Hello everyone.

I'm owning a 1995 Jaguar XJR (x306). I parked in my garage for 3 weeks because i was going away. when i got back and wanted to take it for a drive, it had trouble to start, idle and run.
it was a bit low on fuel but not in red yet. when i try to drive it, it runs bad, holds back when I pouch the gass and it wants to stall out of no were. i don't know what's wrong with it because it was fine 3 weeks before
i already cleaned the MAF sensor. hoped it was just a bid of dust but it didnt help. anyone who knows what it can be? need some help to fixe it.

I'm 18 years old and its my 2nd car but don't daily drive it and don't know much about it yet.

would like to hear something

 

Change fuel filter and crank sensor. These are two cheap parts that can make a big difference.

 

Don't trust the fuel gauge. You may be slurping on a near empty tank getting intermittent fuel feed.
Throw in 20 litres and then try it again.

 

Yes i did throw 20l fresh fuel in there but it didn't make a difference

 

Thanks. I'm going to order new ones for it hope it makes a difference. First i was thinking about replacing the MAF sensor. would you say its worth it?

 

I asked the previous owner of the car and he said it could be the MAF sensor. Would anyone know if its worth it to replace it?

 

New MAFs are no longer available so you can either do a deep clean of the existing unit or replace it with a good used one but there is guarantee that it would resolve your problem where there can be many possibilities. All depends on the existing condition and maintenance to-date of the car, and what you have done to the car - sitting for three weeks is a clue. First thing first check your battery to see if it is in good health. Second is to check of the fuel pump relay; third is to to replace the Crankshaft Position Sensor (CKPS) as the prime suspect of all starting and performance issue. Other possibilities require more observation and trial and error to narrow the potential suspects to one or two. The list is rather long: dirty air filter, water in tank, contaminated fuel, dirty fuel filter, dying fuel pump, rusty fuel rails, toasted spark plugs, dying coil packs, outgoing fuel pressure regulator... There is tremendous wealth of knowledge being generously shared in this forum so happy reading.

 

Sorry to be of no help to you whatsoever. But my 95 VDP (owned since 2010 and I've logged 220k of its 280k miles) has ALWAYS exhibited similar behavior if left unmolested for over a week. Not quite as bad - it just misses and coughs at idle on first start, but smooths out and performs normally when taken out for a spin and is fine thereafter, as long as it gets continuous daily use. Leave it alone for a week or less, but more than 2 days, and I have radio problems - won't turn on or won't turn off, or volume is not adjustable...and these don't go away as easily as the misfires on first start after a long layover.

Best of luck, best advice I can give you is to make it your daily driver. Yes, you'll spend more time maintaining it, but you'll know all of its idiosyncrasies and will learn a tremendous amount about it in the process!

 

Hi DENJAG,

Welcome to the Jaguar Forums! It's great to have you with us. You've received excellent advice already!

If your 1995 car has an OBDII Data Link Connector (16-pin diagnostic port), an auto parts store or auto repair shop can connect a scan tool and read any stored Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs). Stored codes can make your diagnosis far easier. One thing you really need to know is whether the engine is misfiring on any cylinder, because misfires allow unburned petrol/gasoline into the catalytic converter(s), which can quickly ruin them.

A few things I can think of that could cause your symptoms include:

Fuel injectors binding due to contaminants that accumulate in the valve and either prevent the valve from opening (causing too little fuel to pass) or closing (causing too much fuel to pass). You might add two bottles of a proper fuel injector cleaning product like Chevron Techron Concentrate Plus or Wynn's Fuel System Cleaner. Injector cleaner is not a cure-all for injectors that have been neglected, but if you can confirm that your engine is not misfiring and can drive it everyday for a week, adding a good fuel injector cleaner to the tank may help.

As Qvhk mentioned, water in the fuel is a common problem. The emptier the fuel tank is, the more water moisture can collect due to humidity in the air. The moisture condenses on the cool metal tank and drips into the tank. Water is denser than petrol/gasoline, so it sinks to the bottom of the tank and is inhaled by the fuel pump, corroding the fuel pump, clogging the fuel filter and inhibiting combustion in the engine. Heet fuel dryer is a good product to add to your fuel tank. The Heet contains methanol and other additives that are also heavier than gasoline, so they sink to the bottom of the tank and emulsify with the water to help it pass into the engine and be eliminated during combustion. After adding two bottles of Heet to the tank, change your fuel filter as Cafcpete suggested.

I also second Qvhk's mention of the battery. Jag's are notorious for demanding a lot from the battery and do not like a battery whose capacity or state of charge has fallen even a little below spec. I don't know if this is true in NZ, but in the U.S., auto parts stores will test the battery health for free.

Check for rodent damage to wiring. A very common issue for vehicles that have been parked for more than a few days is wiring damaged by rodents who have crawled into the engine bay or other areas and chewed any accessible wiring. I would highly recommend that you inspect all the wiring you can see in your engine bay. Often, you will also find other signs of rodent ingress, such as nut and seed shells, leaves, evergreen needles, loosened insulation and other nesting materials, etc.

Cheers,

Don