2004 XJ8 won't start, whining and clicking engine block
 

My 2004 XJ8 won't start, and when I turn the ignition to the 2nd position, I hear a loud, high-pitched whine. When I get up and open the hood, there is also a rapid clicking going along with the whine, like a solenoid firing repeatedly. It seems to be coming from inside the engine.

2004 XJ8 won't start, whining and clicking engine block
 

My 2004 XJ8 won't start. When I turn the ignition, the ignition comes on, and the engine turns over a few times, but won't stay on.

When I turn the ignition to the 2nd position, without trying to turn the engine on, I hear a high-pitched whine. I get up and open the hood, and both the whine and a rapid clicking, like a solenoid firing repeatedly, seem to be coming from inside the front of the engine block, or inside where the air intake goes from the air filter into the engine. I don't know if I should start dismantling things to see where it's coming from.

I already charged the battery and checked all the fuses related to the ignition or the fuel pump.
My OBD II reader says only P1000, System readiness test not complete.

(I typo'd the thread name. Is there any way to fix it?)

Hi Xeno,

I corrected the typo in the title and I merged your post from the other thread into this one since the forum frowns on posting the same issue in two different threads.

My first question would be have you checked the battery voltage sag while cranking the engine? If the battery is weak, then even after being charged its voltage may sag too low to crank the starter.

Others may have a better idea of what may be causing the high-pitched whine, but one possibility might be the stepper motor for the throttle butterfly valve.

Cheers,

Don