HELP! Teenager with first car and absolutely no mechanical knowledge!

First off, I have a 1989 Jag XJ6. New battery. Recently I went to start my car, and the seatbelts and starter engaged, but only for a second. Then I lost all power to the car. If I turned the steering wheel a certain way, the power came back. I tried starting it again, and the same result happened. If the keys were out of the ignition, I heard an electrical buzzing/clicking coming from somewhere in the dashboard. I have since disconnected the battery to prevent anything else from happening. Does anybody have ANY clue what's going on? Thanks for helping me out!

 

Hi Gardianlh,

Welcome to the Jaguar Forums! You have chosen an excellent car for beginning your automotive service education!

The first couple of suspects that come to mind are the Ignition On Relay and the Ignition Switch.

The Ignition On Relay is mounted behind the passenger side knee bolster below the dash. The photos at the link below show how the bolster is removed on our '93, which is a little different from your '89, but the principles will be similar:

Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page

If the relay is failing, it may not be latching properly so the vehicle's ignition-switched circuits are not being powered. And if it is not unlatching properly, it may be continuing to buzz and click after the key is removed.


Another possibility is the Ignition Switch itself, the electrical component mounted on the left end of the Ignition Key Barrel. Below are photos showing how the switch is replaced on our '93, which may be slightly different from your car:

Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page


Download the Haynes XJ40 service manual at the link below. For some reason the pdf file is missing a couple of chapters, but most of the info is there:

https://www.mediafire.com/?hx8bttsy4kxxr#3267xri9vx4v6


I tried to attach the 1989 Electrical Guide to this post, but the file must be too large. Send me your email address in a private message and I'll email the guide to you. It contains all the schematics for your car, along with component identifications and locations.

Hopefully some of our other members will have additional suggestions.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks so much! One of my mechanic friends was suspecting the ignition switch, and my uncle was suspecting the relay, but I wanted to see if anybody else is having the same problem. I have the online manual for my car, but any and all resources are greatly appreciated - I'm not the mechanic type (yet) but I am determined to learn, even if it kills me, haha.

 

Gardianlh,

I didn't want to overload you with my first response, but something you'll want to do to help make your car more reliable is to clean all the battery power connections and ground points and check your fuseboxes for cold or starved solder joints. Corrosion on the battery power and ground connections and poor solder joints in the fuseboxes are common causes of hard-to-diagnose electrical gremlins in Jaguars. Our '93 is a little different, primarily because the battery is in the trunk, but the photos at the links below will illustrate the process:

Battery Power Connections:
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page

Grounds / Earths:
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page

Fusebox service
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page


Cheers,

Don

 

Don, you've been a great help so far! If I have any other questions, I'll make sure to ask.

 

Don, I've finally gotten around to taking apart the knee bolster, and now I am slowly working through the electrical diagram to figure out what is what. TOTALLY overwhelmed.

 

Hang in there! The more components you match up with the diagrams the more it will all make sense.

Please keep us informed!

 

Literally, I looked at all of the wires and went "oh crap..."

However, I did find a blown fuse behind the knee bolster and replaced it with a spare (at least I am pretty sure it was a spare. Gonna have to look at the fuse diagrams again.) Not sure if that will help anything or not. But I am also wondering if it blew from the original short - if it did, then I don't want to waste another good fuse.

 

I don't remember you mentioning a short. Are you referring to the event when your car lost all power?

The fuses are a standard size and inexpensive at any local auto parts store, so no worries about wasting one if it helps you determine whether you have an ongoing fault or a one-time event.

 

Yes - I'm referring to where I keep losing total power to the car. Whether it's actually a short or not is a totally different story. Short is just the first word my sleep-deprived brain could think of.

 

Don, I started tracing wires in the circuit in my car - I've found part of the circuit, and I am trying to locate the rest. I re-connected power to my car, and I got power to everything. Seatbelts locked into position. Second I tried starting the car, bupkis. Lost power. I'm noticing a clicking feeling when turning the key - it isn't as fluid as it used to be. I'm starting to think the issue is more likely in the ignition switch than in the ignition relay. If I disconnected and reconnected the battery, the seatbelts reset to their unlocked position. What's your opinion?

 

The ignition switch is a definite possibility. You can test it with an ohmmeter at its electrical connector. You just need to remove the driver's knee bolster and the steering column cowl. I think I posted links to photos showing how those are removed (easy). Follow the wires from the ignition switch to its electrical connector. Disconnect it, then use your ohmmeter to test for continuity between the wires depending on key position. The Electrical Guide shows which wires should connect to each other depending on the position of the key.

 

I'm going to a local pick n pull tomorrow to tear apart their 89 xj6. Hopefully I can nab a good ignition switch and relay. If not, I at least get to practice testing wires and removing sensitive guts without destroying them. Also I will hopefully be able to find body parts to replace damaged parts on the outside of my car. Wish me luck! Will keep updated as I discover new things.

 

We'll look forward to your salvaging report!