Cold Weather Starting
 

it was 18 degrees Fahrenheit this morning, when i went to start my car for work.

it had a hard time starting, it just kept turning over and over. I held it for about 15 seconds and listened to it turn over, lol.

it did start about the 3rd time i cranked it, and no errors or anything popped up.

i noticed that my air suspension looked like it had collapsed over night though.

it had a hard time inflating and lifting the front end up too.

anybody else experience these things during the winter?

I know it is somewhat normal, especially for a car that spent it's life in a warm climate, but I just wanted to get a second opinion.

Alias - my '05 did EXACTLY the same thing last week. Left it out of the garage on a 25 degree night. About a minute of cranking till finally lighting off, then ran flawlessly. A mechanic recommended changing the spark plugs as I believe they are original (75k miles). Personally I don't think spark plugs would cause such dramatic differences, but I bot new iridium spark plugs, have not changed them yet. I think she's just a temperamental b****. My wife acts the same way when I leave her outside overnight. : D
On another note, I seem to recall more air suspension failures as the weather gets colder. You might have a shock leaking.

Just like mine...
 

Alias.
I have white 05 Vdp just exactly like yours.
50,000 miles.
My rf air strut leaked and the compressor could not keep up.
Suggest you open hood, start car and listen to the shock tower. Should hiss when trying to pump up right after starting. ( if it's leaking, that is). Also, you might put a coffeecup worth of water in the shock tower and see it bubble.
Once you find which shock leaks, rf or both, then call arnott's and get a $399 airshock. Easy to put on, btw. Mine fixed perfectly. Happy camper.
Take care and let us all know.

On cold weather starting. Try about an inch of throttle while cranking. Should send extra fuel and make starting easier.
Works on my english fuel injected motorcycle...

thanks for the help guys.

well, it's been a myriad of pretty chilly nights here in Kansas, and my suspension has not fallen since the first frosty night.

it has stayed perky and purges/inflates accordingly.

it has also not had any more problems cranking, guess it was just having a bad day that day.



irregardless, when i take it into Jaguar for an oil change, I'll make sure they do a decent inspection of everything.

This should include reading the stored fault codes. There is a whole group for the air suspension, but you have not mentioned getting any fault messages on the annunciator display on the instrument panel. Did you get any when the car dropped down low ?

If you see the bubbles around the airline fitting, it might indicate a loose connection or bad O-rings. I had both, a bad O-ring and a loose connection on the same side. I went over 140,000 miles last month and have had no problems with starting (yet).

My air suspension started throwing codes when the ambient temps neared freezing.
The Jaguar definitely prefers the heated garage overnight.

Also, FWIW I'd never crank an engine for 15 seconds continuously.

On the cold starting issue, spark plugs can make a difference. You may also want to put in fuel injector cleaner. I am a major fan of a product sold by Chevron with Tecron in it. sold at many major stores. due to the large fuel tank, I put in 2 bottles sized for 12 gallon tanks, and dump both in when I top off the tank. I have not had my XJR that long, but suspect I may due this treatment every 10K miles or so.

it did not give me an air suspension fault light, probably b/c the front end pumped right up.

the other day we had another very cold morning, the car started fine, but the suspension would not pump up, at all... you could hear the compressor trying its hardest but to no avail.

so i let it warm up completely, turned the key off, took it out, put it back in, cranked it up, and it started inflating, it just took forever... :P

i'll have jag take a look at this at my upcoming service appointment... thank you!

My '05 did it again last week - wouldnt start. I did try a bit of throttle as suggested above, to no avail. So based on the first mechanic's advice (see above), I had my plugs replaced with new Bosch Iridium plugs. As I talked to the mechanic changing them, he said "I'll bet your throttle plate is gummed up - that wreaks havoc on cold-weather starting. Let me look at that." He yanked the intake off and yes - it was gummed up; tar-y looking. He wiped it down with throttle body cleaner & rags & buttoned everything up. The test drive was flawless - started fine, etc. But the real test will be over the next couple of weeks.

Just wanted to throw that out there.

As a side note - dude charged me $50 for the work. (my garage & tools). I dont know if you guys have tried this spark plug job, but it is a mother. He is the ultimate backyard mechanic who has worked for an auto salvage yard for decades. Owns & races a 600-700 horsepower Nova. He also figured out a bizarre back feeding/corroded fuse block in my '82 BMW in a matter of 20 minutes. I have never, ever seen him not able to fix something mechanical. He is literally the guy that everybody calls once they've backed themselves into a mechanical corner. Real talent.

I purchased Iridium plugs and 4 coil packs last year and still have not replaced them.:icon_emm:

i know a guy like that... they are worth TWICE their weight in gold...