Hello all, I got my 04 automatic today. I have been running her all day and she's performed flawlessly, even thru an hour+ traffic jam.

There are somethings that need attention, though

1-there is always a noise coming from that little vent looking square by the ignition. What is it? I don't want anything draining my battery.

2-in the passenger footwell there are three blue cables just hanging, like something was disconnected and removed...anyone know what...and why remove it?

3-the overhead console where the courtesy lights are is all messed up, the buttons to turn the lights on seem stuck or broken. The rearview mirror was completely missing-I ended up buying one from a parts store and installed it to hold me over-then I found the original mirror in the trunk with all the wires chopped of.

4-Is draining and refilling the tranny simply a matter opening the drain plug, letting it drain and refilling with 3.5 of castrol import multi vehicle ATF (is that right?) and repeating next month? I don't want to pay someone to just undo a bolt drain and refill.

5-the transfer case and differential fluids I will have my Jaguar mechanic do since it seems more complicated. At least this first time.

This is a car that is financed, granted a small amount, but nevertheless I want to avoid any type of mechanical issues. Paying a lien and for a broke down car is too much.

I know it's a lot of questions. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

I can only answer the first one; the noise is coming from a small fan behind that vent, the purpose of which is to suck in air from the cabin for the AC temperature sensor also housed in there.

 

@aonsaithya:

Thanks! Everything helps. So it's going even when the car is of, correct?

 

It should turn off some time (~1min?) after shutting down the car. A fairly common question really
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...926/#post45648
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...87/#post481772
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...32/#post276717
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-472/#post1327

However, while I have a fairly sensitive (actually diagnosed overly sensitive) hearing, I don't normally hear mine unless I put my ear near it.

 

Thanks for the links . That takes care of that!

 

Spike, I will try and answer your questions to the best of my ability.

1 - Like was mentioned, that is a small fan for the A/C system to monitor the cabin air temp. It will continue to run even after the car is turned off. But, trust us, it will not affect the battery of the car. All of our cars have that little fan running. It actually turns on as you open the driver's door and will run for about 15 minutes after you turn off the car.

2 - the blue cables that you talk about are most likely part of some aftermarket system that someone else installed. If you could take a picture of the cables, that may help me identify what was there.

3 - as for the overhead console, it may be easier to find a wrecking yard and see if you can get a new overhead console to get you some working buttons and even possibly a new connector for your overhead mirror. Otherwise, you are going to end up splicing the wiring together. Let me know if you need some help with that.

4 - I would not simplify the tranny fill/drain to quite the simplicity that you did, but in short, that is the process. There is a fill port on the side of the tranny that you are supposed to fill it to. So, you pour the fluid in until it starts coming out this port on the side. Make sure to cycle the tranny through the gears to get all the air out of the various passages.

5 - the differential isn't that bad. You just need to get yourself a vacuum pump to suck the old fluid out. Then you fill the differential again till it starts coming out the fill plug. The transfer case is not quite that easy. Getting the fluid out is easy. Getting the fluid back in has confused some people. There are 2 basic processes for doing this. If you want me to go into more detail, let me know. It isn't necessarily hard, but you do need to know the tricks.

 

@Chris

Thanks for such a complete and detailed response.

-the blue cables in question are these:



-I have already had a kind member contact me in regards to parts he may have available.including a mirror. With a E type and XJS, solder guns have been a friend of mine for a while!!

-I am going to have my mechanic do the differential and transfer case for sure, so I won't have to worry about that.

-please tell a little more about what else is entailed in changing the tranny fluid out. I read the FAQ post on doing it and that's what I understood-just drain the fluid and always add 3 quarts.

Please forgive me if I seem a little slow, but my current cars are easier to work on, so I am coming from that mindset.

Thanks!!

 

Spike, looking at the wiring, that is almost definitely something that was aftermarket. I would be taking a guess at either some sort of MP3 player or someone had a CB installed in the car.

As for the tranny, the big thing is to shift through the gears to refill the passages before you cap the fill plug up again. Otherwise you may be running the tranny a little low on fluid which can lead to the tranny slipping out of gear. There is also an alternate way which I read about where you remove the line going to the tranny cooler and you run the engine just long enough for it to push all the fluid out of the tranny. You then shut the engine off, fill up the tranny, start it one more time to push out a lot of what is left in the tranny. At this point, you will have almost all new fluid in the tranny. You can then top off the tranny and this will have also changed out the fluid in the torque converter. Do some looking around as there is a write up about doing it this way. Seemed like a much better way to get a lot of the old fluid out. But, then, I like the older vehicles where you could pull the plug on the tranny pan and on the torque converter to get all the fluid out that way. So much for the easier, more simple days.

 

Thanks for your help.

I have looked at the archives so much my head started to hurt. Lol. Just find so many posts about transmission and TC failure it's making me paranoid.

I am understanding that changing the fluid entails

A)opening the filler tube which is underneath the battery (a rubber cap)
B)putting car up to temp and shifting thru all gears
C) turning of car
D)opening drain tube underneath car and 3.5 quartz will come out
E)pour 3.5 of castrol import ATF down previously opened filler tube
F)turning car on and placing shifter thru all gears
G)replace filler tube cap
H)repeat next week and the next

I also tried looking into the transfer case and found that there where a whole lot of ways to do it. A poster was even selling some sort of fool proof kit


I am really enjoying this car. Coming from an E type and an XJS it's 100 percent Jaguar contrary to some comments i have heard people make. The only thing I do not care for too much is the interior. It lacks that "handcrafted" feel that the other Jaguars have.

 

I am looking into getting a so called "BG transmission flush"

Can anyone tell me if this is good for the car? I like the idea of the flush, but they replace the fluid with that "BG" fluid. I could only find one member in the archives who used the BG flush and fluid.

 

Well I went ahead and bought some Castrol transmission fluid. I am still not totally sure what I should do about the transmission fluid, but I can't enjoy the car until that and the TC case is done. I am hyper sensitive to the tranny up shifts and downshifts fearing a problem will arise