My wife's 2006 X-type has had an odd set of issues over the past few weeks. It started with her complaining about a bad smell in the cabin. I looed around thoroughly and could not find anything that could explain the smell. it was not something left to rot and it was not coming from the heat/ac ducts. I ordered a new cabin filter and figured I would try that.
Before I could replace the filter, she said the check engine light was on. The code told me it was the front upstream O2 sensor - so I spent last weekend replacing both upstream sensors (Car has 115K on it). I cleared the codes and drove it around for a while and the light stayed off - but the smell was still in the car - it is not electrical, melting wires, etc. it smells more organic. I could not help but wonder if the O2 sensors are somehow related to the smell. The cat converter is not super hot and the garage does not have any smell from the car - it is just inside the cabin.
After last weekend the car sat for the week until last night. My wife took it on few errands. It started normally and instantly in the garage and after coming out of the first two stores. When she came out of the third store - the car would not start - it would not even try to start. just some clicking in the dash and dim lights. I tried jumping with my Explorer and the first try did not work - but AAA arrived and added his jumper battery to my cables on the battery and it started right up. We removed the cables and shortly thereafter turned on the headlights - and the car died. We jumped it again and AAA checked the voltage while it was running and said it was 13.5V. we turned on the lights and it died again. I had it towed home.
I charged the battery overnight. It read 12.9V but it would not even try to start the car - lots of clicking in the dash - not a peep out of the starter.
After reading a few threads here, I changed the cables from the battery to the starter and the alternator - it still would not even try to start. I set the voltmeter on the battery and positioned it so I could see it from the drivers seat. it reads 12.9 volts when everything is off. it drops to low single digits when I turn the key. I should note the battery is less than 18 months old. could this be as simple as a dead battery. Somehow the smell, the O2 sensor codes and now this seem to be happening too close together. I want to test the output of the Alternator since that was my first thought, but I cannot get it to start so I cannot test it yet.

That brings me to my next (Related?) issue. The engine has leaked oil since she bought the car 3 years ago. it leaks from the side with the alternator, compressor, etc. I figured was it the valve cover gasket since I have had issues with those on past X-type I owned. looking at it today I fear it may be the head gasket. There is oil down the side of the engine mixed with the sludge of daily driving - BUT there is also a very large amount of what seems very much to be rubber shavings. the shaving are held together and collect in places thanks to the oil leaks. The accessory belt looks FINE - no wear, no cracks, no rubber worn off it. HERE IS THE STRANGEST PART: the biggest collection of rubber is under the belt on the tensioner wheel. there is a mountain of tiny rubber pieces under the belt - it is limited in height only by the spinning belt wearing away the pile. Where on earth could this come from. I first started looking around in that area to see how much of beast it would be to replace the alternator - and to see if the oil leak could have killed the alternator. the Alternator did have some oil on it, but it was not soaked like I had expected. The worst part of replacing it looks to be removing the AC unit.

Thanks for reading this far. so here are the questions:
Do the symptoms related to not stating point to the alternator? could it possibly be just the battery? is the 18 month old Diehard gold dead because the alternator is weak? or is there a bigger electrical problem causing this mayhem?
Is there some known cause of the collection of rubber pieces all around the accessory belt area when the belt itself looks fine and could not possibly have shed that volume of rubber without some obvious visual clue. (I have a 2002 X-type that has not a single shred of rubber collected in the belt area).

Since the oil leak is not from the valve cover (I can see the area below the cover is clean) and the oil seems to come from the head gasket - is it even worth looking at fixing it or is time to bring the kitty to the vet for her last shot?

if I get it running by sorting out this electrical issue, I can decide what to do about the oil/mechanical issue after that.

any help is greatly appreciated as always.

 

As you may or may not know, the alternator on our X's is a "staged" one. Depending on several factors when working it will charge at ~15.5 volts for a predetermined time of 3 different lengths. It MAY be bad based on your posting of battery unable to start car, "double" jumped it to start and showed 13.5 volts. This obviously should have shown the ~15.5 volts with the battery being flat and jumped. When car running and a load introduced, the car died. This points to a bad alternator.

After overnight charging battery shows 12.9 volts. Although normal thinking is "it's above 12 volts" this is still low for our Jags. They are EXTREMELY temperamental about voltage. Could your 18 month old battery be dying/dead/damaged? Well yeah if the alternator has not been recharging it correctly. To check this you really need to have it "load tested". This is not the usual AutoZone type of hook up "yeah it's good" test. It's normally done while in car and the machine takes 30-40 minutes to complete the entire test. Here is an admonition if you replace the alternator = only Jaguar OEM. Nearly every past post by members with problems have new lesser expensive internet buys that say they work, but in practice do not function correctly doing the 3 different "timed" charges.

As for the shaving under the tensioner, I would say it indicates excessive movement of that tensioner, but you say belt shows "no wear".

Smell = did it have a "rotten eggs" smell?

 

Thanks so much for your reply Dell...……..
I have to say, this is the greatest forum on the planet. So many helpful folks willing to spend time helping others. No other car forum I have joined even comes close!

My first order of business to fix the car is to get a new battery. I hope that will get the car started. From there I can look at the output of the alternator and figure out if it needs to be replaced. It sure seems like the alternator is suspect - but it should be noted that at no time has the battery light ever been on in the car (other than when all the lights in dash come on during startup). Even when the car was jump started and running without the lights on, there was no battery light in the dash. The battery also started the car without a hesitation a short time prior to the "incident" described in my first post.

the Rubber shavings continue to be a mystery. There are no sounds like bad bearings in the idlers or the tensioner- just a pile of rubber dust all over the place and a healthy looking belt.

the smell could be rotten eggs - is that a specific give away as to the problem? By the time I dove into the smell problem, my wife had done an extensive job of trying to mask the smell with what I consider to be equally offensive perfume scents in the car. I can say it is not a burnt electrical smell, nor is it a musty, moldy smell (as if there were mold in the AC vents) - but beyond that, I cannot identify it based on past experience.

 

Yes, a rotten egg smell (usually in and out of car) is a near sure sign of catalytic converter damage (burning interior).
As for the battery light, on mine (older battery = 3 years), there was no hint of failure. Started every time, never slow to turn over, never a battery light., engine never died under load. One day worked, next morning = kaput. It made that same sound from the dash that in "test" mode when you do the gauge test. Sort of a buzzing noise or plastic gears stripping noise. BUT, 12.9 (still a bit low) AND single digets when attempting start sure quacks, looks and smells like a bad battery (in addition to alternator?).

A cheat way to test alternator is with car started and running, remove the negative (earth) cable, if car remains running the alternator is working because battery is just a back up when car and alternator are running.

 

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/a...n-charging.jpg

 

Thanks for the link Dell. I replaced the battery. the car started like it was new. the voltage went from 12.7 to 15.3. I removed the negative lead of the battery while the engine was running and the engine did not skip a beat. Everything seems normal, which is great. Still no clue why it would not run on Friday night when the lights were switched on.

I also removed the cabin filter and sprayed lots of Lysol into the intake with the AC fan on high. I let the system rum for about 15 mins then put a new cabin filter in place. I parked the car in the garage overnight with all four windows down...………...it still stinks and now the garage smells like the inside of the car. I have some investigation to do on this smell.

the head gasket leaking oil is likely something that I will just live with. There is no water in the oil and no oil in the coolant. if something changes I will have to decide what to do then.

 

If it would be a catalytic converter going bad, you would definitely smell the rotten egg smell outside the car by taking a whiff near the tailpipes. If it is something "organic" inside the car, have you actually gone through the entire interior of the car (under seats, under dash, in trunk, etc. to get an idea if the smell is more concentrated in one area? Maybe a small animal got caught inside and is slowly decaying. When you removed the cabin filter, could you smell the oder there and was it as strong as in the car?

Have you noticed any wet areas in the interior ever or has there ever been some water leaking inside? Have you checked the drain holes from the roof? Is the smell more like something decaying or more like a moist, musty type smell?

 

I really cannot pinpoint what the smell is, I have gone through everything I could reach or see and vacuumed everything I could. I have sniffed under seats, in glove box, removed back seat, felt for wet carpets, etc. I thought it could be a mouse or squirrel decaying but I cannot find it. it really is not a moldy smell. there is no obvious area that I can find where the smell is stronger. I did not smell anything when I removed the cabin filter, and I tried to get my nose stuffed in there as much as I could. I have not checked the drain holes from the roof - not sure where to look for them?

 

Open the moon roof, look in the corners. They run from there, down the pillars. Be careful cleaning them like shooting powerful air down them as they can dislocate the pipes. If clogged, pour a little water in the channel and see if it drains. If not clean, then after draining well, pour a little lysol or such down them to clean mold, etc.

For the odor, if you just cannot locate it, the Turtle Wax OdorX is absolutely amazing!!

 

Also try and nose around under the car. Could be something was caught in a fender well or under the hood, etc. and was caught and died. Does it seem more like a moldy, musty smell or more like food rotting/animal decaying smell?