Hi all, Rob here.

I need some advice please. I currently own a 2007 Jaguar X-Type (X400) 2.2D (181 000km on the clock) with some very very weired and annoying behaviour.

Mechanically the car is fine, and runs like a beast, but on the electrical side not so much. And don't really know how to explain it, so, I have linked to a video showing what I mean.

This was recorded yesterday afternoon: (Drive Link to the vodeo as I am posting from my phone)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-u74Dbo-Hc2z4M9kLSiqn5CHyUTt9th5/view?usp=drivesdk

I am of the thought that either there is an auto electrical anomaly or a security problem. If I can fix this my self, I would be more than willing to purely because most if not all service stations (Jaguar or otherwise) around here are brain dead and stuff up cars at a hell of a cost to the owner. (And not just Jaguar, I had a Honda Civic serviced and had to fight to have a branch CLOSED DOWN because after a service the gearbox went and the fuel system packed up. Gearbox went because 'they forgot to add new oil', and the fuel system went... well no one knows why... Anyway...)

Now a bit more than a month ago I had the codes read, and I was informed that nothing is wrong with my car, but by the video, there is clearly something wrong. It should be noted that when the car acts up like this, the Fob also stops working (boot won't open, locking has to be done manually and will only lock the driver door. The central locking won't work). This has me thinking security fault, but after she starts fine once, everything works again. And it is random as can be. Yesterday, for the first time, while coming out of the underground parking at work, the car literally switched itself of, everything all at once. Sometimes the engine would still run and I would get a brief electrical cut, yesterday, all out... Last night, decided to quickly go to a garage for a top up (and to see if it happens again, cause I hate worrying about a car) and nothing wrong again...

Anyone here have similar problems? Any advice?

 

Robert, first off, welcome to JF. You will find lots of helpful people here and a group that tries to be a different kind of car group. As part of this, we like to get to know one another and make this more of a friendly environment where information is exchanged. So, please stop by the "New Member" section and tell us a little bit about yourself and your kitty. This will also give you a chance to meet those that make this place what it is.

As for your problem, I want you to try something for me. With the car parked, start it up and turn on the headlights, seat heaters, dash blower (on high), and the rear defrost. What we are attempting to do is put a big electrical load on the car. After about 5 minutes or so, open the hood/bonnet of the car and cup your hand over each of the battery terminals (DO NOT TOUCH!!!!!!). Is one or both of the terminals extremely hot (like you are fearful that you would burn your hand)? If yes, then you have a bad battery cable and it will need to be replaced. If both terminals are at "engine bay temperature", then all should be good. We have found that the battery cables are a common failure item that can lead to problems like you are seeing.

The next thing I would tell you to do is to get your battery load tested at your local auto parts store. If the battery is more than 3 years old or is testing at less than 75% capacity, replace the battery. We have found that an aging battery can cause random electrical faults like you are seeing.

If this doesn't fix your issue, let us know and we can take things from there.