1995 XJ6 Won't crank
 

Found a 1995 XJ6 that appears to be a good candidate to resurrect for the wife to drive. Clean interior, straight body etc. Problem is it will not crank. Turning the ignition switch causes the radio to illuminate but that is all. Instruments remain dead and no response from starter solenoid. Put battery on the charger overnight, now reading 14V but still no crank. Checked the power to the right and left engine bay fuse boxes; full voltage is present. Checked the inertial switch but it has not been tripped; used a jumper to go around it on the chance it was faulty but no change. Removed the steering shaft cowl to expose the back of the ignition switch. Position I has a White/Orange wire, II has a white wire, III has a Red wire. There is also a Blue/Red wire and a Black ground wire. There is 12.8V at the White/Orange wire and the radio illuminates when I jump it to the ground wire. The other wires show 0 volts.






With all of this rambling does any of it make sense? Should the position II and III wires also have 12V? Help, I'm lost!

Can't recall if the shift-lever Park sensor inhibits your WCA's or not. Did you try it in Neutral? Also, I believe bad grounds can cause that.. but again, I think your interior lights and WCA's would probably light up and everything go dark when you tried to crank b/c of the attempted high-current draw. Perhaps Sparkenzap or someone else with a keen interest in trons will happen by and answer what voltages should be on which wires from the wiring diagrams - I loathe such things and can barely be coerced into referring to them for my own problems, let alone others - Sorry.

Let's start with something simple.

With the key 'on' does the "P" on the gearshift indicator glow red?

If not, jiggle the gearshift around and run it back-n-forth until it does....and then try starting

Cheers
DD

Sorry, I slipped into "workspeak" WCA = Warnings, Cautions, and Advisories, aka the stack of lights on either side of the instrument panel that all illuminate at "key-on"

Ahhhh.

I was wondering. But I didn't have the guts to ask :)

Cheers
DD

Good troubleshooting so far. But to get the crank from ignition on, you need the red "P" and the light stacks (WCAs;)) to come on for 5 seconds, afterwards leaving the "check engine" light still on. Then cranking might happen!

Fuses to check:
F5 in the trunk fuse box, 10A. It is for the Body Processor Module. The BPM is in charge of many functions, including showing the check engine light before cranking.

F5 (10A) and F12 (5A) in the left rear seat heelboard fuse box. Both are for the instrument pack.

F6 (5A), F10 (5A), F11 (20A), and F12 (10A) in the right engine bay fuse box. All are for the engine ECM with F10 listed as "ignition control."

Positions II and III on the ignition switch create grounds when engaged. Obviously position III is 'crank' and that creates a ground for the starter relay.

Position II (ignition on) creates a ground for the fuse box relays, which then supply power to whatever is connected through fuse positions F10, F12, F14, and F16, in each of the five fuse boxes. Concordantly, any fuses I mentioned above that reside in one of these locations is suspect. Particularly, F12 for the instrument pack. And of course, the relays in those fuse boxes must be working properly.

Don't ask me how I know all of this! Hope it isn't too confusing.

Thanks to all; I'm on my way to work but will address this when I get off.
There are no WCAs illuminated when the key is turned to any position, only the radio illuminates when in Pos I. Since the ignition switch provides the ground path for Pos I, II and III, and there is no battery voltage at Pos II and III, I guess something else is at play. I'll check fuses tonight.

Yep as Sleekjag12 says check fuse F5 in the boot. If that's ok, start checking the power inputs to the BPM. If you have power there, I would start to suspect the BPM.

Checked the fuses Sleekjag12 suggested with an ohmmeter and all checked out OK. Don't have a good way of checking the relays at this point so I'll have to cobble up something to see if they are working. This car is "relay city, population about 500"!
So far the only items that function are the power seats, horn, power windows and the radio lights up. But when I put my test light in a fuse slot it lights up showing battery voltage.

While I check for a power to the BPM, anyone know where I can obtain one and how much $$$ I'm looking at? Does anybody rebuild these things?

I think ASI rebuilds just about anything.

Automotive Scientific Inc. Your #1 Source for ECU, TCU, ABS, EBCM, Climate Control and Speedometer Repairs

eBay is a good source for salvaged parts of all kinds. If you don't find the exact BPM you need, find a seller who is offering parts from the same model year as your car and use eBay's messaging system to contact the seller to inquire about the BPM from the same car. Parts are typically warranted to work or you can return them.

Cheers,

Don

It is alive!!! Tracing dead circuits lead me to the trunk (boot) but once there I couldn't find anything that wasn't working. I began looking behind the panels that covered the inside of the fenders and the back seat and there was a large rectangular connector hanging free. I plugged it in and the trunk light came on, and so did the interior lights. Turning the key in the ignition brought the WCAs to life too and I could hear the fuel pump working behind the rear seat. Unfortunately going to position III resulted in nothing so there is still a problem somewhere. Forgive me while I cling to this first modicum of success and then soldier on searching for more gremlins...this time in the cranking circuit.

Hi all, hoping to join in on this thread, I'm helping a friend who has a similar problem-
In his case the starter simply does not engage at all. From reading this thread I believe it is because the transmission P is not lit up. We have checked the fuses listed above and they all look good. Also checked the inertial switch and put a fully charged battery in just to make sure.
With the key in in the ignition the mileage comes up, door chime sounds, steering wheel moves into place.
With the key turned to position 2, the WCA'S come up and then go off after a few seconds, radio and climate control work.
position 3, nothing... just crickets. .
What should I look for with regard to the shifter not bieng illuminated?
Thx in advance..

Forgot to mention-
It's a '95 xjr. .
Thx

Just to rule out fuses we just checked left hand eng bay fuse box d3 starter solenoid. Left hand heel board fuse box f14 gearbox ign. Righthand heel board f5 transmission ecm..
All look good.
Are there relays or a module I should be looking for?
Tia

In your post above you say

With the key turned to position 2, the WCA'S come up and then go off after a few seconds, radio and climate control work.
position 3, nothing... just crickets. .

What does Crickets mean? If you mean you hear clicking then that is the solenoid for the starter. That would eliminate any issues with the Trans shift position, the Body Processor etc. - the Crank signal is being sent. I would be looking for

- Poor Bat+ at the starter/solenoid (can you check voltage at starter when trying to crank)
- Poor earth on the engine (check earth strap on LH inner wing low down)

Brendan,

Logical tie in mate but over here the Americans use the phrase "hear crickets" to indicate complete silence as that is when one can hear them :)

McScrabble,

I would look at the BPM to give you an indication of where the problem may lie.

First check pin 20 of the black 48 way connector. You should have 12+v there and then when you turn the ignition to position III, the signal should go to ground. If it does then the Park/Neutral switch is operating correctly

Then check pin 33 of the yellow 48 way connector. You should also see 12+v here with the ignition off and ground when switched to pos III. If you do have a ground signal then all is working well. I would then suspect the rotary switch, the starter relay or the starter itself. Follow the circuit below and you will find the culprit.

Attachment 83888

over here the Americans use the phrase "hear crickets" to indicate complete silence as that is when one can hear them


Ah OK. Thanks for the education Allan. :)

thanks Allan and b1mcp, I will check out the BPM pinouts as suggested.

Next step questions-
are there ways to test the rotary switch and the starter relay other than replacing each module?
If I was to bypass the starter solenoid with jumper cables in order to test it, will that damage it or any attached components? I've done this before with older cars, but don't know how it will affect this one.

And yes, the confusing cricket reference simply meant silence. As in nothing happening at all.