Now that winter is here, I have been starting my 2005 XJ8L every few days and running it a bit. The car had been sitting outside, and I was about to pull it into the garage for the winter.

A few days ago, when I tried to start the car, temp in the high 20s F, there was a sort of groan or shudder, and it cranked but would not start. During starting attempts it would pop every so often, but not catch. It was like a car from years ago that was flooded. Or maybe there was serious engine damage? The little message area on the instrument cluster said something like "engine system failure." I gave up for the time being, and put a battery charger on.

Fearing the worst, I then ordered a Foxwell NT530, but it wouldn't get delivered for several days. But I got impatient waiting. I disconnected the battery cables and shorted them together to reset the modules. Then I tried to start the car again. I cranked and cranked. No bad mechanical noises. At first no signs of engine life. But soon it started popping and sputtering, and eventually started and even more eventually settled down to a normal idle. The CEL was on. However, the "engine system failure" message had gone away. I let it run awhile to warm up, revved the engine a bit, then shut it down. Several hours later, the car started right up again, still with the engine light on. I pulled the car into the garage, where temps never get below 44 F.

It has started successfully 3 times after that, and run normally. I finally received the scanner, which showed codes P0016 and P0018 with note $07E8.. I used the scanner to reset these codes, and restarted the engine -- CEL was off. Engine started normally, codes did not return.

So do I have a problem or not? I wonder what happened ....

 

It is a bad idea to frequently cold start the car and let it run for a short time without driving it and bringing it up to normal operating temperature. Cold starts cause the most stress and wear, even more so if the vehicles are not warmed up by driving afterwards.

I think the car has been flooded with fuel on one of the cold starts, which should have no further consequences. I would not only start it again and, if conditions permit, drive it at least 40-50 km.

Fritz

 

low battery will cause lots of issues. wait for a clear day to start and drive car to warm it up during non-driving months or unhook battery and let it rest till spring thaw.

 

When I have been running my car periodically, it is always for at least one-half hour, with the temp gauge reaching normal, and the interior of the car fully warmed by the heater. I also rev the engine several times to blow condensation water out of the exhaust system. But I am mostly concerned as to whether this episode could have resulted from (or caused) some permanent damage in the engine or electronics.

 

Yeah, flatsix may well be right...sounds like it was flooded. There's a way to restart it if you have a good battery to do it. I've had it happen to me and there were no long term effects or apparent damage. I'm just a bit more careful when I start it.

Hope it's as simple as that for you.