ok, so these are the things that are wrong with my beautiful XJ8. door handle broke on drivers door. pain in the ***, but as far as replacing common knowledge. umm..not so common, front heated seats dont work, however back ones do..any suggestions. moon roof is just all sorts of messed up. i think im actually missing some trim and frame work but im not sure. got the vallet mode problem fixed, so thats done. and the only other thing iv noticed was that when you switch the heat to vents, i get cold gusts comming from my feet. is there an outside vent of some mort there or what?

 

Door handle I Hope you fixed, are never fun on British vehicles.

Seat heaters could be the relay under the seat, could be the fuse (both front on one fuse, both rear on another fuse) fuse is located in the trunk.

Moon roof could be an issue, but I bet I know a junk yard (breakers) that may have the part in Covington KY, I have seen several Jags and Land Rovers there. I will have to get the number, but it is across from the Walmart just below Fidelity's campus.

 

awesome man. if you can get me that number it would be greatly appreciated

 

Greetings,

1) Chris Cornell rocks.

2) Inner handle? cable/ handle assy, on big drama

3) Wiring connections under seats, in addition to Joey's advice. I recall reading that current dealer techs haveseen alot of failed heating elements.

4) Sunroof tilt and slide mechanisms, these break all the time and are a big hassle to replace. I can supply them separately, or sell you a complete used roof trackassembly. My shop is just north of Columbus.

5) No clue on the climate control, I'd pull trouble codes with my WDS and go from there. Not sure if AutoEnginuity scanner would be accurate and/ or complete for this system, Dealer IDS or WDS would be the most efficient path to pursue.

 

...and apology to Joey, I just saw your other post about the seat heater elements. Having repaired a few seats, I agree that replacing the elementswould bea pain.

 

no issues here jagtechohio... I do have a question about the seat heater elements... first any idea why the high failure rate, and second is it possible to install an after market version so we could have more than one heat setting? Or at least a Hot setting?

 

hey jag tech, whats the whole used moon roof run, because im not 100% sure on what all its missing, in addition to all the seals are cracked and worn and will prolly start leaking soon anyways, maight as well see what it cost to replace everything. and yes, chris cornell kicks ***, lol

 

Sun,

The only seal is the one attached to the sliding panel, and it is not designed to be leakproof. Water gets past it and deflected to the side channels and out through drain tubes in the four pillars...if the sliding rear inner panel is missing or displaced on your car, there's nothing to deflect the water that will now drip inside at the rear of the aperature.

I haven't had to replace one of these seals yet, it does not look simple, and of course a used sliding roof with seal would have to be the correct color.

The complete track assembly with tilt and slide mechanisms and inner roof panels is worth $200. used. The headliner has to be dropped to service or replace these components, so it's a labor intensive job. I have photos on my webpage if you're interested. Renewing the headliner fabric on the two sliding panels is, for me, a long and bad dream.

Joey, I am an independant shop and have not had occasion to replace a seat heater element yet. I've repaired broken frames, installed VDP picnic trays, installed replacement covers...
and it sounds like you know more about aftermarket seat heaters than I do. FactoryJagTech and jag_genius used to post on this forum, and I think you can find additional info if you search the archives for their contributions.

The only comment I can make about failure rate is general andsubjective, but I believe there are a great number of components on these cars that were designed for 10 years/ 100K service (with good fortune) and not a care for the reliability or cost after that. The sunroof mechanisms were a constant problem since 1995 and were not revised for the subsequent eight years. Not too impressive, particularly when compared to the earlier XJ40 sunroof: those did not have the tilt feature, but they never broke. The same basicdoor handle inner release cable design(and the problems with it) goes back to 1988.

I've used this Pink Floyd quote before:

"Hanging on in quiet desparation is the English way".

They're Englishmen, so I guess I can trust their judgement. That might explain the Darkside of the Moonroof.

 

well said jagtech, lol...so essentially, im screwed with the moonroof, lol...it doesnt leak now so im guessin ill leave well enough alone, lol..i was thinking of using epoxy and cementing the door handle back. the way mine is broke, looks like i can handle that much and it will be ok. bot other than that shes ready to be perfect, just a few little minor things such as the ones i mentioned earlier, thanks guys, youv been much help