Fuse / connector / relay box removal.

[paulwitchard]

Probably been asked before, but I could not find the answer.
I have got a few (non essential) electrical parts of the car that either do not work at all, or only intermittently, so I thought I would start by giving all the fuse / relay / multipin connectors that live in the little box that swings down by the steering column - lhd car - a good wiggling / clean hoping that it might kick start some of them into working.
The box pulls down to get the fuses / relays out but I could do with removing it from the two slots to give a bit more 'wiggle' room, so that the connectors can get the same treatment. Is there some easy way out, or do I have to unbolt one of the metal sidepanels. Not being either double jointed or the right side of 30 (or even 40) does not make it any easier admittedly!
Mr Haynes manual not very helpful on this, not helped by my only very sketchy knowledge of car electrical matters. An example - the rear window wiper / washer does not work - find three wires going to wiper motor, join two together, press switch - washer makes encouraging noise, a bit of water goes along pipe. Think we're getting somewhere here then, rejoin wires, clean connectors to pump, press switch, absolutely nothing, much head scratching - does electric current really go all the way from the switch to the rear wiper motor and then back again to the pump at the front or am I missing something!
Sorry to waffle on, but you have to make your own entertainment in this neck of the woods!!

[toddao]

Hello Paul, I know what it's like to be stranded abroad with only a Haynes´for conversation. Pour some of that local wine in the washer bottle - it is French afterall. If this doesn't work try the aforementioned wine on the user i.e yourself. I have the same issues with my rear wash/wipe and other ancilleries. I always say 'dry contacts' while nodding my head sagely and not being able to fix it.. Vive la France!

[DLM]

Haven't read all your post, Paul (skimming through on limited-time library internet session) - but if you want to make sense of the connection box, get hold of either:

(1) The BX Electrical pdf somewhere on the web (sorry, can't be more specific but it's a section from a bona fide Citroen BX technical manual)

(2) A Revue Technique manual for the BX (some on ebay.fr, maybe some secondhand on Amazon.fr if they do the secondhand thing). They used to be found in French Hypermarkets but there were no BX manuals in the Leclerc on the way from Paris to the Mayenne where I looked last month (ZX and others there - maybe worth a check at you local). There aren't a lot of differences between petrol and diesel models in this respect, but make sure that whatever you get hold of covers the MK2 BX, if that's what you've got.

Either of these should shed light on your darkness, but if you're still stuck, PM me with an email and I'll send a scan.

[paulwitchard]

All I really need to know at this stage is how to release the box from its mountings so that I can get at the various multi plug connectors, remove, clean and replace them.
Hopefully that might resolve one or two of the problems, if not I can then investigate further.

[mat_fenwick]

It should just pull out...

After you've released the clip and folded it down to below horizontal, give it a tug towards you and it should release. I think the fixings should be visible if you are agile enough to lay with your head on the floor with your feet around the headrest!

[paulwitchard]

I have managed to get it as far as that, but I did not want to just pull it out. There appear to be T shaped plastic pieces at the back end of the box holding the box in the slots (enabling it to be moved back and forward) but I could not work out how to get these T shaped bits out in order to bring the box farther out.

[mat_fenwick]

Sorry Paul, I was describing it from memory (a couple of years ago!). I have just removed the box from my BX to refresh my memory...which hadn't remembered everything correctly
What you need to do is pull it towards you, and then move the RH slotted bracket to the right (i.e. further apart) so the plastic sticky out thing can come out of the slot. Now the RH end of the fuse/relay board should be free. Now make sure the LH end is at the front of the slot, and pull the board to the right so the LH end comes out of the slot.

Hope that helps! NB left and right refer to you facing forwards in the car.

[paulwitchard]

That sounds sensible - I'll have a squint at it again tomorrow.
Thanks a lot.

[jeremy]

The whole thing just falls out on my DTR Turbo estate - I don't know of this is how its meant to work or if someone meddled before I needed to get at it.

I've been on this board for far too long and can't recall anyone having a fault in the tray itself rather than the fuses or relays. Have a search and see what you can find but my feeling is that your problem lies elsewhere and you're in for a lot of uncomfortable and confusing work only to find the problem is elsewhere.

What are the 'Non-essential' electrical faults? - we may be able to recognise a pattern and point you to the right place(s).

[Jaba]

Yes I think you are starting in the wrong place too.
Electrical problems are usually down to corroded connectors outside the of the cars interior, bad earthing at the earth points or at the failing component, wires broken or failed internally, intermittent ignition switch but never (so far) the distribution and fuse box.

The connectors into the fuse box can be very tight. It is possible to do more harm than good so it is best left till last IMO.

Is it your rear wiper or just the washer that is not working and is it an estate ? If you describe your symptoms for us and I am sure someone will find an answer for you. You will need a multimeter for electrical fault diagnosis.

[paulwitchard]

Okay then - the ones I've found so far!
Heater fan - it works directly from battery - ? suspect switch
rear windscreen wiper and washer, but the HRW works
reversing lights
not sure about the cooling fan, but we don't get much time sat in traffic here (one jam in the last 12 months if memory serves), so that needs testing
clock lighting, bulb changed for a working one but still no light, clock works
central locking does not work on passenger door
switch on drivers door to operate passenger side front window not working
fuel gauge stops working once it goes below about 3/4 full mark
I did notice with the trailer connected that the side light pulsated with the flashers - a classic earth problem symptom I think.
Thats the lot so far - nothing that stops it being used or passing the CT, but the sort of things that get annoying, especially these damp mornings.
I thought that cleaning all the contacts in the box might be a good place to start - I remember reading a post on here by someone who had cleaned all the connectors and had made a big difference.

[Geoffrey Gould]

Hello I dont have a wiring sketch with me at the moment but it will be well worth checking the trailer socket and reversing lights. This is what happened to mine.The trailer socket wiring was a real mess, evil scotch locks and connections, every time the car was used at some point in the journey the No.1 fuse for the reversing lights would blow, on the face of it not that serious -------- BUT--------- Citroen in their wisdom used the same fuse for the rad cooling fan. So the potential for a cooked engine was quite good.The way I cured it is a long story , well worth a check.
Cheers.
Geoff.

[paulwitchard]

Have had a go at the heater fan - taken out pcb, cleaned it with acetone (wonderful range of chemicals available in the bricos here ), got a lot of muck off, carried out the definitive heater mod as per sticky, but still got not a puff out of the fan . The heater lights worked, but not terribly bright, connectors all looked nice and clean, so presumably its got to be the relay.
I read all the previous posts about heater fan problems, am I right in assuming the terminals on the PCB read 1 - 5 from right to left, 1 & 2 being the ones for the lights?

[jeremy]

Heater fan - I had loads of problems - the connectors next to the motor were heavily corroded and after much cleaning and scraping the thing only started to work when I was about to cut off the original connectors and replace them. They've been OK since (4 years?)

I'd suggest you make a test lamp with a 21 watt bulb (indicator type). I made mine by soldering 2 wires to the bulb and taping it up. The reason I like it is that it places a circuit under some load whereas a meter will give a nice voltage reading but little indication of high resistance in the circuit - which shows up as a non-functioning component.

There's loads on the fan in the sticky at the top of the technical page.

Rear wiper and washer - look at the switch and its supply first - the washer motor is at the front - the wiper motor at the rear - so its something they share and unlikely to be both components.

Cooling fan should function if you leave the car idling for ever - they should get it going for a MOT test here as an indication that the engine has reached its running temperature. the switch is probably on the cambelt side of the radiator and if you remove the plug you should be able to get the fan to work by shorting 2 of the terminals in the removable plug.

Clock light - sounds like you have the one in the tray in the middle of the dash. Have you tested the bulb in its holder? I've had capless bulbs that don't make proper contact with their holder and need the wires aligning carefully. The wiring is interesting - the thing is meant to dim when the sidelights are turned on and so had a feed from the sidelights to activate this function! Mine kept dimming in daylight when the car went over a bump and I eventually found that there was a dry joint on the circuit board. To examine it you'll need a magnifying glass but pushing the stubs of the component wires around in the vicinity of the plug may give a clue if the light suddenly comes on.

Check for an ignition feed to the plug to determine if the fault is in the unit or its supply.

If you have a plip on the central locking the passenger door lock is dead - ie will not operate the locks via the key. The reason is that the plip is connected in place of the passenger door key switch on the controller. (Same on ZX) Otherwise check the power supply to the door motor if this is the problem. I found a generic motor bolted straight in with some modification to the connectors. The wires to the doors can break in the flexible trunking.

Drivers door passenger window switch - test the switch - they often give trouble. - comments re door wiring apply here as well.

Fuel gauge - mine did this - plug was falling off the sender - access is via one of the plugs in the floor under the back seat.

Trailer problem - sounds like an earthing problem on the trailer. Car trailer connections are probably in the near side back light and the trailer wire will unplug. proper Citroen trailer sockets have a switch in them to turn off the rear foglights on the car when a trailer is attached. If the proper socket has been replaced the car rear foglights may not work and will need additional wiring.

[DLM]

Lots of sensible advice above - wd like to just add a couple of points.

(1) Do you have an lhd or a rhd BX? If it's lhd some advice here on electrics may be confusing as there's a lot more electrics concentrated on the driver's side of an lhd model, and I can understand the difficulties accessing the fuse/relay/connection box in those circumstances. It's difficult enough to access certain connections on a rhd car without first removing the glove box, and possibly next-to-impossible without considerable dismantling on an lhd car as the glovebox doesn't exist!

(2) Removing the left-hand rear light will give a good idea of how professional the towbar fit was - if it's a mass of scotchlocks then expect this to be the cause of at least some problems.