect information about the car during inspection; he really did not know much about the XM. His reason for selling was that he was "moving to Florida because his employer was closing up shop". The date of manufacture plate had been removed. The car was registered in Vermont a state that will title just about anything for $20.00. If I had tried to cross the Canadian border, the car would have been confiscated, and a $10,000 fine imposed if my pleading of ignorance was not believed. Luckily, Virginia accepts Vermont's registration. I drove past and was passed by many police cars in five states without license tags on the car, only a small paper three-day tag in the back window which could not be read unless close up. No one noticed! Now tagged as an antique in Virginia means my driving is restricted to occasional use like Sundays drives, car shows and repair shops: there is no required state inspection. So I am home free with my "last great Citroen". The car was sold to me in Plattsburg, New York. I won't post the sellers name because a Plattsburg mechanic said he uses a different name and address each sale. He has listed and sold unusual Range Rovers and BMW and lots of weird parts. Enough of this latest "Adventure in a Used Citroen" chapter and back to working on the car.

I will try to get photos posted.

Thanks for all of your help and suggestions, and John, your photography and posting of pages.

Best regards,
Dave
Last edited by Citroen/Dave on Mon Oct 19, 2015 5:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

xmexclusive
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Re: New Member

Post by xmexclusive » Mon Oct 19, 2015 5:38 pm

Hi Dave

The ORGA or RP number (organisation or replacement parts) is usually found midway between the door hinges of the Drivers door pillar (LHD).
It is a 4 digit code and translates to the day the car came off the production line.
RPphoto.jpg
John
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