1996 XJ6
 

Lost keys, battery went dead,Went to dealer got new key cut. Its a little rough and will not turn in door. Will turn in ignition but car won't turn motor over, dash lights up,Also I need radio code information. Please help. Sorry I'm new here.

Welcome to the forum Ed,

I've moved your question from General Tech Help to X300 forum and also deleted the other two identical posts from XJ6 & XJ12 Series I, II & III forum. This the place to post technical questions about your vehicle.

Members here with the same model will be able to help.

When you get a minute, please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some info about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

Hi Ed,

Welcome to the Jaguar Forums!

Regarding the radio code, the dealer should be able to help if you call them with the VIN of your car.

The fact that the new key is rough and will not turn in the door could mean the key was not properly cut or the door lock is seized from lack of use or accumulated gunk. Have you typically used the door lock to open the car, or a remote fob?

In the ignition lock, will the key turn to three different positions past the initial key entry position? The first click is the Auxiliary, the second click is the Ignition ON, and the third is the spring-loaded Start position. If your key will turn to all three positions, then it is working in the key lock barrel. The ignition switch is mounted on the end of the lock barrel and is turned by the tip of the key.

If your key turns to all three positions, perhaps the starting issue is elsewhere. You mentioned the battery went dead. I assume you have recharged the battery, but Jaguars need very healthy batteries. You might want to have the battery load tested or if you have a voltmeter, check the voltage across the battery terminals while attempting to crank the engine. Most meters can't react quickly enough to show the true voltage sag, but you'll get an idea if it's falling below 10 volts or even lower.

Have you tried jump starting the car with another vehicle to see if it will turn over?

Cheers,

Don

X300
 

Lost my keys, battery went dead. Got new key cut and new battery. Trying to start car and something just clicks under hood. Everything else works. Where should I start troubleshooting. Thank you Don for the advice on my first post.

Hi Ed,

That sounds to me like the battery is just strong enough to make the starter solenoid click, but not strong enough to actually turn the starter motor. Have you had the battery load tested as I suggested?

Have you tried jump starting the car with another vehicle as I also suggested? If you try, hook up the jumper cables, start the engine in the other vehicle, and let the Jag's battery charge for 10 minutes before attempting to crank the Jag. For some reason Jag's sometimes don't respond to jump starting if their own battery voltage is too low.

Cheers,

Don

Hehe, I was going to object, Don, on the grounds that it has more to do with having proper heavy-gauge jumpers and good connections at each battery....then I thought further on it, and realized sometimes (not always) it takes me near 10 minutes to get it clipped good enough to crank despite the heavy cables!

For a barely-low battery your charge premise works for me, though I maintain the root cause is still a weak connection. Charge will still occur even if it won't support the amperage required to crank. If host battery is not too bad, 10 min charging plus the limited amperage it can also draw from the booster battery becomes enough, or at least that's how I rationalize it.

In my case, SpruceBruce is currently "batteryless" and on the rare occasion all the daily-drivers I support don't need maintenance, and I can move him into the shop to work some gripes - I use a "fully-charged dead battery" (mostly to hold the terminals in place and make sure they don't flop together or against structure and jump with the 7.3L diesel Exc which has two monster batteries in parallel. My donor battery was removed pre-emptively from the 05 S a few years ago(due to age) and placed on a 2X4 in the shop and always connected to a batteryminder. Used it for jump-starts of the tractor when necessary and occasionally for a day or two in an S or X300. One fine day it quit developing enough power for those duties..checks "bad" on a load-tester, will get up to 12V (but only just) and still keep it on a battery minder.....but I know no amount of time charging it with the Excursion will ever bring it to "cranking power."

Sorry, just felt like ruminating this morning...