Hey All. I have a '95 XJ I bought new. It's been a great automobile. Also have a '96 VDP. Also a great car.

Lately, the '95's keyless entry has gone crazy. It lost the remote operation, the drive away locking, and the central dash locking button????? I replaced the central locking module and all was good for maybe two months.

As an aside.... I rarely drive this car and the battery has run down a couple of times. I started disconnecting the battery.

The car was originally a 315 fq. After the replaced central locking module seemed to have failed, I bought another on Ebay. It turned out to be a 433 fq so I thought I would try the second VDP remote which is a 433. That worked fine for a few hours.

Now the problem, whatever it is, presents as working fine for a few hours. Then back to the same symptoms. Yesterday I looked for broken wires at the door wiring connectors at both rear doors. Nothing found. I disconnected/connected the connectors several times in case of a poor connection.

Been driving, and working on, Jags since I bought my first new one in 1982. I'm a decent mechanic and have a fair amount of knowledge about the Series III and the X-300.

Any potential helpful thoughts out there.

Many thanks.

bliving7

 

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xj-xj6-xjr6-x300-26/d-i-y-front-driver-door-micro-switch-door-cable-repair-181410/




first find what is draining the battery.
once that is fixed . then do a hard reset
drive for 100 - 200 miles.
see if problem stays. if so i would check the body control module?

 

You might just have a dying battery? I always know when my battery needs to be replaced on my 96 XJS. Do you know how I know? The power locks start to sporadically fail. Sporadic turns to most of the time, then all of the time.

If I continue to ignore, that's when I randomly come back to a drained battery that I need to jump.

sounds crazy, but a new battery might solve your problem!

 

Good idea to drive at least once a week for 5 miles to keep battery refreshed.

 

Once you get the remote working again; invest in a "battery maintainer".. They cons around $`15.00 at Home Depot but you can buy them online for about $5.00 each. I have one for every vehicle, lawnmower, Harley Davidson and my boat...That is around ten. No dead batteries, no overcharged batteries, no remote system failures. They cost virtually nothing to run. Don't need to worry about disconnecting the battery.

 

Thanks Ron. That did not cross my mind. Too simple. The car has a 4 y/o Interstate MTP 93 battery. Today I charged the battery fully and disconnected it from the car. I'll check it in a couple of days and see if it is holding a charge.

What is your favorite battery for the X-300?

bliving7

 

Believe it or not, I use Walmart: Two primary reasons.
1. They turn over of Walmart sales is so high that you know the battery is fresh.
2. There are Walmart's everywhere and they don't argue about the warranty.
I also like Autozone for the same reasons.
Hope you get everything solved....have a great weekend.

 

Thanks Vee. I'm going to look into the battery. I charged the battery fully today and disconnected it from the car. I'll check it in a couple of days and see if it's holding a charge.

I never thought of the battery as a potential cause.

bliving7

 

Hey bliving7
I should have supplemented my comments on batteries;
No matter which brand you choose, I strongly suggest that you purchase the highest "cold cranking amperes" which will still fit in your cars battery cradle.
Ron

 

I began having issues with my Interstate battery after 2 years! Before the battery had its third birthday, I had replaced it.

Havent had a single issue with the power locks since. Not one.

Agree that you should install the highest CCA battery you can but, within reason. I bought an Advance Auto Gold battery. I think it was about 800CCA.

 

Vee:
Everything should be within reason...I agree.

 

Hey All.

Yesterday I bought a new battery (Duracell Gp.49 H8 from Sams) and put it in. The car started right up and ran perfectly. The next morning, today, I put the ignition key in, turned, and got nothing. Checked the battery and my charger declared it to be at 79% capacity. I charged it fully. Put the key back in and still got nothing. Disconnected the battery for a while, reconnected it and the car started right up????. Came back four hours later, tried to start, and again got nothing???? The battery is disconnected now and I'll see how things are in the morning. I also put the central locking module back in that I removed a week or so ago thinking it was bad. Judging by the chirps, it seemed to pair with the 315 fq key fob.

I think the car thinks it is being stolen and is shutting down b/c of some triggering something.

Any thoughts out there?

Thanks
bliving7

 

sound like a loose power cable.for battery

 

A loose cable is possible. Getting a new battery that is only charged to 79% capacity is also probable...they charge them and let them sit until sold so the new batteries are not always at optimal charge when you buy them. Needing a charge is not unusual.
Sound like we need to go back to basics;
1. Check if you have a power draw when the car is off and parked. Your charger may have this feature but an inexpensive multi-meter will do nicely. This is an outstanding post of how to do this.
2. Reset the Alarm System. The usual and fastest is to : lock the door with the key. wait a minute and open it with the remote. All should be good.
If this does not help, get back to me and I will suggest further steps

 

What does the driving a couple of hundred miles do?

Thanks.

bliving7

 

I checked for current drain at the battery. I got a reading of .85 amps. What do you think?

bliving7

 

Not good, not horrible... approx. 50 milliamps is the most. So, did you follow the steps of isolating the circuits? I would begin with the "Security" circuits, then all of the interior light circuits....did you remember to turn off the radio? Go back and double check that everything was turned off before the test. Under hood (bonnet) light? Trunk light? Glove box light....one amp sounds just about the value of one small light bulb.
Anyhow, the original problem (which we should not lose sight of) was the keyless entry losing its settings and needing to be reset after the battery lost its charge (went flat). Let's get the keyless reset (your handbook will tell you how to do this but I also wrote it in an earlier post) and the battery fully charged....keep you battery on a 2 amp recharge and see if that at least solves the original problem.
Never give up, persevere! it is only a simple problem, we just have to find it.
Ron

 

As far as your question of driving 200 miles....I have no clue....that post came from Mr. vandenplas408

Maybe, it helps to charge the battery....I'm guessing here.....seems like a lot of miles.

 

Hey Ron. Thanks for the reply. I didn't think about the boot lights. I had to have the boot open to get to the battery. Tomorrow I will take that fuse out and see what I get. I'll keep you posted.

Bill Livingston
Hot Springs, Ar.

 

You can emulate the boot being closed by using a screwdriver to close the booth latch - just push the screwdriver blade against the latch until it clicks closed - in the same way as the boot striker plate would if you really did close it.