Situation: Wife parked our 2007 XJ 2.7d in the driveway and in the evening I drove it into the Garage.
All fine!

I noticed that I drove not far enough into the garage to close the door. So went in the car again to drive it more in.

No crank!

Checked Transmission in P, no warning messages. No warning sound. But no crank.
Checked Battery Voltage, was about 12,5V, (Battery is 1 Month old)
Connected Charger over night.

Check this morning again: all lights normal, when trying to start, manget solenoid operation is clearly hearable.

Checked Electrical library of the car and following that the MegaFuses in the Trunk - all fine.

Anybody else of the opinion that's it something different than the starter motor?
Problem: Car is now in the Garage.... need to push it 100m uphill to my mancave for putting it onto the lift.

Access to starter motor isn't that bad. Had it loosened three weeks ago when I replced the timimg belt for locking the flywheel.
The car has now 100tkm / 69t mls and ist in good shape.... in principle too early for a starter motor to die....

Any suggestions about alternative procedures or what I should check before?

BR
Ralf

 

Try knocking on the starter with a hammer or metal pipe then try and start the car. If it works - count your blessings.

Drive your car to the man cave, get her lifted and plan on swapping out the starter.

Also, make sure you tightened the bolts on the starter correctly since you had to tinker w/ it. Also, check all your connections to the starter and solenoid.

 

Since I'm a couple of hours ahead of you US guys, I already made some progress.

Got the Car on the lift in the mancave and peformed some measurements. Result: the starter motor solenoid does not pass the 12V to the motor.

Took the starter motor out, checked and cleaned the anchor, measured the switch when operated manually.... measured the two magnet coils.... everything seemed ok.
Put the starter motor back in - and it worked!

But I don't trust the solenoid and switch anymore. Needs to be replaced. Is this maybe available separately?

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JAGUAR-XJ...wAAOSwwJ5eOAmM

A lot depends on the kms on the car, but I would fit a total replacement

 

...typically I'm with you, but the starter motor itself has only 60t mls and seems in very good shape. No significant sing of wear on the toothwheel, bearing or mechanism.
If the solenoid is not available separately, I have to take the whole thing anyway.

 

Could you have had a poor electrical connection from before????????,
My guess is a loose connection.
If the p o did a lot of short trips, stop & start, like my wife does..
My wife wears a starter out faster than i do.
Store to store, short trips between, plays hell on a starter.
So it could just need some new brushes.
Rebuilding or replaced with a new one is another option.
Still with only 60,000 miles, thats awfully early for a starter.

 

Connection was perfect. Was able to verify 12V from Battery on the wires coming to the front. When my wife was trying to start while sitting in the car, I was measuring the cable beween solenoid switch and starter motor.
Voltage was going into the switch, but not going out. That's a very clear sign, that either the switch itself is worn, or the anchor is not traveling far enough.

For the moment it seems okay, but I would not bet too much on it.

 

Afraid i would be looking for another just in case.
I have had good luck with ebay, buying used parts.
Picked up good used starters, & alternators.
Where you can look at for their general condition.
Paint that does not look faded from heat cycles, is one thing to look at.
Overall condition, connections, with the sellers #of sales, & rating.
Hope that they tell you true mileage & year

 

Pay close attention to the armature winding. A soldered joint can crack. This will create a dead spot

 

Thanks guys! When I had the starter on the table yesterday, I compared with the Jaguar schematics. It's a smart design. There are TWO coils and as long the starter isn't engaged, both coils are powered up to maximize the magnetic field moving the anchor. As soon the Anchor closes the switch providing 12V to the starter motor, one coil is bridged. Makes sense, because keeping the Anchor in the engaged position, needs much less energy than moving it.

I carefully checked the solder-contacts by visual inspection and measurement. Both coils have a bit more than 1 Ohm electrical resistance. However, any part which failed and where no clear fault diagnosis can be done needs replacement IMHO

I got a link to a shop in UK who sells the electrical contacts separately, but I guess this guy is specialized on the V8 models .... in my case (as usual) with the 2.7D engine a DENSO DSN 1300 Starter motor is used. It's a direct drive with a sealed and pressed switch unit.
Only option in my opinion would be to replace the whole switch/magnet unit.

Will keep you updated!!

BR
Ralf

 

To be fair, it sounds like you know exactly what you are doing, what your options are and what is best for your situation, so I wouldn't even think of advising you. I just felt a desire to look at the flipside; you had said "any part which failed and where no clear fault diagnosis can be done needs replacement IMHO" and that sounds like a wise choice.

For me, and my desire to try and save money (admittedly an effort that can, in some circumstances backfire explosively) I use a different formula:

"any part which failed and where no clear fault diagnosis can be done and is on a British car, should be given one chance to prove that it was a fluke, IMHO"

anyone going beyond 2nd chances is venturing into fantasy land, of course. Example: My trunk/boot opening solenoid started failing. I picked up a used one and it failed after working once. I returned it an bought the part new at a fairly ridiculous price. When that had the same behavior I realized my error and assume the wiring has an open somewhere. Here's the fix: 1. Install it. 2. Fiddle until it works. 3. DON"T TOUCH IT.

Sound ridiculous? Of course it does. Because it IS ridiculous. But it's been 2 YEARS since I did step 3, and the ONLY time it failed again was when I fixed the liner for the lid. My choices remain: Take it apart, find the poor connection and fix it. Which experience tells me could range from 20 minutes to the rest of my natural life. A large range, but an accurate one. Or, DON'T TOUCH IT.

Thankfully I am the minority with my ridiculous methodology. I do NOT advise trying this yourself.

 

What a nice response! You made my day, John ... thanks so much :-)

I fully support your slight amendment, however (as we are on small but important details) I need to be even more precise.
About one year back I purchased a 2004 XKR Convertible from California.... and guess what... my Wife loved it. Not as a daily driver, but she likes the Jaguar understatement and attitude (so do I).
At that time she was driving the car which I originally bought for me... a BMW 128i Convertible ... slightly modified to reach the 170mls/h ... just in case. But this car became too small for her. And she's not in high speed anyway.
So for this years birthday (which was in February) she got her own Jag.... that's the car we are talking about here.

So....even you would give any failed part a second chance on your own car, you might deviate from this rule if it's your wifes car
My golden rule here is: Happy Wife - Happy Life!
And you don't want to feel responsible in case your wife stranded with a failing starter motor solenoid somewhere during night in some rural areas. ;-)

I love keeping those old beauties in shape and on streets.

BR
Ralf

PS: Complete new Starter Motor ordered for 160€ ... will arrive tomorrow.

 

...new Starter Motor just arrived...

 

New starter was built in on wednesday and I guess all fine now.
For the new starter motor to fit, I had to modify the red isolated power feed connection bracked, because this starter solenoid has a slightly different shape.
I only had to grind a bit of the red isolating plastic away... nothing spectacular.

Thanks for all your support!

For this weekend my package from UK just arrived and left me a bit puzzeled ... will ask in another thread. ;-)