I bought this car after the owner gave up. She took it to two different shops, but the may not have been the right choices. One was a main agent, who quickly gave up and tried to sell her a new car, and the second shop dealt with older models, and didn't have modern diagnostic equipment.

Thanks to this forum, I found the TSB for front and rear electronic modules "waking up" and had a good Jag-Tech with gear come over. There were lots of stored codes for the car, many caused by the battery going dead. There were about 8 codes in the rear electronic module, and none for the front one. So, we swapped out the rear one, new battery, and wiped the codes.

So far (1 day) all is okay...yeah!

Thanks!

The front module is hard to remove so I'm glad we didn't have to do that. I have a parts car, so removed the 2 modules prior to getting the Tech guy over. The front one would require removing the driver's seat, so that the stiff carpet panel can be removed, to get to the nuts. For the parts car, I cut the carpet up with a blade.

I'm hoping this car stays working okay, as it's a VDP, 90,000Km (55,000miles).

If anything changes, I'll post here.

Cheers,

Rob

 

Robert You shouldn't really be having this sort of trouble with a car on that mileage. My own 2007 Sovereign is on 58k miles, bought last October on 54k. Has the car been neglected ?

Also my 2003 didn't have anything like this, (plenty of other issues, mind you !!)

 

Hi Rob,

Congratulations on acquiring a nice Jaguar and fingers crossed that the replacement REM will solve the problem.

There are a number of issues to be aware of on the X350 that have less to do with mileage and more to do with age.

One is that the battery charging voltages are higher than typical due to the requirements of the original Varta silver calcium batteries. Many owners, including me, have replaced the original Vartas with conventional lead acid batteries, only to learn that many conventional batteries do not like the higher charging voltages. One of our members, Box, has identified three batteries that are currently being produced which are suitable for our cars, one by Bosch and two by Exide (the Global Extreme and the NASCAR Extreme if I recall correctly).

Another issue with Jaguars in general is corrosion on battery power connections and ground points. In the case of the X350, the ground points comprise a threaded aluminum stud welded to the body, aluminum ring terminals on the harness wires, and aluminum nuts to secure the terminals to the stud. A microscopically-thin layer of whitish corrosion forms on all the aluminum parts, and since aluminum oxide is an electrical insulator, it resists the flow of current and can cause problems with battery charging and the operation of any or all of the electrical circuits in the vehicle. There are 27 ground points in the X350, with most of the critical ones located in the engine compartment and trunk.

Corrosion on electrical connectors is another common problem, especially the connector for the Engine Control Module (ECM) which is mounted below the cabin air microfilter housing on the engine bay side of the firewall/bulkhead.

You can download the Electrical Guide at this link, courtesy of our member Gus and his website, jagrepair.com:

2004 X350 Electrical Guide

You can also add the Workshop Manual to your library courtesy of the Jaguar Forums:

Table Of Contents

General Information

Chassis

Powertrain

Electrical

Body

Cheers,

Don

 

I apologize for asking my own questions on someone else's post, but they all might be related to Rob's problem.

What is the best way to prevent or at least minimize the corrosión on the ground points? Should I apply on them that liquid that increases electrical conductivity (I think it is commonly used on electrical sensors)? Or should I apply that thick grease that is usually applied on the battery connectors?
When it comes to locating the ground points, I am only aware of those ones next to the front lights and difficult to access due to lack of space, but as I am sure this issue has been discussed before in the fórum, I will look for information on other threads.
The previous owner of my car installed a brand new battery one week before I got it, but I doubt he bought the best one in the market. So far is working ok, but when it needs replacement, I will remember that the right batteries must be those silver-calcium ones.

 

On grounds ONLY, utilize Gardner-Bender Ox-Gard. It's a conductive grease that is designed for this purpose specifically. You can also use it on battery terminals to eliminate corrosion. Coat the studs and the terminals. Do not use it in any electrical connector, as it is conductive. You can find it at any hardware store or major lumber yard like Lowes or Home Depot.

 

Download the wiring diagram here:
http://www.jagrepair.com/JaguarXJ8%2...OBDIIcodes.htm

There is a page that shows you where every ground point is. It's early on in the diagrams, usually around page 20-22 depending on model year