Anyone here into car auto electrics??

[alans27]

For some reason I can't post on the Peugeot forums i'm on so in the mean time until it's sorted I thought i'd see if there is anyone on these forums who has the knowledge I seek! Or lack lol!

Ok it's going to get technical now...

Right, my Peugeot, a four year old 307, I changed the head unit in it a while back and six months later had to put the old Peugeot radio back in. Reason being apparently with the Peugeot radio no longer being there the Can-bus wiring system didn't like it and would not go fully into sleep mode when the car was not in use. This resulted in a constant minor drain on the battery which flattened it about every six weeks. Proof in the pudding is with the Peugeot radio in it's been good as gold for the past year and a bit.

Has anyone else had this sort of problem with their cars? It's not just Peugeot that use this modern complex way or wiring, most cars are on it now. I've been told I can get the wiring altered in order to get round this problem, think it's something to do with directly feeding the red wire from the cigarette lighter??

 

[not_fat_matt]

Not that i can help, but a chap i work with has a daughter who had a 206 that had exactly the same problem, he eventually tracked it down to the head unit, would be fine if used daily, leave it a few days and the battery would be flat. Not sure it has the canbus thingy tho.

I hate electrics, domestic and automotive - its a black art to me lol

 

[alans27]

I do have a bit of knowledge myself, just that this problem was right on the limit of my understanding if you get me?

A 206 with it being a little older would either be on the regular old school electrics or on something known as van bus wiring I think. My 307 uses can bus wiring. What's the difference between can bus and van bus? I haven't a clue!!! Lol!

 

[MikeD]

Google suggests these people:

http://www.connects2.co.uk

All sorts of plug-in adapters and gizmos, no idea if any of it works

 

[adastra]

Being a car audio engineer Yow will need to find yourself a ignition feed as mentioned above the lighter socket is best. This is due to the factory iso plug having 2 live feeds only 1 of them is live all the time the other goes asleep after 5 mins. If u need any more help just ask.

 

[DEAN C.]

Never heard of Van bus but Can bus is in most vehicles now including lorries and busses.
Designed as a control system by GM using five wires only, originally built for air bags,and working on a pulse with modulation recognition. Basically it uses the same wires for multi tasks by pulsing signals down the fewer wires and the electrical control units pick up and decipher the signal. Clever stuff thats in lots of things now.
I was using it on Bin Lorries when I worked for a manufacturer 5 years ago and it was not new then.
Doesnt help you one bit does it? :roll:

 

[jimo746]

oops.

 

[alans27]

Never heard of Van bus but Can bus is in most vehicles now including lorries and busses.
Designed as a control system by GM using five wires only, originally built for air bags,and working on a pulse with modulation recognition. Basically it uses the same wires for multi tasks by pulsing signals down the fewer wires and the electrical control units pick up and decipher the signal. Clever stuff thats in lots of things now.
I was using it on Bin Lorries when I worked for a manufacturer 5 years ago and it was not new then.
Doesnt help you one bit does it? :roll:

Just done some research on it and apparently Van Bus was invented by .... Peugeot Citroen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_Area_Network Can you imagine that? A french car maker inventing an electrical system! I'm sure you can see the endless possibillities for reliability issues there lol. Apparently my car, the 307 used vanbus wiring when it came out in 2001 and it was that unreliable that they had to switch to canbus wiring when the car was revised in 2005. Seriously Peugeot, you stick to your diesel engines and leave everything else to the grown ups!!

So anyway i've ordered a nice Sony head unit today and the connecting bits to go with it. When I connect to the cigarette lighter there's no way in hell Peugeot will have marked the wires so I know which is the positive one. So... does anyone know if the positive feed on a cigarette lighter is the bottom pin of the socket or the surround? Thanks.

 

[DEAN C.]

Hi
Better to be safe than sorry and test for live to be honest.
If you dont have a meter a couple of bits of wire and a couple of crocodile clips and a bulb will work as a live tester.

Sorry if I am teaching you how to suck eggs.

I am not a auto electrician but spent enough time on heavy vehicle and plant electrics. My speciality is vehicle electro hydraulics not car electrics.Was also a JCB mobile engineer for a short time .Surely a main dealer techy is on here with the number of members?

Good luck.

 

[alans27]

Hi
Better to be safe than sorry and test for live to be honest.
If you dont have a meter a couple of bits of wire and a couple of crocodile clips and a bulb will work as a live tester.

Sorry if I am teaching you how to suck eggs.

I am not a auto electrician but spent enough time on heavy vehicle and plant electrics. My speciality is vehicle electro hydraulics not car electrics.Was also a JCB mobile engineer for a short time .Surely a main dealer techy is on here with the number of members?

Good luck.

Oh no don't worry I'm a novice myself. I have actually got a multimeter but don't know how to use it ha ha! I'll figure it out somehow.