Jonx250 Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Hi everyone, i have a 2008 Citroen relay 2.2 120 170,000miles, with a rather random electrical fault. A while ago whilst driving in the rain my wipers stopped working!. I had a look under the bonnet, located the wiper arm connection socket, unplugged it, reconnected it a Bobs your unkle wipers fixed.... or so I thought!. A week or so later the wipers started playing up again and often the van failed to turn over (no eml on stage1 of key ignition and immobiliser on). I took the van to a Citroen dealership and they replaced the battery earth cable and relocated it to a new point (battery compartment lid bolt hole). This sorted the problem and the wipers now worked 100%. A week or so after visiting Citroen the van started cutting out under load. After doing some research on line I came to the conclusion that it was the gearbox earth strap failing. I took it to a local garage and they replaced the strap..The van stopped cutting out under load.. winning!!. A few weeks of the van starting and driving perfectly, I came across another issue. When turning the ignition to stage1 the eml light would flicker, go out and the immobiliser light would come on. I did a bit more research and added a second battery earth strap... This cured the problem... for a while!. Last week with the cold spell of weather the eml started to flicker on stage1 and the van has cut out a couple of time whilst driving. I have checked the earth straps and all is good and clean. The fault codes are for a “communication fault”, making me think it is another earth issue. I have also checked the common loom chafe point behind the near side light and no damage at all.. please help! I am fresh out of ideas. The van seems to struggle when there is moisture in the air. Also when it cuts out the temp gauge pings up then down and the coolant light blinks pointing again to an earth issue or just general wiring. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Hi, I am pretty sure that this will be a corrosion issue in the wiring loom and the most likely location is under the fuse box where there are some joints that are well known for hiding gremlins. Remove the NS headlamp again and the fuse box cover. There are a couple of plastic tabs that need to be pressed so that the fuse panel can hinge away. The suspect cables and junctions are stuffed in there. Be careful. Move slowly. If more than one cable is damaged or pulled out of a connector it may be difficult to determine which is which later on because the colours of the cables often change on either side of the connector plugs! If everything looks pristine and you don't actually find a smoking gun, give it all a spray of water repellent (NOT WD40) and start examining the wiring bundle that goes from the fusebox to the bulkhead into the cab. Broken cables are often found hiding in the bundles and you would need to start carefully stripping away the binding tapes so that each and every cable can be checked. It is a long process sometimes but this is undoubtedly where your problem is hiding. N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonx250 Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 Thank you for the reply. That sounds like a great piece of advice, as soon as I get a bit of dry weather I will remove the ns headlamp and have a good, long, careful look at that area. I did notice when I was replacing a breather pipe on the weekend that the ns scuttle hope drains nicely into that area and wondered if anyone had done any rerouting mods on it?. Thanks again for the help, I will post an update as soon as I find anything. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
23addy46 Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Hy - re your near side scuttle drain blockage - had the very same problem way back in 2009 shortly after the new purchase of our E695 Bessacarr (Ducato Maxi 2.3 MJ) that 'leans to the near side' when parked along side our home (great for preventing a 'swimming pool' on the roof !) but of course leaf drops then clogged up the (very small) drain hole that was ! - At my 3 rd attempt i finally cure the regular blockage by (carefully) opening out the hole dimension to accept a PVC (NOT NYLON ! ) threaded adapter that was then ('Polypipe'd) into place at a level flush with scuttle, with an (approx 80cm) length of flexable nylon pipe attached and fed away to leak out below the N/S lower front suspension leg ! Sorry however to admit - i can't remember just where the 'Threaded PVC adapter' was sourced ? But it works ! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO TAKE THE CUSTOMER TO SORT OUT SUCH BASIC FLAWS WITH SO MANY OF THE MECHANICAL ITEMS OF THIS WORLD - ITS NOT JUST OUR BELOVED HOBBY - PERHAPS NEW PRODUCT DESIGNERS SHOULD CONSULT OUR LIKE MINDED BUNCH FOR TESTING PRIOR TO PUTTING ANY NEW PRODUCTS ON TO THE MARKET ???? Some hope eh? Dave Adams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
23addy46 Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Hy - The problem of geriatric after thoughts ! Forgot to add - the dimension of the 'opened out hole' to take the PVC adapter was around 18mm with plastic pipe to suit it ... Still can't remember where i managed to get hold of it though, sorry ! Dave Adams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumblewagon Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Check behind the instrument cluster! I have a 2009 relay 2.2 100 bhp (with a mere 28,000 miles). I live in a rural area and one day coming round a bend was a huge tractor. Discretion being the better part of valour, I got as far to my side of the road as possible, where I hit a storm drain. The dash lit up like a Christmas tree and the engine stopped. Fortunately it started again with a few random lights showing and the temp gauge swinging round erratically. I checked out the connectors under the bonnet and cleaned them with an electrical switch cleaner. I also checked behind the instrument cluster and found a connector had come loose. Having made sure that everything was tight, I took the van to my local garage where they were puzzled by the random faults until I explained what had happened. They reset the fault codes and everything has been OK since. That was a couple of years ago, and I keep a good look out for sunken storm drains, large pot holes etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 23addy46 - 2019-02-11 8:40 PM Hy - The problem of geriatric after thoughts ! Forgot to add - the dimension of the 'opened out hole' to take the PVC adapter was around 18mm with plastic pipe to suit it ... Still can't remember where i managed to get hold of it though, sorry ! Dave Adams There is an ‘official’ modification for X250 vehicles that diverts rainwater from the centre of the scuttle into a drip-tray that then drains the water through a hose in front of the gearbox. (Discussed in this 2015 MHFun forum thread together with DIY fixes) https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/fiat-ducato-x250-windscreen-scuttle-leak-to-engine-problem-resolved.101807/ Although these types of approach should help if the plastic ’scuttle’ at the base of the windscreen is properly sealed to the windscreen glass, this video-clip shows vividly what happens when sealing is inadequate. The problem was also mentioned here https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Fiat-Ducato-scuttle-issue/38410/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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