I have previously posted on my 97 XJR, but I have started this new thread to summarise the fun so far.
I bought it 2 months ago, then it 'died' after 5 days of ownership and wouldn't idle.
It started life as an automatic but was converted by the previous owner to Manual with the correct Getrag 290 box.
He also had the ECU reprogrammed with Andy's re-map, and this has probably been the source of much of the difficulty my mechanic has had, as it won't 'talk' to his Jaguar hand-held PDU so he cannot get fault codes. Instead of the ECU being sent to Andy to be changed, the software was emailed to a NZ company who installed the software, then the ECU was fitted by Beacham Jaguar. Andy has been very helpful via email, and he says the ECUs he reprogramme himself communicate with the diagnostics no trouble.

So when it stopped idling, with no fault codes available, my mechanic diagnosed faulty AFM (no signal at idle, under-reading with throttle open) and oxygen sensors (one no reading, other weak reading) which were replaced.
Car still not happy.
A leaking actuator valve was then found, and there was also a pin missing from a linkage. These were replaced then it was a bit happier.
Meanwhile we embarked on a side trip, sorting out other 18 year old parts as preventive maintenance - a new octopus hose, waterpump, cleaned out intercooler, found return spring on accelerator not working properly. The supercharger had a broken coupling and had minor play in the rear needle bearings, so I found a new-old-stock M90 Eaton blower in the USA and bought that. I have been criticised by one of my fellow NZ members for wasting money (our posts appropriately deleted by moderators), but I want this car to be as reliable as possible, and it makes more sense to do all these things at once.

Yesterday my mechanic phoned to say it was much better than before but still cutting out at idle a few times when hot.
So he drove it 20 miles today to Beacham Jaguar to use their more modern diagnostic gear, but unfortunately their state-of-the-art gear was down because of a failed software upgrade (aagghh!). However the Auto Logic gear was available. It still couldn't communicate with the ECU properly but some fault codes were obtainable. Once it had had a lambda orientation test and throttle body calibration, it was giving only one fault code, the coolant temp sensor. They tried a spare one but that was faulty too. By altering resistance in the circuit they got it running perfectly, so a new coolant sensor is on the way.

So it has been a saga, and while some of the work done has been to hopefully future-proof the car (hoses, blower, water pump, etc), there was quite a collection of faulty or non-working parts contributing to the current woes - AFM, oxygen sensors, actuator valve, missing pin from a linkage, and now coolant sensor. Quite hard to get sorted when unable to read fault codes.

I will post in a day or two how the car finally goes!

It is weird owning a car for about 9 weeks but only having had 4 or 5 days usage.

In the meantime I have been using my 3.2 Daimler which has been a very reliable daily driver for the past 2 years - 36000 km in that time, a fair bit of rolling maintenance, but no breakdowns.

I will keep 2 Jags for a while yet, at least until all the bugs seem ironed out of the XJR.

 

I feel your pain. After going through two different "sagas" with the crank position sensor, I thought I'd chime in.

You can read my thread on my 97 XJR that I just got running last night. These little "sensors" are nothing more than a little electromagnetic generator. The magnet looses is ability to send the correct frequency hertz, and maybe even voltage to the ECU. After messing with my 97 XJR for two weeks, NEVER having a code show up for a crank position sensor, AND the tach was reading rpms while cranking, I put one on it just out of shear desperation. The car started right up, and ran as good as ever. These little fellows are almost 20 years old. Keep in mind that magnetos in aircraft have to be renewed every 2000 hours regardless of function from what I understand.

 

I got my car back for the weekend, after about 8 weeks in the shop.
It is going so much better, but still tends to almost stall at idle when coming to a stop when warm.
The scan tool talking to the ECU is saying the coolant is 192’F, but when my mechanic thermoscans the thermostat housing it is 172-180’F (new sensor and thermostat). So he thinks the high reading in the ECU is making it run lean, thus nearly stall. He is wondering if there could be a part broken wire, or a dry solder in the ECU.
I have emailed Andy asking if this could be a function of the remap. We have tried 3 different coolant sensors, 2 of them new - all 3 give the same difference between ECU temp and thermoscan temp.

But great to have the car back, its going like a rocket..

 

so I have had my car back 8 days, used it daily and done about 200 miles or more.
It was running fine, grunty as hell, able to accelerate from 80 to 120 km/h in 3rd gear in about 4.5 secs (manual).
A few times at idle, the revs would drop to about 500, then recover to 800 or so, but no stalling.
Then last night, after a week of good behaviour, it started stalling at idle. Not when started up, but when coming to a traffic light and putting it into neutral. Not every time.
So today I fitted a different old AFM, genuine Lucas - no change.
So I got on the forums for ideas and came up with 'plugs and battery', from others' experiences (thank you all)

Tonight I fitted 6 new Champion RYC12C plugs then went for a drive - no difference to the NGKs I removed
All coils are 'Made in Japan' Lucas ones, no cracks visible.

I wondered about the battery...
It has the correct size, with 630 CCA
My Daimler 3.2 has a 780CCA battery.
I went to Repco (chain parts store) and they put a digital tester on it which showed 13 V (car not running) and 'analysed' the battery as good. But it is not a load test like the autoelectricians can do.

Anyway, I am suspicious the battery is not quite up to it, with the lower CCA rating than the Daimler's battery.
I may buy a new battery tomorrow to see, but it is $330 NZD for a 680CCA battery, and it may not be the problem.

Any other bright ideas, Forumisti ?

 

I understand from Andy that one of the main purposes of a remapped ECU is to tackle the engine idling as the original settings were meant for an XJR that carried auto transmission. Australian XJRs may have different specs (O2 sensors, Pre -Cat, Floor Cat, EGR, no immobilizer, etc.) so it is important that the remapped ECU syncs with or overwrites the local specs. However, chances are many Jaguars in Australia were imported used so it may be difficult to be accurate.

 

My car is in NZ, but is ex-Japan.

Today I put in new 680CCA battery, which has reduced stalling, and if runs more smoothly at low speeds/low revs, eg: around town about 20-30 km/h in 2nd or 3rd gear.
It is stalling less than yesterday, but still intermittently.
I am suspicious of the throttle potentiometer, even though my mechanic checked it when doing all the recent work, and said it was fine.
It may be worth getting a new potentiometer and fitting it.

 

I consulted the last owner of your XJR about the auto-to-manual conversion before and was told that the engine occasionally stalled at the lights, and he believed that Andy's remapped ECU would take care of this. It now seems that the stalling problem could have other causes. The other thread here has lots of leads "1996 X300 Stalls When Idle" http://https://www.jaguarforums.com/...n-idle-135707/
My 1990 Mercedes 300CE has similar experience before - stalling when slowing down at roundarounds (quite scary as there was tailing traffic), or at traffic lights. Two attempts cured the problem. One was to tackle the fuel supply (fuel filter, cleaning the fuel tank and checking the fuel pump and fuel pump relay). It helped and the car was working properly for a few years. Second was replacing the engine temperature sensor. If stalling occurs mostly during short journeys and even when engine is hot, the engine temperature sensor is a main suspect, but as others have already suggested elsewhere in this forum, engine stalling could be caused by a combination of several other factors.

 

Have you had a look at the idle speed control valve? Doesn't sound like a lot of fun, as JTIS says you have to remove the throttle housing to get to it, but sounds as if it could be relevant?

 

Any update on the staling problem, problem solved and how?

 

A new idle control valve (stepper motor) , and TPS are on the way.
One part arrived from Barratts in the UK, 5 days to NZ. The other part came by courier from Beachams in Hastings NZ to Napier NZ - a 20 minute drive - but the couriers lost it! It was the only ICV in NZ, so we are waiting for the couriers to find it....

I have been using the car for 3 weeks, and went for a 600km drive a week ago with no problems apart from the intermittent stalling at idle.

Will keep you posted

 

My mechanic phoned to say the new ICV and TPS seem to have cured the stalling-at-idle problem. he is just sorting out the rattling chain tensioner. The valve timing and tappet clearances are all perfect.
A clonk when changing from reverse to 1st seems to be from slightly loose bots where the driveshaft attaches to the diff.
I should have it back next week.

Meanwhile my Daimler 6 has been doing sterling service with its new aluminium radiator

 

Cured!
Happy XJR owner, finally, 4 months after purchase.
New ICV and TPS have resolved idling/stalling issues.
It idles a bit high - 1300rpm at cold start-up, 1000 when fairly warm, and dropping to 750ish once properly hot.
I can live with that.
A much happier car, going like the clappers, like **** off a shovel, etc.

I may do some 'rolling start' times.
I hate standing starts as they hammer everything.

I just need to lose the 3 red pinstripes, change the wheels to Asteroids (I have 2 sets - a new set in boxes with no tyres, and a good used set on the Daimler..), and get a Dodge Daytona rear spoiler.

can anyone photoshop a Daytona spoiler on to an XJR ?