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Alrighty well this is my first time posting Kinda a story. So i bought this car on a whim really I was able to get it for cheap and knew when i got it, that it wasn't running. The guy had mentioned a fuel pump (the car had been sitting in the sun with half a tank of gas) so when i looked at the car He managed to get it started after a few failed attempts. The car started up and it has a beautiful idle and RPM if increased slowly goes up really nice.

If you go to put your foot down however the car bogs down. In my head everything seemed "Like Oh its just not getting enough gas" Well I skipped some of the diagnostic phase(not the best idea) and put a new fuel pump In.

car still wont start, the old battery was garbage any-who so it has a new battery, and fuel pump. I moved up the fuel line cheacked the fuel pressure, and then i pulled out the injectors everything seems fine they all put out gas the same ( I was going to get a new injector to test to see if maybe it was a pressure issue But they are to expensive) so i moved on. Maybe this isn't a fuel issue i'm not sure.

So I moved onto the electrical. I pulled out the spark plugs. they were all black and gunky as if it was running far to rich. so pulled the spark plugs out and checked them one at a time at the end of each of there wires. and I ran a compression test. None of the spark pluggs had any of that little white lite at the end as If there was No spark at all, yet i did get shocked at one point. the compression test showed up as follows.


cyln 1-6 182--190--185--185--186--187
seems healthy ish? right?




Here is what im looking for
(diagnostic help) If someone were to be so kind

The proper engine compression(specs) for this make and model

the proper resistances for the ignition coil and the ignition coil to the distributor

(maybe a ECU issue?)

everything I fixed on this car came from this
http://jaguar.telko.ru/XJ6%20Service...8Haynes%29.pdf



I am by no means a proper mechanic just a back yard kinda guy and the only help I get is my dad over the phone. and im not taking a cheap car to a mechanic to pay triple what the car is worth just to get it going.
If someone would be able to help me get this car running id be happy to send a few dollars over paypal or something




Thank you very Much
-Ken

 

hi,
being a 4.0 litre it must be a XJ-40. You might check in the XJ-40 Forum for more help. this forum is for the Series 3, XJ-6/12, (with the 4.2 litre engine).

 

You should be in the XJ40 section but could be the fuel filter or if it's been sitting a long time stale fuel.

 

Alrighty well this is my first time posting Kinda a story. So i bought this car on a whim really I was able to get it for cheap and knew when i got it, that it wasn't running. The guy had mentioned a fuel pump (the car had been sitting in the sun with half a tank of gas) so when i looked at the car He managed to get it started after a few failed attempts. The car started up and it has a beautiful idle and RPM if increased slowly goes up really nice.

If you go to put your foot down however the car bogs down. In my head everything seemed "Like Oh its just not getting enough gas" Well I skipped some of the diagnostic phase(not the best idea) put a new fuel pump In. The old owner siphoned alot of the old fuel when i received it. i put in the new fuel pump i dumped the rest of the old fuel and put in some of my own clean stuff(91). I will mention i did get the car to start again, in the heat and the car acted the same. Bogged down when stepped on with a nice idle and nice rev.

the car will only start after sitting in the heat for some time, the old battery was garbage any-who so it has a new battery, and fuel pump. I moved up the fuel line cheacked the fuel pressure, and then i pulled out the injectors everything seems fine they all put out gas the same ( I was going to get a new injector to test to see if maybe it was a pressure issue But they are to expensive) so i moved on. Maybe this isn't a fuel issue i'm not sure.

So I moved onto the electrical. I pulled out the spark plugs. they were all black and gunky as if it was running far to rich(?). so pulled the spark plugs out and checked them one at a time at the end of each of there wires. Then I ran a compression test. None of the spark pluggs had any of that little white lite at the end as If there was No spark at all, yet i did get shocked at one point. the compression test showed up as follows.


cyln 1-6 182--190--185--185--186--187
seems healthy ish? right?




Here is what im looking for
(diagnostic help) If someone were to be so kind

The proper engine compression(specs) for this make and model

the proper resistances for the ignition coil and the ignition coil to the distributor

(maybe a ECU issue?)

everything I fixed on this car came from this
http://jaguar.telko.ru/XJ6%20Service...8Haynes%29.pdf



I am by no means a proper mechanic just a back yard kinda guy and the only help I get is my dad over the phone. and im not taking a cheap car to a mechanic to pay triple what the car is worth just to get it going.
If someone would be able to help me get this car running id be happy to send a few dollars over paypal or something




Thank you very Much
-Ken

 

Thanks I moved the Post and in reply to leigh I did change the new Post a bit. Most of the old fuel was siphoned out, and the rest came out when i changed the fuel pump. new stuff went in (91) about 10L of it.

here is where the new post it

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...14/#post560665


thanks
-Ken

 

check the INERTIA FUEL CUTOFF SWITCH to make sure it is not tripped. I don't know where it is in the XJ-40 but they have it. It is supposed to cut the fuel supply to the engine if the car flips to prevent fires, but sometimes these switches tripp when the car sits for long periods and then you apply 12 volts all of a sudden. To un-tripp the switch, (assuming it is tripped), press the reset button on top of the switch.

 

Get a haynes manual (it a great assist) usually inexpensive on bay etc. As its been sitting and most likely has been neglected,clean the egr valve,the throttle body.and the mass air flow unit,new air cleaner, fuel filter,and a set of the corect spark plugs.Also check wires and distributor cap,and vacuum hoses,and fuel preasure.

 

It was worth a Shot, thank you. Sometimes I forget about the car being British when I was scrambling around on the (passenger side) trying to find it haha. Found it i verified that it dose indeed work.

 

Thanks Lumppy, I'll take a look around see if i can find one the service manual i have been using hasn't been too bad http://jaguar.telko.ru/XJ6%20Service%20And%20Repair%20Manual%20%28Haynes% 29.pdf
it might even be what your are talking about. When i received the car the air-filter had been taken off, I have left it like that for the moment just trying to get the damn thing to start and run nice. I just did a check on the inerta switch No luck its working fine. I also neglected to mention that I have done the self diagnostic with the computer in the car and I dont get any error codes or anything. I replaced a few fuses that it told me about.

but you are probably right it. may have just been neglected and sitting to long. It dose have a shinny new fuel filter as well, I believe that it was the last thing put on the car when it stopped running, perhaps the previous owner was hoping that, it might be the problem any-who i'm going to stick some new plugs in it tomorrow, some platinum ones.

the thing about the manual is i need this specific car or any guess on what should be coming out of the ignition coil and distributor. for the plugs to fire properly and burn the fuel properly at the right time. My other guess is that it is a ECU problem 0_o which I admit dose scare me to start going through wiring diagrams.

 

Ken,

It appears the specifics you are looking for are in the pdf you referenced in your post. Section/Page 2B-1 (page 56) has the compression ratios and S/P 5-1 (page 103) has coil specs.

I attached the spec sheet for my '89 XJ40 3.6L. I believe the specs are very similar between the 3.6 and 4.0. The info comes from an official Jaguar service manual. If you're able to, I would suggest getting the Service Manual and the Supplementary Manual for your model. It set me back about $75, but the information is monumental, especially being able to see/read all of the amendments that trail after the service manuals are produced. If you like send me an email to: evenson.rob@gmail.com. I have no affiliation with the site I will refer you to other than being a customer myself.

Final thought, did you happen to add a can of Heat, or some equal alternative to the fuel tank? The stall out symptoms sound like water/moisture in the lines. If I recall your recap story correctly the vehicle had been sitting a substantial amount of time will only half a tank at the most of fuel. The XJ40 is notorious for moisture in the boot..... just sayin', sometimes the simple stuff escapes us. (I've missed more simple things than I care to admit ) I don't know you're VIN, but do know that up to VIN 629285 the fuel tank components are the same and they are prone to moisture/rust. Something to consider.

Best of luck, hope this helps to some degree. Update, so we know what's going on.

Rob Evenson
Mobile, AL, USA
'89 XJ40 124K

 

Kenny,

It sounds to me like it is not getting enough air. Check your air filter, and your MAF sensor. Bogging down is symptomatic of poor air/fuel ratio.

The new plugs are also a good idea.

If the inertia switch had triggered you wouldn't be able to start the car.

Cheers,

Languid

 

Hey thanks Languid, well for everyone here is what I found out. The car is about 20-30lbs of pressure over what that manufacuar specifies as the normal cylinder pressure.

Could alot of carbon build up cause this?

I smell fuel when cranking lots

and secondly and differently not least I have minimal to 0 spark in all of the leads could this cause the bogging down symptoms if there is not enough spark or electricity and the engine is being put under-load?, I put some PLATINUM SPARK PLUGS in they had a better burn is what I'm told. I'm about to go out and check the resistances.

I don't believe it is bad fuel or the fuel system I believe I have moved on past that.

any other tips cheers
shes being a stubborn car, (proly why i got her cheap)

thanks
-Ken

 

well here is a video 2:00 i get it started

 

Kenny,

It started that's good signal. So you have good ECU. The sound engine's running that make me thinking about miss fires and when you step on gas pedal, engine lost power. So I would suggest you that:
1/ Check timing. Wrong timing, car is hard to start
2/ Check igniter and replace it if bad
3/Check throttle position sensor. This is bad sensor could betray the ECT to open loop when send signal to inject fuel.
4/ Last thing is a ignition coil. If it's dead, your car won't start but it weak to generate power supply to spark plugs.

Good luck.

 

 

Well here we are at last! I got it to run! I really appreciate everyone's help and Ideas, I ended up replacing the spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap, and rotor. Here is what she sounds like.... i'm just so happy to have the car running. There are a few things im kinda worried about little bit of lag when push on gas to start(not sure how its gonna act under load) with the odd misfire when winding down just the faintest of a miss fire.


also fail 23 Fuel supply Rich exhaust Indicated

 

I assume that these spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap, and rotor and air filter what you should replace them first because they are the first thing to do before doing further trouble shooting misfire, otherwise your head will spin with that. Anyways, you are happy it running.
Now you have engine running fail code 23 which is Oxygen sensor feedback rich(fuel supply rich in exhaust indicated). These things you need to do:
1/ Check timing and correct it
2/ Check throttle position sensor. This bad sensor could betray the ECM thought its in high open demand drive position. So, ECM send signal to fuel injector and tell it need more rapit inject fuel. Finally, there is more fuel injection, lack of air, wrong timing to ignite, reult engine is running fail code 23.
3/ Check for any leak in the intake system or exhaust before the oxygen sensor. Also check any cracked or disconnected the vaccum lines, MAF sensor, air injection check valve( AIC valve), air cut off valve, air injection solenoid vaccum valve, air pump, air switch valve....
So good lucks.

 

I know it's a bit late now but i think you should try changing the crank position sensor , or a least taking it off and look for bad wiring as they can cause these kind of running problems when failing or if there's a broken wire ,

Derek..

 

Kenny,

I have a similar problem with my 1990 Jaguar Sovereign 4.0. It eventually gave me a "fail fuel 89" code in the VCM. The problem is a bad hose between the charcoal canister and the fuel purge valve. It sporadically won't start because the hose was split in several places. I tried patching it since it is an oddly shaped hose, but it would only run if I had taken out the spark plugs and re-inserted them. I am going to replace the hose this week and hopefully fix the problem. Perhaps this is your problem as well.

Andy

 

That cured my problem. Is your problem fixed yet?