Water in fuel - XJR won't start
 

Wife fueled up our 97 XJR and forgot to replace the gas cap. Car sat outside for about a month. When she went to restart car. It started and ran for about 20 seconds and cut out. Would not start after that.

I drained the fuel out of the tank at the sender unit. Put in 5 gallons of new fuel along with a can of sea foam and a bottle of heet. Purged fuel from the fuel rail and replaced the fuel filter. No luck.

I'm stumped as to my next move? Any ideas?

I would ..

a) check that the fuel pump is still pumping
b) check what is being delivered at the engine compartment
by collecting some "fuel" at the engine compartment and
letting it sit in a small jar. any unsuspended water will
separate into a layer at the bottom of the jar

c) depending on the results of (b), adding more heet may
work

d) drain tank again and replace with yet more fresh fuel and
heet, forgetting the seafoam

Fuel pump is still pumping.

Took a sample of fuel from the tank and it seemed ok. Took a sample of fuel from the engine compartment and it still contained water.

I am going to drain tank again BUT...

How do I clear the fuel line from the pump to the fuel rail? How many gallons would it be? Short of turning the engine over 5-10 seconds at a time to engage the fuel pump with the fuel line off at the fuel rail any suggestions on how to clear the fuel line from the tank to the engine compartment?

I don't want to kill the starter the starter or the battery in the process.

Thanks

I would be interested in knowing how this goes as well. My XJR has unknown amount of water in the fuel tank as it sat in the open in the last two to three years; and the drain tube in the filler well might have been blocked, letting rain find ways to enter the tank. I also read from other posts that you can never fully empty a fuel tank by siphoning from the top. To clear water all the way from the tank to the fuel rail, our forum buddy Andy has given me the following advice: "Disconnect the fuel supply line to the fuel rail (the pipe that doesn't go to the fuel pressure regulator). Put the fuel line into a container into which you want to connect the fuel. Remove the fuel pump relay in the boot. This can be identified from the information on the Jaguar Heritage service CD. Replace the switched part of the relay with a link of wire between the two terminals. When you turn on the ignition, the fuel pump will run continuously at about 80 litres/min." I have not tried this yet as my mechanic is still tackling other issues on my XJR, but I hope you might try if Andy's advice can solve your issue.

Won't you now have water in the combustion chamber?
Remove all spark plugs, turn the engine over a number of times to clear the chambers and clean the spark plugs while you are there. Check spark on each plug before reassembling.
Fingers crossed for start!

If the thought of pumping raw fuel in open air makes you
queasy, there may be an alternate method.

a) open filler cap
b) disconnect return line at fuel pressure regulator under hood
blow air through to empty return line into tank
c) replace filler cap
d) disconnect fuel filter, place catch container, blow air from underhood
connection to clear line

e) reconnect fuel filter

if the in tank fuel is reasonably water free, it may start at this point.

the flaw in this approach may be that there is water in the return line
that has just been blown into the tank. so you may want to consider
plan Q.

disconnect both feed and return at engine compartment and arrange
suitable catch containers + hoses. pressurise tank with air at filler
and blow both lines clear in the forward direction. that leaves your
in tank fuel untouched.

Job done and on the road again! This is what I did:
A) Using an oil extractor I had I removed fuel from the tank from the filler cap. Then I removed fuel from the opening in in the tank at the sending unit. Replaced with a few gallons of "clean" fuel and a bottle of Heet.
B) Replaced fuel filter leaving fuel line to engine off.
C) Disconnected fuel line at fuel rail and at pressure regulator. Attached plastic lines from fuel line to a bucket
D) Blew air from the filter to the rail to clear the line. Blew air through the fuel rail to clear the rail.
E) Reattached everything and started car.

I kept taking samples the fuel as I went to check for water. I had flush the fuel tank twice. I also had zero success clearing the fuel line of water until I came up with the idea of blowing air through the line at the filter. I was going to jump the fuel pump at the relay but could not get the fuel pump to run when I tried it. I don't know if it has to do with it being an XJR with the dual fuel pumps and not an XJ6 or not. Anyway that is why I went the air through the fuel line route. Luckily for me it worked!

I'm pretty sure there are at least three mentions
of blowing air in my post above.

Sorry Plums for not giving you proper credit. Thank you for your help.

I had a similar problem but from a different source.This is kind of a long rambling account, so if you want to get to the punchline skip to the last paragraphs.

I've been working on my XJS so I needed to add some fuel to the tank to prevent running out. For some reason, I guess I just wanted to use the 2 1/2 gal, spare gas can, instead of the one gal, can. This is the one that I use for the lawnmower, and I keep it in the side yard. There was some old fuel in the can, maybe one inch on the bottom. Thank God I didn't pour that fuel into my Jag, instead I poured it into my 07 F150. Bad Move! It was down to below a quarter tank and figured on getting gas for the truck, and the can at the same time. I only got the gas for the can. I drove a mile or so to the gas station and I returned home and the truck started to run rough. I returned to the auto parts store across the street from the gas station, looking for some water drier (Heet or something like that). All they had was Seafoam, I put about half a can in the tank, then went to the gas station and added five gallons of fresh gas. I returned home and the truck was still running rough and the CEL came on. It was still running so I parked it on the street. I figured I would run it , use up the gas and refill.

Well a couple of days later after Thanksgiving I went to start up the truck and it would crank, stumble. but not catch. My truck has this "computer controlled start." If you turn the key and let go it will continue to crank until it catches, or until you turn the key completely off. So I tried it for awhile but didn't want to wear down the battery or burn up the starter. I must have tried at least ten times with no luck. I figured that the filter and fuel system must have a lot of water in it. I was around the corner from my house, and I didn't want to try pushing the truck home by hand. Last resort call AAA and have them deliver the truck to my trusty mechanic. Only if all else fails! It was getting late so I decided to try again tomorrow.

I figured that the plugs might be fouled somehow, so I swapped in a new set. All the plugs were clean and dry except one, it was actually wet with water. I tried starting it but again no luck. I guess it was going to be the tow truck. I googled "water in the gas" and read some advice. The usual, add Heet and drive it enough to burn up the bad gas. Good idea but my truck wasn't even starting. One guy said put some rubbing alcohol in the tank and that should work. The Seafoam claims to eliminate water, but probably only a minor amount from condensation. I still had the problem that the motor wouldn't catch and run long enough to go through the water in the fuel filter. So I devised a final plan. I needed the motor to run long enough to clear the filter. (And allow the starter to disengage). I know that alcohol will bond with gas and disperse it through the good fuel I had added. So I figured I could use some starting fluid to get the motor to run for a bit.

I had a 16 oz. bottle of rubbing alcohol, which I figured would be enough for the eight or so gallons in the tank. I poured it into the tank. Then I pulled the air intake tube to the throttle body pushed it open, and sprayed some starting fluid down it's throat. I replaced the intake tube loosely and hit the switch it cranked then caught, the starter disengaged and it ran for a short time then died. I gave it another treatment and hit the key. It started up and I stepped on the throttle raising the rpms where it ran cleaner. I kept it at those higher revs until I thought it would continue to idle. It did. I got out tightened the intake hose, then started to drive it around the neighborhood.

I drove a few laps around the neighborhood, not going further than I wanted to walk. I then pulled it into my driveway and let it run for almost an hour. I turned it off and restarted it twice. Success! The CEL is still on, but it is running much smoother now. My plan is to drive it and use up the doctored gas. Then see about the CEL. What a cocktail, old gas, water, fresh gas, Seafoam and rubbing alcohol, Topped with a spritz of starting fluid! Surprisingly the exhaust didn't smell too bad.

Lessons learned: Don't put any crappy gas in any vehicle. Don't keep gas sitting around in a gas can outside. Use the gas in the mower, put any left over into the truck immediately. If you suspect water in the gas tank add the alcohol right away and drive around to use up the bad gas. Sorry about the long story.

Nice story you got there :). Can sense your pain dealing with water and bad gas in the tank. The poor truck also had to swallow and digest the "cocktail". Indeed, prevention is always better than cure.