1999 XJ8 won't crank in cold weather fine above 50 degres
 

Love the Jag, but this is a new one to me. When the temp is below 50 or so the engine will not even crank. I hear a quick noise that feels like the starter is trying to engage every time the key is turned to the start position. The cars cranks and starts fine when the weather is warmer. I have had no starting issues whatsoever during warmer temps. The battery is fine. I am at a loss on this annoying problem. Hope someone here can help out. The jag is a 1999 XJ8 with 98,000 miles.

crank
 

When you say the battery is fine, do you know how old it is, what voltage does it show before you try to start the motor, should be 12.4 to 12.6 I think you can have it tested at an auto parts store. Some of the battery connections can deteriorate over time, especially the earth strap from battery to body in the boot, and the earth strap which runs from motor to chassis; accessible from under the car. They can look ok, but tend to corrode. The other point of corrosion is the connector on the false baulkhead, passenger side; take it apart and clean it.
Please keep us informed of progress.

new battery time...

Mine does this also when cold. And if it's cold and wet, forget it! I tried cleaning the grounds at the battery, false bulkhead and under the car but still gets me when cold. The battery is less than a year old and is labeled 900cca but I guess I should still take it in to have it tested just to be sure.

Jukes4me have you gotten the problem figured out yet?


I finally had enough of being stranded so I spent some time last weekend trying to find the culprit. I had the battery, alternator, and starter tested. All tested to be good. So that means a short or ground issue possibly.


I had already checked and sanded/cleaned the ground wire under the car by the starter and also the connections at the false bulkhead. Neither of these seemed to help. I also checked the relays that others suggested in other threads. Still no help.


What I did do was pull off and clean connections that go to the two fuse boxes on the left side (drivers side) under the hood with sandpaper. One larger box and one smaller box. Each one has a post like ground connection bolt. It took only a few minutes to do this.


I also sprayed some wd-40 into a small hole in the starter casing. The hole is very small but you can get a WD-40 spray tube in it. It is easily seen and accessed from under the car.


Because I did them both at the same time, I am not sure what actually worked. But since doing these things, I have not had the problem since. By contrast, my car would give me problems daily before this.


Another thing I did, just in case it did do it again, was to run a wire from the smaller positive connection on the starter up to the storage cubby on the passenger side under the hood. I capped it off with a plastic connector and shut it under the cubby lid to keep it safe until needed. If needed, I simply turn the key to "run" and touch the wire to the false bulkhead positive post. The car started right up. Since it hasn't failed to start since doing the previous mentioned things, I don't know for sure if it will work when the starter actually fails to start the car on its own. But if it does work, and it seems as if it should, this should keep me from being stranded, even if it isn't a proper fix. Anyone trying this should disconnect the battery first!!!


Hope this helps someone else. Pretty easy fix if it will work for you as well. I would think that to just go out do it would take about 30 minutes even if you take your time. Seems to be a very common problem so please chime in with your results or other help suggestions for those that this doesn't help.