Hello,

I have a 2006 XJ8 with about 36,000 miles. The engine makes a whining noise since Saturday (today is Wednesday night) which would go away once I drove the car. Tonight I had it idling in the garage, I had turned of the A/C to see if the big fan by the radiator was making the noise. It was off so it wasn't the fan. Then after about 5 minutes the engine just shut off, if I turn it on again it shuts off sooner unless I rev it up a bit. If it idles it just shuts off. I'll attach a video. Has anyone seen anything like this on their Jaguar?

Thanks in advance

 

take the belt off and try again

 

Thanks @xalty but I couldn't even take off the plastic top of the engine I had loosened the screws and took off the oil cap, while I was trying to take off the plastic cover the engine shut off, so I just tightened the screws again. I have the bluedriver.com scan tool, I ran it with the ignition on and the engine off, but no codes appeared.

I had put a long umbrella against both sides of the engine and put my ear to the other end I didn't seem to hear the whining noise coming from inside the engine. For my other car (a Corvette) my mechanic would put a long screwdriver against the parts and his ear on the other end to find out which part was making a noise, with the XJ8 tit's so tight I can't put the umbrella (my version of the long screw driver) to listen to each part. The night before the noise first appeared I had a 3.5 hour drive from Fort Piece to Miami, normally it takes two hours. I got into three bad traffic jams and before the first traffic jam there was a very strong rain shower, the type where you can only see the cars ahead if they have their lights on.

Maybe the belt got very wet and went off its track?

Tomorrow I'm going to call the dealer to see when I can tow it in. I used to go to an independent shop, it's not that much cheaper than the dealer as far as labor is concerned. Jaguar parts are way more, especially the suspension parts which I saw I can get online at rock auto for 1/10th the price.

 

Does the whine disappear when you turn off the AC ? If the refrigerant is low, it can cause a whine from the compressor. I had this on both my X350s, a 2003 and 2007, and a regas, (which includes compressor lubricant), cured it both times. Its only noticeable on tickover, you don't hear it at speed.

 

Hello Fraser, It still does it with the A/C off. Initially I thought it might be the engine fan but it still made the noise with the engine fan off.

 

Alternator ?
Belt tensioner ?
Of the above, the tensioner is more likely,

 

I hope it's the belt tensioner, it doesn't sound too expensive.

 

The whining noise is a indicator that your alternator is failing. Check it out.

 

Hello,

I got the car back today, they had to wait a few days to get the parts. @Fraser Mitchell It turned out to be the belt tensioner! They also changed the belt since the old one had burned up and they replaced the idler pully. Thanks everyone for the help. It's good we now have the noise recorded here on the forum and the solution for it.