I got the 88 XJ40 on the road today, temp plate.
Some odd things happened, wondering if this is typical or do I need to look into them and/or worry.

First off, the previous owner put brake pads on it but they are the incorrect pads. The sensor connectors are not connected as they are not correct. (I plan on replacing with the correct pads soon)
Hence, I'm getting a brake pad warning. Would the fact that the connectors are not connected also give me a low brake pressure warning?
I am a little low on my Power Hydro fluid, would that give me a low brake pressure warning seeing as the power hydro system pushes the brake booster?

I'm getting a low coolant warning but there is plenty of coolant and the temp is perfect, in traffic and on the highway.

I have seen an anti-lock failure warning. It comes and goes. Start it, no warning. Drive it, no warning. Shut it off, let her sit a bit. Hop in, drive, anti-lock warning. Shut off, run engine, no drive, no warning. Drive, no warning.. etc... No rhyme or reason to it.

I went to the gas station, got gas and as I pulled out of the station, I got a Fueling Failure warning. Driving while I had that warning, it seemed to stumble quite a bit. She sat for a few hours, fired her up and drove, no warning, smooth as can be. When I purchased, it was empty.. really empty... possible that in filling up, I dislodged some crap in the tank and that's what gave me the warning and stumble?

I think lastly, at least for right now, sometimes, when I hit the brakes while the directionals are on, they will blink faster but only while I'm stepping on the brakes.

I really appreciate all the help you have given me so far and look fwd to getting more

There are some other issues but they in no way affect the drivability of the car, so I'll wait on those until later.

Thanx!

Talk soon,

 

OK,
I drove the car for most of the day today, to see if any other quirks would arise.
Nothing new.
However, I had been driving for well over 3 hours (stop and go, engine on and off, running errands) before the coolant light came on. Upon stopping and letting it cool and checking level, its right to the top of the reservoir.

The Anti-Lock fault came on intermittently again as well. Actually, didn't come for most of the day, then, near the end of probably 6 hours of driving around, it came, went off and came back on again.

Thanx for any assistance.... or is this just the work of the evil Lucas..?

Talk soon,

 

Hi David,

I had a '90 XJ40 and ran into some of the same issues.

1. Temperature warning light. My sensor was corroded and gave the warning. I monitored water temp using the gauge and checking the reservoir. Ignored the light.

2. Anti-lock fault could be attributed to dirty sensors. Try cleaning out the sensors and see if that clears it up. Easy to do as they are located on the inside of the brake housing. Need an 8 mm wrench or socket as I recall.

3. Brake light could be traced to a bulb failure. Are you getting a bulb or fuse warning? Look for the lightning bolt or bomb on board light.

4. You could have a clogged fuel filter. Try replacing that first to see if that clears that up. A more costly problem is if the fuel pump goes belly up. That happened to me to the tune of around $400.

5. Putting on the correct pads and connecting the pad wear sensor should clear up the brake warning.

Hope this helps,

Mike