Hi,

like the title says I hade some problems with my jaguar s type 3.0 v6 build year 2000. I start all with changing my brakes. After changing it my abs licht was on so I try to read a error code couldn't find one so I try to reset and that didnt work so when I drive to work my traction controle light did go on. With the text traction control off, traction control defect so now my abs and traction controle are on. Traction control going only on when I go to de second shift. If I drive back only the abs stays on and if I turn the car off and on to. Zo I diced to reset with battary that wear the big problem came. I hard reset and abs light is still on my traction controle is going on again and I o ly get cold air true my heater. So I have checked the fuse noting was rong there i have checked the abs sensor noting rond there no damage to see. And beacus I hade to go to work i drive with my car to work and 5 min later my steering got heavy and my parking break light turns on. Whit out any warning on the screen. So I dont now what to check next. Fuse are good my olie is good and my cooling are ok to my engine is not over heating. Anybody any tips to look at next beacus I really dont now what to do anymore. And it all start with a simple thing changing my breaks.

 

Any chance the battery could need charging (or even replacing)? These cars do not tolerate a poor battery.

 

can it be ? Its start normal. So far I now you now it when you start the engine then its takes longer to start it. I will look at it tomorrow.

 

The cascading faults make me suspect your alternator is not charging. As the battery runs down while driving, that can cause all sorts of new faults to suddenly appear.

To check, connect a voltmeter to the battery terminals. You should see approximately 13.5 V DC with the engine running.

 

A little update. I think a ghost is living in my car my parking warning light did stay the holl trip off and my steering is norm now. The only thing what have change in the car is that the passanger seat did go from al the way up to al the way down. And flat. Today somebody is going to check my accu whit the engine on and off.

 

So a little update the battary gives 12 v when engine off and 14v when engine is on. The e brake warning light goes on after 10 min of driving and heavy steering start a round 15 min of driving. Abs light stays on and the traction control light goes on in the 2nd gear. The only Warning message I get in the screen is traction controle off, traction controle defect. I did ask a mechanic to read my car he couldn't find any fould codes either did I. I have checked the fuse those are not broken. And still could air out of the heater. And tempture of the engine is still oke. Any one any tips to look next. Or is this a game over fore the car.

 

You need more accurate voltages.

The problem could be one of a few. I don't know all of them but a vacuum leak (air leak) would be one. But a battery/power fault is one too.

 

What do you mean with more accurate voltages. I have checked fore air leaks couldn't find one so far.

 

As JagV8 has mentioned, we will need more detailed measurements than that. 12.0V on a car battery at rest, if correct, is almost completely discharged. Surprisingly, you may still have enough power for the starter to crank at seemingly normal speeds. However, prestart voltage is absolutely critical on these cars for all of the various computers to power up properly. If low, you can get all sorts of random faults, and that is what I suspect is happening. A minimum of 12.6V prestart is a good rule of thumb.

This thread primarily applies to 2003+ cars, but you may still find it of interest as it shows how our vehicles can misbehave due to low prestart voltage:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...attery-193787/



Rule #1 for any electrical troubleshooting: Always begin with a fully charged battery. A jump start won't cut it. A little bit of driving won't cut it, either, especially if running the headlights, defroster, seat heaters, etc. Hook up an automatic battery charger overnight, something with at least a 10 amp output. Don't skimp and try a trickle charger, it won't do the job.

One free trick you can try for troubleshooting is to hook up a battery charger every night for a week or so. Sure, it is not super convenient, but doesn't cost anything. If the car now behaves itself, then you'll know that low prestart voltage was the cause. There are steps you can then take to troubleshoot why that is happening, so don't rush out and start throwing parts at it yet.

Also, the 14 volts you mentioned with the engine running seems a bit high for an early model. On my '02, I typically see right around 13.5v while driving. (I keep a little voltmeter doohickey plugged into the cigarette lighter socket.) High charging voltage suggests two possible faults:

1) A very low state of charge on the battery, and the poor charging system is overcompensating to build it back up. (See my previous comment to fully charge the battery with an external charger before any troubleshooting.)

2) A bad connection between the alternator and battery. This can cause the alternator to go high, as it is not getting the proper feedback of when to slow down the charging. The most likely culprit for this is the ground connection where the negative battery cable is attached to the body. I'd suggest undoing this connection and cleaning it up with a small wire brush. This spot is a known problem area.



Please see my comments above about hooking up an external charger every night for a week or so. Hopefully that will help, and then you'll know how to proceed with minimal expense.



I suspect this fault is a separate issue from all the others. With most faults in the heating/cooling system system, the default is full heat, not cold air. Lots of details here, including selecting manual mode to bypass most of the automatic inputs:


https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ol-how-185002/


Specifically, see post #2 for details on how to check the Dual Climate Control Valve (DCCV). There's a good chance it is clogged or jammed in the closed position. After that, see post #6 for further details on no heat.



​​​​​​​Oh goodness no. You've just got something funky going on, and need to run through some basic troubleshooting steps to isolate the fault. It's easy to panic and think the car is ready for the scrap heap, but if you let us walk you through some steps, we can probably figure it out.

A little more background on the car would help. How long have you owned it? Are these problems new or have they been going on for a while? Any other recent work? Is this a daily driver or is this a project you are trying to resurrect? Do you have a shop or good work area, or are you working in something like an apartment parking lot? What is your experience level with electrical work?

 

Like 12.6 or whatever.

Which tool(s) did you use to check for air leaks? BTW, You've no chance by ear!

 

Please see my comments in post #9 above. Are you using an analog (needle) meter? A digital meter is preferred. An analog meter may not have the resolution to see the difference between 12.0V (fully discharged) and 12.6V (good state of charge). Same for charging, with 13.5V (good) vs. 14.0V (a little high).

Also, please note 12.6V prestart does NOT guarantee the battery is good. It only means it isn't blatantly bad.

 

At the risk of questioning your wisdom (I'll be hiding in my bunker), should we be chasing vacuum leaks right now? Faults such as traction control, parking brake, and ABS all seem more electrical in nature, and not related to possible vacuum leaks on the engine.

Would somebody please PM me when it's safe to come out? Thanks...

 

Are you positive about the 2000 model year? The 2003+ models are more prone to the problems you've described. I'm wondering if 2000 is a typo.

An easy way to distinguish the difference is look at the bezel at the base of the shift lever:

The early models have a 5 speed transmission. On the left side of the bezel, the highest number you'll see (at the aft left corner) is 4. (D=5)

The late models have a 6 speed transmission. The highest number you'll see is 5. (D=6)

 

First off all thnx fore the replays guys.

-kr98664
I will defently read those links. I am hooking it up now on a automatic battery charger fore at least 9 hours a day fore 2 day now. (Beacus I need it fore work to) and I see a little inprovement now. It seems like The warning light and the power steering holds longer until the warning light goes on and steering gets heavyer. Only abs light keeps staying on and tractionncontrole error keeps showing after the the 2nd gear. So I keep doing this forn some days until it's full again. Info about the car. The car is from 2000 at least that in the paper and in de system of the government. And it's a Ford engine the problems are new it all happend with change the brakes. After that its did show abs so indid try to reset it
With a tool. (The heater did work norm then) but that didnt work so the day after I reset with the battery trick. So disconnect it for +-10 min. After that I did cold air out the heater and the stuff with steering will and warning light did start. So I did try to put air out of it beacus some days back I change the sparks. So some air came out and the pipe did getting hotter. But still cold air. I have the car for 3 monds now. So far the only problem I hade was that the passenger side FR couldn't not open beacus it is stuck. I drive it daily. I use a voltmeter to see if it was and with engine off its show now 12.60 and with the engine on 13.80. I work on a Ford mondeo mk3 before this car and I work on a parking lot. I now some stuff about electra engine and sensors. I work on car now for almost 5 years never did send it to grage only for the yearly inspection (that is a must in the Netherlands). And my dad have more experience then me on cars and he helps me a lot.

 

Can you please confirm if you have the 5 speed (early) or 6 speed (late) transmission? I'm still wondering if your car is actually 2003+, despite what the paperwork says.

How long was the car out of commission while you changed the brakes? Was it just a few hours, which wouldn't be a problem? Or did you have to wait a few days in the cold for parts or some other reason, and the battery ran down from inactivity? A few days shouldn't be an issue with a good battery, but it may be defective or have an external drain running it down.

How old is the battery? Even if fairly new, a good next step would be to have it professionally tested. Most parts stores will do it for free. Ask for a capacitance type tester, which is more accurate than the older resistive (heating element) type. Personally, I have both types and like to use them both, but If limited to just one would pick the capacitance type.

 

It's a automatic so I have to look I think its 5 I am not 100% sure beacus The did put a new transmision In it in 2005. Dont now wich one there did put In and dont now reason of it. After the brake change it did stay for a day on the block fore parts after that I I did drive it one day and it did go of the road for 2 days. In those 2 days we did try to get all the air out of the pipes. I have a cap on my multi tester. How old the battery is I dont now i will check that in evening.

 

A few more thoughts:

You had mentioned the lack of heat began after the spark plug change. The cooling system would have been disturbed due to the removal of the big intake plenum for access. How much have you driven the car since then? The cooling system is very persnickety about air in the lines. Personally, I've never had much luck with factory bleeding procedure. I've had much better results just driving for 20 minutes or so at freeway speed, with the heater cranked all the way up. You'll hear some gurgling under the dash as air is expelled from the heater core, and then all is well. Make sure to keep a close eye on the coolant level, too, as it may drop as the air is purged. So if you haven't driven much, I'd suggest trying that and see what happens.

I also missed a huge clue of the power steering becoming heavy about the same time as the other faults appearing. That suggests the serpentine belt is slipping as it warms up. This would cause the power steering pump, water pump, and alternator to have reduced output. This would respectively cause heavy steering, low coolant flow (lack of heat?), and low system voltage. The low voltage could explain many of the other seemingly random faults. Perhaps at idle slippage is less, so the alternator output misleadingly tests okay then.

To test this theory, check the serpentine belt tension. The tensioner has special marks to show if near the end of travel, indicating the belt has stretched. I can find the details if needed. Also check the belt for glazing or indication of slippage.

Also check the alternator output while the heavy steering fault is active. You can get an inexpensive voltmeter that plugs into the lighter socket. Or you can rig up your handheld voltmeter, if you can find a convenient spot to measure voltage while driving.

Fingers crossed you find a slipping serpentine belt. That would be an easy fix and would explain so much.

 

I missed the multimeter comment. Are you saying it has a capacitance setting? If so, unfortunately that is not what you need to confirm the health of the battery.

A good shop will have a battery tester that operates on the capacitance principle. It's a specialized tester just for batteries, not a generic multimeter.

I mentioned the capacitance type tester because that is the preferred type. There's an older style that applies a heavy resistive load, but these aren't as accurate and can be easily misinterpreted. Most auto parts stores will test for free, and typically have the preferred capacitance type, so call ahead to be sure and then get that battery tested.

 

Found it, post #18 in my monument to verbosity:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...2/#post1934020


Note my symptoms of heavy steering and poor AC performance. But since it is currently winter, you wouldn't notice an AC problem. I forgot to include the alternator output was slightly low, only around 13.0V instead of the normal 13.5V. If you are experiencing greater slippage, who knows how low the system voltage is dropping. That's why I suggested some means to observe the voltage when the steering feels heavy.

 

the heavy steering and parkingbrake warning light are off now whell driving its seems that rechaging the battery works (it now 12.92 v wiht engine off). i have looked to the beldt and its looks good dont see or hear any strange thing of it. about the heater and cold air i found that thate one of the pipes is not that warm as the others so i have try open the beelding screw again a little air came out and so now the heater blows lukewarm air out, still not that hot on high. so i going to test the 20 min drive today to see if i get hot air finaly. and abs light is still on and the traction controle error is still there in the 2nd gear. warning in the screen says then traction controle off, traction controle defect. so maby its 1 of the sensors in the back so now i have to look is i can find some other software fore my pc to read the abs. beacus the others dont so any fould codes even the one of the grage. so we getting closer to finaly fix this nightmare . so any tips of wich softeware fore my laptop i can use to read the abs.