I've done a silly......CITROEN XM

[SmokinWaffle]

12 hours ago, maxxo said:

Sigh

It's soaking wet

Welcome to the old Citroen club, come on in and take a seat! 

(fair warning, all of the seats are slightly damp, sorry)

[maxxo]

4 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Their tools are ace, I'd choose Halfords any day or even Lidl parkside for some things! Better value for money than the expensive mainstream brands

They're handy for a lot of things but largely depends on what you want

Their screenwash is very good

Honestly the main reason I go there is due to sheer convenience, it is very convenient and easy

[RoverFolkUs]

1 minute ago, Mrcento said:

I have the same charger... It does the job, but is the slowest thing on earth at doing it.

Probably doesn't help that it was for up to 1800cc pez engines, from back in the day when that was in something like a Cavalier with almost zero fancy electrics and i seem to mostly need to charge batteries that would start a small dump truck.

But even on a Cinq battery, it's mega slow. Even on 'fast charge' There's a laugh!

Its better with the battery out of the car, for one reason or another. As I say its ok for keeping a battery topped up but not really reviving a dead one

[maxxo]

1 minute ago, SmokinWaffle said:

Welcome to the old Citroen club, come on in and take a seat! 

(fair warning, all of the seats are slightly damp, sorry)

I poured autoglym interior cleaner on it and scrubbed rhe carpet cos I can't make it any wetter 

[maxxo]

I went on the Internet and I've found this

I'm likely going to buy this as a temporary solution so my washers can work

I see no reason this won't work, its cheap enough anyway

[Mrcento]

2 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Its better with the battery out of the car, for one reason or another. As I say its ok for keeping a battery topped up but not really reviving a dead one

The joys of living in a top floor flat. I can only charge them out of the car. Great fun when you're parked nowhere near the door and need to take a battery out on a busy main road with an audience watching, then lug nearly 20kg's of awkwardly sized battery up several flights of stairs 😂

[RoverFolkUs]

20 minutes ago, Mrcento said:

The joys of living in a top floor flat. I can only charge them out of the car. Great fun when you're parked nowhere near the door and need to take a battery out on a busy main road with an audience watching, then lug nearly 20kg's of awkwardly sized battery up several flights of stairs 😂

Me too 😂 I share your pain!

[myglaren]

You will all be impressed by my ultra high spec modern smart charger.

Bought from Tandy in 1982

 

[maxxo]

5 minutes ago, myglaren said:

You will all be impressed by my ultra high spec modern smart charger.

Bought from Tandy in 1982

 

I like stuff like that, I've got one similar somewhere

It made a horrible buzzing noise and smelled weird last time I used it

I decided to just buy a new one especially as I'll be leaving it unattended 

[High Jetter]

I found Linwood stuff to be pretty good. I had an intermittant wiper kit from them which I used on a succession of cars.

[N Dentressangle]

12 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Their tools are ace, I'd choose Halfords any day or even Lidl parkside for some things! Better value for money than the expensive mainstream brands

They're handy for a lot of things but largely depends on what you want

Even better if you can blag yourself a Trade Card

[maxxo]

visited the northern rally by the citroen car club today

it was excellent of course

got myself some XM goodies too which is exciting

massive tinkering session tomorrow

[RoverFolkUs]

Tuesday isn't far away! I eagerly await the result myself

[maxxo]

2 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Tuesday isn't far away! I eagerly await the result myself

It's exceedingly close 

It terrifies me! 

I've pretty much done what I can for a pass, I don't think it'll pass but you never know

[RoverFolkUs]

10 minutes ago, maxxo said:

It's exceedingly close 

It terrifies me! 

I've pretty much done what I can for a pass, I don't think it'll pass but you never know

I thought that with my other Focus at the start of the year that had been laid up for many months prior unused 

Sloshed a can of super unleaded in it to dilute the old fuel, put a new headlight bulb in and it went through without a single advisory!

There may always be something, but equally it might surprise you, never know

[wesacosa]

1 hour ago, maxxo said:

visited the northern rally by the citroen car club today

it was excellent of course

got myself some XM goodies too which is exciting

massive tinkering session tomorrow

was hoping to make it myself but didn't work out.  maybe next time

 

[maxxo]

19 minutes ago, wesacosa said:

was hoping to make it myself but didn't work out.  maybe next time

 

i reccomend it, some lovely folk there

parked the C5 next to the always helpful Paul

he was, as usual an absolutely top guy! forver grateful to know him

doesn't the c5 look fantastic clean

[maxxo]

36 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

I thought that with my other Focus at the start of the year that had been laid up for many months prior unused 

Sloshed a can of super unleaded in it to dilute the old fuel, put a new headlight bulb in and it went through without a single advisory!

There may always be something, but equally it might surprise you, never know

i do hope to be pleasantly surprised

i just hope the car can behave itself, i really do

going to put about £40-50 worth of diesel in it and see where that gets me

[RoverFolkUs]

7 minutes ago, maxxo said:

i do hope to be pleasantly surprised

i just hope the car can behave itself, i really do

going to put about £40-50 worth of diesel in it and see where that gets me

That's optimism and something I'd never do 🤣

But I expect it'll be fixed regardless (within reason) so wont matter how much diesel you put in it

[maxxo]

5 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

That's optimism and something I'd never do 🤣

But I expect it'll be fixed regardless (within reason) so wont matter how much diesel you put in it

i think to think i'd be sensible

but no

the truth is it will be fixed regardless

once i drop it off the for MOT it won't be getting picked up until it's got an MOT, i'm happy for them to do the work, as well, it's the most logical thing to do

[maxxo]

we have wiper and washer action! working successfully!!

my dad helped me, it included hammering and removal of arch lining

the pumps were siezed solid, a few taps with a hammer got them working well

rear jet needed realigning but that was easy enough to do

also hoovered out the interior, it looks a fair bit nicer now i must admit!

day after tomorrow for the test, which i'm very nervous about

i just can't see it passing

[Mrs6C]

Auto and plush XM seats are for winners! You'll love driving it. Our petrol auto XM has been out and about this past week on trailer towing duty and it just rides and tows like a dream. @Andyrew gave it a valet and it now looks like a million Euros of car... from10 feet away!

[RoverFolkUs]

How much are we betting on an MOT fail for handbrake efficiency where the tester has put the rear axle on the rollers for parking brake?

(These do have front axle handbrakes right, like Xantias!?)

[wesacosa]

3 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

How much are we betting on an MOT fail for handbrake efficiency where the tester has put the rear axle on the rollers for parking brake?

(These do have front axle handbrakes right, like Xantias!?)

yup they do. My MOT man knew because he failed a Xantia twice for it in the past

[maxxo]

6 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

How much are we betting on an MOT fail for handbrake efficiency where the tester has put the rear axle on the rollers for parking brake?

(These do have front axle handbrakes right, like Xantias!?)

Yes and the C5

Sadly I can't see it failing on that, they're a citroen specialist 

But I can see it failing on the parking brake, it only holds it in drive and reverse when you depress the pedal right the way down

[wesacosa]

3 hours ago, maxxo said:

Yes and the C5

Sadly I can't see it failing on that, they're a citroen specialist 

But I can see it failing on the parking brake, it only holds it in drive and reverse when you depress the pedal right the way down

Have you checked if one of the wheels is not operating? The cables can pop out of the regulator under the car if someone has unhooked the cable at the calliper end to change brake pads for instance

Easy to pop back in. you can check if its popped out because one of the sides won't operate and the cable will do this if you pull it

https://youtube.com/shorts/ZyTcFYuirfw?feature=share

[maxxo]

8 minutes ago, wesacosa said:

Have you checked if one of the wheels is not operating? The cables can pop out of the regulator under the car if someone has unhooked the cable at the calliper end to change brake pads for instance

Easy to pop back in. you can check if its popped out because one of the sides won't operate and the cable will do this if you pull it

https://youtube.com/shorts/ZyTcFYuirfw?feature=share

Shall give it a check today

I think it's just a bit siezed up, that's why I've not left it applied overnight etc

Being honest I'm not sure how much I'll use it......rarely use the handbrake in the C5 as is

[maxxo]

been tinkering today

it involved, electricity

those wires going behind the mat, keep those in mind for what you're about to see.......

so i decided to remove the alarm system today

removed lots of plastic trim, which was a fucking nightmare in itself

anyway once the centre console side panel on the passenger side was removed i happened to see this

very nice, from the aftermarket audio system someone installed

decided i had to do something about it

so i cut all the wires which looked aftermarket and made them safe

effing awful all of it was i must admit

left with this utter piece of joy to deal with once the radio arrives and i get round to fitting it

anyway back to the task in hand, remove the alarm

spent ages looking for the alarm panel, which in the end was wedged between the heater ducting behind the centre console

now bear in mind, this was fitted by a dealer......so should have been done professionally

those wires behind the mat were for the ultrasonic detectors, yes, just hanging free.....how excellent

didn't think too much of the job that was done of installing it either....

so did a good bit of cable tracing to find where they go, and they all seemed to be spliced into the loom right here

hmmmmmm those white cables look weird, i wonder

could they be a loom extender?

yes!

it was quite simple really, just unplug them at each end and join the loom back together at their connectors

there was 4 to disconnect, 2 up below the glovebox, 1 in the door frame and last one under the ignition.....

disconnected them all, pulled the wiring out and everything still works pefectly!

thank god

doesn't start however without my modified feed to the stop solenoid, but otherwise all is well

here is the alarm system in all it's glory

if anyone wants it let me know, free of charge, it sort of works

[maxxo]

decided also to pull the car out the garage, do a lot of checks and check the lights

BEHOLD! ILLUMINATION!

all illumination seems to work, the washers still seem to work

excellent

well, all ready for the big day tomorrow, which i am not looking forward to!

but i get to drive it properly for the first time which should be fun

[beko1987]

Re your home brew feed to the stop solenoid, I'd make that a bit more permanent. 

My old zx 1.9td had similar, a little switch buried up behind the dash. Flick it off and the glow plugs got no power. Flick it on and normal service. Previous owner worked in london alot and left it off when parked up! 

Hook it up to a little nicer switch somewhere, hide it and keep it for an anti theft deterrant/shit your mates up when they ask to have a drive of THE MAGNIFICENCE one day etc

And you can say you fixed a thing 👍