My 2002 XJR has developed a bit of a strange problem.

It looks as if for some reason the fuel tank can’t be filled completely anymore.

In the past I noticed that sometimes it would not fill completely, especially if it was parked on somewhat uneven surface, with the left rear a bit lower then the right. But now for the last 4-5 times, consistently, I can only fill it for about 75%.

Here’s what happens. I run the car till the fuel gauge registers empty, yellow warning light on, range left less than 10 km. I know from experience there would still be about two liters of fuel left in the tank.

I will fill up and after 52-54 liters I simply can’t get another drop in! By then the fuel gauge will register around 3/4. Range indication is then around 450 km, which is consistent with my normal driving and a 3/4 full tank.

So it appears that for some reason I can’t get the last 10-12 liters into the tank. I seem to recall a thread on this forum discussing this very problem. Something to do with the various emission bits, canisters and valves part of the fuel vapour (return) system.

Any suggestions/pointers would be highly appreciated.

Jeroen

 

In case its the sending unit, check this thread... https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...roblem-131069/

Here's some schematics to review for the sending unit and filling breathers:

 

Excellent, many thanks!
I’ll be a doing a lot of checking the next few weeks!

Jeroen

 

There are variations in the different markets for the fuel systems and emissions.
Here is a TSB for the North American Market so I don't know how much of this is relevant.

bob

 

Would love to see what the resolution to this is. My car has had a very similar problem since I bought it, and I've not been able to get it solved. Very frustrating. The only difference is that I can only get at most 1/2 tank filled up before the pump shuts off.

So far I've replaced the CVV, both carbon canisters, the sending unit and blown out the fuel lines between the canisters. No success at remedying the problem. Only time I was able to get the tank to fill all the way was when I completely disconnected the entire evap system before the LH carbon canister.

Would love to work through this one together as I'm at a loss at this point. Let me know if you have any other questions.

David

 

David, have you checked to see that the tank has not imploded?

 

Robman - I'm sorry, you're going to have to run that one by me again. The fuel tank can implode??

 

Yes the fuel pump can evacuate the tank to the extent that the sides collapse.
https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=ja...qKi7Li60mhvnM:
Not the best shot but you can see where the tank has shrunk away from the retaining strap.

 

I had trouble with mine not filling correctly. I notice it occuring at a couple of different gas stations. Surprisingly I read about and tried a recommendation of holding the nozzle at a 45 degree angle to the left or right of straight down. I don't know why but it works. Other gas stations I can plug it in set it and walk away and it will fill it up.

 

In accordance to what your saying Vern, if a station has fresh filters installed on its tanks, fuel will flow usually quite hard and create a kickoff sooner than normal. I had a station today I easily put in an additional gallon because the pumps were flowing so hard causing an earlier than normal kickoff.

 

Thanks for all the reply. I will be investigating this over the weeks to come and will provide an update on this thread when I have reached some conclusions.

Jeroen

 

Hey Robman, I pulled back the trunk lining today and thoroughly inspected the rear of the tank. Unless this implosion puckering/shrinking can is located at the front of the tank, mine appears to be fine in this regard. I also had the tank completely removed from the car over the summer and it appeared in fine structural condition at this time as well.

Today for the first time ever, I attempted filling with the nozzle at a 45 degree angle with the very end of the nozzle just 1/2 inside the filler neck. I was able to get nearly a full tank of fuel in the car, granted that it took me almost 10 minutes to fill haha. As I'd stated above, when I disconnected both carbon canisters and CVV, I was able to get a full tank in it. Can't help but feeling like the fault must still lie in there somewhere.

 

I have a similar Issue. when I first got my 01 xj8 I couldn't get more than 3/4 of a tank of gas in. it slowly seemed to improve and although the last 2 gallons took an age to fill, as it keeps clicking off, i could fill up. gauge seemed to be working well etc. I ran it to Zero range today and its back to be a maximum of 3/4 of a tank. Any Ideas? drives me crazy!

 

A quick update on my problem. This weekend I decided to get prepared. So I read through the various documents in this thread. Checked my own Jaguar JTIS and a few other sources.

One of the simple test mentioned in the TSB is to check the resistance of the fuel sender with the tank full. Since I was about to take long drive as well I decided to fill up and check.

Would you believe the tank filled up completely and the gauge registers 100% full!
One thing though. I filled up at a petrol station with the pump on the right side of the car. So I had to pull the hose/nozzle across the trunk. It was still a bit short so I ended up filling up with the nozzle aligned with the car instead of a 90o angle. So maybe this made the difference. This weekend the long drive is due and I’ll refill afterwards, see what happens!

 

My XJ6 would not fill unless the handle was pointed to the opposite side of the car.

 

Another data point in the fuel tank not filling saga. I took my Jaguar to the Classic Grand Prix in Germany over the weekend. As petrol is a lot cheaper in Germany than in the Netherlands and I’m Dutch, I drove into the first available petrol station across the German border literally on fumes, with the fuel gauge registering empty and less than 12 km left on the range indication.

Put almost 60L of petrol in without a hitch. Afterwards fuel gauge registered full!

On the way home I thought I would just fill my tank. I had driven about 250km and the fuel gauge showed about 2/3-3/4 and the information centre showed 24 Litres used. So that all seems ok.

So I pull up at the last petrol station before crossing the Dutch border. Would you believe I could not get any petrol into that tank?? Tried twisting/holding the petrol nozzle in any position, but to no avail.

So, I am pretty convinced by now there is absolutely nothing wrong with the petrol gauge as such. So I do need to investigate all the other possible causes, even if that means a tank out job. I have another long trip planned for the Jaguar in the next couple of weeks, so I’ll just have to live with it for a bit longer. Looks like a nice enough winter project!

Jeroen

 

Just got the e-mail update on this thread. Still having the same issue with the XJR with the pump shutting off at 1/2 tank every time. Although, like Jeroen, a couple of weeks ago I took a road trip to (Washington, DC in this case) and at one point on the journey, I was able to get a full tank of fuel into it at a random gas station in upper New York state. Afterwards, back to status quo with the shut-off issue. Unreal.

Have replaced every part on the TSB (and some of them twice) to no avail. Have been trying to avoid taking it to the dealer, but at this point that may be the only option