I have a 2004 S-Type and I've been having a lot of issues for the past 3 years. We have an extended warranty that expires in April, 2017, so I am hoping to get this resolved before that time. So far, none of the Jaguar experts in the Indianapolis area can figure out what is wrong. I'll do my best to explain in detail.

My car randomly stalls. This has happened when I'm at a drive-thru window, stopped at a stop sign, but also when cruising down the highway at 70 MPH.

When it stalls, all of the electronics continue working (fan, power windows, radio, etc.), but the car will not restart, and behaves as if it doesn't even know I'm trying to restart it. (No noise or response at all when I turn the key).

When it stalls, instantly the message center begins to scroll through any and every warning that the car has: ABS Fault, Transmission Fault, Parkbrake Fault, DSC Not Available, Cruise Not Available, etc. Every warning light on the dash will be illuminated. When I remove the key from the ignition, the car sounds a loud, very rapid beep noise approximately 50 times.

The car has always restarted after between 3 and 90 minutes (usually it takes about an hour though.) We have had it towed to import car specialists and the Jag dealer, but it has always started again by the time it gets there. At that point, they run it through all of their testing procedures, and find no issues. Since the stalling happens randomly, we've not been lucky enough to have it happen when in the possession of a service expert.

It only appears to happen in very hot weather. Also, it seems it doesn't happen the first time a car has been driven in a day. For instance, I might make it to work, and back home. Then if I leave in the evening to go shopping, it might happen. It never happened even once during our Indiana winter last year, but it did happen last summer in the heat, and it is happening again this summer. It is random, but it happens approximately once per week.

There are no warnings or temp indicators prior to this happening. (I've learned to keep a close eye on things.)

Can anyone offer any suggestions, or has anyone ever experienced a similar problem?

 

Dear HoosierMama,

Welcome to the forum. First thing, though, there is no way we can work with the well-written, fact-filled query you have posted. We are accustomed to vague, angry posts devoid of all pertinent details, written in textese, with not even a Shatner comma for punctuation. Forgive us if we have trouble working with the format you have provided.



My first thought with the crazy electronics is a marginal battery. How old is your battery? These cars are VERY sensitive to battery condition. I've never heard of a bad battery causing a stalling issue, but yes on many of the other faults you're experiencing at the same time. Given the chance to spend your time and money, I'd gamble on a new high-quality battery unless you can swear it's only a few months old and the problem predated the replacement.

When you are unable to restart the car, what does the transmission J-gate show? I'm talking about the P, N, D, etc. around the base of the lever that light up to show the actual selection as sensed by the transmission, not necessarily where the lever is. If P or N is not illuminated, the starter won't engage. This could give us a big clue.

You mentioned the problem was heat-related. One of my first thoughts was a failed diode in the alternator. This could cause all sorts of electrical grief. This is super easy to check. Pick a hot day and get the car warmed up, duplicating the failure mode as best as possible. Put a voltmeter (+) lead directly on the alternator's big output terminal. Put the meter's (-) directly on the alternator case. Set your meter to AC volts. (Not a typo, you'll be reading alternating current). Try various load combinations, such as running the AC fan on high and turning on the high beams. Any meter reading in excess of 0.5VAC indicates a failed diode in the alternator. I'm not sure at what point excessive AC output would start causing grief with the rest of the car, but perhaps it's right on the margin and the heat puts it over the edge.

You mentioned the car has been to several specialists. Have any parts been changed as a precaution?

 

Thank you for your reply!

We considered the battery (which was old) could be the problem, so about 3 weeks ago we replaced it with a brand spanking new high quality battery. Of course, the first few hot days, it ran like a charm, but then we remembered this is a random/sporadic issue. Sure enough, the problem returned, so the new battery didn't fix things. (I'm still proud of my awesome new battery.) No other parts have been changed by us or by service peoples.

I've honestly never looked at the transmission J-gate, so I'll have to check that next time. I'm usually so focused on being sure I don't put the car in park, because once it goes into park, I can't get it back into neutral to push it off the road! (I have no idea if this is by design or yet another problem, but it sucks.)

The diode thing sounds very interesting. We will follow your suggestion and see what happens, and I will report back.

Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and expertise. Wish me luck! I love this car like I love the term "Shatner comma", and I want it healed.

 

I have had similar symptoms to a few of yours, sadly not the entire spectrum you appear to be suffering.
I basically cleaned every major terminal from boot to bonnet, thinking a lose or dirty connection that holds until it's warm enough to expand and break contact. It has not stalled since (except when my MAF recently 'failed') but I'm not sure I actually located a problem I could point to as the culprit.
My failure to start problem was fixed by replacing the two relevant starter solenoids 3 and 20. (Next time you get the 'no start' problem, hold the key in the start position for a few extra seconds. This used to get mine to kick over.
Good luck

 

This is a clue. The shift lever should move normally with igntion on and the brake pedal applied.

 

I tried this once, and broke the key! I had to go to the dealer to have a new key made. Ugh! Thank you for the reply. I'm keeping track of all this.

Interesting! Every single time this happens, if the car is in park, it absolutely will not come out of park until after it restarts. A clue! I feel silly for not including it in my original post. I thought I was being thorough! By contrast, when the car is simply parked normally, I can indeed move the shift lever with ignition on and brake pedal applied.

(I now leave the car in neutral even if the drive-thru is taking too long, since Burger King had to close their drive through for an hour once because of my stalled car. Oops. And I don't even like Burger King, but I felt bad.)

 

It could be the shifter cable is not properly secured to the trans.

BTW what engine?

There should be 2 small (8mm) bolts holding the cable (get under car and look where the cable comes down to the trans). They can come loose - sometimes fall out!

 

Is the lever locked in the P position? Or does the lever move normally but the transmission does not respond?

If the lever is locked, that may be a function of the antitheft system. I'm not 100% versed on the details, but I think the logic is to immobilize the vehicle if the alarm is tripped.

And I do know one way to set off the alarm is to disconnect and then reconnect the battery. Any time I've unhooked the battery, I have to be ready with the key fob when the battery is reconnected. I think that's also an antitheft strategy to defeat any attempt to get around the alarm by disconnecting the battery.

So maybe in your situation, voltage is dropping low enough to make the alarm system think the battery has been disconnected. Then the engine shuts off (unsure if this is due to low voltage or a function of the alarm) and battery voltage slowly recovers due to reduced load on it. The recovery could be enough to mimic reconnecting the battery, so the antitheft system responds as designed, even though it's totally wrong.

Just thinking out loud here, trying to think of a scenario that fits.

Does your horn work? Could be the alarm system is also trying to sound the horn, but has no way of knowing if it's actually working. That would be a big clue to determine if the alarm has been triggered.

While trying the AC voltage test I previously suggested, also check for normal DC voltage output from the alternator. As high tech as these cars are, you don't get a low voltage message until it's way too late, if at all. Load up the alternator as much as possible with the fan, high beams, etc.

You can take the DC reading right at the alternator, but that may not be conclusive because it doesn't test any related wiring. You could test directly at the battery, but that may also be inconclusive if there's a wiring fault between the battery and the point that feeds the alarm system. Later today I should have time to look in the wiring diagrams and find a good point where you can take a meaningful DC voltage reading.

 

On a practical level, keep a detailed log of the occurances and the shop findings. Courts love it when you have logs of dates, etc. Contact the warranty company and get them involved well before the policy runs out, to document this has been an ongoing problem that should have been corrected. Ask them for details in writing of how they handle preexisting claims once a policy runs out. Don't go in with guns blazing, looking for a fight, but rather to enlist their help dealing with a type of situation for which you specifically purchased their warranty product.

 

I worked on a friends S-Type with a very similar problem. There were stored "Low Voltage" faults in the ECU and TCU. The battery was new and the charging system was functioning with no AC ripple. It turned out to be a poor battery ground, the resistance would go up with ambient heat coupled with the resistive generated heat. We went through the car and cleaned pretty much all of the grounds at the same time. We also used a product called NO-OX that is a conductive grease designed to prevent corrosion and resistance in industrial power ground connections. (Amazon has it ) .
If you have a Jag specific scanner such as icarsoft 980 I would put it logging mode and leave it connected. Then when the issue happens again, see if there is any info in the logs to help pin point the problem.

 

4.2L V8

I appreciate the time you're taking. We hope to try this today.

Yes, horn works. Car gets locked in P after it stalls. I can put it into P when it stalls (like if it happens when I'm in drive), but then I can't get it back out again until after the car restarts. I've often thought it's somehow related to the anti-theft, but not sure how.

Great suggestion. Thank you.

That's interesting. Adding this to our list of things to try.

I really appreciate all the help.

 

I'm trying to share video here. I hope this works. (I said in the video that the "air" was working. It was simply the fan, not the air. I knew that, but I was stalled in the middle of a street, so cut me some slack!)

 

I believe the rapid beeping is the car thinking that the transmission is not fully in the Park position.

 

When it stalls, DON'T PUT IT IN PARK. Move the selector lever to N. That way you can roll the car. Use the EPB to hold the car (if that works). You can start the car in Neutral, not just Park.

Sounds like the car network shuts down, Might be a faulty INST PK????

Can you get the INST PK into ETM?

You won't understand all the info displayed but try scrolling through anyway.

bob

 

Yeah, we figured that out a long time ago. As mentioned above, I no longer put it in park when stopped and idling anywhere (drive-thru, ATM, etc.), just in case it stalls.

And no, we still cannot start the car in neutral when this happens, but at least we can push it off the road.

 

Sounds more and more like those bolts may be loose/absent...

 

I left the car running during my lunch hour in the hot sun (on purpose), and it stalled, so it was already in park. The P was illuminated, as it should have been.

As soon as we can get under the car, we will check this. Thanks.

 

>As soon as we can get under the car, we will check this. Thanks.

Remove the belly-pan and they will be on the side of the shifter, beside the transmission, on the driver's side of the car.
================================================== =
You dreamed of a big star -
He played a mean guitar -
He loved to drive his Jaguar...

So welcome to the machine

 

Wish I could be sure whether that needs removing! (I check the bolts every oil change so I have the air deflector (engine undershield / belly pan) off anyway.)

 

I'm pretty sure it does but if it was the bolts the shifter would just fail wouldn't it?
I wouldn't expect a recurring fault. I'm leaning more to an electrical/ground fault.