...but equally as unexcited about some of the challenges I'm already encountering a few hours into owning my first Jag.

Hey everyone, just bought my first Jaguar today! Got a 1990 XJ-S convertible with a 115k miles on it. Previous owner dropped a new transmission in it 2 years ago and new engine 3 years ago. He was pretty meticulous in the mechanical aspects of the car from he told me. However, I'm now experiencing some of the cosmetic/electrical/other things he didn't get around to. I'll save my list of issues for another post...just wanted to introduce myself and say how awesome it was to drive the car home today after purchasing it, then driving down the freeway in Los Angeles. Plenty of heads turned and stared...very cool!

I've been reading this forum for a few weeks now during my car search, now that I finally got the jag I'm probably going to pull an all-nighter soaking up all this knowledge from you guys. Love it!

 

Congratulations!! I remember my first Jag (a mk1) how old am I ! And how excited I felt..thing is I am just as excited every time I drive the Jag (a bit later model now) But you forgot the most important bit..the COLOUR? What Colour is your top-less car??
Jags have issues,not many would dispute that,but when all is as it should be you will get used to those envious looks.Enjoy! Regards,Neil.

 

Hey Neil, its brown. You can see it in the attached thumbnail. Its 1:25am and read a few hundred pages on the forum already.

 

I didn't look at your Pic.did I? Beautiful.

 

Brown? I am sure Jaguar gave the brown a more prestige name than "It's Brown" By the way how did you get a picture of it all alone in the middle of a "freeway"? Awesome shot.Love it. (6.00pm -06-05-'12)

 

Here is a short list of issues I'm encountering so far...hopefully you guys can help:

-driver & passenger door locks are stuck. The key won't turn to the left or the right. After about 25 minutes of shimmying the key it finally turned to open the door, but I have to shimmy the key for a few minutes very single time. The trunk lock work smoothly. The previous owner had it in storage for a few months.

-passenger side window doesn't raise all the way, it stops about 1/8" short of touching the soft top. Driver side window seals perfectly. It does't sound like the window motor or anything continues to struggle. It just stops short.

-instrument panel backlight is off. Guess I'll try to replace the bulb first (that is after I figure out how to get in there).

-AC doesn't blow cold

-center console bezel for top and window switches is loose and barely stuck to the wood trim by the nasty black goo...not sure if its melted rubber or some cheap substance that was used in the form of glue

-brand new canvas top with a few toothpaste stains on it, thanks to the previous owner's son.

any ideas????

 

06-06-'12

 

that's actually a pic of the car on an airport tarmac. The former owner was a pilot. Actually more gold than brown..ha!

 

Graphite powder can work wonders on sticky keys/locks.Google "howtofix" change dashglobes,usually some-one has been there before. A/C would need an service/repairman and don't forget the dryer (ebay works for me in that area)! Others=?

 

Welcome to the forum,

Good to have you with us.
You'll find some great guys with good advice in the XJS section.

If you haven't already done so you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.

 

Nice! Almost looks like the 90 that I almost bought in West Palm Beach. Didn't pull the trigger on it cause I needed a back seat for the yunguns.

 

Hey Gipps...what did you mean by don't forget the dryer?

 

Hi there
welcome aboard Jaguarforums
good to have you here with us

Get yourself into the relevant section for your car and you'll probably find fixes for most of your issues

There's a really great mix of information, camraderrie and fun here.....

I've manually upgraded you to full forum access so you can better view the whole site and all its features

Jump on in and enjoy the site.................

 

The dryer is a canister type thing that has a substance to absorb the moisture in the a/c system. After a repair in which they had to remove the refrigerant and open the system to the atmosphere, they install a new dryer and then attach a vacuum pump to the system to lower the pressure, causing whatever moisture that entered the system to boil into steam and be removed from the system. Also, they can close off the system and see if it loses vacuum, if so, it has a leak and is letting atmosphiric pressure back in (and also would leak refrigerant out when you install it under pressure). The dryer is there to remove whatever moisture may have not boiled off (if it were trapped in the refrigerant oil).

howlinowl

 

the receiver/dryer, which functions as a filter for the refrigerant/oil, removing moisture and other contaminants