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Hello everyone.
As the title says, I got water in my trunk about a year ago due to leaves clogging up the drain plug at the top crevice where the washer fluid reservoir sits. Once that area filled up, it poured over into the trunk, where I can see things might have gotten ruined. The big issue I’ve had is that my spoiler no longer works. I get the “Spoiler Unavailable” message both when I’m driving at speed or when I try to manually raise it by using the button. It has not worked since. About 2 inches of water got in there based on the water markings. So quite a bit. Just wondering what exactly controls the spoiler from within the trunk.
I’ve already checked the fuses in the front of the car and they are both good.
Inspecting the trunk yesterday, I found a couple things. Some rusted fuses and a wire which I have no idea where it would go. Any help on this is appreciated fellas.
That goes to what's called the transit relay. This is only used when Jaguar ships the cars from the manufacturing plant to the Jaguar dealer. Then as part of the pre-delivery inspection the relay transit is removed permanently. They are SUPPOSE to put that plug in a dead end holder out of the way. But we regularly see this plug floating around in the trunk. This is used apparently on all Jaguars too?
My 2014 XJR has this small cavity for the white plug to fit into. This is down under the trunk lining by the air suspension stuff. I don't know where it should be stored on the F-Type? But I bet someone will come along and fill us in?
The short story is don't worry about it as it does nothing.
.
.
.
I had water in my trunk on a couple of occasions. One was "8 inches of rain in 12 hours" when I was traveling so it sat for a bit, but with no ill effects. The leak in mine was from a clip for the trough on the side of the hatch not being seated properly. The clips used there are not the usual type: they have a seal at the base and it wasn't seated. Anyway, you've got a more advanced case of "soggy bottom" than I had.
The spoiler is controlled by a silver metal module to the right of that big power distribution busbar. With the way things look in the pictures I'd do the following:
disconnect the battery
make sure it's really dry everywhere. Under the battery (and under the tray) is a good place for the water to hide. A sign of moisture for me was condensation in the third brake light.
take each corroded connection apart, one at a time, clean the contact surfaces, and reassemble. For some things, a stiff-bristle plastic brush should get the crust off. For the actual contact surfaces, a small wire brush or some wet/dry sandpaper will work.
For plugs, it's often enough to unplug and reconnect. The connection surfaces scrape each other clean where they touch.
reconnect the battery
check function of everything
The plastic squares that say something like "350A" are high-current fuses. If one of those blows, you've got a *serious* short, like wires crushed from a crash or maybe a burned up starter. Those should never blow.
Hopefully that will resuscitate the spoiler. If not, the module itself might be damaged. I don't know what they cost but I've never heard of one failing, so a used one from eBay might be worth a shot.
I had water in my trunk on a couple of occasions. One was "8 inches of rain in 12 hours" when I was traveling so it sat for a bit, but with no ill effects. The leak in mine was from a clip for the trough on the side of the hatch not being seated properly. The clips used there are not the usual type: they have a seal at the base and it wasn't seated. Anyway, you've got a more advanced case of "soggy bottom" than I had.
The spoiler is controlled by a silver metal module to the right of that big power distribution busbar. With the way things look in the pictures I'd do the following:
disconnect the battery
make sure it's really dry everywhere. Under the battery (and under the tray) is a good place for the water to hide. A sign of moisture for me was condensation in the third brake light.
take each corroded connection apart, one at a time, clean the contact surfaces, and reassemble. For some things, a stiff-bristle plastic brush should get the crust off. For the actual contact surfaces, a small wire brush or some wet/dry sandpaper will work.
For plugs, it's often enough to unplug and reconnect. The connection surfaces scrape each other clean where they touch.
reconnect the battery
check function of everything
The plastic squares that say something like "350A" are high-current fuses. If one of those blows, you've got a *serious* short, like wires crushed from a crash or maybe a burned up starter. Those should never blow.
Hopefully that will resuscitate the spoiler. If not, the module itself might be damaged. I don't know what they cost but I've never heard of one failing, so a used one from eBay might be worth a shot.
Originally Posted by clubairth1
No help except on that small plug in your hand?
That goes to what's called the transit relay. This is only used when Jaguar ships the cars from the manufacturing plant to the Jaguar dealer. Then as part of the pre-delivery inspection the relay transit is removed permanently. They are SUPPOSE to put that plug in a dead end holder out of the way. But we regularly see this plug floating around in the trunk. This is used apparently on all Jaguars too?
My 2014 XJR has this small cavity for the white plug to fit into. This is down under the trunk lining by the air suspension stuff. I don't know where it should be stored on the F-Type? But I bet someone will come along and fill us in?
The short story is don't worry about it as it does nothing.
.
.
.
thank you guys so much for your responses. Both very helpful tips. I’ll get working on the boot this weekend. The car drives fine. But the spoiler is a big thing I liked about this car. Just neat, like the aircon vent. Thanks again fellas. Hopefully someone who’s had a failed spoiler from a very can give their two cents as well.
Water in trunk
