First journey. First load of problems.
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From: Sheffield / Chesterfield
First journey. First load of problems.
After spending the last couple of weeks giving my (new to me) X350 XJ6 a thorough going over prior to using it as my daily, this evening was the first time that I’d had it out on the road since driving back from the previous owners house. It was also the first time that the cars dash had lit up like a Christmas tree.
I went to collect the wife from work about five miles away. A couple of miles down the road and the engine management light came on but the engine and the car is otherwise running fine.
When I got to my wife’s work I noticed in the reflection on her office windows that the front was sitting really, really low. Upon getting out to have a look, the rear tyres have a three finger gap between the top of the tyre and the wheel arch. The passenger side front had a two finger gap, (just), between the tyre and the wheel arch, whilst the drivers side front, (UK car), I could barely fit one finger between the top of the tyre and the wheelarch.
As I was just driving out of my wife’s work car park the ‘restricted performance’ notice flashed on the dash, closely followed by a ‘low coolant’ warning and an amber and red light in the middle of the instrument cluster. I pulled over straight away, checked the expansion tank level, (a little low, but not below the minimum), but the engine did feel dam hot. I checked the top house which was dam hot, whilst the bottom hose was mildly warm. Turning on the interior blower to 30 degree Celsius it did blow hot air, but not 30 degrees C hot.
My thoughts....
Ive spent the last couple of weeks poking about under the car doing various jobs and the airbags on each corner look in good condition, there’s no sign of ‘frosting’ on the tops of the suspension turrets and this is a problem that appears to have happened all of a sudden. That being said, when I was cleaning the car last night I heard a hissing from the front that lasted for about 10 seconds.
I’m therefore hoping that this suspension issue is more of a software issue than a hardware issue. Do these air suspension systems on the XJs have a habit of throwing a wobbly when they’ve been jacked up and on axle stands for a couple of weeks, especially if the battery has been disconnected? I’m very much hoping that solving this issue will simply be a case of plugging in a laptop, clearing the codes and resetting the system? Am I being optermistic?
As for the coolant issue, I’ve recently replaced the thermostat, the water pump, and a couple of coolant hoses. The system has been drained, (but not the block), re-filled and I believe, bled properly. I didn’t flush the rad out though.
A quick forum search shows loads of guys across the Jaguar range having issue with the coolant level float in the expansion tank. For now I’m thinking that the cause is more than likely an air lock?
Do any of you wise old, (and not so old), sages wish to impart any pearls of wisdom here, especially about the suspension issues?
In advance, many thanks.
I went to collect the wife from work about five miles away. A couple of miles down the road and the engine management light came on but the engine and the car is otherwise running fine.
When I got to my wife’s work I noticed in the reflection on her office windows that the front was sitting really, really low. Upon getting out to have a look, the rear tyres have a three finger gap between the top of the tyre and the wheel arch. The passenger side front had a two finger gap, (just), between the tyre and the wheel arch, whilst the drivers side front, (UK car), I could barely fit one finger between the top of the tyre and the wheelarch.
As I was just driving out of my wife’s work car park the ‘restricted performance’ notice flashed on the dash, closely followed by a ‘low coolant’ warning and an amber and red light in the middle of the instrument cluster. I pulled over straight away, checked the expansion tank level, (a little low, but not below the minimum), but the engine did feel dam hot. I checked the top house which was dam hot, whilst the bottom hose was mildly warm. Turning on the interior blower to 30 degree Celsius it did blow hot air, but not 30 degrees C hot.
My thoughts....
Ive spent the last couple of weeks poking about under the car doing various jobs and the airbags on each corner look in good condition, there’s no sign of ‘frosting’ on the tops of the suspension turrets and this is a problem that appears to have happened all of a sudden. That being said, when I was cleaning the car last night I heard a hissing from the front that lasted for about 10 seconds.
I’m therefore hoping that this suspension issue is more of a software issue than a hardware issue. Do these air suspension systems on the XJs have a habit of throwing a wobbly when they’ve been jacked up and on axle stands for a couple of weeks, especially if the battery has been disconnected? I’m very much hoping that solving this issue will simply be a case of plugging in a laptop, clearing the codes and resetting the system? Am I being optermistic?
As for the coolant issue, I’ve recently replaced the thermostat, the water pump, and a couple of coolant hoses. The system has been drained, (but not the block), re-filled and I believe, bled properly. I didn’t flush the rad out though.
A quick forum search shows loads of guys across the Jaguar range having issue with the coolant level float in the expansion tank. For now I’m thinking that the cause is more than likely an air lock?
Do any of you wise old, (and not so old), sages wish to impart any pearls of wisdom here, especially about the suspension issues?
In advance, many thanks.
Last edited by The Moneypit; May 22, 2018 at 01:59 PM. Reason: poor grammar and fat fingers.
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From: Crewe, England
Your car has the 3 litre V6 and may be suffering the same problem I had with low coolant. It is very unlikely to be an airlock.
When it happened to me it was totally unexpected as I'd had the car four years by then with no coolant warnings. Anyway, a look around in the dark with a torch shows very small globules of coolant below the header tank and above the water pump. At the workshop, it turned out to be the lower connection of the small bore pipe that goes into the top-rear of the coolant header tank. The lower connection is to a plastic water rail. On mine I needed a new water rail and a new header tank as the nipple on that was fractured. Not a cheap fix, I'm afraid, but you can get header tanks on the internet, and maybe even the water rail.
For your suspension issue, you really do need to get the fault codes read.
When it happened to me it was totally unexpected as I'd had the car four years by then with no coolant warnings. Anyway, a look around in the dark with a torch shows very small globules of coolant below the header tank and above the water pump. At the workshop, it turned out to be the lower connection of the small bore pipe that goes into the top-rear of the coolant header tank. The lower connection is to a plastic water rail. On mine I needed a new water rail and a new header tank as the nipple on that was fractured. Not a cheap fix, I'm afraid, but you can get header tanks on the internet, and maybe even the water rail.
For your suspension issue, you really do need to get the fault codes read.
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Joined: Apr 2018
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From: Sheffield / Chesterfield
Your car has the 3 litre V6 and may be suffering the same problem I had with low coolant. It is very unlikely to be an airlock.
When it happened to me it was totally unexpected as I'd had the car four years by then with no coolant warnings. Anyway, a look around in the dark with a torch shows very small globules of coolant below the header tank and above the water pump. At the workshop, it turned out to be the lower connection of the small bore pipe that goes into the top-rear of the coolant header tank. The lower connection is to a plastic water rail. On mine I needed a new water rail and a new header tank as the nipple on that was fractured. Not a cheap fix, I'm afraid, but you can get header tanks on the internet, and maybe even the water rail.
For your suspension issue, you really do need to get the fault codes read.
When it happened to me it was totally unexpected as I'd had the car four years by then with no coolant warnings. Anyway, a look around in the dark with a torch shows very small globules of coolant below the header tank and above the water pump. At the workshop, it turned out to be the lower connection of the small bore pipe that goes into the top-rear of the coolant header tank. The lower connection is to a plastic water rail. On mine I needed a new water rail and a new header tank as the nipple on that was fractured. Not a cheap fix, I'm afraid, but you can get header tanks on the internet, and maybe even the water rail.
For your suspension issue, you really do need to get the fault codes read.
I understand what you mean about those small bore pipes. I've heard stories about how fragile the connectors can be, so I made sure that I didn't disconnect my water rail / coolant pipe junction to expansion tank pipe from the expansion tank, but rather from the coolant pipe junction, and did so and handled with extreme care.
There's no sign of any leaks from the collant system, and as the top hose was red hot whilst the bottom hose was merely warm, I'm going to go down the lines of an air lock for the time being.
It's the suspension issues that I'm more worried about.
Yes, there are plenty of tales of the suspension system / ride height sensors having a hissy fit after the car has been jacked up. Especially when the battery hasn't been disconnected first, (mine wasn't). But all those tales have a happy ending after the car has been driven for 10-20 minutes. Sadly my front end is still on the deck after 30 minutes of driving.
Cheers, Frazer.
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From: Sheffield / Chesterfield
By the time the engine had cooled down sufficiently last night it was late and dark.
I've just been out to check the system now and the coolant level was low. I'd miss-read the level on the expansion tank as I didn't unscrew the cap last night. I reckon I've just added close to a litre / 1.5 pints to the system.
I've also just noticed that the breather tube from the top of the right hand can cover has become disconnected, not from the cam cover itself, but from where ever it connects to below the throttle body.
I'm going to go and run it up to temp and take it out for a few laps around the village and then see what comes of that.
I've just been out to check the system now and the coolant level was low. I'd miss-read the level on the expansion tank as I didn't unscrew the cap last night. I reckon I've just added close to a litre / 1.5 pints to the system.
I've also just noticed that the breather tube from the top of the right hand can cover has become disconnected, not from the cam cover itself, but from where ever it connects to below the throttle body.
I'm going to go and run it up to temp and take it out for a few laps around the village and then see what comes of that.
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From: Sheffield / Chesterfield
After I topped up the coolant I let the car idle on my driveway for about 15 minutes with no problems. The error message disappeared, as did the amber and red warning lights. No sign of coolant leaks.
I took the car out for a bit of a local run but a mile down the road it developed a slight stuttering under load at part throttle, fluctuating between 1800 and 2100 rpm. I've got a mate coming round in the next couple of days to plug in his code reader so We'll see what that throws up. The engine management light is still on as well.
I took the car out for a bit of a local run but a mile down the road it developed a slight stuttering under load at part throttle, fluctuating between 1800 and 2100 rpm. I've got a mate coming round in the next couple of days to plug in his code reader so We'll see what that throws up. The engine management light is still on as well.
Joined: Dec 2011
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From: Durham, UK
After spending the last couple of weeks giving my (new to me) X350 XJ6 a thorough going over prior to using it as my daily, this evening was the first time that I’d had it out on the road since driving back from the previous owners house. It was also the first time that the cars dash had lit up like a Christmas tree. .....
Graham
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From: Sheffield / Chesterfield
Two immediate causes of the hesitation under load at part throttle that I've thought of could be the 1/2 litre of petrol that I spilt down cylinder no:1, or that whilst I was cleaning the injectors, I dropped one, although it was from only shin height.
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The plot thickens.
The MEL light has gone out but the misfire remains at 1800 to 2100 rpm.
Added to which the drivers side rear door won' unlock.
I'm starting to think that maybe Jaguars share an alarming familiarity with Land Rovers, TVRs and 1980's Peugeots?
The MEL light has gone out but the misfire remains at 1800 to 2100 rpm.
Added to which the drivers side rear door won' unlock.
I'm starting to think that maybe Jaguars share an alarming familiarity with Land Rovers, TVRs and 1980's Peugeots?
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 120,439
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From: Durham, UK
To troubleshoot the misfire you'll need a code reader. Nothing exotic or expensive required for basic powertrain codes. Without knowing the error codes, it's guesswork to find the correct cause.
Individual door lock problems are either mechanical (broken cable to the interior handle) or electrical (usually a failed microswitch in the door latch).
Graham
Individual door lock problems are either mechanical (broken cable to the interior handle) or electrical (usually a failed microswitch in the door latch).
Graham
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Joined: Dec 2017
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From: Germany
If a car shows accumulating faults like this in completely non-connected places like misfire and not unlocking doors, in my opinion the problem has to be in the electronics. General electronic stability and maybe CAN bus are the only common denominator between all the erratic systems.
So given the multitude of confirmed reports on voltage sensitivity of the X350 I would
- clean all ground pins that can be reached
- get a new battery or at least make sure the current one is ok and fully charged
- just to clean up artefacts reset all error codes with a suitable reader that can reach all functions and not only P-codes
- do a hard reset as described in some good posts here
and then hopefully be back on the road. If you start visiting dealers on issues like this they typically start exchanging involved electronic control modules, which quickly surpasses the car value.
Good luck, and let's hope it is an unfavorable combination of corroded ground connections and weak battery.
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From: Sheffield / Chesterfield
Oh oh, my condolences, your cat has the rabies.
If a car shows accumulating faults like this in completely non-connected places like misfire and not unlocking doors, in my opinion the problem has to be in the electronics. General electronic stability and maybe CAN bus are the only common denominator between all the erratic systems.
So given the multitude of confirmed reports on voltage sensitivity of the X350 I would
- clean all ground pins that can be reached
- get a new battery or at least make sure the current one is ok and fully charged
- just to clean up artefacts reset all error codes with a suitable reader that can reach all functions and not only P-codes
- do a hard reset as described in some good posts here
and then hopefully be back on the road. If you start visiting dealers on issues like this they typically start exchanging involved electronic control modules, which quickly surpasses the car value.
Good luck, and let's hope it is an unfavorable combination of corroded ground connections and weak battery.
If a car shows accumulating faults like this in completely non-connected places like misfire and not unlocking doors, in my opinion the problem has to be in the electronics. General electronic stability and maybe CAN bus are the only common denominator between all the erratic systems.
So given the multitude of confirmed reports on voltage sensitivity of the X350 I would
- clean all ground pins that can be reached
- get a new battery or at least make sure the current one is ok and fully charged
- just to clean up artefacts reset all error codes with a suitable reader that can reach all functions and not only P-codes
- do a hard reset as described in some good posts here
and then hopefully be back on the road. If you start visiting dealers on issues like this they typically start exchanging involved electronic control modules, which quickly surpasses the car value.
Good luck, and let's hope it is an unfavorable combination of corroded ground connections and weak battery.
Whilst I was under the car cleaning up and repainting the front subframe I had a look at the earth point, (or at least one of them, as I could only see one), behind the front bumper.
The faults that you and Graham have kindly described don' sound too expensive, (famous last words), providing one can do most or all of the diagnostics ones self.
At the moment it's really just a case of waiting for my mate to turn up with his code reader and taking it from there.
Thanks for the tips guys
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