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Help me fellow Jag owners .
My wife pulled our 1997 XJ6 into our parkking area and now the starter will not engage ? Battery fully charged but nothing happening 'any suggesting's ?
It could be that the car doesn’t think it is in park, which is a commonish problem.
Is the P on the gear stick light in red? If not then give it a wiggle till it is.
See this thread for details on how to adjust the required switch.
When you say "wont engage" do you mean the starter turns but doesnt turn the engine, or that it is completely dead? If it is the former, the most likely culprit is the starter solenoid, which sits on the starter itself, and throws the starter cog forward onto the flywheel.
Do not tighten the positive battery post too tight , breaks clamping force nut in half . a battery shim helps tighten connection
Do not install battery in backwards , bad . Positive post forward
The body processor module " provides " a ground to command close ( with a click ) the starter solenoid relay so the solenoid can do it's thing
Once the solenoid is commanded it will extend the starter motor into the crankshaft and begain to rotate
Do you have rotation with the whole engine or just the starter or no rotation at all ?
By placing your finger on the # 4 left relay and feeling it to click you split your troubleshooting in 2 halves
There are other relays in the area that you will hear click at the same time so you have to place your finger on the exact # 4
If the relay clicks or does not it doesn't mean the relay it is good
You can swap out this large # 4 relay with the same part number as the fog , both headlights , and the A/C clutch relay
These large relays can be hard to remove as the waterproof seal grips hard and can be loosed with some penitrating oil and a shop towel to establish hand grip of the relay once you unhook them from the mounting bracket by pushing down if I remember correctly
Thanks for your reply The starter does not do anything no sound or any kind of action ? Could a relay be the cause ? or would the security system cause this ?
If the relay clicks you have satified the Body Processor Module looking at its requirements which includes the security system and shift lever ( linier switch )
If the relay does not click try swapping the # 4 relay
It the relay does click the power contacts inside can be burnt limiting the current to drive the starter solenoid , so again swap the # 4
Once the solenoid fully extends the starter into the engine it will make contact with the heavy battery cable to rotate the starter motor so it performs 2 functions\\
The linear switch seems to be working the P lights up ? Found the bank of relays in front of the air filter assembly and swapped them still nothing ? I am at a dead end so I think off to the local shop and good luck finding any shop that will work on Jaguars ? I think instead of being a machinist for 40 plus years I should have been a Jaguar mechanic ?
I get the rotary switch ( on the transmission body itself ) and the linier switch ( upstairs ) mixed up
The P light is not in the starter circuit but does correspond to the same position as the shift lever
You do not have the Decoder Module as this is for a chipped key not used on US models
The Ignition switch is easy to get to and check
The start command is continuity from pin 1 of the switch side half of the connector nearby to pin 5 switch side half which is a car frame ground ( on the car side half of the connector ) that can get disturbed or corroded
On mine I found corrosion on pin 5
This is a momentary contact so it is not the most confidence building as you watch your meter wiggle
The Security Module can be reset by a Jaguar Hard Resest by yourself that involves more then just removing the positive battery post for a moment
The fuses are # 3 / 25 amp left engine fuse box ( hot at all times ) and # 12 / 10 amp right engine fuse box . This one is dependent of the right engine fuse box relay to close ( called the ignition positive relay ) and there is a large battery cable fuse on the positive battery post as it turns down . the large fuse terminal post nuts can come loose .This you will see labeled as 250A X 2 powerfuse on the top left line of the print next to the battery
To get the right engine fuse relay to close .The ignition switch in either run or the separate start position must have continuity on pin 3 to pin 5 on the switch side of the connector
Reference page 40 point 7 stop sign double hash from page 38
this line passes through your crash switch that can trip unexpectantly
More that one pin 1 , 2 , 3 , at a time has continuity to 5 so this can be confusing with a meter
You can swap the left and right fuse box relays because in reality the left only controls the car horn
The # 1 fuse is the one closest to the terminal post on the fuse box
Even though you swapped the # 4 relay , need to know if it clicked or not to know the direction to trouble shoot . Otherwise you are blindly trying things on both sides until you come up with a solution
If you never got a click you would rule out changing the starter / solenoid assembly as they come out as one
If you did get the click we will look at the quality of the " power " the starter / solenoid receives . this is a amperage question at that point and there are things to look at . This amperage valve is a function of the starter system in motion and not a static meter reading
One of them is the tightness of the big starter cable at the terminal post on the right quarter panel about 6 inches from the aft firewall . This connection can come loose and you have to remove the starter cable so you can wiggle the post . If the post is loose you have a loose connection on the battery cable underneath the sheet metal
With a 13 mm socket and a 3 inch extension is the starter cable terminal upper post nut tight on the solenoid
Is the lower terminal post nut tight on the solenoid
Is the ground strap clean and tight on the lower starter mounting bolt , you would have to check the car frame ground attach point
The large fuses in the positive battery cable right at the battery positive post , the fuse terminal nuts can come loose
If you never got the # 4 relay to click there is a list of things to check in the " control " direction of trouble shooting
I had a similar problem and checked and changed fuses and relays as suggested and no change. I then ran a jumper wire from 12v power source to the solenoid low amperage wire with the key on and the car started fine. I think it's the rotary neutral safety switch that's located on the transmission left side that has failed. Have ordered a used one (new one about $1,000.00) and will install it and let all of you know the results. Have 4 jags and only the oldest one, a 1966 XKE is running without problems. Electrical problems are the worst.
Thanks for the heads up on the sealing O ring. Stupid question but are the 2 plug in electrical connectors ( not the round plug that goes in the transmission) female connections located on the J gate? Haven't pulled the rotary switch out yet, waiting for the replacement to arrive/.
The sealing o - ring that goes around the perimeter of the rotary switch body expands from fluids effecting it
you can cut a segment out on the bottom edge and place it back in the grooves
There are a couple of connectors on the cabin side of the floor pan and the wire run directions of wires make it confusing if you can take the switch off easily
I think I cut the wires to the rotary switch from a donor car and shipped the switch off to someone else
You will at the least want the splices on the cabin protected side of the floor pan and if you have enough space to work in
To remove the individual wires from a connector would require the knowledge of what kind of pin / socket release tool
In putting the wires back in should be done with the special tool hence damaging the pin / socket engagement but in a pinch there are other ways to get the wires back into the connector
There are some more professional waterproof butt connectors available from a electronics store in Kansas City you can order from
They come in the same size range / colors as the open ended versions ( red , blue , yellow ) and the clerk would know about them as they are common
1995 XJ-6 (x-300) 113,598 miles. PROBLEM SOLVED! Success it was the transmission rotary switch that was bad and prevented the starter from engaging. To replace it you have to remove the rotary switch skid cover plate (two 10mm bolts) on the left side of the transmission and then turn the pin plug outer ring to remove plug coupler from the transmission located just above the rotary switch. Next remove the three 10 mm bolts that hold the rotary switch to the transmission and finally remove the small 8mm bolt that holds the wiring harness clip from the left side of the transmission. The rotary switch can then be pulled off the side of the transmission. After that you need to work in side the cabin first removing the shifter bezel, ash tray, console glove box, radio trim ski panel, center a/c trim panel and then lift out the center console (two T-30 bolts and one Phillips head screw secure the console) in order to access the black and white plugs located on the left side of the J-gate shifter that go to the rotary switch back down on the left side of the transmission. The rubber grommet that Parker2 warned me about is tricky to fit in the transmission tunnel hole that the white and black harness plugs go thru to get from the rotary switch to the J-gate and the car interior but with needle nosed pliers and a screw driver it will seat properly. Be careful to reattach all the various switches (valet switch, cigar lighter leads and the n/s switch next to the J-gate. Hope this helps some of you guys, I sure appreciate all the help I find for my old Jags on theses forums..
Starter not engaging
