It has been a very long time since I have posted on the site (which is a good thing, because that means the X-Type has been ok). I ran into an issue and it has been driving me nuts.

A couple of months ago I was on the highway going about 70 MPH when the car down shifted hard and an error message came up that said "gear box fail"! F*&k!

I pulled over and shut the car off. I disconnected the battery for about 30 minutes, reconnected it, and all was good...until it happened about 2 weeks later. I could not figure out what was wrong. Reverse was fine, but when in drive the car would struggle to move in first gear. I noticed it always happened in the rain.

I looked under the car for hours trying to figure it out. I noticed the engine way dry, so i figured it was something on the underside of the car causing the issue. After about a week of trying to figure it out I just started disconnecting all and every electrical connection i could find.

I was able to get to the TCM inside the car under the drivers kick plate (which did a number on my back). when I unplugged the TCM I noticed that there was corrosion on a couple of the pins in the white connector. I took apart the TCM and there was corrosion on the board as well. I cleaned everything with rubbing alcohol as a "hail mary" to see if it would fix the issue... and it did!

question and concern I have is this: How the hell did water get in there? does anyone know what runs down the A-pillar that would carry water or be a passage way for water to have this happen? The issue is fixed for now.. until I wash the car or it rains again

 

I think you've finally answered the question as to why a common Japanese auto transmission successfully used in other cars fails in an X Type. X Type's also have nasty sill rusting problems (covered in other posts here) which is probably related to water ingress. Where does the water come from??? The base of the windshield/screen may drain there.

 

First off ,sorry I have nothing for you to give troubleshots on your issues .
Secondly , I thought you sold the car because it's been very long time since you last time posted in here
Thidrly , it is good to see you again lol

Finally, I believe our tech guys will guide you and you will fix the draining problem

 

Hey Jvegas, nice to see you around again.
Good post and on a problem and what seems so far like a good fix, albeit temporarily as you say.

Just out of interest, VW Passats have this issue with the TCM being located under the passenger seat and it also seems to have problems with the floor being flooded, getting into the TCM and causing all sorts of issues.

I know that on the VW the problem there is with the drains which get clogged and it goes from there.

I don't know how you totally resolve the issue on the X type, if its the drains here, where they are or how to fix it, but hopefully someone a little more knowledgable will drop by soon and offer a solution

 

The water drips into the car from the hood cable. It just travels along the cable, through the grommet in the firewall and drips onto the tcm. In the past i have relocated the tcm to the big metal dash tube and held it in place with zip ties. The harness is plenty long so you can do this. That way water will not drip on it.

 

I will try to locate the source of the water this weekend and update with anything I find. if all else fails, i Guess I can move the TCM, but I rather find the source of the problem.

 

Oh, and also, I did not sell the car. I love this car and it has been problem free up till now.

I already know the first thing I am going to try is parking the car in a pitch dark garage and use lights from the engine bay to see if it is a direct path to the TCM that the water is taking. If that does not work I will start taking things apart until I can find traces of water somewhere and maybe figure it out from there.

Any other input on what runs in the firewall and in that A-Pillar would be very helpful... Pictures would be even better

I lost my JTIS disk, so i am all hands on at this point.

Thanks for the "good to see you"s

 

Don't know if related but I had my own water (possibly) related experience.

First time during my one year ownership I had to leave my x-type overnight during a very heavy rain. Getting in it next morning discovered sizable pool (enough to soak several paper towel sheets) on the passenger floor mat. More drops have been coming with the wiper down movements.
I've been under average rain/snow before but never noticed any water ingress.

The worst thing is that check engine light was on, again, the very first time ever. I needed to reach my next stop only 20 miles away and not hearing any suspicious sounds like misfire etc., I decided to drive. Just before my final highway exit I noticed loss of power and red light next to check engine came on. Fortunately there was not much traffic and I slowly got off the highway to a side street to read the manual and see what is going on.
First reaction was to disconnect the battery but I had no wrench so I pulled the ECU fuse F19 for several minutes - no effect. ECU did not let more then 1500 rpm. Still under the rain I slowly with hazard blinkers on continued to my destination.
Parked and shut off the car, fired up google maps in a search for AutoZone. Found one like a mile away. Spent about 5-10 min on the phone unsuccessfully trying to convince them to rent me OBD - II reader they usually give out to use on the parking lot only. Finally decided to drive there anyway as is - fortunately red light went off after second restart.

Following codes were read:

P0121 Jaguar OBD Code Lookup
P0182 Jaguar OBD Code Lookup

Deleted all codes and successfully drove another 200 miles with no problems. There was light rain one night but no new water inside.

 

so even after cleaning the TCM and replacing it, I only got 3 days driving until it started up again today with the Gear Box Fault. So, I guess it's time to replace the TCM. Does anyone know of a place where I can find a cheap one?

 

So I called around and the lowest price I found for a TCM was $890.00. I went online and found Quality used car parts - Tom's Foreign Auto Parts where they had one for $100 including shipping. I ordered it on Friday and it arrived Monday! I plugged it in and I am good to go! when I installed the new one I put it inside a freezer bag to protect it from further damage until i can locate the source of water. I will update you guys when I find where the water is coming from.

 

Search my name for posts I've started and you'll read all about my troubles with the TCM.

Long story short, I replaced my windshield and never had the issue again. Look from the outside in right in the bottom corner drivers side and that is the most common place for the windshield to leak. Took 3 hours in a spray booth at the dealer to find the leak.

Take the TCM back out now that you know how to do it. Re-route the wiring up and out of the way and zap strap it away from everything hanging with the plug at the bottom with a baggie over the whole thing. You'll be gold if you don't want to go through the whole trying to find the leak. But guaranteed it's the windshield, especially if it's not the original.

 

I think it is the original windshield. I will check that this weekend. Did you put the seat computer back in its original spot or did you move that as well?

 

I hauled everything up because of the wiring loom. It's all back to stock now. Still no issues. My underpad on the carpet was barely damp but it pooched 2 TCMs.

 

You could try spraying the old TCM board and connectors with contact cleaner, or cleaning it up with rubbing alcohol. That should not hurt it and you can keep it as a spare.

BTW, there are links all over the place now for JTIS downloads in various stickies.

 

I tried the rubbing alcohol method at first (I used to do it with cell phones back in the day) it worked for 2 days and then failed again I think mine was too fried by the time i figured out what was wrong.

So far the new one is working fine. This weekend i will take the plastic bag off of it and move it up out of the way till i find the source of the water.

 

Just an update on a gearbox fault message I received after leaving the Xtype on a slope in the rain for a couple of days. The car started in limp mode but eventually wouldn't start at all. Water had ingressed the TCM connector and also the ECU connector. They were both cleaned and dried and worked ok unfortunatly the instrument cluster wouldn't communicate with the ECU any more leaving the car disabled. The Cluster had to be renewed at a cost of AU$1350 for the unit plus labour charges. Apparantly the major source of the water leaks on this model are via the Skuttle plate above the polon filter. The plate is sealed to the body via a backing tape that tends to come unstuck when work is performed in this area ie pollen filter change etc. This allows water to run behind it and enter the car near the TCM and ECU modules. I would suggest any owners should check and reseal any gaps at the panel to prevent a costly repair.
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Great info, can you post any pics of this plate your are talking about?

 

Sorry it was done at the dealers. But they told me what and were, the TCM is usually the first to get the problem as the water runs inside the car and down under the trim, usually accompanied by a damp smell and eventually wet carpet.
Some wrongly diagnose a bad weather seal around the window screen. I think when the skuttle panel is removed and replaced after pollen filter change, there is a need to reapply the mastic sealer which is often overlooked. I always push the issue if mine is done by anyone other than myself. My son had a similar problem with his Zetec Ford after a pollen filter was changed and the workshop did not finish the job off. He was lucky with just a wet foot well.

 

This might be a stupid question, but would a manual car have a TCM?

 

No, they don't and they don't have this problem. X Types drain water from the wind shield/screen by draining into and down the A pillars and out the sills. Dumb, dumb design. It rusts and water gets to where it shouldn't be.