About a week ago, came out to start the cat and nothing but lights on dash, no clicks of any solenoids or anything. Up to this point, there had been a couple times over the previous few weeks Id have to move the shift lever out of park and back in, then it would power the starter and it would start. Have been doing some suspension work from a few weeks ago; lower shock bushings in control arm, sway bar links and sway bar bushings, and lower ball joints- drove the car a week of to and from work, a week ago went to start it and nothing. Couldnt get it out of park; driveway is on an incline, tried rocking and blocking tires as it might be jammed up in the gears in transmission. Didnt work. Battery was near dead also; recharged, tried starting with another spare battery but same thing, nothing but dash lights, no solenoid clicks, from brake pedal or otherwise. Have power to everthing, locks, radio, heater, brake and running lights, all with the exception of headlamps, dont have headlamps, dim or brights at all! Ive removed brake light switch, it seems to be good- brake lights operate. The P on J gate lights up red, but there is no solenoid click when brakes are depressed in start procedure. I've actuated the manual park release through the J gate, have gotten it into Neutral, and same conditions exist with still no start. There is also no solenoid click at starter.
1. while putting shifter in neutral, would it still start even if the shifter solenoid under J gate is bad?
2. how would I get the J gate apart to access the solenoid?
3. Ive had the battery out and back in several times, not to mention it had gone dead; this is only a 2 month old battery at that- I am sure I am dealing with an electrical leak/issue also- but could there be an imobiliztion happending with the security system? Its a Jag system, factory installed, and a US car.

Car has about 180,000 miles on it. 4.0 6 cyl. engine and tranny rebuilt about 75,000 miles ago. Has been an excellent Cat the 2 years I've had it, everything in and on the car has worked perfect! Been a charm to drive except for some suspension issues.

Suggestions?

 

I've moved your question from General Tech Help to X300 forum.

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

Graham

 

Having the shifter in Neutral, only means that the "gear stick" itself is physically in a neutral position. This doesn't really have any bearing on the position of the inhibitor switch beneath the J gate. It should have, in theory, but that's only as long as the switch doesn't fail/ go out of kilter etc. And this is often what happens, so you could try to move the gear shift, slowly, between Park and Neutral, while holding the ignition key in the "start" position. Sometimes this action finds the sweet spot and the car starts, and so, you can set about remedying it.

To get at the J gate assemble beneath the ski slope, first open the cubby hole armrest between the front seats. At the front lip, either side of the magnetic catch, are two cross head screws. Remove these and stow safely.
This allows the ski slope to tilt forward and up. Close the ashtray lid to remove this section, lift upwards and out, being aware of the two "tangs" at the front end. Disconnect the cigarette lighter and put the ashtray to one side.
Reach/ look in under the next section of the ski slope, where the "tangs" went and you will find two plastic wing nuts. Undo and remove these wing nuts and lift the ski slope upwards. The two bolts that the wing nuts screw onto may drop out at this point, no problem, you'll see where they slide back into place in their respective slots. If you have the Sport/ Normal mode switch, disconnect this also. If it's a problem, don't panic for the moment. Place the gear shift lever about the centre of the J gate, around Reverse, just to give clearance for the ski slope.

Lift the ski slope up and forward and it will come away, there aren't any more fixings, and leave it to one side. The chrome/plastic and leather surround can be left in place.

Now you have access to the gear shift lock solenoid and the "not in park" inhibit switch. Check operation, connections, etc. You can physically check the operation of the switch with a multi meter, set for "continuity".

Assembly is the reverse of the above.

And finally, the switch that operates the solenoid is part of the brake light switch, beneath the brake pedal. Check this out while you're at it.

As for the immobiliser, that's another can of worms, but I think, even if it's an issue, it shouldn't stop you shifting out of Park.

Hope this helps.

 

Maybe you got the same problem what my car has befor -> Body Processor Modul also known as BCM
It's sitting behind the glove box.

Best Regards from München
Maxi

 

Thank you for the instructions on removing the J gate assy. Got into it over the weekend and am back on the road. I'd found a transmission/ignition 10 a fuse- read driver side heel board panel fuse box, blown, replaced it, started it, it blew again. Couldnt find any fault causing this. Replaced with a higher quality fuse, and it started right up. Has been running wonderful for a couple of days now.

I've diagnosed at least one of the core issues: trunk open dash warning light has been on, which I believe if the trunk is sensed to be open this operates the trunk curtesy lights- so I believe these lights have been on even though the trunk is indeed closed, and it drain-killed the last battery, and drained this new one down to almost nothing. So as everyone has emphasized in other threads, these Cats must have good well kept batteries, and even slightly lower voltages than normal cause some pretty strange behaviors within the Jag system! This true?

Anyway, brake light switch checked out good and was sending voltage to brake lights as well as gear shift solenoid beneath J gate. Starter relay was good as well as all fuses relating to it and voltage was where it was supposed to be. After diagnosing all this, checked fuses again, as the red light upder Park "P" was not illuminating, and found the transmission/ignition fuse blown. Once a good fuse was installed, it hasnt had any issues. I hope this was the only issue, seems it was, as if there was a short surely it would go out soon. I'd rather find the problem and fix it proper than chase intermittent issues around the block!

Have some sensor/electrical issues, will start a new thread for those. Thank you to all who've chimed in!

 

Took some pics of the disassembly of the enter console during my shifter stuck/no start issue. Here are some pics, if they will be of use to future enthusiasts and their projects. Since fixing the trunk light issues and gearshift interlock ignition fuse, the car has been running just about perfect for a week and a half now.

trunk lights staying on ran ran down the battery, security system had to be rebooted, gearshift interlock ignition fuse replaced, battery fully recharged, and all is well.

so if anyone wants to know what is under the console, here are some pics:

 

Hello sjc,

Usually the trunk lights will go out on their own after about 10 minutes if the trunk isn't closed. I believe it is a battery saver by design. If the trunk is really closed but is sensed to be open according to the dash, the trunk lights "should" still go out after 10 minutes. Of course your case could be different! Maybe give it a test?

In general, everyone here agrees that it is important to have a good battery for these cars, and neglect, age or weakness will cause odd problems.

Glad you got your starting problem sorted out! Thanks for the console pics.

Would you care to elaborate on the engine rebuild you mention in your signature? That is rarely needed for an AJ16, thankfully!