Further to my other post,I managed to get a second hand head unit from my local Jag man,unfortunately no code with it,but he assured me it worked,and it was much cheaper than the ones online.
There`s quite a few companies offering a decoding service for not much money,so thought it was worth a gamble.
Anyway it powered up as soon as I connected it,and the online decoders supplied the radio code for £6.95,and it worked !
However,there`s a problem or 2,the radio and cassette work fine but the electric aerial doesn`t work,and neither does the CD player,I`ve checked the 3 fuses in the boot and they are all fine,and checked the multi plug connection in the back of the unit,and that seems fine.
So I`m a bit stumped,any ideas what the problem is ?

 

Can you put a 12v source on the antenna pin at the radio harness? I'm not sure what year you have, they're probably all wired the same. (I would add a signature to your account so you can identify MY and engine for future posts automatically, maybe include what part of the world you're in as well, as there are differences)

If it works, then it's a problem with the radio. If not, then you have a wiring problem.

JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource for the wiring diagram.

 

Hi,it`s a `95,the aeriel worked fine with the old head unit,so did the CD.

 

Then I'm not sure what else can be done. Sounds like the internals of the radio are be bad, at least for the antenna.

I'm assuming the CDs are played through the changer in the trunk? If the CD player is within the radio, then there's really nothing to consider, other than trying to return it from where you bought it? Maybe an excahnge? Maybe they can repair it?

 

CD changer is in the boot,just thought there might be a relay or something connected to both.

 

They're is nothing, other than the radio itself, that is shared between the CD changer and the antenna relay.

The wiring diagram confirms that (Fig18.1)

The antenna is fused. The CD changer is not.

 

Its two separate issues, depending on the CD changer AND the radio version you might be stuck. Basically X300 came with two different radio versions(early and late) and two different CD changers. From the outside they are almost identical, think you'd need to open the radio to find out what version you have, it is a bit easier with the CD changer as that is either genuine Jag or non Jag and you can tell from the stickers. Basically the early radio will work with either of the CD changers, the later radio will only work with the genuine Jag CD changer.
Both radios can have a non-con CD changer error which normally happens due to cold solder joint on the radio motherboard. There are pics somewhere on this forum what needs resoldering.
The aerial is switched from the radio, you'd need to start by checking if its powered from the aerial pin on the radio plug. It's a pin 5, google aj9500r pinout for a pic.

 

I know you know, but the aftermarket radios really do offer a ton in terms of convernience. I know the appearance seems off putting when you see them in catalogs, but once you dial in the settings, it’s really not that bad.

I am amazed that most displays still look like they were made by the Casio watch company in 1988. My iPhone gives me 8K resolution, but the car radio screens still only preset the seven segment displays for numbers and letters….

 

The stereo is model number.....AJ9500R,the replacement one I`ve got is the same model,the CD changer has been in the car from new.

 

The AJ9500R came in two versions, there is no way to tell which one you have without opening it up, early radios have a single big resistor in the backlight circuit, seen from the top in one of the back corners, later radios have two smd resistors at the bottom of the motherboard. Similarly with CD changer, doesn't matter if it was in the car from new or not, you still need to check if its genuine Jag unit or the non Jag Alpine unit. The latter only works with the early radios and wont with later radios.

 

Hi, these are pics of both back corners of my original stereo(The one that doesn`t work at all),the replacemant is in the car at the moment.
So the other one needs to look like this,otherwise the CD won`t work ?
Would this also affect the electric aerial not working ?
Regards Pete

 

So.....a further update,thought I`d check if there was any power to the aerial,pulled back the boot liner to access the wiring and I noticed the aerial multiplug had some tape on in,but left it alone until I had checked the wiring for power,and there was around 12v going into the multiplug and the same coming out going into the aerial itself.so there was obviously power there.
Decided to remove the tape over the joint it didn`t look very good,bear in mind I`ve never been here before.
As I removed the tape,the obvious thing happened and the 3 wires came out with it...oh good !
Worked out which ones went where,and put it back together,and bit more secure than it was before,checked the wiring and still 12v there,so decided to put it all back,the boot liner was very tight,not easy to get back in place,after a minute or 2 of struggling,I heard the magical whirring noise of the aerial going up !
So I quickly put it all back together,and turned the stereo on and off a few times,and all was still good,so I thought I`d try the CD player for a laugh,and guess what.....this worked as well,so the gods of electric mystery were on my side for once.
So I still don`t know why didn`t work in the first place,I guessing a dodgy connection,but that area hadn`t been touched,so no idea,anyway not bothered it`s working.Hurrah !

 

As has been alluded to already, a problem develops in the head unit where the aerial and the CD ( and the amp in the premium system) are controlled from resulting in the head unit being on, but no aerial or CD ( or sound in the premium system) . A simple fix is to provide accessory controlled power directly to the aerial/CD/ amp feed. This means that they are always on even if the head unit isn’t, but not a big deal.
it sounds as if your car had this fix applied, and that the fix came apart.
Anyway, all fixed, happy days!

 

Well......no quite,went to show on Sunday,and guess what ?
No CD or electric aerial again !
Haven`t had chance to look yet,will try this afternoon if it stays dry,surely this must be bad connection in the boot,as I said previously,it "Fixed" itself after I messed about in the boot,so this can`t be head unit fault can it ?

 

With the CD in the boot there is a tan round cable from the head unit to the rear trunk area

Whether or not the antenna command wire is incorporated into the round cable is unknown to me

In reading someone had a problem with the round cable being pinched

 

So,had another look this afternoon,checked the connections to the CD changer and the aerial again,all seems fine to me,there is power the changer and the aerial,but neither will work,you can actually remove the CD cartridge from the unit,so there is definitely power there,and I checked the wires at the aerial with my multimeter and there`s 12v there.
So I`m stumped,it`s very wierd as it did work last week after not working at first when I fitted the head unit in,so it`s back to how it was before,the radio works,and the cassette player works,but no electric aerial and no CD player.

 

I don’t have the wiring diagram to hand, but from memory, there is power to the components in the boot, and also a feed which switches them on. It is obvious what is going on from the wiring diagram, so have a look. The switching is controlled from the head unit, and it is that part of the head unit which is failing. Mine was intermittent too, but steadily deteriorated. Providing the feed needed for the components in the boot to be on whenever the accessories were on was the fix.

 

So there`s a fault in the head unit ?
That`s also my gut feeling,as the the original unit didn`t have this fault until it packed in,so I could bypass this by joining another feed to the aerial and the CD changer ?

 

The wiring diagram makes it obvious. Apologies again I do t have it to hand, but it can be found online. There is a Co trip feed from the head unit and that was the problem with mine. Supplied an alternative and all was well, although power to the stereo etc all the time the engine is running. Can still switch off from the head unit, so little practical difference.

 

Hi,thanks for reply,I`ll be honest,car electrics are not my thing,what is a "Co trip feed" ?
Pete.