All,

Question about anyone knowing what could cause the lights and gages going nuts (blinking like a xmas tree) on a 1995 XJ6 VDP. Seems to have hapenned after helping jump battery of another car. Any clue / advice before deciding to buy the car (for my Dad).

Thx

 

I've had this happen a couple times. The gauge needles go crazy and all the warning lights come on....looks like "Tokyo at night". :-)

In my case it's alway been a bad coil causing the problem, and others have had the same experience.

Cheers
DD

 

Dear Doug,
In reference to dashboard like Tokyo Xmas lights :-) it was my son who put the posting (bluejag) but it was mine that has the problem (I was not registered yet on the forum).
Was it a spark plug coil (on top of a spark plug) that was the problem?

How did you find out which one was the problem?

I talked to a Jaguar garage this AM and they told me they never herard "that one" but I do not trus manay garegess

So your input or anyone else with similar problem/solution is really welcomed

As those coils do not come by cheap I want to make sure I am going thye right way to solve this problem (stopping me to have the car state inspection done)

Thank you so much

Claude

 

It IS an odd failure and one I would've never considered had it not been for some forum members here who have already "been there and done that" :-).

Remove the coil cover and run the engine in a darkened garage. If you observe a flashing/sparking in the translucent material at the top of the coil, that's the one ! (or two, or three)

Note that absence of the flashing doesn't prove that a coil is good.

On my first "go round" with this problem I had the flashing to identify the bad coil. On my second go round there was no flashing but I simply unplugged one coil at a time until the crazy instrument cluster display disappeared. Do not leave a coil unplugged for any longer than it takes to check the results...a few moments at the most.

Either way, you have to test for this while the instrument display is actually misbehaving. In my case this wasn't difficult. Once the symptom showed itself it was very consistant.

Note: Do not buy Beck Arnley coils. They are known for problems. Some of us have found out the hard way.

Cheers
DD

 

Dear Doug

Thanks a million,

I certainly will do this this week end and post results of course.

thanks so much

Have a nice week end

Claude
Durham NC

 

Dear Doug and other wgo have encountered same "Xmas l=ight" problem.
A friend of mine, a long time trusworthy mechanic, told me that he thinks it is a faulty alternator ? ? ? so i will try tomorrow to disconnect the alternator and see what hapens

I will let you know

Claude

 

Tuesday May 15

To the kind attention of Doug,

Dear Doug,

You saved my life;

I replaced the number 6 ignition coil and BINGO all is back to normal

I still can't believe that an ignition coil can give this kind of problem but now the PROBLEM IS FIXED

Thank you so much Doug.

Thank you

Claude

 

Hi,

Need help

I do not have the owner's lanual for my 95 XJ6

On top left lide of the instrument panel I have an orange light but I have no idea what it means I do not know if it is for the transmission or for a seat belt (or something else?)

Thanks for your help

Yes I know I have to get a manual for this car

Claude
XJ6 VDP 4.0 1995 - 89K

 

You're welcome; I'm happy all's well.

Wish I could take credit for this one but I simply passed down what I learned from others here on JaguarForums :-)

Cheers
DD

 

Claude, I think top-left is low washer fluid, but not absolutely certain. I'll try to gather the gumption to head out to the shop and do a "Key-on" in a bit and post an edit if different.

Edit: As-I-was; Top left is xmsn fault, next one down is low washer fluid.

 

Claude if it is orange and somewhat round it means you have a bulb burnt out could be any of your signal lights, fog lamps, rear deck stop lamp...if it has a sprayer icon windshield washer fluid or radiator fluid

 

Good call, BBB, but bulb fault is below washer-low level, I just can't remember if it was "immediately below" or the next one down...bulb-fail looks like a bomb with an X over it...well...to me it does...

 

Looking for help from Doug

Hi Doug,

thios claude (jagclaude) still with same interior light problems

I have 2 questions for which you might have an answer

1 - You had told me to replace failing ignition coils to solution the dash board Xmas tree problem. And that fixed it.
Now I still have code P0300 - random ignition coil problem. The car starts perfectly, iddles perfectly and runs very well when cold. When engine temp is reached (2 or 3 minutes) engine starts to run like withoding power between 2000 and 2500 RPM but if I step on it it goes like a bullet. Qy question is: do you think that another (one or more than one) coil could send wrong info to the ECU and cause that problem? 5I have ordered two more coils and test the engine when I get them - hopefully this week.

Question 2 _ there are seceval multipurpose relays in this 95 XJ6. I refuse to pay the Jaguar price, even for only one of them. Do you know if I can find similar multipurpose relays (4 prongs) in any autoparts stores?

Thanks again for your kind help

Claude
Durham NC
1995 XJ6 VDP

 

Hi Claude :-)






It's very possible that one or more coils is failing. It isn't unusual for failures to come rapidly. I and others have had it happen. I think I replaced two, and then a month or so later replaced another, and then a month or two later had two more fail.




In some cases, yes....a generic relay will work. But many of the relays have a built-in resistor or built-in diode. You probably won't find this at your typical neighborhood parts store although a bit of Googling will likely produce a lower-cost-than-Jaguar alternative.

Most relays (not sure about the original Jaguar units) have a diagram on the case that shows the configuration: 4 or 5 pin, with/without resistor, etc.

Sometimes the Jaguar relays actually have the manufacturer's part number stamped on the case. If so, that would make your Googling very easy :-)

I've never had to replace any relays on my X300....thus my ignorance on the subject. Others will chime in.

Cheers
DD

 

Dear Doug

Thanks for your prompt and wise answers.

1 - Got my coils so I will try them this PM

2 - Me neither I can't think aof a relay failure. I al still tangled up in these interior lights problem and it seems that absolutely nobody has a clue on how do the interior lights turn on when opening a door nor where is (if any) the memory module or chip for the steering wheel/driver's seat and outer mirror
And all the Jaguar manuals are totally silent on the subject
So i reamain in the dark (both ways - in the car and in my search for clues)
Have a nice week end
Claude

 

You saved my pocket/pation/time/etc, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU A LOT

 

Hi.

I see this thread is getting a tad old, but I hope this post can help some more people in the future.
I've had the exact same problem as described here, with the instrument cluster flashing like tacky christmas tree. The fault was indeed a coil. I had one dead and one slightly dodgy coil among the --nearly 20 year old-- factory original coils. I thought I did the smart thing and I replaced all six. Now, 14 months later, five of those have failed.
I've now bought two new Lucas coils and put the old --non defective-- ones back and it works like a charm. Only problem is that the Lucas are quite expensive.
What seems to be the problem with the cheaper coils is that the flyback diode fails when heating up and causes the coil to "backfire" sending a voltage spike back into the electrical system, knocking it out.
Note that for me this problem only occurs when the engine is hot. On short trips it's not a problem. The original coils never backfired like this, the faulty ones just didn't fire at all....

 

Hi.

I see this thread is getting a tad old, but I hope this post can help some more people in the future.
I've had the exact same problem as described here, with the instrument cluster flashing a like tacky christmas tree. The fault was indeed a coil. I had one dead and one slightly dodgy coil among the --nearly 20 year old-- factory original coils. I thought I did the smart thing and I replaced all six. Now, 14 months later, five of those have failed.
I've now bought two new Lucas coils and put the old --non defective-- ones back and it works like a charm. Only problem is that the Lucas are quite expensive.
What seems to be the problem with the cheaper coils is that the flyback diode fails when heating up and causes the coil to "backfire" sending a voltage spike back into the electrical system, knocking it out.
Note that for me this problem only occurs when the engine is hot. On short trips it's not a problem. The original coils never backfired like this, the faulty ones just didn't fire at all....

 

These forum posts are from 2015 but are still happening in 2021. I have owned my 95 xjr for some time now and never have experience all this instrument cluster flashing like a Christmas tree. I have video to prove it.
95 xjr Instrument Cluster Christmas Tree

After reading all these old posts, I purchased new ignition coils and they arrived today. I am going to replace them all and hope this issue will stop. Will report back with results.

Here is a shot of all my lights going ON along with my odometer pointers going crazy.

 

Well, I had nothing to loose so I purchased all 6 engine coil overs for my 95 xjr.





These are the ignition coils I purchased


I spent the morning cleaning the spark plug wells with carb cleaner to remove the oil in the wells.

I also used "CRC Technician Grade Dielectric Grease"



and placed some on the coil over boot "removed the boot and placed it inside", around the spark plug porcelain, and coil over area where the gasket goes.




Amazing, all the dashboard flickering has stopped and my jags idle also has improved. Acceleration is back and speeds right up in SPORT.

Thank you all from the PAST posts in fixing the future.

Really happy to have found this forum so many years ago and find such useful repair tips.