I have yet another silly question.... It may have already been answered somewhere but I haven't noticed it.

I am curious as to where the wiper blade on my xj40 should come to rest on a RHD vehicle.

At this time it looks like it rests on the left side and I would assume this to be correct as I wouldn't imagine it being on the driver's side,
but I can not be sure as it does not return home.

When I release the wiper arm, it simply stops where it is unless I have the wiper physically turned on and then it runs ok but when I turn it off it still just stops where it is.

I read on a post somewhere that there is a 7.5 amp inline fuse under the passenger side dash cover, apparently this controls the return function.
I have not as yet checked it.

I am just curious as to whether it does in fact sit on opposite sides depending on LHD or RHD

 

Red,

From what I have researched, there is a nylon cam inside the wiper motor housing that can develop a crack or split which prohibits proper parking. You can check it out without having to remove the wiper assembly. Mine just started misbehaving as well. I know there are some photos on the Jag-lovers site.

 

There is a little bitty park switch in the motor housing. Replacing it solved the exact same symptoms on my car. I'm sure Jagbits will have one for you.

Cheers!
Scott

 

Yep, The micro switch every time... easier to fix than toasting a slice of bread!

Sometimes the switch itself will need replacement but quite often it's just a case of having moved out of alignment and just needs to be repositioned with the adjusting screw. If ajustment doesn't fix the problem then a new one from Phil @ Jag prestige spares will set you back about $10 (+ postage).

And the wiper should come to rest on the drivers side which is on the right for us here in Oz.

 

firstly thanks to you all for the replies.
Jagfix, you say it should rest on the driver's side in Oz..... surprising
I would have thought it would be on the passenger side as to avoid obstructing the driver's view.
I realize of course that when it is parked it really can not be seen which ever side it is on..... but laws are funny sometimes.

I did read on the forums about both the microswitch and the nylon cog thingy..... I was mostly curious as to which side it should rest.....

Not sure if I will have time to take a look at it today or not.... but will keep you posted.

On another post it did say that a major percentage of the time it is because of this forgotten little 7.5 ampfuse behind the left knee bolster....
So just to rule that out first, I will check it first.
thx again all

 

update:
firstly checked the inline fuse and no surprise all was good there.
Grit my teeth and decided it had to be internal and went ahead and pulled the outer cover off the wiper motor.
At first glance I could see the wiper did indeed need to be on the driver side as the little ridge that operates the microswitch was like 180 degrees out.
was about to play with it further when a mate who happened to be with me noticed that the red wire going to the top of the microswitch had been severed in two.
Using a wire connector I reattached the two wires and tested the system again..... its all good
Curiosity begs as to why the wire had been cut as it does not look like it was accidental..... pondered the possibility that maybe before the wire was cut, the motor may not have disengaged..... but sure enough it does infact stop and park exactly where it is supposed to.
That's another little item I can tick off my to do list.....
Slowly eliminating all the gremlins lol

 

Well done Red, sounds like you're getting on top of all the obvious gremlins.... Good practice for when some of the trickier ones arise!

 

Hi Jagfix38
Yeah well lets hope there are not too many of those ....
So far I have been pretty lucky, have sorted out many of the little probs.
Haven't really tackled the big ones yet.

Luckily I am somewhat savvy when it comes to mechanics and electrical.... just not familiar with anything Jag yet..... slowly learning it tho through trial and error

I still have to replace the brake pads.... I have already bought them for when I am ready, have just been putting it off lol.
The brake pedal is hard as rock... almost as there was no booster.... they stop ok but the pedal is hard.

When I do get around to the brakes I will be pressure bleeding the entire system and fill with all new fluid.
I have had a constant brake pads low, brake fluid low, and brake pressure low on the VCM from day one......
Just some more things I need to address.
I will slowly but surely eliminate all the probs and hope (in vain) that no new ones will emerge.

 

Red,

Brake pads are very easy to change. Once the wheels are off I can usually do a full set of pads (front and rear) in less than an hour. You might want to give consideration to new discs. Gary @ Jagayre has them for less than $50 each.

There's a low pad sensor on each wheel and given the age of the wiring it fails which sometimes causes the low pad warning on the dash unless of course your pads are just worn out. Easy modification if they are giving you a false reading is to remove these entirely. It's a continuous positive in a loop back to the module so a simple snip about 2 inches on the pad side of the big black round connector (chase the wire from the caliper to find it) and solder the two ends together pays put to the annoying false message on the dash. I only did this to one of my faulty pad sensor wires (front) so I still have the low pad warning function to three wheels. The later xj40's only came with sensors to two wheels, one front, one back.

The Brake system however is a different kettle of fish as there are so many components that leak that it really isn't worth the effort or frustration trying to chase and repair each one. Best advice is to go with a vacuum booster conversion and solve all the issues in one foul sweep! There's plenty of info on this subject located in these forums and there is a fellow on ebay here in Oz that sells the conversion kits for about $300. A lot cheaper than replacing all the individual components (low pressure switch, high pressure switch, pressure bulb, brake hydraulic servo, green fluid tank, valve block and the various pressure hoses). You wouldn't get any change out of $1500 replacing these items. I found this out the hard way. Just as I replaced one, the next would let go and so on until I'd virtually replaced everything and again emptied my wallet.

In saying that, sometimes the brake warning lights on the dash are simply a case of cracked solder joints on the brake relay in the boot. Re-soldering the relay is the most inexpensive repair in the system. Be careful when pulling/installing this relay as it's difficult to see if you are lining the electrical pins up correctly. If you don't then the whole rail that it attaches to can sizzle.

 

P.S. The conventional part of the brake system (master cylinder) uses dot 3 or 4 or whatever you are using.

The Hydraulic system uses the blood of a big Green Dragon which can only be found hiding somewhere in the deep, dark recesses of an oil refinery located just offshore of the land of Gobbleygook (Castrol HSMO only available in 500ml), or for us here in Oz, Penrite LHM+ which is available in various sizes from your local Penrite Stockist.

You'll also need to get hold of the special filling adapter off a castrol bottle. They're available, just ask when you place your next order for parts from a local supplier.

 

Thanks Jagfix38
glad you bought up the brakes....
As I said I already bought a brand new set of brake pads front and back including the sensor wires. I have no problem swapping out the pads.
The reason I have been stalling is the system on my girl is strange to me.
I am not sure where to start with the bleeding etc to get the pedal right.

I believe the the car has been retrofitted with booster, however it is not the old round style booster that mounts between the firewall and the master cylinder. It is a separate entity in the front corner behind the right headlight.
I can only assume this is the booster as it has like a pressure bottle and a thick red vacuum hose with PCV valve.....
As the master cylinder is full, unless this sender unit is faulty, the warning of low pressure and low fluid must be coming from the front bottle.

Problem is I cannot get the cap off, in fact it does not look like it can be removed and in its present position I can not see the level of fluid in it or if it in fact has any.

 

Rob, what I suspect you are looking at from your description is the original hydraulic braking system. If it had been retro fitted then there would be a whopping big vacuum booster between the master cylinder and the firewall staring you in the face.

Ok, time to go slow and try not to touch anything until you become familiar with the Jag set up. I'll try and find you the troubleshooting manual for the system which is here somewhere but in all honesty is pretty useless unless you have an understanding of how everything works.

To start, the "filler cap" you describe is not designed to be taken off. If you try then it will break the whole tank and will then need to replace it. This is where you need the filling adapter I mentioned. This part of the braking system uses a green mineral fluid, the Castrol HSMO or Penrite LHM+ that I mentioned. The reservoir with the "filler cap" should be green in colour also. The system uses this special hydraulic fluid due to the tolerances in the system not being able to handle regular dot 4. Regular dot 4 will destroy all the seals and then you'll have green fluid dripping onto your feet from the footwell.

When new from the factory this hydraulic braking system was also responsible for the self leveling suspension system (SLS). By now the SLS should have been removed from the vehicle in accordance with the TSB that Jaguar issued when they discovered that the system was prone to failure. The braking component remained in place. This only applies to our '88 and '89 models. The way the system works is fluid is drawn from the reservoir, through the engine driven pump via a valve block (mounted above the wheel arch) it feeds directly down to the nitrogen charged accumulator sphere (very near the headlight as you describe) where it is pressurised according to the low and high pressure switches. This pressurised system feeds the Hydraulic Brake Servo, which is the part between the master cylinder and the firewall where on most other vehicles you would usually see the whopping big vacuum booster.

The master cylinder is just like a conventional vehicle and is only responsible for operating the calipers with dot 4 fluid.

I hope you're following me so far?

In a nutshell, instead of using vacuum from the engine to boost your braking capacity, our Jags use a sealed Hydraulic fluid system instead. This system is prone to leaks and failures and rather than tearing your hair out trying to repair it, it's a lot easier just to do away with it altogether and retrofit a conventional vacuum system.

A run down of parts prices:

Option 1; Retrofit to a vacuum system = about $300 plus your time remove the old system and fir the new one. Easily accomplished in a day. No more pesky warning messages on the dash.

Option 2; Fix the old system: 2 new pressure switches @ $75 each 1 new accumulator sphere @ $300+ 1 used (as you can't get new ones or reseal the old ones) Hydraulic Brake Servo @ $200 (if you can find one working) 1 used (same as above) mineral oil tank $100 1 used (again as above) valve block $150 various hoses $200 copious litres of green mineral oil @ $30 a litre + endless hours spent trying to chase down each problem and repair it as it arises.

I choose option 2 which I deeply regret.

 

Thanks again for such a detailed analysis of the workings....
As I said I am totally unfamiliar with this system. I have in my day fixed and repaired many braking systems both boosted and non boosted but this one had me stumped...
But now after your explanation I think I have a slightly better understanding of it.

I did actaully think about putting in a standard vacuum booster between the firewall and master cylinder, but I really don't want to detract from the factory original car if at all possible.
But having said that I also do not want to be continuously spending large amounts of money every time another problem occurs withing the same system.

I assumed by the look of the bottle in the front and with the large hose going to it that it was some form of high pressure system, and that the cap indeed did not come off.
Glad I didnt try to force it lol
I will have to weigh it all up and decide how I wish to proceed.
Thanks again for the input.

 

I tried to upload the brake system component diagram that I have without success. You can find it here though by downloading the catalogue;

SNG Barratt - The Ultimate Jaguar Parts Specialist

And a link to the conversion kit;

Jaguar XJ40 XJ6 Parts Brake Booster AND Fitting KIT ALL NEW Parts | eBay

And the procedure;

Jag-lovers' Ebooks

I've also uploaded the troubleshooting guide. Not sure if it worked though...

 

Red,

Stronly consider Jagfix38's suggestion. I too regretfully attempted to save the system to keep it original and spent thousands. I converted the SLS system 15 yrs ago, and the brake system 12 yrs ago and have never regretted the decision.

My two cents.....

 

I thank you both for your ideas.
I Just had a quick look under the rear end of the car as I was getting out (not that I can see very much, it is too low) I am not sure if it still has the SLS at all.
From what I could see, it looks like a standard shocker system, and I didn't notice any pipework to it at all... that's not to say it isn't there, I will have to jack it up or put it on ramps to be sure.
I tend to agree that I prefer the old fashioned big round booster, at least I know how it all works and there's very little that can go wrong with them....
I just feel it would be a shame to modify such a beautiful car with cheap aftermarket add ons lol
However the money factor has to come into play, especially as parts become scarcer and more expensive.
again thanks to you both.... I will download all the relevant info now.

 

Forgot to ask...
Assuming it no longer has the SLS and is fitted with a standard booster.
Am I then able to remove all the other booster unit and bottle etc?

 

Yep.... and you might be able to off load all the removed parts on ebay to help pay for the conversion kit...

 

First things first....
I need to be sure that the SLS has in fact been removed....
As I said, I have not been under the car yet to look, one would assume if it had been replaced with normal shockers, they would have removed all the running gear for the SLS.
yet mine still has it all.
I would hate to play with it and mess up a healthy working system lol
Although when I start the car it doesnt rise or anything, so if it is fitted, it is not functioning. yet the ride is beautiful and smooth.

 

I have a 88 Sedan Intro.pdf and just browsing through it I am looking at the setup for the SLS..... It seems fairly straight forward in its simplicity.

I still have not checked under my car to confirm if it has been replaced or not.
but assuming it has been replaced with normal shocks and I think it has, I assume I can remove the valve block, reservoir, accumulator, pump and the pipework from the master cylinder, and also if still there, the lines going to the shockers and also the height sensor.

Question is..... If I remove the pump, how do I then cover the hole it would leave? Is there a specific part I can purchase for this or do I need to fabricate one..... and is it going to leak anything?