OK so here's the story. I inherited this beautiful 2001 XJ8 VDP. However, getting it out of Park is a challenge. Looking thru the forum I have replaced the brake switch and found a bad 25 amp fuse in the trunk fuse box. When I replaced the brake switch, the brake lights remain on. I have tried two different brake switches with the same result...brake lights stay on. I replaced the burned out 25 amp fuse didn't notice any difference. I don't have an owners manual so I can't tell you what the fuse does but when I replaced the fuse, all bad dash indicators went off, the Park light came "P" came on, and the car drove fantastic. I came to park it and then all of the bad indicators came on again and I couldn't get it out of Park again. Codes are P 1638 and P 1000. Battery was replaced in Feb and the voltage is 12.68v. Also I've included a picture of the battery and a white wire that is unplugged. Anyone know what this is for? Transmission shift fine...engine runs fine...

 

On my XJ12's they will start but not come out of park due to the battery. Install a battery tender and USE it your issue's will disappear. I don't care if your battery is a week old it still needs a tender or you will not be satisfied. Most Jaguar weird issues are battery, battery, battery. I plug my cars in everyday and no issue's. Before I did this I was very frustrated with my Jags. Since, nothing but smiles. Is it ridiculous to plug in your car everyday... yes, but it works.

 

see this thread- https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...esolved-97621/

 

First thing this morning, I measured the battery voltage of 12.3v. Put the key in the ignition and Park light came on and shifted. Great. Based upon the fuse forum recommendation, I pulled the cover off the rear seats and checked those fuses (man there are a lot of fuses). Got back into the car and it would not shift out of Park. No Park light on transmission indicator and all the bad lights on the dash came on. Worked on the Airstream for an hour. Came back to it and could shift it out of Park. Removed the key...again could shift it out of Park ???? where is the release solenoid for the shifter located????

 

You will have to remove the j gate surround to get to the solenoid.

 

When you press the brake pedal before changing gear do you hear a click from the gear shifter ? If so it is unlikely to be the solenoid. To be honest it sounds more like battery or a wiring problem to me.

 

P1638 indicates you have a CAN bus communication error. When the CAN bus is in error, the gear locking solenoid will not allow the shifter to be moved out of Park. Also, not having the 'P' light up indicates that the CAN is down. Do a search for P1638 on this forum. The info will guide you in checking your CAN connections.

 

Thanks for the info today. I decided to dig into the J shifter and removed it. I found this connection? Can't find it in the SNG parts catalog but it connects to the J shifter assembly. When I was unscrewing the J box I noticed a screw missing...can anyone tell me how this connects? I think it's missing something as I can't get it to reconnect without bending connections...this can't be a real connection?????

 

I have my own one exposed in the car at the moment. I'll have a look in the morning and compare it to mine.

 

The white connector is the connector to the logic board that resides inside the gear shift module. It is permanently fixed to the board and is not supposed to be removed.


The good news: This connector was most likely loose because of someone having been in the console before you and stressing the cable.


The bad news: Your problem is now permanent. You have two approaches to take. You can replace the shifter module or you can repair the one you have.


I repaired mine by documenting which hole each wire is supposed to connect to on the board. Then I cut the wires from the white connector and soldered each one into its corresponding hole. This repaired my module.


If you will follow the wiring harness from the white connector you will find the quick release connector that should be used to disconnect the shifter module from the car.


I have attached a few of the pictures that I took while repairing my module.


I did a short write-up on how to do this repair. I will find it and post it for you in a few minutes.

 

I did not do as extensive a write-up as I had thought, but did document the steps taken to repair the shift module. The PC board is held in place by a couple of screws and slides out of the shifter module once it is opened up.


I decided that since the PC board connector had broken loose from the board that I could just solderthe wires directly to the board. Much simpler than trying to replace the connector and much less expensive and faster than replacing the shifter module.








Afterrecording the order of the wires in relation to the board (Very Important), I:

• removed all the broken pins from the board,
• de-soldered/cleaned out each of the holes using my microdrill bits. I could have just used a solder sucker to clean the holes, but the micro drill bits were faster and cleaner.s (Your board looks like it already has clean holes. Your connector pulled off. My connector broke off, leaving the pins in the holes.)
• cut the wires from the connector,
• stripped each wire,
• tinned each one and then
• soldered each wire to the board making sure thatthe new solder went all the way through the hole.

I hope this helps you. I am sure that your problem was being caused by that connector beginning to break free from the board. This interrupts the CAN bus and results in your symptoms. If you try to simply reinsert the connector, you will probably continue to have an intermittent CAN bus error like before.


The connector finished breaking free when you pulled up your shifter module.

 

Thanks for the help!!!!!!!!!! I should remove the connector from below, but I suppose I have to pull apart the console...anyway your solution looks good...did yo have to use any flux to solder the connections?

 

The solder I used was for electronics and had a flux core.
The connector to disconnect is below and slightly to the rear of the lock solenoid. You don't have to remove the console. Just the illumination module that contains the printed circuit board.

 

I'll work on it today. Do you know if I need to connect the white wire by the battery? (first picture) Again thanks for your help.

 

The White wire (with a Blue trace) should NOT be connected to anything!


It is used in shipping when the vehicle is new, and has no further use once it arrives at the dealers.

 

Be sure to disconnect the battery before removing the illumination module. I guess that sounds a bit stupid since the module has already disconnected itself. But, good practice is to disconnect the battery before disconnecting any of the vehicle logic modules.

 

Yesterday I pulled the illumination module (disconnected the battery) and tinned the wires. I spent more time getting my soldering iron to work correctly (thanks to Utube). Might get to it today but we'll have to see have the day goes.

 

Soldered the wires back into the PC board holes and connected everything back up. Starts fine, no CEL, no manner of crazy messages so that fix was exactly what it needed. Thanks for help. Drives like a dream now.

 

I'm excited that the solution worked for you! So many forum members have helped me, so I am glad to be able to help someone.

 

hay i have some what that problem to ive got a 1996 xj6 it wont go into gear wont come out of park but my brake lights dont come on either when i step on them checked the fuse its good but i can take a screw driver and push the little bar next to the j shifter back and it will go into gear but i still dont know why its not going into gear to start with i do belive it has something to do with the brakes not coming on can anybody help me????????