I have a 96 xj12 and the other night when my wife was driving it the alternator belt broke. She pulled off to the side of the road and was not far from my home. I was able to drive it home although the dash was lit up like a Christmas tree and the lights were quickly dimming.
I've replaced the alternator belt but now the transmission will only shift into reverse and will not engage into drive no matter where I place the shifter.
Any suggestions on what may be the problem. Thanks in advance.

 

Hi Jon,

Welcome to JF! Glad to see another XJ12 owner on board.

Sounds like electrical glitches were caused by the low battery. Are there any dash warning lights still on? Do the red gearshift indicator lights still work properly?

Assuming the battery is still good, I suggest disconnecting it for a short time, to hopefully allow the electronics to reset themselves. We'll go from there.

 

Thanks for your quick response. The selector lights all show up and the check engine light was on. I didn't get a reader yet so I couldn't check the codes. I disconnected the battery but it is still doing the same thing.
I'm going to check the fuses next and then going to get a reader to see if I can't pull off the fault codes.
Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jon

 

I have a 96 xj12 that the alternator belt broke on the other night. I was barely able to make it home as the lights were quickly dimming and were nearly out by the time I arrived. The next morning I went to pull my car into my shop and I could go into reverse but the car would not go into drive no matter what position I put the shifter into.
I have since replaced the alternator belt and put a full charge on my battery but the car still will not go into drive. I disconnected the battery to reset everything but it is still not working.
Has anyone else had a similar problem? Any suggestions on what to check next would be great appreciated.
Thanks

 

You're probably better off asking in the x305 forum:
XJ ( X305 ) XJ12 - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

This forum is for 2004-2009 X350 bodied XJs.

I had a similar problem on my 04 XJR. Turned out the shift cable mechanism holding the cables to the body was loose. Might be the same issue. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the input. I'll repost in a different forum.

 

Jon,

Any progress with the transmission yet? Were you able to check the stored codes? Keep in mind that even if all electronic function is out, the trans would still work in reverse and in forward 3rd gear ONLY. That will make for a very unusual and labored feel, but the car should still be drivable. In this case, I believe the transmission fault light would be lit up (the uppermost amber warning light).

 

I should be getting the reader in the mail today or tomorrow and then read the codes. I should have mentioned before that when my wife called me to tell me that the car had shut down that by the time I got there she had just gotten it started again and I was able to drive it home but it was in limp mode. It was the next morning when I went to move it into my shop that I discovered that it would now only go into reverse.
Thanks for the help. I will post again when I get the reader.

 

I have the same problem the R position is the only one working all other gears from low (2nd) gear to D position not responding, any expert and serious mechanics that could help? thankz

 

If your battery is weak/dead it will not shift properly. Charge or replace. These cars need to be on a trickle charger if not driven daily. If not the battery...(which I suspect it is) the shifter has a little round plunger/shaft that engages/disengages in the mechanism as you shift. Pull off the cover and look and you will see it. Sometimes this gets tired or a dead battery leads to an attitude when it won't come out of park and it gets damaged. Broken plastic around the shifter is a tell tale sign of this. Fiddle around and you will see how it works and if it is damaged you may need to repair or replace but you will at least be able to shift if your stranded somewhere. Battery first.