Hi I'm having a horrific first couple days of picking up a 1998 XJ8 from an auction. On the drive home I believe the Alternator went out as The dash began showing the error Battery Not Charging. I was not to far from my office so I kept driving and as I got closer all of the warning lights began to come on, Air bag, Stability control, then it said transmission fault and changed how the shifting was. I then got to my office and parked it.

I charged the battery for about 8-10 hours until it said it was fully charged and tried to restart and get nothing. No crank or anything. It says safety check on the dash. I checked the codes and got a P1789 Pressure Solenoid B short error. I cleared the codes and it still won't even crank?

Thanks for any help on how to get it to crank even?

Thanks for any help, Bad first 48 hours of Jaguar ownership.

 

First job, put a new battery on the car. If it starts, check the alternator output, should be about 14v.

 

Thanks

That's where i was going to go before I called in a mechanic. Thanks for reinforcing my thought.

 

Yeah, I'll second that. Low voltage can cause a plethora of issues. 14.2 volts when running, 12v sitting or trouble occurs. Use a meter to test once the new battery is in. You said it was from auction, so who really knows how old that battery is.

 

Your battery may indeed be bad, but the symptoms show no charging, not a bad battery.

 

Well I took the battery out to replace and I had charged it for about 10 hours. I took it to Autozone and they tested it and it said it was 99% and I think 12.62v.

It shows system check on the dash. Is there a special way to clear that? I cleared the OBDii codes with a scanner. Do I need to turn the key and hold something down? to reset it so it's our of maybe a safety shut down?

Thanks

 

I tried the new battery and I'm thinking I may have popped a fuse in my low voltage incident.

We pushed the car by the hood out of space in order to tow it home and now my hood is stuck closed the passenger latch is stuck. I pushed on it as someone pulled the lever. Now trying to pull cable with pliers to see if I can get it to release.

I found a thread about it, but I can't get to the picks as I'm to new of a member. I need a few more posts.

 

Nebspizza:
Your low voltage was highly unlikely to flow a fuse. DC electronics just don't work that way. You may very well have blown the fuse or worse, a module, while charging. Much damage can be done buy fast charging a car with a seriously discharged battery if you do not isolate the battery before charging.
If you are sure you have broken the hood latch cable near the latch and not at the handle, your best bet involves drilling a hole in the inner wheel well at a certain location, then using a screwdriver to open the latch. Do you want the pjotosas to where to drill? If so, send me a PM with your e-mail and I will forward them.
As to your no crank/ Do the headlights turn on? Do they dim as you ty to crank? Do you hav two keys? If so, have you tried the other one? Are you ectremely sure your battery is connected with correct polarity and tight terminals?
If it took a rough ride on the hook, you might check the inertia switch in the right front kickpanel. I THINK it will prevent cranking.

 

Hate to say it, but welcome to owning a pre-ford Jag!

Couple of things that I think will help you....

Generically:

Download JTIS which is the electronic technical manual for the Jag. Search the forums and you find a post by one good soul that host the manual on a site and provides detail instructions on how to install it.

Specifically:

I've posted about it before but I had battery problems for about a year, the battery would drain quickly - even after a full charge with the trickle charger etc.... ultimately found out the power steering line was touching a "positive" part of the alternator and was responsible for draining (only found it after that contact arc melted 2 pinholes in the line and was causing a leak in the power steering system).

There is a rubber spacer on the metal power steering line near the alternator that is supposed to keep that metal line away from and insulated from the alternator. Mine had slipped down the line and wasn't doing its job anymore.

This is a long shot but a easy thing to check... just take out the airbox and you can see the line/alternator right under it.

A P1789 code is (to quote JTIS)....
"DTC P1789 Ignition supply malfunction >7 < 9 volts
Battery charging system fault
Blown fuse
Harness fault
Connector loose or corrodedConnector pin(s) bent or tracking between connections
Ground fault

JTIS has a whole pinpoint procedure for troubleshooting this code but before going through that....

Have autozone (et al) test that the alternator is working properly. They have a scan tool there that can clear your codes and see if it comes back.

Sounding like an alternator problem or the diodes in rectifier pack have been blown.... which is real easy to do if someone reversed jumper cables (+to-) in an effort to jump it.

 

Ross

Thanks for the info

I can't PM yet, to new a memeber, email is ben@digdeeppeople.com

Thanks guys.

 

I still haven't been able to get the hood open.


I'm about to call a jaguar mechanic to get it done. I've pulled on the cable with pliers from inside, I can see the cable move when I do this. I've drilled a hole and pressed on the arm of the latch, nothing. I have noticed wha t may be the problem there is an ever so slight bump under the hood towards the front on the wheel well area. I'm thinking a I may have had the plastic covers off the engine and setting there when I shut the hood causing it to have a off angle and seizing in the latch.


I also was thinking of drilling another hole below where the pin comes into the latch to see if I can pull the cable and give it a tap to pop it out of the latch from below?


Any Ideas before I call in a "pro". Notice the quotes. LOL

Thanks guys.

 

Ben:
I suggest you attempt to take the "pressure" off the hood latches. You can reach the hinge mounts throught the grill inserts. Two screws at ther top of each grill insert release a clip, which allows you to lift the inserts up from the bottom, at least on the XJR. then you will see three bolts on each side that secure the hood hinges. I would take all that loose and then see if you can jiggle the hood loose from the latches.
Good Luck.

 

I took my car to the dealership yesterday to have it checked about why there is no sound from the radio. The mechanic was poking around the battery and fuses back in the trunk. Today my "battery not charging light" came home. I was leaving on a long road trip and turned around and went back home. I unloaded the truck and found the ground cable to the battery was really hot. The car will not start as the battery (bought new 10 months ago) is totally down. I don't know if it's the alternator or fuses or a short from alternator to battery -- or a ground cable problem. I was supposed to be 200 miles from home tonight to make a trip deadline and no mechanic available until 9 a.m. tomorrow. Any suggestions?

 

Rent a car is the easy answer.

Could be many things from a bad battery to alternator diodes. More info needed.

 

I re-read my post and honestly it didn't make much sense. Sorry!

Second try for clarification!

This happened quickly to my car tonight. All was well and all of a sudden the 'battery not charging' light came on. Getting car back home and unloading my trunk, my brother in law said the ground cable to the batter was 'hot' and he wasn't sure what the problem was. I guess my question is .... after the mechanic at the dealership poked around the back area by the battery and fuse box in the trunk yesterday, trying to find out why my stereo has no sound -- could he have possibly screwed up the grounding on the battery? Battery was purchased last February so it's not old. The battery is all the way dead now after I got the car back home so I will have to have it hauled to the mechanic in the morning. I am hoping it's not the alternator (no bad alternator noises and no belt problems at all) because it would take a while to find one (I'm in a small town) and my trip would be delayed. With a '99 jag XK8, is there wiring around the battery for grounding that could have been broken or unplugged during the quick check on the car stereo by the mechanic? When my brother in law checked voltage going into battery, it was 11.

Thank you.

 

Picking out specific statements:

The battery is all the way dead now . . . Obviously you have a high current drain on the electrical system or a bad battery . . . or a loose ground cable. New batteries can be bad.

. . . ground cable to the batter(y) was 'hot' . . . . Strange, loose at the battery or a bad ground connection to the frame.

You need a little more technical help than available on line.