I was coming home and all of a sudden the doors locked and unlocked, lights came on and off.

Got home, the remotes do not work, the trunk and door locks do not work, and even the right brake light came on and stayed on, even though the car was off and the key removed.

The light ran the battery down.

Recharged the battery and the brake light is off, but nothing works. Not with the remote or with the dash buttons.

But now the dash says "boot open" even if I open (with key) and shut, it still says open.

What is going on?

The car is kept in the garage, no rain in months, southern Cal.

less than 90K miles

Thanks in advance

Bob

 

Couple thoughts, really guesses.

Low battery voltage will do really strange things to these cars. I know you said that you charged the battery but I would suggest a load test at your friendly local auto parts store.

I would address the 'boot open' issue first. There is a micro switch in the latch that is a common failure point.

Deteriorated battery/ground connections are a fairly common problem on your car's era. Clean and tighten. There is a free down load of the Jaguar Technical Information System (JTIS) in the FAQ sticky above. It has the electrical schematics included.

Everything you describe is touched by the security control module.

Another quick and easy task that seems to work is what is known as a 'hard boot'. There are so many computers on these cars that they can get out of sync and do strange things. Remove the negative cable from the battery and touch the cable to the positive post of the battery. That forces everything to reboot just like your PC.

. . . welcome to the forum and let us know what happens!

 

Does the Security Lockable Control Module need to be reprogrammed once it is installed, even if it has the same part #?

If so can the car start and drive until it is reprogrammed.

Thanks again

Bob

 

I went through the same deal with my 03 XJ8, (RH brake light on all the time and the security and lock module was hot and smoking! The output transistor for the RH brake light was shorted and attempting to ignite my ride!) I found a used module on-line and installed it, then followed the procedure for re-programming the remote and all has been well since then. (except for the electrical issue in my post from yesterday). There is a place on-line that claims to be able to recondition these modules but I can't recall the name just now (I haven't sent my old module yet due to lack of funds, but I will try to find the website and get it to you).

 

Most of the modules are plug-n-play as long as you get the correct part number and VCAT extension number.

The driver seat control module is listed as needing programming but I put a correct one in and it worked fine. The reprogramming referenced above is for the key fob. If you replace the Security Module you will have to reprogram the fobs. No big deal.

Based on your issues the Security Module is a good guess.

Techs, what say you?

 

My XJ8 was possesed, but the ghost has been exercised.

It was the Security Locking modual. Replaced it and all is good again.

Thanks everyone.

Bob