Hi folks!
I'm new here, so this is my first post. Unfortunately, I've got a problem with my wife's little X type, and I need a bit of help with it, so I'm prevailing upon your collective brain power to help me find a solution!
So here's the problem: Upon starting the car this morning, everything was normal. She put it in reverse to back it out of the garage then suddenly the gas pedal was no longer functional. She looked at the gauge cluster and all the needles were bouncing to zero, and the dash lights were fluttering off/on. She put the car in drive, and it rolled back into the garage. I was summoned. I immediately disconnected the battery and cleaned the connections. I tried starting the car, which it did no problem. I got a barrage of trouble lights, the dash lights stayed on and the tach worked. I tried the turn signal, it clicked once then quit. There was nothing from the heating system and nil for headlights too.
I turned the car off, then restarted using the auto start. Worked perfectly. I shut the car off using the fob, then inserted the key, turning it to accessory. Everything was functional. I started the car. It worked great. I thought I had it licked!
Backed Kitty out of the garage and too her for a test drive. Got 30 seconds down the road and all the gremlins re-appeared...and then some! I got zilch for accelorator response, then got a dash message "gearbox failure". Sure it is. I limped it home, and as I parked it, everything came back to life. I sat in the car, and revved the engine. As the rpms went up, everything died. As the rpms went down it all came back. I noticed a "clicking" sound coming from the region of the fusebox.
Thats my story.
Should I buy a new car? Or is there a fix?
Thanks!

 

Hello,
Sounds like you may have a loose connector or bad ground.
Give us a little more detail ...
What year? How long have you had it? Are there any leaks or has the car been seriously wet (flooded)?

best regards,
Bill

 

The car is a 2002 X-type. We bought it used in 2006. It doesn't have any apparent leaks. So far, it hasn't had any electrical troubles.
I put new rocker panels and repaint on it last summer, and lately it's been getting repaired on a constant basis. Last week it got a new thermostat, coolant, and a sway bar link. The week before it was new rear brake rotors and pads.
A turn signal bulb the week before that, a new headlight bulb before that, new fuse for tailights before that.
In the spring, the repair was carried out to fix the cold air flapper door, which had caused the interior to fog up during the winter.
Left lower control arm before that, along with front rotors and pads and an ABS sensor.
An air conditioning pump prior to that, and an alternator just before that.
All this in the last 10 months.

 

Welcome to the forum magnumcharger,

(I've moved your post from General Tech Help section to the X-Type section to get more views and responses from members with the same model)

When you get a minute, please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST section and post some information about yourself and your vehicle.

In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice on posting to the forum.

Hope it's an easy fix.

Graham

 

Magnum, from the sounds of things, you more than likely have an issue with the remote starter and the connections that it makes. The root of your problems seem to stem from the passenger compartment loosing a majority of its power (ie, fuse box is not getting full voltage). This will cause the computer to attempt to reset, during this, the gas pedal can go limp and the gauges will start bouncing all over the place. Unfortunately, without knowing all of the connections that were made with the remote starter, it is hard to provide you specifics on what to look at. But, I would focus my attention on a large cable running from the engine bay fuse box, through the fire wall, to the passenger area fuse box.

 

Hello Magnumcharger,
I agree with Thermo, sounds like a low voltage issue. Since the car starts readily we can reasonably assume the battery and charging system are functioning properly.
You mentioned the HVAC air door repair. Was that accomplished using super glue to re-attach damper to motor shaft? Or was the dash removed to access the air box? Dashboard removal would involve numerous electrical connectors and ground connections.

Bill

 

Thanks for your input guys!
I suspected the remote start as a root cause for these troubles from the get-go. Which is why I tried it first. It seemed to function properly when tested, and the car along with it.
I did the heater repair myself. Initially with super glue (which set up way to fast BTW!), and then with regular epoxy and an overnight drying time. I only needed to remove the glove box and the fresh air flapper actuator to do that bit of business. Oh, and the passenger seat too. It still took me a week to get it done.
I'm going to take a close look at the ground for the fuse panel today. And then maybe disconnect the remote start and see what happens.

Oh, I should mention that after I had the new alternator installed in March, the battery light in the dash has been on pretty well full time. Ground?
Thanks again.

 

Just a thought: Use a voltmeter to monitor the voltage at the battery terminals, before, during and after starting. Look for both low and over-voltage.
Quick and easy.

 

Plugged an OBD2 reader into the jack and got a code of P1638.
I video'd the start of the car and the troubles on the dash. Have a look:



Notice as soon as I touch the gas pedal, the gauges drop.

The other day it worked perfectly at around 2pm. I thought I'd take it for a testdrive at 5pm...and it barely started.

I put it in the garage for the night. The next morning the battery was totally dead. I put the battery charger on it for the day. After 10 hours it was still dead. I removed the battery from the car and attempted to bench charge it. No luck, the battery was completely dead.

I bought a new battery for it today. It started right up but the results are as bad as the previous day it last ran... Next, I'll try my multi-meter on it to see if the alternator is putting out. It was new in March, but the battery light was constantly on after it was installed. (?)

 

magnum, as for the flashing dash lights with the running lights on, that is your dimmer switch. The dimmer switch can get knocked by your knee getting in and out of the car. Once it gets damaged, it will flicker like you are seeing as any vibration in the car can cause it to go on and off. Unfortunately, the fix is a new headlight switch.

As for the series of fault codes that you are seeing, it may be that what you are seeing is faults with the instrument cluster. This would/could also lead to issues with the instrument cluster lights flickering on and off. The big question is the lights on the radio and whatnot, do they flash with the instrument cluster? If yes, then that pretty much proves it is the dimmer circuit. If they don't, then I would be really looking at a bad instrument cluster. Kinda like you can prove the battery light is just a false indication by connecting a multimeter across the posts of the battery and as you start the car, you should see the multimeter drop to around 11.0 VDC as the car is cranking over, then shoot up to about 14.4 VDC and then gradually fall to around 13.7 VDC where it will hang while the car is running. If while the car is running the voltage drops to under 13.0 VDC and stays there, then that is indicating a problem with the charging circuit.

A bad instrument cluster can also result in the battery going dead over night.

 

Good morning Folks!
I started Kitty this morning, and she ran almost perfectly. No dead battery, which I expected.
I noted a couple of lights in the dash panel lit up, more than the normal but less than expected. The check engine light was one, the battery light the other. This is in stark contrast to last night when the full gambit of dash poltergeist was in effect.
I plugged the scanner in and got these codes:

P1793 - IGN SUPPLY MALFUNCTION >16, <7 VOLTS
P1111 - SYSTEM PASS
P1638 - CAN LINK ECM/INSTM CIRCUIT/NETWORK
P1648 - CAN LINK ENGINE CONTROL MODULE/TRANSMISSION
CONTROL MODULE CIRCUIT/NETWORK

Lovely, isn't it?
Thoughts?

 

Magnum, the more you play with it, the more I am convinced that you are dealing with a bad instrument cluster. The computer in the cluster is causing all sorts of issues and is causing all of your lights.

 

I have a 2005 type 3.0 automatic that the car suddenly did not start, the mechanic changed the starter. When I tried turning the car on, it not start again so I took the battery to autozone and the car started fine. Now the car seems to have an electrical issue, it get to about to stall but it does not, it also drives as if the engine has no power or it is forcing itself to something. This happens at all speeds and also the lights get dim. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Not to change the subject, but the OPs video reminded me of a question I've been meaning to ask. Immediately after his first two revs, you hear a scratching, or a ticking sound. My car makes this sound too. What is causing that sound?

Thanks.

 

[QUOTE=Immediately after his first two revs, you hear a scratching, or a ticking sound. My car makes this sound too. What is causing that sound?

Thanks.[/QUOTE]

Hi,
The noise sounds like the stepper motors that move the instrument pointers.

From the video and the codes i would suspect that the alternator is overcharging the battery as the instrument cluster will shut down above approx 16.5 volts to prevent damage to itself.
Hope this helps anyone with a similar problem.

Regards
Gary