Hello folks, I'mrecently aquired very mint 98 XJ8L. as clean as it maybe, it has few gremlins that I'm trying to figure out.
here goes.. any help would be appreciate it.
1) both of the front power seats front tilt function does not work, when you depress the seat switch you can hear the motor turn but no motion and they're both stuck in up position (front tilt)
2) rear trunk release (growling head button) works when it wants to. also cannot get trunk lid interior light to work.
3) the big one. when car is travleing at highway speeds all of sudden motor stalls. have to put in netural and restart. usually takes 2 restarts.. I've noticed that it happens more so when I WOT(wide open throttle) to pass or whatnot then let off the gas pedal then let the engine rev down, but instead it dies. I was thining maybe fuel delivery problem?
4) some of the dash lights do not illuminate and don't know if it's even suppose to be? front/rear foglight does not illuminate("on" indicator works however), transmission selector does not illuminate, window switches other then driver does not illuminate.

I'm sure some of you guys that's been around has seen and heard lol of these problems... any help would be greatly appreciate it. thanks in advance [align=right][/align]

 

Not sure about the first two questions...may need to look into the various computer modules for proper operation/signal, check wiring connections, etc. With regards to the stalling, there was a recall on the throttle bodies of the earlier models that you may qualify for. Typically the cars would stall/have trouble starting. You may also want to just look at the general condition of the unit to see if there is carbon build-up around the butterfly. If so, clean it up with some over-the-counter carb/throttle body cleaner paying close attention to not wipe off the (molybednum ?) ring where the butterfly rests...it is actually a coating that needs to remain in place for proper operation of the mechanism, from what I understand.

Good Luck!

 

Hi,

(1) I don't know.

(2) Common. Check wires going through the right side trunk hinge. You see wires in a tube that may look OK. Open the tube and check inside. Wires may be broken there.

(3) As AMW said, it is probably a throttle body issue. Check the recall or TSB.

(4) Check the bulbs, haha.

 

thanks guys, for directions and helpful advice. here are updates so far..
1) on the seat problem i was able to trace it to the cable that connects the acutal motor and seat tilt mechanism. it was somehow detached on the tilt side so i just snaped it back in and now it works like charm.
2) nothing to update on the trunk problem, however i also noticed that only one plate light was working even though both of the bulbs were good, trunk light inside the trunk lid does not work either. after fiddling around a bit, I noticed that neither the plate light or trunk light had ground so I tested by running make shift ground wire to the terminal and both started to work. I suspect bad ground somewhere but was not able to pin point the problem and hoping someone would chim in on this.
3) called local (150 miles) jaguar dealer about the tsb and recall and was told my specific vin did not have active recall.. is it possible that they could cancel the recall after certain time period? mine is 98 XJ 8L
4) took out the fog light swtich and disassembled it to find light bulb burned out. tried sourcing the little blue bulb/socket (one piece) combination but had no luck. anybody have any experience in this area?

I'll keep you guys updated and hopefully I'll be albe to cure all the gremlins this little wonderful car has. thanks everyone

 

Hi voodooskyline,

About (2), as I said, open up the wire bundles that is in the right side trunk hinge. This car uses dedicated ground wires (I think 3) to power everything attached to the trunk lid.

About (3), mine is 98 XJ8L, and I have a paper work saying the throttle body was replaced under recall (it was free!). Maybe you want to check other dealers?

Good luck!