Hello to all. Well, after reading this forum, it seems I really screwed up. My 1998 XJR has been sitting for about a year, and I finally am ready to put her back on the road. I put Stabil in the gas when she was parked, and put a new battery in today. I turned the key and she fired right up. I was amazed. I pulled her out of the garage and decided to give her a quick wash before I hit the road to the gas station to fill the low tank with fresh fuel. I shut her down after about 2 minutes, which I have read is a HUGE mistake. She now cranks and will not start. I tried starter fluid and she wants to go but won't catch. I tried holding the gas pedal to the floor while cranking and she still will not start. I am very angry with myself, and am looking for any advice that may help.

Thanks in advance!

 

Oh yeah, I did attempt a restart after about 5 minutes. That is when she decided she didn't love me anymore... I tried holding the pedal to the floor and cranking with jumper cables on the battery to save it from flattening. Still no start. I will let it sit overnight with the battery disconnected and see what happens in the morning.

 

Check out Test Point's post #2 in this thread. It sounds like cylinder wash as he states and his post should help.

Good luck.

 

Bad news. I read every post I could find on cylinder wash and flooding. Found that some guys are lucky doing the pedal to the floor trick for engine drying, but not me. Let her sit overnight and went out this morning with high hopes. Hooked up the jumper cables to the battery so she had some help, and held my foot to the floor for 8 consecutive 15 second cranks with a 30 second rest in between. On the 9th attempt, I raised the pedal to about 1/2 way and cranked with no change. Still will not start. Cranking very strong with the new battery and the jumpers, and she did catch and then die yesterday with the starter fluid... I am at a loss here and still kicking myself for not letting her warm all the way up yesterday.

Any other hints would be gladly accepted, as I am about ready to give up. It seems that my black cloud following me strikes again.

 

Don't panic yet. It might very well be something besides cylinder was, Nikasil etc. Check the fuel pressure on the right side fuel rail. The best, safest way is with a fuel pressure test guage- about $50 - $60. Or (not advised) just push the schraeder valve in and see if gas squirts out- I beleive sitting for a year might do in the fuel pump.

 

Thanks for the replies. The thing that gets me is that she started right up and was purring like a kitten before the idiot behind the wheel turned her off too quickly and attempted a fast restart...

 

Forgive yourself. We are all idiots, waiting for the right time to strike. This was just your turn. I would not have done anything different myself, as who would think that would be an issue? It will work out, this is VERY likely something minor. Good luck!

 

+1 to a fuel pump, and don't be hard on yourself, it's the joy of owning a Jaguar, even brand new ones can do it....
See if you can confirm fuel pressure first it should be around 35psi
Tip some fresh gas into the tank.
Next is a set of compressions. Maybe a drop of engine oil down the plug holes to build compression back up on the piston rings. Washing the oil ring will give low compression.
What's the engine oil level like?

 

I did tip some fresh gas in the tank. I guess I will have to check fuel pressure. I don't see the spot to check it, though. Is it under the plastic? Oil level is ok-- it is on the bottom hole of the dipstick, but that should be fine.

I cannot even see where the spark plugs are on this motor. Can anyone tell me? My guess is fouled plugs and clogged injectors, but I am no mechanic, unfortunately. I am not afraid to learn, though!

Thanks again for all of the replies. Please keep them comming!!!

 

If you have spark and fuel pressure then I would say cylinder washing. Now that you have attempted to start it with the accelerator to the floor with no success I would recommend a quick and easy way to get it started and that would be with adding a little oil to each cylinder then try to start the car. The oil creates / allows cylinder pressure. Please read my no start procedure at No Start Situation 1997 2000 xk8 I hope this helps!

 

BTW, I regularly run my beater XJR, Nikasil engine, 230,000 miles on the clock, for short durations since I have a crowded driveway. I have never experienced cylinder wash. So, it is not an absolute, although many folks have reported the the condition.

 

I too have yet to experience cylinder wash, even though I occasionally forget and shut down within seconds or minutes of starting... I chalk it up to the warm Southern California climate never forcing the ECM to try an overly rich starting mixture.

Metal, try the oil in cylinder method, as suggested. If it is cylinder wash, this should resolve it. Before, though, when you get the engine cover off, check fuel pressure, for luck.

 

I agree strongly that you check for fuel and spark. Not everyone is struck with the cylinder washing but when it strikes it can be stressful dealing with the no start situation.

 

I plan to check those today. One question, though; if it is cylinder wash, wouldn't it dry itself out in time by the gas evaporating?

 

Nikasil is slick and the raw fuel will wash the oil out of the cylinder and clean the compression rings and that is how you lose compression when the engine is not at a full operating temprature. The big contributing factor is the fuel presentation to the cylinder and the engine temprature. I have spent a lot of time gathering this information so I and others could understand what is going on and why. This is another link on the why Nikasil I hope this helps!

 

Very interesting. Thanks. Come to think of it, I am a bad boy. I have not changed the spark plugs in about 80k miles... It was running so well when I parked it, and I am a believer of (other than regular maintenance) "if it aint broke don't fix it".

Do you guys think that maybe she'll run if I put new plugs in?

 

On the R cars, spark plug service intervals are 40k, so it's well overdue, if you have fuel, and you add oil to the plug holes to get compression back, why not fit new plugs while your in there. It'll be one less job to do when you service it.

 

Cylinder wash on the AJ26 is more likely to occur in humid climates we found. Where carbon peels off within the cylinder.
By the Aj27 a strategy was developed where fueling was reduced to minimise overfueling that was occuring during this start up regime

 

Well, I called the dealer (Madison Jaguar in NJ), and the service advisor had me go out to the car and pump the accelerator pedal while cranking the starter for about 20 seconds. He had me do this 3 times and then told me to not touch the pedal and start normally. When it did not start, he said that it was "very washed out". I called a tow company and had it towed over there for a full tune up. Oh well, lesson learned. He did say that the spark plug change interval for the 98 XJR was 100k, but I told him to put new plugs in there anyway. I am awaiting his call with the list of other goodies he is going to want me to do to the car...

 

Please let us know what he finds.