I'm having some strange problems with my 2002 X-Type (USA). I was having trouble with the car starting, so I tried jumping it from another car, and it started. So, I've had the battery checked and charged (it had sat for a couple months, so I guess it lost some of its charge), and so the battery is fine now. But the car still won't start on its own…*it just cranks and cranks and cranks, and nothing. I've been racking my brain, but can't figure out what would make the difference that it would start in a jump but won't start under a good battery on its own… wondered if maybe there's something specific to the Jag I don't know about, because I'm out of ideas. Anybody have an idea?

Thanks in advance, for any help, and for being kind to the forum newbie
-kevin

 

What do you mean by 'fine'? Did someone do a load test on the battery? There have been numerous reports of batteries charged enough to spin the engine but not above the 10+ volts under load required to run the electronics.

. . . and welcome to the forum!

 

^^times2, a under voltage can spin the starter, but not fire the coils and injectors. have the battery tested again properly. And the next step is new batteries cables, theyre a huge issue for poor charging and starting. Forget what they look like, replace them if the battery is good in your situation

 

I'm not sure what a "load test" is, but I took it to Auto Zone and they fully charged, then tested it. The results of said test showed "good" and 12.6v.

 

I'm not sure I understand... How exactly would one "properly" test a battery other than that?

 

There are many more qualified people than me that can answer that. But I will throw this out there. Take a voltage test on the terminals of the battery while someone is cranking the car, 10 or under may not be enough to start it.

 

When cranking the car over, connecting a multimeter across the battery should result in a reading that remains above 11.0 VDC. Seeing it drop below 11.0 VDC is a sign that you either have a battery that is not fully charged or you have a cell that is failing and when a large current is passed through it, it is dropping too much voltage.

Also, when you are jumping the car, do you put both cables directly to the battery or do you put the positive cable on the positive battery terminal and the ground somewhere on the engine? If both are going to the battery, then assuming the battery is good, then you have a high resistance connection at the battery clamp. Clean and try again. If you are going between the positive of the battery and a point on the engine, then your negative battery cable is more than likely toast.

Hope this helps.

 

This whole thing just gets weirder and weirder. Now I get a strange whirring sound from (maybe under?) the fuse box next to the battery when trying to start. A completely new problem. Also, the battery reads at about 11v now, just days after it was fully charged. Maybe this is from several starting attempts? I've only tried a couple times though.
I guess I'm going to start testing fuses and relays or something…

Oh, and I only ever jumped it on both positive and negative. I've never done that thing with connecting it to the engine block.

 

Gotta be a bad battery or battery cable. No magic or mysteries associated with this.

 

Swap another battery, even if this one tests good. If you scan the car, you will probably find a crank sensor code too. Most of the time you can put that battery into another x-type, and the crank/no start will follow the battery to the other car.

 

A laod test refers to the battery's ability to actually do work, not sit there and look pretty @12.6v put a load on it and suddenly that prettieness shows to nothing that can do work. We test battery for not only voltage, but impedance and cold cranking amps. And this is a totally differant kind of machine that ive never ever seen in a auto parts store, or most shops either.
And if your down again now to 11 somthing volts, you have a bad battery and it may have gone bad cause of high resistance in the battery cables. I said it before and ill say it again, the xtype has terrible cable that are very problematic and we replaced many sets ever year. So dont just stop at the battery there are many ways to check for poor cable, 1 through the instrument pack engineering mode, it lets you monitor voltage of the battery and chagring system as you drive, after driving you can shoot the terminals of the -/+ with a iffered temp gun. The offender shows as a hotter temp than the other terminal or other metal under the hood around it. And or check the voltage at the battery and then at the terminal at the back of the alternator an the ground lug. Do all this when hot as that when higher than acceptable resistance rears its ugly head, and more than a .2v differance replace the cables and including the small cable from the battery to the engine compartment fuse box

 

Thanks for the tips everybody. I'm still getting nowhere… I replaced the battery with a brand new one, and it still won't start. Same thing as before, at the first try it cranks 2 or 3 times and then is just on the very edge of a start and dies. Then on every other try after that it just cranks continuously with no result. And I can't reproduce it starting under a jump either, though knowing that it did just a few weeks ago, and since we know the battery is not the problem now, I'm still confused as to what the problem could be.

I tried testing the voltage while attempting to start, and it does dip to about 10 when cranking. @mrtalkradio you said that may not be enough to start it - if that's the problem, any idea what would be causing that?

Also, when the key is first turned to the on position before attempting to start, there's a high-pitched hum coming from somewhere in the engine compartment, between the engine and the battery as far as I can tell. This may be perfectly normal, and I just didn't notice it before (I could only hear it while my wife was turning the key while I was checking the battery, I'm usually behind the wheel and wouldn't hear it) but I thought it was worth mentioning in case that raises a red flag.

@brutal thanks - i understand the concept now, but I'm still not sure how to test the cables…*I can't do the while-driving test you mentioned, obviously but I'll do some research and see if I can figure it out from this. I don't have an accurate enough meter to see the difference of 0.2 v.

If I could just get the darn thing to start I'd take it over to NTB and have them check the cables… but at this point adding the cost of a tow to get it there is pushing me to figure it out myself

Thanks again for all the help.

 

cant you jump it again and start it

 

No, like I said, I can't reproduce that result. No idea why.

 

I would be looking in the throttle body area now.............or fuel pump.

 

If substituting the battery didn't gain you anything, [and that usually does the trick] I would suspect the crank sensor. I think you should get a code scanner and see what faults are in there, clear them and see what returns right away after a few starting attempts.

Good luck!

 

After going through exactly all symptoms described with my 2002 Jaguar Xtype, and after cleaning both battery poles and making sure all fuses (#92) and spark plugs were ok and sparking, I went to the throttle and found out that the throttle was dirty and "jammed" and I mean that I had to use a long screw and as my buddy was cranking up the car, I manually opened the throttle for air and the car STARTED!!!!!! then I sprayed a small amount of lubricant and with the engine off I made sure the throttle door opened easily, after I turned on the jag and drove it, I went to the gas station and putted two bottles of fuel injector cleaner, drove the jag back home and srpayed the inside of the throttle with Carb Cleaner, it took a second to start but ever since the jag starts up with no issues. I hope this words helps out another fellow Jag owner, Merry Christmas and Happy 2012!

 

After going through exactly all symptoms described with my 2002 Jaguar Xtype, and after cleaning both battery poles and making sure all fuses (#92) and spark plugs were ok and sparking, I went to the throttle and found out that the throttle was dirty and "jammed" and I mean that I had to use a long screw and as my buddy was cranking up the car, I manually opened the throttle for air and the car STARTED!!!!!! then I sprayed a small amount of lubricant and with the engine off I made sure the throttle door opened easily, after I turned on the jag and drove it, I went to the gas station and putted two bottles of fuel injector cleaner, drove the jag back home and srpayed the inside of the throttle with Carb Cleaner, it took a second to start but ever since the jag starts up with no issues. I hope this words helps out another fellow Jag owner, Merry Christmas and Happy 2012!