sutty2006 Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Buy a Xantia they said.......... It'll be fun(ny) they said........ Ive given up selling the Xantia. After battling through the MOT work and getting it road worthy, I feel its fighting against me at every post. I fixed the coolant leaks, then the exhaust fell off while parked at work. How that happens I dont know, it was fine when I parked it up. But anyway, I have a new issue that needs to be resolved. On my way home from work one day last week the ESP light came on. And stayed on. Until the following morning when it went out. Weird. So I decided to go to the shops in it for some garlic and cheese last saturday morning. I got the end of the road and lost brakes pretty much completely. Thats right. NO BRAKES. It felt like the ABS pump was firing constantly.This was fairly scary so I turned back and parked it up. I decided to check the LHM fluid, which I had checked a week previous (and it was fine). Suspension in top height, engine running the fluid was low. I topped it up with about 1/4 a litre. Brakes are still the same. If I pump the pedal at a standstill, its rock hard and fine but the moment I move the car the lack of braking force is severly reduced.Ive tried googling the fault but common issues on these Xantias is rare as the following is small (or undisclosed, which I dont blame them really) Any thoughts on the issue? I cant see it being air in the system as the brakes would be spongy at standstill. Its a 2.0 hdi by the way Failing that, I will hold a ceremonial burning sacrifice offering to the car gods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Xantia brakes don't work like other brakes. On normal brakes the braking effort comes from your foot, helped by the servo. On a Xantia pressing the pedal basically opens a valve and the braking effort comes from the pressure in the system, which comes from the pump. Air in the system doesn't make the pedal spongy, instead it causes a delay between pressing the pedal and the brakes coming on- the time it takes for the pressure in the system to compress the bubbles. I'm not sure if that's relevant to your issue but hopefully it'll help you to understand a bit of what's going on in the brakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabact Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Pull the fuses to disable the ABS then try it? My one I always give the brakes a quick pump before pulling away as occasionally they decide to scare you the first time you need to stop. When the ABS started playing up on mine I did get the one time where if felt like the ABS had gone into overdrive and I nearly rear ended the car in front due to lack of brakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sporty-shite Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Abs reluctor ring? If the pump is firing constantly, a ring may be broken, or you might be lucky and the CV boot has come loose and covered it. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 I'd phone the garage. Not for a diagnosis but to tow the fucker away before you lose your shit. sutty2006 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 When my HDi Xantia cracked a reluctor ring it used to put the ABS light on above a certain speed and when it finally shed the ring the light was on all the time. It didn't affect the braking at all apart from the ABS being disabled. French though, so the same fault on an identical car might give completely different symptoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabact Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 On mine once the ABS light was on all the time it was fine. The odd ocassion the light went out was when it went haywire and started pulsing randomly when you braked. I still haven't got round to investigating it so can't help on a cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernaut Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 If you're breaking it, dibs on the fuel filter housing. My ABS is working perfectly, for now anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forddeliveryboy Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 I've known various forms of initial braking failure in all different cars (they soon came on with a second pedal push), never in a hydraulic Cit of my own but did sort out a 600,000 mile DS which had a small air leak in a tired HP pump which was firing a line of bubbles into the system. Faulty ABS systems can cause that heart-stopping moment, so check the rings as suggested above and pull the fuse on the system to see if disabling it solves the problem. Otherwise, it's a matter of checking the brake lines and other bits for leaks and bubbles of air - the Citroen system is the same as any other in this respect, it's just that the power is supplied from a reservoir of pressure rather than your leg shoving a piston down a bore, with amplification by the engine vacuum or an engine-driven vacuum pump. Obviously this reservoir of pressure needs to be there for the brakes to work, if you don't understand how this works with an accumulator, valve and pump then take it to someone who does quick sharp. It's very simple, but as with anything brake-wise, getting it wrong means lives are at risk. sutty2006 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rml2345 Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Accumulator maybe? Might explain why you get brakes when stationary but not on the road. I'm far from expert though and being French it could be something completely unrelated. Edit: What FDB said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernaut Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 I was under the impression the accumulator was more of a 'reserve' sort of thing, so when the pump is running, you're not using the accumulator. It does, however, provide you with enough reserve to stop if the drive belt on the pump snaps. When my accumulator was gubbed, the car also took a while to rise once lowered. Now, however, it seems to help it up a bit quicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutty2006 Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 Pull the fuses to disable the ABS then try it? My one I always give the brakes a quick pump before pulling away as occasionally they decide to scare you the first time you need to stop. When the ABS started playing up on mine I did get the one time where if felt like the ABS had gone into overdrive and I nearly rear ended the car in front due to lack of brakes. Thats what im getting..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutty2006 Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 I'd phone the garage. Not for a diagnosis but to tow the fucker away before you lose your shit. Printer failed to work yesterday, fucker got my size 11 boot though it. Richard, sierraman and Supernaut 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernaut Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Printer failed to work yesterday, fucker got my size 11 boot though it. Richard and sutty2006 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Printers are arseholes. rml2345 and Tickman 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FakeConcern Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Nice carpet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutty2006 Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 Nice carpet. Not the first carpet compliment Ive had, thanks. Proper shite carpet. FakeConcern 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutty2006 Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 Oh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutty2006 Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 It appears to have been leaking from the footbrake thingy....... I would normally call this a master cylinder as its bolted to the bulk head and attatched to the brake pedal. WTF is it. And where the F am I going to get a replacement!!!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutty2006 Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 a little googling comes back as a doseur valve. WANKSTICKS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beko1987 Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 If it's the same as a 1.8 pez one talk to Tabact and see if you can have the one off his scrap car, or Ruffgeezer has about 40 xantias parked in a field somewhere... Mucho sympathy here, since it could quite easily happen to any of us! Occasionally mine doesnt brake first time, normally after 14 miles of M40, I now tap the brakes a bit then lift off then brake properly. I put mine down to shit old fluid/spheres/french Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 If you are sick of it I'd not waste any more time and money on it, get it fragged. Put the money into something a bit more reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rml2345 Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 If the doseur valve is conplete it might just be the seals which can be renewed. The chap at Plediaes can advise on cost etc. But if it's a only car might be a bollock ache. I think they're NLA new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommotech Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 A used valve would be fine but I would run some hydraulic cleaning fluid through, hydraclean if I recall, before renewing LHM. Steering will feel nicer and suspension will work better too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabact Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 If it's the same as a 1.8 pez one talk to Tabact and see if you can have the one off his scrap car, or Ruffgeezer has about 40 xantias parked in a field somewhere... That's one of the parts I'll being hanging onto. Having a browse of the French Car Forum repair parts for the valve could still available or could possibly be a perished pipe.https://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45249 beko1987 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beko1987 Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Sounds like potential easy fixes if it's just the rubber pipes as per that thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutty2006 Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 Looks like I'm taking the induction pipe off tomorrow for a better look 👠beko1987 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beko1987 Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Hope it's easier on the hdi than the TD.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutty2006 Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 Looks a c**t of a job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beko1987 Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 It is on the TD, I need to take them off to fit a cambelt cover, if I ever fit a cambelt cover... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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