babydriver Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 My Son was driving home in his newly purchased Xsara ( w reg 2000 year 1.4) and he said he stalled it but I thought he had run out of petrol as he said the warning light came on about 7 miles ago, I have the same car 1998 s plate and I usually get an extra 30ish miles before It needs topping up but i thought differant cars differant habits. any way I go to get some fuel and he turns her over flattening the battery, I put jump leads on ( jumped loads of cars from mine) then his speedo and rev counter spin full round the dials sticking there, we never started the car and I towed him 8 miles home trying to bump start it along the way. I will check to see if he did run out of fuel and caused a blockage in the morning then try and start the car but as for the speedo & rev counter does this indicate I have done some serious damage? He got a Xsara cos mines been so good over the 3 years ive had it and I now I stand to lose my car as if I have damaged it as I will have to give him my car to make up for it, I double checked the leads were + to + and - to - I feel like poo now as I went to look at his car and gave him the ok and you know how Daddy knows best If I go back to the trader and to say he sold us a pig in a poke he could say I fooked it up, Oh My Im Doooooomed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavcraft Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Spinning dials usually means battery is totally knackered or jump leads not on properly, at least I've experienced that.Trader will only know you've arsed about with it if you tell him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinkersaab Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 yep, i wouldnt worry, get a good battery in it, or give it a good charge, it will most likely reset itself when you switch off and restart it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babydriver Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 Trader woked from home but had a Blogs & co ltd name, does the sale of goods etc act still stand with these guys? God willin it won't come to this but me Lado spent what savins he had and is very upset, paid 350 notes to insure it to the end of his policy in March and its stuck on the drive, oh to win the lotto on Saterday and make up for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 It's never happened to me but I've read about it on the FCF. IIRC it happens when you flatten the battery. I think you have to flick the needles back down manually. Some people make a tiny hole in the perspex so they can flick it with a pin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieselnutjob Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 On my 806 the rev counter and the speedo are driven by stepper motors whilst the fuel and water are just an armature volt meter.I have had the rev and speedo stick on them.The stepper motors also have a tiny gearbox with tiny plastic cogs that spin on a brittle plastic spindle so I don't recommend forcing them.What I found with the 806 is that if I turn the ignition off and then on again the needle will rotate a tiny bit anticlockwise each time until they finally hit the end stop.I had to turn the ignition on and off like 50 times getting the needles a bit more anticlockwise each time, and after that they were okay.That's on an 806 anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete-M Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Just give the top of the dash a decent thump. They'll come down... eventually. Oh, what Billy says about a flat battery causing needle mayhem is correct. It's normally the first sign that your battery is Ãœberdead. Frogeye Scorpio owners tend to change the battery the first time this happens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My Son was driving home in his newly purchased Xsara ( w reg 2000 year 1.4) and he said he stalled it but I thought he had run out of petrol as he said the warning light came on about 7 miles ago, I have the same car 1998 s plate and I usually get an extra 30ish miles before It needs topping up but i thought differant cars differant habits. any way I go to get some fuel and he turns her over flattening the battery, I put jump leads on ( jumped loads of cars from mine) then his speedo and rev counter spin full round the dials sticking there, we never started the car and I towed him 8 miles home trying to bump start it along the way. I will check to see if he did run out of fuel and caused a blockage in the morning then try and start the car but as for the speedo & rev counter does this indicate I have done some serious damage? He got a Xsara cos mines been so good over the 3 years ive had it and I now I stand to lose my car as if I have damaged it as I will have to give him my car to make up for it, I double checked the leads were + to + and - to - I feel like poo now as I went to look at his car and gave him the ok and you know how Daddy knows best If I go back to the trader and to say he sold us a pig in a poke he could say I fooked it up, Oh My Im Doooooomed. This sounds retarded, but my 306 TD did this when jumped. Check the fuses, especially if he's changed the stereo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonedepear Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Is it a facelift xsara? (with the biog scorpio-style headlights? If so IIRC they're all multiplex wiring so the dashboard will do ALL SORTS OF WEIRD SHIT when the charge is low. Citroen forums will probably have more info, but I think a disconnect - full charge - reconnect might cure. But also, if he/you have changed the stereo and it's multiplex wired, THAT can play merry hell with the dashboard as well for some reaosn. Or at least on the C5 it can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew353w Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I don't think you've done any permanent damage. My Citroen Xantia dash did "strange" things when I started it in the really cold weather a few weeks ago; fuel warning light coming on, rev counter dancing all over the place and other weird things. Once the car fired everything went back to normal, so I suggest you re-charge the battery or fit a new one and start the car normally. A GENTLE tap on the top of the dash should help the rev counter spring back to zero and all will be well, I sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Here you go. It's about Xantias but I'm pretty sure it will apply to the Xsara too. http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... hp?t=26644 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXrescuer Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I had this happen on my old Xantia after being left for a while. Local mechanic told me never to put the jump lead directly to the car's - battery terminal but attach it to a handily placed earth point. Use the battery + terminal as you usually would. Anyway, problem solved by a few flicks of the ignition switch (not starting the car though!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigger Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I think your first port of call will be get a new battery on it, You say the light was on on the dash, could your boy be confusing a fuel light for a charge light?, I'm thinking that it could be the alternator going up the swanny hence they flicking dials. I'd buy a new battery and get a voltage test done on it to see if it's charging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bren Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My mondeo did this when the battery went kaput. A new battery should solve it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete-M Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My 406 did this when I let the battery go flat when valeting it and listening to some tunez. Airbag light came on, stereo displayed "ECONOMY MODE ACTIVE!" or summat, and everything went all bonkers. Quick jump off a decent battery, left it running for about half an hour and it all went back to normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babydriver Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 Thanx everyone, charged battery and the dials flicked back round so I am relieved, just can't get the bugger to start now, I have pulled the pipe of the engine side of the fuel filter and checked the pump is pushing through fuel but she wont fire up, gonna be an expensive trip to the garage tomoz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M'coli Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Have you any easystart? If it won't fire with that stuff then it's most likely to be spark-related. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meggersdog Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Have you looked at the 'plugs ? Trying to start a car with a duff battery will soak the sparkplugs in fuel.Remove atleast two 'plugs,clean and refit then spray a little "start ya bastard" down the air intake.If it tries to start then the problem is fuel related. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babydriver Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 i can't find the plugs, I know they should be there somewhere lol, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Could be an immobiliser issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meggersdog Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Seperate coilpacks ontop of each plug then.Two torx bolts per unit but messing about with them can cause them to fail.Be careful and don't force them out.If the car has stood a few hours that might just be enough to dry the plugs,give it a sniff of easy-start and see how you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigger Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Sounds like an immobiliser issue to me, these french cars are prone to it, it hasn't got a keypad immobiliserby the gearlever has is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babydriver Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 It has no imobiliser on it as the fob has been broken for some time he has to use the key to get in. looked in owners manual and it says the alarm wont go off if you put key in ignition before so many minutes, my cars is the same been like that for years, Where do I spra y the start you bugger if I can't get the plugs out is it down the air filter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket88 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Errr cambelt hasn't snapped has it.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 It has no imobiliser on it as the fob has been broken for some time he has to use the key to get in. looked in owners manual and it says the alarm wont go off if you put key in ignition before so many minutes, my cars is the same been like that for years, Where do I spra y the start you bugger if I can't get the plugs out is it down the air filter? If the remote was RF it's a transponder key, same idea as the late 1990s Ford keys. I wonder if the transponder has been taped inside the cowl to allow it to start with a non-transponder key. If that's the case and it's slipped that would explain the non starting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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