Fabergé Greggs: Xsara won’t start and it’s all my fault

[Dave_Q]

Noice, I rate these up there with the mk1 Berlingo in that it's pretty much all the car anyone needs, from general daily duties to mini van etc. 

It's not a car anyone particularly wants, but it does meet your original brief. Well bought!

[dome]

6 hours ago, Fabergé Greggs said:

 it’s very musty which I think might be because it hasn’t been used and the last owner didn’t use the air con. I’m guessing pollen filter and disinfectant in the aircon system? Any tips? 

 

@Dave_Q

I've had good success with the Normfest one shot air con bombs from Euro Crap Arts. They're not as cheap as they use to be though 

 

Edit: it won't let me delete the DaveQ tag, bloody thing 

[Dave_Q]

God bless the shit forum software and all who attempt to use it on mobiles 

[Cavcraft]

9 hours ago, Dave_Q said:

Noice, I rate these up there with the mk1 Berlingo in that it's pretty much all the car anyone needs, from general daily duties to mini van etc. 

It's not a car anyone particularly wants, but it does meet your original brief. Well bought!

They also drive surprisingly nicer than you'd think.

[Dave_Q]

26 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

They also drive surprisingly nicer than you'd think.

Phun phact: these and Berlingos are basically a 306/Xsara underneath just with the track spaced out about 20-30mm with slightly longer wishbones.

[tapir]

Nice purchase, re air con cleaner, I’ve used these and they work great.

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-accessories/air-fresheners/turtle-wax-odor-x-whole-car-blast-100ml-567823.html

[Fabergé Greggs]

On 25/07/2024 at 13:36, dome said:

I've had good success with the Normfest one shot air con bombs from Euro Crap Arts. They're not as cheap as they use to be though 

 

Edit: it won't let me delete the DaveQ tag, bloody thing 

 

16 hours ago, tapir said:

Nice purchase, re air con cleaner, I’ve used these and they work great.

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-accessories/air-fresheners/turtle-wax-odor-x-whole-car-blast-100ml-567823.html

Do these also add another layer of scent? One of the things that adds to the funk is the many cheap air fresheners that were used and I’m loathe to add another chemical scent into the mix… 

[Fabergé Greggs]

Always important to measure your cars against the “does it do tip runs” metric. 

Good news on the smell front too- 24 hours with the windows open has done wonders, I also managed to track down a weird strong funk that I thought was stale cigarette smoke to…. A really new set of rubber mats. Fuck me they smelt horrible. Luckily I was at the tip when I discovered this, so I wasted no time. Don’t anyone tell @Jim Bell though. 

[tapir]

On 27/07/2024 at 08:08, Fabergé Greggs said:

 

Do these also add another layer of scent? One of the things that adds to the funk is the many cheap air fresheners that were used and I’m loathe to add another chemical scent into the mix… 

The turtle wax one is “new car smell”, its mild and gone in a week, 

they do do cherry and others though, so if you get one check the can!

[Fabergé Greggs]

£500 Xsara Picasso news:

Passed its MOT with a couple of minor advisories so happy with that! I thought I’d celebrate by fitting the headunit that I’ve got for it… and.. wait for it…. Now it won’t start. Neither will the central locking work. I’m guessing that the BSI is unhappy and wants to be reset- I’ll try that this evening. Seems absolutely mental that such a thing can cause a car not to start but there we are. 
 

The smell has completely disappeared so we’re now onto solving little niggles such as: why does the climate control fan blow so hard? Even when it gets the car to its optimum temperature it still seemingly blows away at maybe 3/5. Are they always this hyperactive? 

[Dave_Q]

Yo, I had that on a C8 once, check the fuse in the actual back of the stereo, if it's blown it's probably the reason for the non-start.

 

[beko1987]

Is the fan speed when the auto climate control is on? Is said auto climate control controlled by a sensor in the dash like my xantia was? 

If so I improved mine by removing the sensor from the dash plug bit and firing brake cleaner at it to remove the shite. Worked better after that BUT as I always drive with the window cracked in all weather it could never keep up and I had the same 'erratic' behaviour and just did it manually

My (proper) xsara was fine with another head unit. The dash display just does the clock and the wheel controls don't work because I'm not buying an adapter for it (and it's been 4 1/2 years now) but otherwise it's cool. I think my bsi is responsible for my airbag light though...