Long story short, the XJ6 I'm looking at left me with a few questions. First, it gave me this wonderful light during the test drive and I have no idea what it means:



I'm guessing it has to do with the hydraulic pressure accumulator since the brake pedal was pretty soft, though I'm not sure.

The other question I have is that even though the battery works, I couldn't get the trunk open with the key. Is there a trunk release button I overlooked? Finally, is there a glovebox in this car? Thanks in advance for the info!

 

Mphilleo:
Welcome. That symbol is for bulb failure. You either have a lightbulb out somewhere on the car OR (very common) the bulb failure module itself has a failure. You'll need to check the lights manually to see which is which. Second, I'm not sure if the '94 has a manual trunk release. I think mine is in the glove box, which I AM sure the '94 doesn't have. The glovebox went missing on the '94s when the airbags were put in. Others will know. The trunk is supposed to unlock with the rest of the locks. It is possible on my car to override this feature with the key. Of course, the lock itself could be busted. Anything is possible. Of all these things, the soft brake pedal is the most serious. I'd have a mechanic check that one out. Cheers! Scott

 

Thanks for the response! After thinking about it, I probably didn't describe what I felt with the brakes correctly. The brake pedal was hard to depress consistently and I almost had to floor it to get a quicker stop. However, I didn't have any lights lit up for ABS failure or low brake pressure, so I'm not sure what's to blame. From what I've read, it might be the accumulator or it could be the relay that activates it, though I haven't been able to determine that yet. So hopefully, this is something that can be fixed with just the accumulator.

 

As midwest has said, you have a bulb out somewhere. There are alot of bulbs in that car, check them ALL! The trunk and glove issue could be because you have a "green" key, that is a valet key. It can start the car but won't open the trunk or glove box. My 94 didn't have a glove box.

All the brakes in the jags 89-94 (because I drove these, and own a 90) are very different from the brakes you may be used to. They fell as you described, and feel different in the above mentioned years. You will get use to it, as a matter of fact you will enjoy the feel of these brakes better than more recent brakes on cars.

 

Thanks for the replies, everyone, I did end up buying it and will have to post a thread on it soon. In the mean time, I have a couple more stupid questions (I apologize, haven't found the owner's manual yet).

First, I see there is a light saying "Sport" lit up on my VCM - I assume that's either pertaining to a setting for the transmission or suspension. Which button/knob/etc sets it back to the standard setting? Second, On the J gate I see at the bottom part of the "J," there's one D and then another D. Is there a difference between one or the other when putting it into drive?

 

mphilleo:
Congratulations and welcome to a very exclusive club of rather crazy people! You will LOVE this car, though it will frustrate you at times. We'll be here for moral support at just such times.

There should be a "sport" mode button just south of the J-gate. I think it says "sport" or perhaps "S". Either way, press it and you should be back to normal driving conditions. The two "Ds" on the shifter are exactly the same. In fact, mine doesn't allow for the lever to stay on the left, but always returns to the right hand "D" position. Of course, it stays on the left-hand side of the "J" whilst using the 2 & 3 gear selections.

My biggest question is, what is it like to drive your car in North Dakota? I'm in Wisconsin and too much of a wuss to dive mine in winter. Part of that is, admittedly, vanity related because the car has never seen a winter. But I do wonder about handling; especially tonight as we are under a BLIZZARD warning!

Cheers!
Scott

 

Hi Scott, thanks for the info. Hopefully I can give you some info in return! Ironically, I grew up in north central Wisconsin (Wausau area) so I know what you're dealing with. Anyway, to answer your question, I actually drove a 1982 Toyota Supra to the dealer which I put down as a trade on my XJ6 (the luxury had me hooked). The Toyota handled surprising well in the snow, which was nice. In contrast, I found that the torque from the XJ6 tends to cause the rear end to break loose pretty easily, so you can't goose the throttle too hard.

Outside of that, it's surprisingly manageable. You can tell it's a heavier car in the snow, which does give it more confident handling, though you can have a tendency to fish tail a little bit if you get too aggressive. Finally, the brakes, which I'm still getting used to, work well, though I haven't really put them through their paces. They seem to work so well, though they do stop the wheels firmly and you can slide a little bit. That, coupled with an ABS that loves to get involved, means you get an unusual mix of unexpected responsiveness with a need for some forethought when doing certain driving maneuvers.

Oh, by the way, I found that switch. It's a 3 way toggle switch with S on the left, N in the middle and 1 on the right. What does the N and the 1 stand for and which would be ideal for standard driving conditions? Thanks!

 

Hello,
N is normal mode and gives you slightly more efficient MPG and docile mode it shifts at lower RPMs unlike S mode in other words exactly conter to S , Sport mode

1 is acutally is 1/2 and normally you should use it in winter it engages lower gear to hold traction on the winter conditions .
I leave it mine in S Mode but normally N is good too

 

Thanks, cadillac, that's exactly what I needed to know. I'll have to experiment see if N or 1 works best for winter driving here. The reason I had to ask was, for some reason, the driver's handbook wasn't in the pouch for the car, so I was rather clueless. I see you can buy a replacement for it for about $35, though I wonder if anyone has put the more important information online somewhere.

 

mphilleo:
It is, as they say, a small world - for I, too, grew up in Wausau!

I think having the user manual for $35 is worth it. I refer to it from time to time. Also to the Haynes manual. Also to the CD copy of the complete service/shop manuals from JDHT. The Jag-lovers site has an on-line XJ40 book that is willed with practical wisdom; and then there is always the forums and on-line friends. I figure, with all of this at my disposal, and one heck of a mechanic near-ish-by, I should be able to keep this car on the road for years to come.
Cheers! Scott

 

Hah, that's crazy, small world indeed! Luckily, in ND, they use a great deal less salt than they do in WI, so rust shouldn't be quite as much of a concern on this one. I think I will take your advice, though, and buy that driver's handbook. There's too many features in the cabin to even try to guess all of their exact functions!

Now maybe I'm just being paranoid, because I'm beginning to really fall for this car, but I've got a question or two related to warning lamps again. When I'm driving, I no longer have that warning light for a bad bulb, in fact, I don't have any warning light at all, which I suppose is fine since the car drives great. Here's my question, though. When I turned the key on to accessories so the odometer reading was lit up (had to take a picture of it for insurance purposes), and the car was obviously not running, the light for the bad bulb and the automatic transmission were on.

To be safe, I checked the fluid and it looked nice and pink and wasn't low by any means. In fact, I did another underhood inspection and saw that the valve cover was leaking a bit, which I heard is common, and I might have to replace the top radiator hose since it was dripping a little onto one of the belts. Anyway, the transmission has actually been quite smooth, so I'm not sure if it's unusual for those lamps to be lit up or not. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I had switched the toggle over to N from sport mode, or maybe it's nothing. If anyone can tell me if I'm being over sensitive or not, I'd appreciate it. I'm sure you're all getting tired of my stupid questions, but it's a great help and I would like to keep my Jag running for some time!

 

mphilleo, please don't be timid , you're welcome to ask any question you wanna learn about your ride . You can also check out FAQ page / sticky top of the page

 

mphilleo:
I don't see anything wrong with a little paranoia. I was, and still am to a degree, paranoid about issues relating to my car. This was not helped when five days after somewhat compulsively buying it the same day I moved to a new city, it failed to start. I also bought the car knowing that it would occasionally not shift out of first gear. I think both problems are now sorted; and, actually, the car has proved itself to be reliable. What these experiences have taught me, though, is to cheer the moment I arrive anywhere safe, sound, and (of course) in style.

What I can tell you is that the transmission light is one of the last ones to extinguish in the start up sequence - totally normal. Transmission fluid is checked when the car is at operating temperature, while the engine is running, immediately after moving the gear selector through all the gears. Bulb failure modules are notoriously flaky on this car, to the occasional fault light is something you may just decide to live with. I also have this intermittent fault. But when it happens, do check the bulbs to make sure it isn't tell you the truth!

Tightening the hose clamp sometimes stops a leak, but after a fashion the hoses do wear out. I'll be changing the same hose in the spring for the same reason.

Cheers!
Scott

 

I guess if I fall in that category there is an even more special bin or drawer somewhere where I must be filed under...lol
I specialize in land rovers, work an anything with an engine.... own 4 land rovers and 1 jag (89 xj6) a few american toys as well and looking forward to purchase a 95 xjs6 convertible very soon (eventhou in 1998 I owned a 87 jxs v12 t tops which caught on fire)
talk about needing moral support huh......

 

You're a greater man than I am. I don't think I could ever work up the courage to own a v12. When I found out it required two fuel pumps, I knew it took ***** of steel to maintain one.