Winter is a coming...therefore heating must fail. C5 Mk I

[frenchcarnut]

Closest match on RS-Components = http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/mosfet/4857894/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[addo]

Buy six of the buggers, test yours to make sure of it, then hit Fleabay to unload the others with their ID sanded off and new markings made... Should be good for £15 each?

[Clogzz]

IRFP064N

[addo]

I'd seen that reference too, from memory on one of the French websites.

[frenchcarnut]

Thanks Clogzz. Have managed to place an order with RS-Components near where I live. Should be able to pick it up tomorrow, resolder and give it a go

[frenchcarnut]

Once again this forum does me proud as the expertise, experience and knowledge rise to the top like exceptional cream on a silky milk.

Thanks to addo and myglaren for making me think that this could be done via a refurb and a bit of solder.

Thanks to davie for his support and personal experience.

And a thanks to Clogzz for putting me in touch with the IRFP064N which I picked up for pennies from an RS-Components store. I ignored you the first time mate (couldn't see the wood for the trees) but took you up on your second reference and you were spot on

So that's £70 saved (Citroen cost, or £60 eBay), another bit of knowledge to add to my increasing repertoire and done just in the nick of time as the frost hits us all tomorrow for the first in the season. Today was bad enough - freezing this morning, and I had to keep wiping the windscreen down. Now we're all toasty again with no fogging misty windows.

I think I might get another couple of these power transistors just in case.

Thanks once again guys, thank you very much indeed.

[daviemck2006]

glad u got it fixed, gutted that i chucked out the whole unit out of my one! Never mind, not got C5 now but missing it, maybe not too long before I look for another so knowledge stored for future referance!

[frenchcarnut]

24 hours on and one frosty morning later and all's well. If anyone does do this, just one tip: the centre pin of the IRFP064N, being thicker at the component end, is a bit more stubborn to remove AND replace than the outer two. Perhaps it was my soldering iron being slightly underpowered and meant for more delicate electronics, but the majority of time was spent desoldering around the centre pin as I couldn't get the entire area fluid in one go. The other two pins went in and out like a dream, but the centre pin needed some coaxing and I did worry that the continual heating and re-heating around that pin might do some internal damage. However, I reckon the heatsink and thermal paste/glue does a good job at dispersing any heat away from the component even when soldering.

not got C5 now but missing it,

I think that's often the way Dave. I still miss my old Xantia and and glad it was petrol otherwise I'd be really angry for offloading it for ....er...nothing!!

[frenchcarnut]

Landed back in a wet Blightly yesterday, so not particularly cold, but needed the blower all the same to stop steaming. Worked perfectly; ahhhhhhh Bliss!

So let's see if the DIY £3 soldering job lasts through the winter - after which I'll report back!!!

[citroenxm]

Well i changed one recently but i also kept the old one im sure!! Ive seen the box anyway.. Ill have a go at this as we have an account with farnell at work so ill get one of those transisters and give it a go..

Paul

[frenchcarnut]

Well i changed one recently but i also kept the old one im sure!! Ive seen the box anyway.. Ill have a go at this as we have an account with farnell at work so ill get one of those transisters and give it a go..

Paul

Got to be worth doing it, testing it and keeping it as a spare or selling it on. The failure of the power transitor/rectifier that is attached to the heatsink appears to be the consistent issue. So a 99% cert fix?

[frenchcarnut]

UPDATE :- Without trying to tempt fate <touches wood and references a plethora of other would-be superstitious omens and good luck charms>, this fix has thus far helped me through the worst of this winter (can it get any worse?) and held up well. Worth the time and energy to do - and not much more bluster than would be expended in getting 70-odd quid out of your wallet and chucking it at Citroen!!!!!!!!

Just remember - the solder connection in view of the large heat sink is meaty, so a commensurately large soldering iron would make matters easier than my light duty effort.

[Clogzz]

Lovely, another neat little job that Citroen hadn’t meant us to do.

Soldering transistors has kept me off the streets for a lifetime.
I use a 60W iron with a largish spade-shaped bit.
It’s heat transfer and sinking capacity, rather than temperature only that flows the solder.

Where there are large heat sinks, I put a piece of paper between the transistor and the sink, then screw it down loosely to properly locate it before soldering.
To unsolder, I twist the transistor off the sink with the mounting screw in the hole.

[dnsey]

If the thermal capacity of the device / heatsink causes desoldering problems, it's often easier to clip the legs off, then desolder them.