I have the dipstick, the intuctions say to check when trans fluid is at 80c or another lower temp.

I have an autoenginuity scanner, but I can find a trans temp sensor as one of their readable sensors.

I bought an infared temp sensor, but it's hard to hit the trans pan and hard to know how accurate that is. Even after hours driving with the AC on trans pan (if I was hitting it) was at 65c.

Do I need to go to a trans shop or jag repair shop for them to read trans temp and check level?

 

The oil is cooled by the main radiator so it will settle around 80c when fully warm. Just go for a drive and get everything hot.

 

Hi dneider,

It will help us give you more accurate replies if you tell us your Jaguar's year, model, engine, and if you know it, transmission.

Cheers,

Don

 

It's an 01 VDP SC. As I understand it all SC x308s used the same Mercedes transmission.

 

The dipsticks have marks for different temps as the fluid will expand -- general driving should get you around the correct temp in temperate air w/o the AC.

the dip stick needs to bottom

 

Hi dneider,

Thank you for providing your car details. I have learned my lesson not to write a lengthy reply only to learn I've incorrectly assumed the OP posted in the correct forum. The transmission fill details are significantly different for an '04 XJR/Super V8.

With your infrared thermometer you can probably get an accurate reading of the fluid dripping out of the pan. The pan acts as a heat sink, making readings of the pan unreliable.

You might try another scan tool such as the Torque Pro app with a bluetooth or WiFi ELM327 adapter to see if it can read the transmission oil temperature.

Note that the Mercedes transmission manual states that accurate transmission temperature can only be read while the transmission is in Reverse or Drive (using an appropriate scan tool):

Mercedes Transmission Service Manual NAG1 W5A300 W5A380 W5A580

The fluid level check procedure begins on pdf page 121 of the manual.

P.S. It is very helpful if you use your User Control Panel (User CP link above left) to add your car year, model and engine details to your signature line so it appears with all your posts.

Cheers,

Don

 

Please be aware that the ENGINE coolant temp will be substituted for GEARBOX temp unless D or R is selected.

"Due to a limited number of output pins of the TCM, it is not possible to provide the transmission
oil temperature in selector lever positions other than D or R.
When the selector lever is in N or P, the PDU will actually display engine coolant
temperature (obtained from the Controller Area Network CAN) instead of transmission oil
temperature, possibly misleading the technician."

Please read all the TSBs for your car. There is a vast amount of info in those bulletins.

bob

 

That's a very interesting fact ... I see that's from 98 when the cars were new. Did they ever modify the procedure?

I only ask because my local MB dealer serviced these with a simple drain and refill with 5 quarts. The check/adjust of the fluid came after on the ground. No dropping pan or filter change. Maybe they connected early on or when doing warranty work -- but I saw them simply working on a warm vehicle ??

The .75 hr is also interesting -- this was a $450 service back in the day.

 

I found out that I can read the trans temp sensor by using the auto enginuity scanner to connect to the transmission control module (rather than the ECU). Even when it was 80F and I was driving at 75mph with A/C on it was not enough to bring the trans temp up to 90c. After some mountain driving it go to 90c and I was able to check the trans fluid level. I would suggest that normal driving in moderate temperatures would not be enough to check the fluid at the 90c mark.

 

The gearbox selector lever still needs to be in D or R to read the gearbox temp!!!!!!!!

You are reading the gearbox temp THROUGH the CAN bus (not through the ECM) as the TSB explains.

Due to a limited number of output pins of the TCM, it is not possible to provide the transmission
oil temperature in selector lever positions other than D or R.

It does not matter if you use PDU, WDS, IDS, AutoEnginuity, AutoLogic etc.
The info is communicated on the CAN bus!!

bob

 

Correct you need to be in D or R. Putting the car in park will not work for trans temp reading.

I may be getting my connection interface terminology mixed up so apologies if that's the case. With that said in order to access the trans temp sensor in Auto Enginuity you have to select the Trans Control Module. I'm not suggesting your wrong about connecting to the CAN bus (I don't doubt your correct), I'm just providing the procedure necessary for reading the sensor with Auto Enginuity... hopefully that will be useful to others that have the scanner because menus in the software caused me a bit of confusion.