Hey all

I just picked up a 94 XJ4 with really low miles. 93k. It has some issues that I am hoping you all can give insite on.

I have water coming into the drivers side floor boards. I am not sure where it is coming from. My wife thinks that there might be a clogged drain hole and it is coming down the back of the firewall. Does this car have drains under the front cowling? And what is the best way to get at them to clean them out if it does?

Also The battery wont start it half of the time. I took it to batteries plus and they told me that it was good but the crank amps were low. It is about 13 crank amps from full power. I have heard that these cars are picky about needing a really good battery. Is 13 crank amps low enough to cause the starter to not start or should I start looking at a new starter?

Thanks guys for any insite on this.

James
94 xj4 with 93k miles

 

James,

I've moved your question from XJ6 & XJ12 Series I, II & III (1968-1992) to XJ40 (1986-1994) forum.

This is the place to post questions about your model.

Graham

 

Check the far extension of the upper firewall (bulkhead) way in the corner by the hood latch for corrosion. This corrosion will permit water to run down the inside of the firewall. Jaguar redesigned the engine bay to install the V-12 in the '93 and '94 MY XJ40s. In doing so they messed up the water drains in the cowl area of the car keeping some water from draining and rotting the body in those corners. IF you have corrosion as I described it's a major body repair - windshield, front fenders and dashboard must come out to fix it. A few years ago I declined the purchase of a very nice BRG '94 because it was rotted in the firewall corners.

 

James,

Welcome to the forum, I'm sure you will receive plenty of help here.

I have an '89, but there are some common issues throughout the VIN's that allow me to throw a few suggestions your way.

In regard to the water intrusion, your wife is onto something with her suggestion. On each side of the CCU (climate control unit) there are drainage tubes that do become clogged with debris. They are fairly easy to got to, simply pull back the carpet on each side of the foot well area, on the transmission hump and you will see them. You can remove them and use a heavy gauge wire or hanger and probe them for any debris.

There is drainage for the cowl area, on the exterior, at the windscreen base. Remove the cowl and inspect the interior, it will accumulate over time with leaves and other debris. In the center of the area where the wiper motor assembly rests, there is a drainage tube, commonly referred to as the "duck bill" due to its shape. You can visibly see it by visually locating the center of the assembly and following it downward to underneath the assembly. If it isn't obvious, simply reach you hand down underneath the assembly and feel for the rubber tubing. the rubber is formed with a tapered design which unfortunately promotes clogging. Use the wire or hanger to probe through to ensure it's clear. Vacuum out any debris. This area freely supplies the fresh air to the blower assemblies and, if the drain is blocked, freely supplies water to the blowers as well, thus an additional intrusion point. Though rare, you could have a windscreen leak, but this is not common.

In regard to the battery, since this is a new possession for you, I would suggest you take the time to clean every single earth ground point there is. Starting with the battery to firewall lugs. These cars do not like dirty grounds at all, many pesky electronic gremlins can be eradicated by performing an annual cleaning of the ground points. A quick list of ground points in the engine bay are the negative battery ground, the firewall ground, center of firewall (you'll see it when your examining the wiper assembly), two located at each wing side near the headlamps, and the engine ground (have to get underneath for this one). Someone having your MY will be able to say if there are more.

What is your voltage reading from the alternator when the engine is running?

Additionally, I would monitor your battery voltage over a period of 8 or even 24 hours to see what kind of draw your vehicle is producing. You might have a weak battery, coupled with a abnormally high parasitic draw. You should have approximately a 40 mili amp draw. Again, someone that has a MY closer to yours should chime in......and I'm will to bet Don B will chime in. He's well experienced, as many are on this forum, and has either your MY or year prior.

When you had the battery tested, did they pull out one of those hand-held analysis meters to take a reading? I recently went through a no-charge condition on my vehicle and discovered the hard way those meters are not necessarily reliable. If you have an O'Reilly's near you, go there and have them put the battery on the big test machine, not the hand-held meter. It will test each cell and give you a go-no-go result for the battery. I went to 8 different "big-box" auto retailers and had varying results from all, until I went to O'Reilly's and let them test it. They were correct in the analysis. I have no affilitation with O'Reilly's, other than being a customer.

Good luck, let us know your results, it helps everyone.

 

James,

Rob and Roger have covered everything, but the photos at the links below may be helpful for locating and cleaning all the battery power connections and ground points that Rob mentions. There is one other possibility for water ingress, and that is through the large rubber grommets around the harness entry points in the outer sides of the footwells. Reportedly, accumulated mud inside the fender or wing can cause water to collect above the harness holes and drain into the front footwells. I'd check the things Rob mentions first - the HVAC drains are notorious for becoming clogged with deteriorated foam insulation from inside the Climate Control Unit (CCU), which houses the AC evaporator and heater core behind the AC control panel and radio.

From any of the pages below you can click on "My Photo Albums" to see all of my albums, most of which are for our '93, which is very similar to your '94 with only a few differences, depending on whether your car is early or late in the model year.

Cheers,

Don

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

 

Thanks guys. My wife is home working on it now. She is about as good of back yard mechanic as I am. Am kind of jealous. lol. I want to be home playing with the new car.

 

We had the battery tested at Batteries plus. they tested it overnight. The cranking voltage that came up was 574 out of 600. From what my wife read the car needs 595 to start. We dropped a new battery in it and it seems good. Time will tell. I will get started on cleaning the grounds this weekend.

 

James,

Was there any specific training you did on your part to get this result?

PLEASE ADVISE!!!

 

I think the numbers you quote are for amperage. The voltage would be in the 10-14 volt range. The XJ40 is very sensitive to low cranking voltage, and if the voltage drops to near 10 volts while cranking the Engine Control Module (ECM or ECU) will not trigger the ignition to fire. Poor battery charging is often caused by corroded battery power connections and ground studs, so that's why Rob mentioned that and why I posted the links to those connections on our '93. Clean all those connections and you'll be surprised at how much better the battery charges and the car starts.

And yes, we are all definitely jealous of your mechanically-talented wife!

Cheers,

Don

 

lol. Yes. I was referring to amps. I work with a lot of electrical engineers and forget I need to specify. She bought a new battery and it is working well. I will be going through it and cleaning a lot of the easy to get to grounds here in the next few days. The first two will be the one on the wall of the trunk that the negative goes to and the second will be the one by the washer fluid container. As that one feeds the bulb out module.