Greetings:
Am thinking of taking this car from a friend: 2002 Jag Xtype 2.5 AWD with auto trans. There's a huge stupid back story on this vehicle, I'll spare details. It had a slow speed accident...tall courier truck backed up into the front of the parked car taking out the upper radiator, crushing hood and other front of vehicle and motor bits and pieces (airbags did not deploy). Said bits and pieces have been replaced. It's been a year or more since an effort to start so will need to hook up a fresh battery to it. The previous owner, who replaced all the bits, could not get it started and was told it needed to be hooked up to a Jag dealer's diagnostic machine to get it sorted via reprogramming or something (I'm relaying info told to me). I have not heard that they did a reset on the fuel inertia shut off switch. I'm thinking that could be the issue. This is a USA vehicle - so is the switch on the passenger or driver's side? Also, can anyone provide a photo/diagram to show it...I haven't been able to find one. It's an hour drive to check it out, so I want to cover any bases I need to in order to have a go at getting it started (without a trip to dealer). When providing advice, remember hasn't had a viable battery in it for about a year+.
Thanks much.
Dave

 

The inertia switch is located in the footwell behind the trim on the right-hand side of the vehicle, forward of the front door post, below the fascia. A finger access hole allows the driver to reset the switch.

 

If the switch doesn't do the trick, any thoughts as to what would be my next course of action? I'm told the car ran very well right up until the accident. Pretty much all it needed were bolt on parts, i.e. alternator, grill, radiator, fan, etc.... Not sure any new sensors were installed. I'm fairly sure it turned over when trying to start, just wouldn't fire up. The guys who worked on it are pretty darn good mechanics. The guy who owned it left the state for some business and hasn't returned. So it just sits. Seems silly to let it go to waste.

Thanks.
Dave

 

First check is turn key to position #2 (not start), watch dash for what lights illuminate and then turn off. The m.i.l. should remain lit. If it turns off, this is Jag's notice the car is immobilized. If it stays lit then the car is "ready to start". This requires fuel and spark. Try turning it over. No start = shoot a little starter fluid into intake. Easiest way is remove (CAREFULLY) the booster tube from brake booster into intake. Push down on the exterior ring and lightly pull the tube up. Shoot in the fluid, replace tube, try starting. If it does for a short time, it's a fuel issue. If no, it's most likely a spark issue. This requires a bit of investigation and work.

At this point, plug in ELM, read any codes and use SEARCH feature here to find answers.

 

Suggest checking the fuel pressure. When the fuel pump died on my 2004 X-type had no fault codes. Used an ELM327 to read the fuel pressure as there's no Schrader valve on the rail. Had 0 psi.

 

What is the m.i.l.? Maybe it's obvious, but the acronym is not registering in my memory bank. Thanks.

 

Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) aka Check Engine Light (CEL) or Service Engine Light (SEL).

 

I'll have to get to this in mid-June. Didn't have a new battery available to test. I did push down the fuel reset button and felt a small click...don't know if it's supposed to be very pronounced movement...but did feel like a switch depressed. Thanks for the info and will get back to you all if I get to assess it. Hopefully they don't decide to haul it for scrap or other. Thanks again.
Cheers!
Dave

 

Movement is not pronounced but that small click indicates that the Inertia Switch had deployed . . . and you have now reset it.
Well done, and good luck Dave.

Cheers,