What am I doing wrong?
 

As a former Jag owner returning to the fold, so to speak, this forum has been a godsend. I've made numerous posts in the past, and have been thanked by other forum members. It's an incredible resource.

Yesterday I posted two questions about problems I was having with my XK8; brief smoking when starting up, and lean codes on both engine banks. I received exactly one reply referring me to the JTIS code pages (I'd already checked there). I find it hard to believe that no one else has ever had the problem with oil smoke when starting, but that issue was totally ignored. And yet, someone with a problem with their windshield washers not working gets a raft of helpful replies. My questions are as follows:

• Is listing more than one problem in an inquiry out of protocol (should I have written two separate inquiries)?
  
• Did I not give enough information (I thought I was quite clear)?
  
• Were these problems considered too trivial to deserve a useful reply?

Aside from the fact that I am still having to deal with these problems, I am somewhat disappointed in the response from forum members.

Nothing at all wrong with your thread Max. Hang in there for the weekend--it's been a busy back to school week for many with children :)

Thanks for the quick reply, Greg. I know it's been a busy week for a lot of people, but if you look at the number of new posts, and all of the replies they generated, you might wonder also. In any case, ultimately, they're my problems to solve.

Regards,

Max

Max,

Nothing wrong with your post although I have suggested adding some further detail on the DTC's

Number of responses tails off with the complexity or obscurity of the question. The Jaguar V8 doesn't generally either leak or burn oil so few members will have knowledge on this issue. If you'd asked for an opinion on the oil to use, you'd have had a hundred replies by now!

With the weekend here and more leisure time for everyone to catch up on their forum reading, you should get more replies.

Graham

Thanks Graham. I ended up figuring out the lean codes issue. Car low on gas, parked on a moderate hill. Accelerated hard and the fuel probably sloshed away from the pickup enough for the pump to suck some air, which triggered the codes. Just took it out and ran it around a bit; runs fine, no codes.

The smoke is still a mystery, although I'm leaning toward worn intake valve seals allowing a little oil to seep into the cylinders after sitting for a bit. I can live with it.

No real rhyme or reason Max as to why some threads are so popular and others aren't, some are full of replies whilst others are not.

As stated though, it does help to be concise, clear and offer up as much info as possible ( not saying you didn't do this, just a thought )

Further than this, it's helpful to try to make / keep the topic a hot one / live thread as far as is possible.

Other than that all you can do is wait i'm afraid

Good luck

Speaking broadly, not relative to Max in particular......

I try to answer/contribute as often as I can. If I don't chime in it's because.....



1) I simply don't know the answer and/or I have nothing worthwhile to contribute. This is the most common reason I don't reply to a posting, personally.

2) I know the answer but it might be a bit involved so I'll have to come back when I have more time to spell everything out. Or I have to sorta mull over my reply and have to come back later. Sometimes....um.... er.....I forget the "come back" part! Sorry !

3) The posting is poorly composed and unclear, and I don't have time or interest enough to decipher.

3a) Or it is wayyyy too long and I just don't have time to slog thru the useless clutter, especially when the author has forgotten to use paragraphs, punctuation, capital letters, etc. :) (one of my favorite rants!) . It's enough to know that the car died in the supermarket parking lot. Describing what you bought at the supermarket is superfluous.

3b) Or sometimes questions are framed in such a way that makes them difficult to easily answer. Too broad, too narrow, too vague. It's hard to know where to even begin answering....so I don't even try. I don't have an exact example of this, off hand, but hopefully everyone knows what I mean.



Cheers
DD

Clearly, you have something worthwhile to add to this thread Doug :icon_wink:

Very well put and to the point

Sometimes, if you have not experienced the problem or as it is hard to evaluate some problems without seeing them, you stand down and start researching to find something. As it was with some thinking and settlement of nerves the situation took care of itself. Doug is great, but some things as he noted are not a jump up and shout. I have been working with Jaguars since I was 15 and 49 yrs. later still scratch the noggin.

This is definitely not directed at the OP, but I also ignore threads whose questions are readily answered via the search function.

Attachment 157118

Always try searching, make a post, ask for help.....always have your car details in your signature, it helps no end.