What I mean is, how long does it take before your Jaguar earns your trust again after a series of starting issues?
Some of you may have read the issues that I had involving my 1995 XJ6 3.2. It would start, it wouldn't start. It would crank, it wouldn't crank, etc, etc, etc. I had it into one garage and had the CPS changed after getting advice from here. I also got a replacement battery of a much heftier design. That left my wallet lighter but didn't really solve the problem. Then I took it to another garage where the guy seemed to know a bit more (but I was still hurting and distrustful from the last guy) This new guy figured the problem was the alternator and sourced another guy who would fix it.
Bish - bash - bosh and I have the car back on my drive. Over the next few days I couldn't drive her 'cos I was waiting for a Tax disc to arrive and it is illegal to drive a car without one in England (in most cases) so I would go out to her 4 or 5 times each day and start her up. I also put the battery on charge every night. I opened the doors and the boot lid a few times as well and she didn't flutter even once. Then the Tax disc arrived in the post.
On Wednesday, we had a 500 mile round trip to do and I suggested the Jag over the Nissan. The logic being that if she didn't make it I would sell her for parts and stick with the Nissan. So, with 2 drivers we got back on Thursday after covering a total of 507 miles at an average fuel consumption of 26.7 mpg. The engine was turned off once in that whole time and I made sure we had the break-down firm's number.
But she didn't even squeak. She was a delight to drive the whole way there and back. So we parked up back at home and she stayed there until yesterday when I had another job to do. So I made sure I had the break-down number and a phone 'cos this job would mean turning the engine off and starting her up again at least 8 times.
Flawless!!
Most of the time, the ammeter was just over 14 amps and she started at the first turn of the key every single time. The thing is, I now feel guilty at not trusting her but the possible alternative is to be stuck, miles from where I want to be, with a car that won't start.
Which begs the question, "How long before your Jag gains your trust again?"
Cheers,
Steve.
(Sorry for the rant)

 

I thought this was a relationship question and I guess it is. If you just took your car on a 500 mile trip with no problems, what more can you ask? I usually drive around the block a few times, then progressively farther on each trip, but who am I to criticize? Any car can break down at any time.
I still have the original battery in mine and I'm wondering how long I should wait to replace it just on principle. I have had no trouble at all with it. Is 11 years enough to expect from a battery?

 

Stevie,

The car has already forgiven your abuse.

The fact it took you so far, and then another day of trouble free operation is the car "talking" to you,. You just need to learn Jag talk HAHAHA.

I would give it a good wash and polish, and then give the leather a good clean and treatment, clean the windows on the inside as well, and enjoy the pleasure only a Jag can give.

These are a "juice hungry" car, and any battery in any car is only as reliable/good as the alternator looking after it.

As for Greg, you sir a one very blessed Jag owner. 11 years is awesome for any battery in any car in all my time. Usually about double the manufacturers waranty period is about it for any battery.

Mine is 4 years old, and every now and then I get that feeling as I start it, that it just seems to not have the "grunt" it had last time??, and since push starting a Jag with only 1 leg is not going to happen, yep I know, push start is a no no anyhow, a new battery might be sooner than later. Winter here now, and that is certain death for any so-so battery.

 

5tevie:
You know, the symptoms of "no start" due to cps and "slow crank" due to a weak or dying battery are pretty different. I wonder whivh problem you really had. Or was it both? Or neither! I bet the battery was due for a change just due to age, but 5tevie, you really need to learn to distinguish between slow crank- and a good crank that fails to get fire, or you will forever be at the mercy of whatever wrench monkey you have in front of you.

 

Interesting thread...

The contract that I'm currently employed on ends at the end of Jul, and unless I get something for sure to start on 1 Aug, I'm making plans on driving one of my cars back to southern California from here in Norfolk, VA. The cheapest quote I got to ship a car from VA to CA was over $1000, so I figured if I'm going to be in-between jobs, I'll save some money and just drive one back, and make a little vacation out of it.

So with that being said, the car I'm planning on taking back is my '91 Saab turbo convertible. That cars runs GREAT right now, with LOTS of work done to it by the previous owner, and some tinkering from yours truly as well (newer Saab rims, front-mount intercooler, new exhaust, etc). I need an extra car back on the west coast, and the convertible is more suited for a So Cal driving environment than here in southeastern VA:




I was having issues with it not starting as well, and when going thru the receipts from the previous owner, he had replaced the battery, alternator, and starter, so it sounds like he was chasing a no-start symptom as well. I searched thru a Saab forum that I belong to, and went so far as to clean and lube the ignition switch in the center console, which didn't solve the problem.

Since I also have a "classic" 1984 Honda Goldwing standard, I decided to get a Battery Tender, and hook up the quick connect to the bike, and use the clip-on connectors on the Saab battery. I left it hooked up to the Saab for a couple of days, got a new digital multimeter, battery was holding over 13 volts after being trickle-charged, and that seemed to fix it, hasn't failed to start since. But, just to be on the safe side, if I know I won't be driving the Saab for a few days, I'll leave it hooked up. But I do "trust" the charging system on the Saab to get me from VA to CA without leaving me stranded.

The Saab has 142K miles, and my XJ6 has 92K, so it would probably be a coin toss as to which car would be a better candidate for a cross-country drive. But I'd like to keep the Jag here with me in VA, and the Saab would be a welcome addition to the stable back in CA. But it's an interesting thread about how our cars "earn" our "trust", especially if we like having cars like Saab or Jaguar in our stable!

 

Glad you've got things sorted Stevie. You'll now be able to enjoy the car.

 

Hi again, guys.
Can I just say that I DO know the difference between a slow crank and a good crank. I have been around cars for nearly 50 years and although I'm not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination I can tell the difference between a car with a battery hardly strong enough to turn the engine over and one with a healthy battery which turns the engine over quick enough to start a car that was otherwise healthy. I also understand that if you have a healthy battery but the car does nothing when you turn the switch, the first thing to check on these older ladies is the CPS.
Changing the battery wasn't done to fix the "no crank" problem. Changing the battery was done because it was simply the wrong battery and was much weaker than was needed for a car this size.

So Cal .... Take the Saab. You may even get chance to get the top down and feel the breeze in your hair.

Grant .... We are going away this week-end to try to get ourselves a bit of culture (No chance!!) so she'll get a wash down and a wipe over with a damp cloth before we go. If she makes it all the way there and back with no hassles I may even spring for a full valet session for her. lol

 

good one Steve.

Just got back from a 3200km week away in ours.

Did NOT lift the bonnet once.

We tried the culture bit too, Merlot from a barrel, gold panning was a riot (found a small bit), more Merlot. Thats about as close to culture as I want to ever get.

No oil used.
No coolant consumed.

Everything did as I expected, and 9.8L/100km economy was so sweet.

 

It's no use. I just can't get my head round this ltr / kms jibberish. If MPG was good enough for Winston Churchill then it's good enough for me . lol

 

My experience with culture is eating yogurt every once in a while, lol...

I'm waiting for another car to come up to me at a stop, roll the window down, and ask, "pardon me, do you have any grey poupon?"...

I crack myself up sometimes...!

 

Me too, but I am getting better at it slowly.

It equals 24mpg US Standard, and 28.9mpg British (Australian) standard.

Not too bad considering some serious acceleration undertaken on our looooooong country, boring roads, and Semi trailers with 3 trailers are a tad long to cruise past at the speed limit, oops.

 

Yesterday, I got a GPS system that I won on eBay so I went out to the Jag to try it out. I didn't go anywhere. I just sat in the car with the cigarette lighter charger in the socket and tested the device for sound levels and the ability to find satellites. It worked perfectly as far as the test went so I removed the charger, got out of the car, closed the door and used the key fob to try and lock the door as usual. Nothing happened. The doors didn't lock until I used the key
This morning, I went out to the car again to see if I could figure it out and had to use the key to open the door. Because of the alarm system methodology, I had to turn the key in the ignition until the dash lights came on within so many seconds (is it 7 or 35? I have no idea) Anyway, I did that and got myself sat in the car. One of the first things that I noticed was that the little red courtesy light on the bottom of the door wasn't lit up.
So I turned the key a little further to crank the engine over and nothing happened at all. Silence. Not the sound of a low powered battery. Not the sound of a healthy battery that just didn't fire up the engine. Just silence.
So then I totally removed the key and put it back in the ignition. At this point I saw the door courtesy light come on. I turned the key until the dash lights came on, waited for half of them to go out and then turned the key some more. She started perfectly as if to say, "What's all the fuss about?"

 

It would make me suspect the ignition switch, bear in mind I know next to nothing about XJ6s.

 

Mmmmm, Norri has a point, and his XK8 is very similar.

You were possibly sitting in the car with the door open, which would have activated the interior light timer ??. It resets when the doors are all shut, and lights appear when reopened.

Now yours is maybe the same as mine in that the lighter socket is NOT alive until ign ON is switched (must change that), which means the whole car is alive, and MAYBE, guess work here, that circuit has a timer also????, so that if for some odd reason the ign is left ON, it goes to sleep at some predetermined time.

I can find nothing on that in any literature I have, so as I said just a guess.

 

Hi again, guys.
The only thing that I can add is that the GPS charger didn't work until the ignition key was turned to the "On" position, much the same as you need to do if you want to listen to the radio.

Can I pretend to be dumb and ask what you guys mean by "The ignition switch"?
Do you mean the Ignition barrel or some other doofah?
Cheers,
Steve

 

I'd guess that the ignition switch is in two parts, mechanical and electrical, from what you described the mechanical bit is working but there may be a fault in the electrical section. Heed my previous warning!

 

You are familiar with the key bit, obviously, now on the opposite side of the column is the electrical section, and some have reported issues with the electrical section, as we all have had with the earlier cars. How could we forget that nightmare of a switch. I do not reckon that is your issue.

I would revert to my normal default here with the X300, and disconnect the battery and let it do what it does while you consume some evil inner lubrication, then reconnect the battery. It usually fixes lots of odd things in these cars.

Mine has the radio able to be heard at the "first" switch position, commonly called the "accessory position", but the lighter socket is not live until the second position, commonly called the "ignition position", and that is when the dash lights up, and next position is START.