Was hoping to avoid a post like this during Jaguar ownership lol.

I tried starting my 1995 XJR (North American spec) yesterday morning after it sat in the cold garage for the past 10 days during, and while it was hesitant to start for a brief moment, it did but after a few seconds it was about to stall. I didn't depress the accelerator to 'save' it. Needless to say, at this point I was and still unable to start it up.

I could smell the fuel after a couple more attempts so I assumed it was flooded. I waited ten mins with no change so I waited a bit longer and held the pedal to the floor and cranked for about 10-15 seconds also to no avail. At this point I needed to get ready for work.

The tach climbs 200-300rpm while cranking. My questions before I get too involved in the t-shooting process are these:

- could cylinder wash (CW) occur from that brief moment of [rough] idle?
- could depressing accelerator pedal to the floor for a longer period correct CW?
- could the inertia switch have been tripped
- would I be smelling fuel while cranking if it was tripped? (there's no leak)
- where is the inertia switch on my car just to check?

I looked up the location of the inertia according to my manual but upon inspection I did not see it. I took a quick video of the supposed location which is under the drivers side to the right of the acceleration pedal.

Please watch this one minute video to see if you can locate the inertia switch, also, is the button-like object underneath the pedal just a stopper of some sort?


Thank you in advance.

 

Not sure about the XJR but on my 95 XJ6 the inertia switch is at the bottom of the passenger side 'A' post behind the cover and just forward of the ECM.

If you can smell fuel I would think the switch has not been tripped, you should be able to hear the fuel pump whirring when you switch ignition on.

It does sound like the engine is flooded. Sometimes you have to hold the accelerator down and crank for a long time but generally that clears the problem. If not I would check to see if you are getting spark.

 

I read of two instances of cylinder wash recently. The immediate shutoff could easily have caused it. Giving it some throttle would probably be a good idea.
I just looked at my car, and didn't see the inertia switch, either. The switch under the pedal is the kickdown, shifts to a lower gear when you floor it, depending on how fast you are going.

 

Allan, my owners manual is obviously wrong about the location of the inertia switch, it's over on the passenger side. They forgot that theses are left hand drive when they gave the location.

 

What version of the manual do you have? My electrical manual states RH 'A' post?

 

I've had similar (no fuel smell, so likely not the same at all) issues getting mine to start in the past - usually when it's been stood for a few days or more. Someone suggested that it could be an initial lack of fuel at the rail - perhaps due to a failed non return valve IIRC. I now 'prime' it by switching the ignition on and off a couple of times before actually firing it up. I'm clearly hiding from the problem rather than solving it, but it works and it's become second nature - it took your post to remind me that I do it!

 

Thank you for the replies.

I can hear the fuel pump. Here's another video of this morning's try after reading the above posts,


It seems to want to catch but the I stop cranking for fear of hearing a pop or something with the fuel odor lol. I had pedal to the floor during this crank, the rpm did get to almost 400 near the end. I think I should hook up the battery booster to the car tonight after work then try again with pedal to the floor.

It's likely flooded and I'm too chicken to let it crank longer than in the video for fear of wrecking something else.

 

The inertia switch turns off the fuel, power to the engine and also shuts down a host of other things to prevent electrical spark to prevent fuel related fires.

Do you know that you have fuel pressure, Spark and have you attempted to start the car with the shifter in the “N” position? I am attaching a procedure that should help you narrow it down.

Link JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

 

This is a bit of a nuisance, but you could remove the plugs and add a few ml of oil to each cylinder. This is the procedure used with the nikasil V8.

Allan, it was the owners manual, not electrical manual.

 

Make sure you charge your battery too.

 

Looking and listening to the video, you only appear to have turned the ignition on for about 8 seconds. This may not be enough.

Do make sure your battery is charged though as you've been trying for a while and that will sap the available power.

So you smell fuel and can hear the fuel pump, that means the inertia switch is ok.

If you can't start it by cranking with your foot to the floor, make sure you have spark.

 

I'm about to attempt it again with the battery pack clamped to the battery.

There's really no spot to clamp the negative cable of my battery pack/booster to other than on the post of the battery itself. That won't cause a safety issue will it? I remember when I was younger we did it all the time but I avoid it now when necessary on our other vehicles. Perhaps I'm being a tad too cautious but I'll wait a bit to see what others say. Battery is clean with no leaks. Here's a picture https://db.tt/6Iw8zGqR

Thanks.

 

I got the bright idea to use the trunk latch for a ground. After what was only 6 seconds of cranking, but felt like a minute, I was almost there. Again, I backed off for fear it was going to catch and rev to 10 grand lol. Past few weeks sinc e the cold weather came on the throttle had stuck a couple to a few hundred revs past idle so that's where the panic comes from.

Here's another video of me 'pulling out too soon" lol

I'll try again later tonight or in the morning but I think it's safe to say its a flooding issue. Thanks to those who helped.

 

Don't worry about the revs, it's electronically limited to 3000 in neutral or park.

 

easiest first thing to do is to check fuel and spark.

Remove the Coils as well as the spark plugs.

Have a friend or someone turn on the ignition, if you have a bad injector (like i had) the gas will just pour out/up from the cylinder (the one has injector gone bad). That would make the engine flood with gas and won't start/. Simply replace (or take it to fix) injector and problem is solved.


if you don't have it, look for the spark. attach a spark plug to a coil and place it near the engine (couple of millimeters away) crank the engine, you should see the spark. do the same for all 6 coils.


I'm sorry if anything's not clear, I'm a noob in car parts names in English.

 

I think I will have to do the same process others have when cylinder (bore) wash is assumed. I was hoping to bypass it by doing the pedal to the floor while cranking process but that doesn't seem to be working. The car really should be hibernating right now since we already have a daily driver, however, due to my shift change at work it's a little hectic sharing.

I often see the process listed on these forums as pulling out the plugs, and dropping in a teaspoon of oil but what I never hear is the gaskets used.
I assume that ignition coil gaskets and spark plug seals, at the very least, were amassed prior to this, am I correct? I'll get some replacement plugs while I'm at because it's the smart thing to do; I'll buy whatever is in there right now.

Thanks for the help thus far.

 

The coil gaskets may be needed, but spark plug seals only if there was oil in the wells. New plugs help. You only need about quarter to half tsp. oil. If you leave the plugs out and turn it over a few times with the pedal to the floor and an old towel on top of engine you will minimize the smoke when you start it. Even the coil gaskets can be reused, they are expensive.

 

9-10 volts when cranking, max 11 when not? Even during warm weather that's on the low side, and the cold doesn't make starting any easier. How is the readout of the volt meter with the battery pack attached?

I would fully charge the battery before the next attempt, to rule out low voltage. It's by far the easiest thing on the to-do list.

 

I'm baffled by this cylinder wash thing. Surely to goodness Jaguar like almost all other car manufacturers made their engines to be capable of short bursts of use without causing starting issues like this?

I had an old non injected V8 which you could flood but that isn't what you guys seem to be referring to. You seem to be suggesting that an over fuelling causes sticky rings and other nasties. That seems amazingly improbable to me.

In this case I'd be looking for quite a different cause like the flat battery. I had a similar starting issue with a modern diesel and when I bit on the bullet and bought a new battery - instant start. I could have looked for all sorts of causes but the simple one was the cause.

I'm not meaning to sound like an **** or be difficult but gee I find it an odd thought that Jaguar can't make an engine you can run for a minute and then it doesn't start again.

Mike

 

sbc- I saw no mention of the voltages you are quoting. What post number are you referring to.

drmike- I thought cylinder wash was exclusive to the nikasil V8, but there were two XJ6 issues reported recently as well as post nikasil V8 cases. Members have also suggested that this is not just a Jaguar phenomenon. I have not personally observed the problem because I never shut an engine off without letting it warm to operating temp. or near.