Hi!

I have a 1999 XJ8 VDP that I have owned since 2010. Great car. Fantastic
on long drives. Multiple round trips from Atlanta to Panama City, Fl
(730mi each).
2 round trips from Atlanta to Mechanicsburg, PA (1450mi each)

But, 3 weeks ago, I started the XJ8 to move it to different location on my parking pad twice.
The engine run time was 2-5 minutes for each move.
No problems in starting the car for those moves.
The next morning my wife tried to start it and got the "Whirring Blender"
sound and no start.
I got out my new iCARSOFT i930 code reader and looked for codes.
The "immobilizer" fault was not set.
So, that wasn't an issue yet. But, no faults were found.

The iCARSOFT i930 code reader is a nice unit and is for the European cars
like the Jaguar, Mercedes, Audi and BMW.
The "Manual" mode will let you really get down into the diagnostic specifics
and read the codes "live". And it will let you reset most Faults.

I tried the recommended restart procedures - depress the accelerator down
and crank.
NADA.
I then pulled all of the spark plugs and replaced them with the recommended
NGK plugs. I also used my Marine Fogging oil spray to put oil into the
cylinders. The #1 plug showed a nice spark as did #5.
Once again no start. But the "Whirring Blender" sound was gone after oil
treatment.

I put the battery charger on to get the battery to its best charge and tried
an extended start with a charged up battery.
At times it seemed the car was trying to start.
I put a fuel pressure gauge on and got a 40+lb reading when the key
was turned to the ignition position. I didn't hear the fuel pump even though
there was pressure even while starting. Still no ignition.

I was stumped.

I finally had the car taken to a local non-Jaguar service business called
"EURO DEF". They do a lot Mercedes, Porsches, Audi, BMW's and the like.
I quizzed them on their code readers. They had them all. Enginuity, Autel,
and several others that could do codes for a NASA Saturn V rocket
if they wanted.
I figured they could handle a Jaguar if they could do a Turbo Mercedes.

Anyway, 2 working days later they found that the fuel pump was not
staying on after the first initial pump start.
No codes were being thrown for this problem.

Fix: Fuel Pump Replacement.
Cost $800+ = $300+ parts + $500 labor.
They threw the diagnostic charge ($150) in gratis.
They charged within $30 what Jaguar had charged the previous owner
for the same issue to repair 6 years ago.
I can now hear the fuel pump when I turn the key and while the car is running at a Very low sound volume.

Oddly enough the previous owner had the fuel pump changed out 2 months
before I purchased the car in Jan. 2010 with only 100,000 miles on the car.
So, 6 years and 22,000 miles later the fuel pump is toast ?
Is it the time or the miles that is bad for the fuel pumps?
Six years of heavy use I can see. But, only 22,000 miles?
I would expect a little better endurance from a Jaguar part.

Oh well, POR - Press On Regardless to the Timing Chain Tensioner adventure!

 

My experience is that the gas we are getting now causes the fuel pumps not to last as long as they should. Ethanol is the enemy to them.

 

I would perhaps say the opposite, not using the pump enough (22k miles in six years is not a lot ...) might attribute to an early death.

 

I agree in part with both of you. I have read that the ethanol separates upon standing and that can likely result in corrosion.