I bought a 96 XJ6 a couple of days ago and I'm trying to straighten out a couple of problems.First one is that the dash warning lights start to flash and guages go dead after running about 1/2 hour.Like the key is being turned off and on.I looked at wiring diagrams and have power to all the relays and fuses when this happens.kind of thinking that it maybe a ground issue at a ground point under left side of center console.Anyone seen this before?
Second problem is engine shuts down at times,waiting for a new crank speed sensor to get here for that.

 

We have a '97 XJ6 with the same or similar problem. Intermitently, all the dash lights will flash on and off like a Christmas tree, the guages either 'die' or fluctuate and the engine power fades and/or increases randomly. A very experienced service tech at an independent shop has never seen it before.

Please reply with any known fixes for this one...thanks!

 

It's my understanding that the electronic instrument cluster as an assembly can have issues like these.

My 97 Vanden Plas had to have the whole cluster replaced under warranty in 2001 due to intermittent speedo gauge issues.

See Module Masters at ModuleMaster rebuilds ABS modules for as low as $100, 2 day average turn-around, 5 Year Guarantee they list this cluster as one of the ones they offer to rebuild. They can also repair the console clock in these cars, as well as radio dial repairs.

 

Coils! Coils! Coils!!!!

Hang on...I'll try to find the thread and edit a link.........

See post #15 from Motorcarman in this one:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...n-power-50526/

also:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...lickers-41464/

 

Resurrecting an older thread as I'm presently having the same problem: air bag warning light and display message comes on, the ALL warning lights coming on and the gauges are dropping to zero. This happens randomly and is becoming more frequent

This thread Aholbro1's post has links to threads with similar symptoms....but also rough running. The upshot is faulty coils causing a backfeed into the instrument cluster as well as causing a running problem.

In my case I have no running problems at all. Just the lights/gauges weirdness. My coils are only a few moths old.

Any other thoughts on the matter before I roll up my sleeves?

Cheers and thanks,
Doug

 

i also have somewhat of a same issue with my 95 xjr...most of the time when i start her up...my dash lights will keep on flickering back and forth ( seatbelt and lights) and sometimes it wont let me put the car in gear so i have to restart it and put the car in gear quickly....sometimes after doing so itll come back and start blinking again and the car will give me a warning beep..although sometimes after driving the car for awhile itll go away...its not really a huge problem for me...but it does get annoying at times...any ideas/clues to what could be causing this?

 

Problem fixed. It was indeed, a faulty coil as described in this and the linked previous postings. In a dark garage the arcing could be seen in the opaque potting compound, as mentioned.

I never woulda thunk to look at the coils for this flashing instruments/lights problems....so a big thanks to those who shared their (most likely hard-learned) experiences.

This doesn't bode well for the $60 coils from Beck Arnley. I'm not quite ready for a blanket condemnation of them but there have been warnings from others to use only genuine Lucas coils....and that's looking like good advice right about now. I'll be keeping an eye on the other coils to see how they hold up.

Of course the genuine coils range from about 3x to 4x the cost of the Beck Arnley coils....so it's not always an easy pill to swallow :-)


Cheers
DD

 

I joined the forum last May triggered by experiencing this problem in our 1997 XJ6. We followed the advice of this member below >>>

aholbro1
Senior Member
1995 Jaguar Vanden Plas

which was to look at replacing the coils. We did and it fixed the problem 100%! Many thanks for the advice! We chose the Japanese made coils, which took the total cost down to about $900 to replace all of them. Been purring like a Jag since May...cheers!

 

Resurrecting this old thread because I have similar symptoms. In my case however, I can pinpoint the cause of the light show as it only happens when I flick the high beams on. Car has aftermarket HID lights fitted and I'm guessing these are the issue (though low beam doesn't trigger the same problem). Short of removing/changing the HID system, any ideas what could I possibly try to deal with this electrical gremlin?

 

First and foremost, confirm your battery is fully charged and that your charging system is in good working order. (this goes beyond just confirming that the car cranks and starts everytime)

Then I'd pull the coil cover and start the car in a pitch-black garage/nightime setting. Look closely for the light show in the coils - it is not easily spotted in some cases. Activate your main beams, causing the dash problem, and have another look at the coils. You may need to cover the lights with something dark to maintain the ambient darkness in order to see a coil problem. Alternatively, you could have a bad coil, or coils that do not produce a visible light show at all.

If no joy, I'd try pulling the plug off the #1 coil and activating the main beams to see if problem remains. Rinse and repeat for the remaining 5 coils. Yes, it will run roughly with one coil unplugged, and I'm not sure about this, but believe if the offending coil (or coils) is unplugged and not arcing a destructive path through your magnesium alloy cam cover, you won't see the Instrument panel light show. Isolating it if more than one coil at fault could be challenging without a supply of 2 or 3 known-good coils on-hand.

When you get round to the point of not replacing ANY coil, but removing the HID system and returning to stock lighting or the X308 upgrade, and that solves the problem, report back here as that will be the first non-bad-coil cause of this problem I'm aware of and will probably merit a sticky from the moderator!

 

Thanks for the advice. I've tried more troubleshooting and now have a clearer idea of the prerequisites for the dash light show.

Ignition off, coils connected - no symptoms on hibeam
Ignition on, coils connected - xmas dashlights on hibeam

Ignition off, coils disconnected - no symptoms on hibeamIgnition on, coils disconnected - xmas dashlights on hibeam
​​​​​​I've figured there was no need to start the engine since I can replicate the problem without the engine running and the coils all disconnected. I guess that rules out the coils? With the ignition off, the HIDs also work fine without triggering any symptoms. Problem only happens when the ignition is on and hibeam is flashed.

Any more easy checks I can do short of sending the car off to an auto electrician?

 

Thanks for the advice. I did a little more troubleshooting and have narrowed down the prerequisites for the dash xmas light show.

Ignition off, coils connected - no symptoms on hibeamIgnition on, coils connected - xmas lights on hibeam
Ignition off, coils disconnected - no symptoms on hibeamIgnition on, coils disconnected - xmas lights on hibeam
So it seems that the HIDs work fine with the ignition off. And the problem occurs when ignition is on whether or not the coils are connected. I'm guessing this rules out the coils being the issue?

Any ideas on what else I can easily check before resorting to sending the car to an automotive electrician to diagnose?

 

Formatting came out weird in my last post, reposting troubleshooting results.

Ignition off, coils connected - no symptoms on hibeam
Ignition on, coils connected - xmas lights on hibeam
Ignition off, coils disconnected - no symptoms on hibeam

Ignition on, coils disconnected - xmas lights on hibeam

 

Try it again with your high-beams disconnected at the bulb/assembly? Don't know much about HID, but I'd find a connector that keeps the dipped beams live, but disables the main-beams and try again.

Hard to see how it would be related since it only occurs when you actuate the main beams.....but some here have solved some exceedingly bizarre electrical problems by cleaning and tightening all grounding points, particularly the engine block-to-chassis.

For future reference, do you think it may've been a good idea to mention that it does this when the car isn't even running in the original post? I mean, that's kindofa key piece of info......
I'm afraid you are going to need Lady Penelope's expertise to work through this one....he has the patience and diagrams to sort out electrical gremlins. Unfortunately, I do not recall just now what his new handle is, but with a bit of searching you'll sort it out.

 

Thanks again for the suggestions, will try systematically unplugging whatever Hibeam connectors I can find as the next step and see what I can isolate/eliminate.

Apologies re the not mentioning the symptoms were occuring with engine off, believe me I would've if I'd known when I posted! Only realized that was the case after your suggestion to check the coils. Wasn't keen on unplugging the coils with the engine running so I figured why not try it first without it running.

Sorry and thanks once again!

 

Just to tie up the thread, auto electrician had a look and diagnosed a mixed up connection on the HID setup. Wiring rectified and problem's now gone 👍🏼