Hello to all my fello (and Lady) Jag-U-Arians!! I am 89 JagMan and am new to this forum. Here are my problems (I have 2): I have a 1989 Jaguar Vanden Plas with a 3.6 straight 6 engine that won't start.

It will turn over but will not start. The car sat up for almost 3 yrs. before I rescued it and now I just want to hear the 'Black Kat' roar! The first suggestion I got was to clean the Mass Air Flow Sensor. I will be trying that. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanx in advance

My second problem is that I currently have to disconnect my battery every time I turn off my car because as soon as it is connected, my dash lights up and starts a system check even before I put the key into the ignition. Any suggestions? Thanx again

 

Need more info to really help with the no start condition?

Do you have spark?

Do you have fuel pressure?

Need more info to help you trouble shoot it oh and welcome aboard.

 

Hey ArmyJag, Thanx for taking the time to help. to answer your questions, yes, I do believe it's getting fuel. I replaced the fuel filter as well as the fuel pump. I can hear the pump engage when I turn the car on.

As far as spark goes, I would have to check on that. I did replace the spark plugs though, as well as the battery and alternator. Next, I was going to look at the distributor cap & rotor button. New to Jag mechanics, how would i check for spark?

 

make sure all your plug wires are good(dont want any corrosion on them where they plug into the cap) also the wire from the cap to the coil. for checking if you have spark ,take plug end of any plug wire and with a good plug inserted into it groud the threads against the motor have someone turn the motor over,you should see a good blue spark arcing in the gap.also regarding fuel presere loosen one of the connections on the fuel rail (rear is better than front) turn key and you should get a spray of gas out of it(if you are getting gas dont try to start until the gas has been washed off or evaporated,dont want any fires)

 

Will do and will keep you posted on progress. Thanx

 

I purchase a 88 xjs and just recently heard it run for the first time. So I was in the same place you are. I would suggest 1) did you drain the tank and put fresh gas in it. 2) check spark and gas pressure (as already mentioned). 3) check for injector pulse, Professionals have a thing called a NOID light. It is basically a fancy little light that plugs into the injector harness. Harbor Freight sells a NOID light set for $30, but if you want to save some money you could just use a small 12 light bulb (such as a dash light). Place the bulb across the two terminals of the injector plug. As you crank the engine, the bulb should flash (indicating the injetor is pulsing).

Lastly, unless you pulled your tank and cleaned it, there is probably a lot of garbage and varnish in there. I did not feel like pulling the tank on mine, but I found (on another forum) That WIX makes a fuel filter Part # 33299, that has 1/2 " inlet & outlet. I installed in before the fuel filter. It appears to have enough capacity to filter out some of the trash in the tank. I intend to replace this filter a few times. If this sounds like a good idea to you, remember to remove the inlet strainer (inside the tank). Good luck

 

Hey George,
By any chance do you have any photos of your filter installation?

I went through the same scenario on a "been sitting for years" 1990 XJ6. Like you, I thought an inline filter mounted ahead of my new fuel pump would help matters.
Got the filter, but once I got under there doggone if I could figure out where/how to mount it.
Not impossible, mind you, but looked like a real PITA! (I have really big hands!)

So, how did you go about it, and how much pain was involved?
Thanks,
Retro

BTW - re: the "big hands" comment.
If any of the ladies out there have ever lent any credence to the old wives tale about big hands and/or big feet being ...(ahem!)..."proportional", I can assure you that I'm living proof that it just ain't so! ....(Dammit!)

 

On the XJS, there is a small sump tank under the main tank, and it is all located in the trunk. It is real simple to get to, but it sounds as though that is not the same as your car. I could take some pictures as see if they will let me upload them here, although I am not sure I have been a member long enough to upload.

 

George,
After I posted my question I noticed you owned an XJS. You're right, it's a whole different critter. Thanks for responding, though.

My apologies to all for hijacking the thread.

 

A lot of what has been said is all really good information. In addition I would check the condition of the spark plugs and see what color the ceramic tip is. That tip can tell you a lot about how the engine ran before it was parked.

I would also start with some fresh fluids in the car, or at the least change the oil. Condensation and the fact that it sat for 3 years. Not that this will help your starting issues, but its good measure.

Something I did on my SIII is I replaced all my spark plugs, spark plug wires, and cleaned the contacts in the distributor. It was running really rough before I did this, now it runs like a dream. I would also check the ground cable coming from the engine.

I would check to see if the engine does turn over first. If you use a 30mm (I think) socket on the harmonic balancer on the front of the engine and use a ratchet to at least make sure that the engine isnt seized.

Keep us posted!

 

Checking the plugs is a good point that is usually overlooked, but unless I am mistaken, you want to read the ceramic slightly below the tip. Most plugs will be white right at the tip, it is about 1/8" from the tip that you should be looking at.