Hey guys. I apologize if this is in the wrong area, as this is my first post. I'm posting the problem for a friend of mine, and between us and a third friend, we can't figure out whats gone wrong.

His mom was headed out in the XJ8. she backed out of the driveway just fine, but when she went to put it in drive, it wouldnt go in (automatic transmission). she then put it into park, and turned off the engine. now, the gear selecter is in park, but the lights in the guage cluster are not registering that it is in park, eg. the light for "P" is no illuminated. since it is not registering as being in park, the car will not turn on, and there's just the normal lights on the dash (no CEL, ABS lights etc)

we're trying to figure out what kept the car from going into Drive initially, and what's now causing the car to not register that it is in park. the best my friendsan i could do is speculate that its a bad or loose electrical connection somewhere, but non of us no Jaguars too well, so we don't really know where to begin. any help is greatly appreciated!

 

There is an inhibition system involving a detector switch on the brake pedal, plus a solenoid on the shift assembly to stop the car from being put into Reverse/Drive unless the foot brake is pressed. The brake switch detects brake on (or off) and allows the solenoid to release the gear shift lever. One or the other has failed. I believe there is a means of manually releasing the solenoid on the shift assembly, but don't know the details, but others here may know the answer

Most auto cars have this inhibitor system, my wife's VW New Beetle has it and also clear labels indicating a foot on a brake next to the Park position.

Question is - is you wife pressing the brake pedal down sufficiently firmly before attempting to change gear ?

 

Sorry !! I meant your friend's mom

 

i would assume so since she and my friend both drove it equally as often.

 

Do a visual inspection under the car to make sure the linkage isn't loose, I remember reading somewhere that there is a bracket near the transmission that has a tendency to lose (or have loosened) bolts, causing the gear selection to vary. It should be obvious if you see something not quite right.

 

my friend said there's nothing out of the ordinary under the vehicle, and unplugged and cleaned the connections on the brake switch, and still no improvement.

 

This happened to me two weeks ago. Check the linkage (actually a shielded cable) under the car where it attaches to the transmission. Two screws. one missing, one loose on mine. Cable needs to be anchored to the transmission housing solid....

Tom