I assume this is the place to ask questions so here we go. Just bought the car last night (1987 Jaguar Vanden Plas 4.2L straight 6).

1. horn does not work (not overly concerned)
2. neither cigarette light works (not overly concerned)
3. Glove box light doesn't work (not overly concerned)

so starting there, I assumed blown fuse, all seem fine. so I moved on.

this one bothers me a bit (maybe my O.C.D. lol)

4. Low Coolant Level "idiot light" is on yet the coolant is full, and she isn't running hot. so i assume the sensor, or float, or whatever is bad, but I have no clue where it is (the sensor). any info would be great.

5. power windows (especially drivers door) roll up and down SLOW like they are struggling. they do make it, but not easily. take off door panel and grease it ? WD40 ? motor going bad ?

6. owned her 24 hours, so I'm SURE I'll have more questions soon but I will leave it at that for now.

 

Mike,

I've moved your post from General Tech to XJ6 & XJ12 Series I, II & III section.

Members here with the same model should be able to advise on all 5 issues.

Graham

 

the window motors are GM (Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile). They are slower than modern cars. you might do two things:

1) spray silicone lube very carefully inside the window felt guides on both sides of the window frame, that will help them some;

2) the window switches themselves are part of the problem; you can remove each switch one at a time, disassemble them and clean the contacts adding fresh di-electric grease to the copper/brass contacts. You can get di-electric grease "Ketchup" packets at Autozone at the check-out counters for $1.39 each.

Check the horn Relay, Horn Fuse, (assuming you know where it is). If you want to keep the car, order the Factory Service Manual, don't buy a Haynes or Chilton, those are no good. you can buy the Jaguar Manuals at eBay.

Check the Coolant Level Sender located in the lower front of the Expansion Tank on the driver's side nearest the radiator, a brown plastic tank, there is a wire connected to it, usually cleaning corrosion off the contact leg clears the light. **disconnect the Negative cable of the battery before you try to clean it shiny with fine sandpaper or your wife's emery nail file. However, check the Coolant LEVEL in the morning when engine has sat overnight, it should be no lower than the bottom edge of the filler "mouth"; These cars take an enormous amount of coolant so don't try to outguess the "idiot light", it could be telling you something.

cigarette lighters have a separate inline fuse that runs behind the lower edge of the center console on the passenger side of the center console, you might try to fish the wire inserting your hand under the front of the console, it should be obvious, it's a single wire with a fuseholder. That's probably the problem. Also accessible by removing the front, passenger's side Vent Scuttle Panel, remove two phillips screws, remove black vent grille, then pull the panel back towards the engine.

the glovebox light works only when the headlights switch is in any of its two ON positions, in other words, at night when the lights are ON. Try this: turn the Parking Lights ON, then open the glovebox, does the light come ON? If no, the bulb is bad, replace it; To remove the plastic lens, press it towards the center between your fingers and pull it down. The bulb is a standard bayonette available anywhere, yes at Autozone. Hell I buy everything at Autozone, pretty soon they'll be selling groceries!

 

Lots of good remarks from Jose.

Here's a little something on checking the horn
Horn Circuit Checklist




These are great cars.

One of the things you'll learn is that they respond very well to TLC. The mantra if something doesn't work is "Disassemble, clean, lubricate".

Most electrical issues are solved by cleaning fuses, connections and grounds.

Cheers
DD

 

than you Doug, let's not forget that a Factory Service manual helps new owners to locate fuses, connections, and grounds, not to mention components.
It amazes me how new owners of these fine cars ignore proper servicing procedures and they end up with more problems than they had to begin with.

 

Yup:

I've learned that removing the ski slope cover to access the switches is relatively simple. I find that all you need is a pozi or phillips small screw driver, and one for slotted screws. Two small pans like pie tins or similar. Use one in the car for the screws and washewrs. Easy loose. I know!!

The other to work over when disassembling the switches. Smaller bits, even easier to loose. A small Phillips driver is just right to push the fulcrum to one side and as such spread the case and enable the rocker to be removed. It has even smaller tabs with brushes to rub the contacts. The contacts are little wavy bits in the bottom of the housing. Remove and clean. A bit of lube and probsbly ready for more. Window operation in my car has vaied from none to slow. The cleaning got them to an acceptable speed. Not as fast as my Jeep, but OK.

I did get some spares off Ebay. Good, as I lost a teeny part in one while cleaning and found one had a broken rocker fulcrum. Those two can become one and go into spare status. I probably could fix the rocker by inmedding a bit of a correct sized screw. So, I kept it.

That low coolant light failed me. Result, awful. And the temp guage led me astray as well!!! I will not discuss the awful and the fix for it.

Cute, huh, there are three switches hidden in the cheek panels.

Cigar lighter, radio constant 12v and horn?

I fixed my lighter as I need it for my TOMtom GPS and my VOM adapter. And, I thought that the radio 12v constant was gone as it would not hold presets. I learned another Jaguar mantra for lazy or inoperative switches, excercise them. Now, my presets hold after doing the "set' thingover and over!!!

They are neat cars, my new companion, Bailey, a ten year old twenty five pound cocker spanel adopted from a Shelter, ARF. He and I are perfect fits. Bailey like the Jaguar as well.

Carl

 

Correction: Cute is for three inline fuses hdden in the cheek panels!!

Bailey went ut for busiess and is nw fnnishing his breakfast oblivious that I hid his two medicne pills in the wet food!

 

Thank you all so much, looks like I joined the right forum. Just got home from work and headed out to tinker with her now. will post results soon. I'm almost embarassed that I didnt try the glove box light with the lights on idea LOL, but we shall see. Love the double gas tank and push button selector (however in reality are 2 12 gal tanks better than 1 24 gal ? lol) as well as the Whiskey Flask and 4pc shot glasses in the back seats armrest. Was "open container" LEGAL in 1987 ?

 

Ok so as for my embarassment, ya headlights on, glove box light works fine. She came with all manuals and service records dating back to 1991, originally a Florida car. I also found the unlock for the radio, which also works perfect. checked the coolant level sensor to find no wire attached at all to it, the nearby wire was hanging, as i attached it, the connector on the sensor itself felt loose... REAL loose, actually spins 360 degrees, with the wire attached the light remained on, I checked the coolant again and it is as full as can be, I assume the sensor is bad, easy enough fix. I have yet to touch base on the other few issues, but noticed 1 more.. well 3 actually. 3 of the 4 door locks will not lock, it's as if a spring forces it back to unlock position on all but the rear passenger door (which works fine) guess I won't leave the keys in her anytime soon the locks move freely, but won't stay in the "locked" position. kinda strange, guess the door panels will be coming off.

 

Often the lock systems all fall back into correct operation with application of your favorite aerosol lubricant to the slides and linkages.

Cheers
DD

 

I'm not sure about the door locks springing to the unlock position by themselves, never had that symptom in mine. The "Master" lock is the Driver's Door, it controls the other 3. That's why you need to order the Jaguar Factory Service Manual, it troubleshoots these kinds of symptoms and offers solutions. AND you need it to learn how to remove the door panels, or "cards", otherwise you risk cracking them trying to remove them.

you might remove the Coolant Level Sensor and try to repair it, if not, you can get a new one from many parts suppliers, for example you have SNG Barratt USA store near you, a UK company, they supply parts for Jaguars of all eras and their prices are the lowest I've found.

SNG Barratt - USA | Jaguar & Daimler classic parts, spares & accessories

 

Carl,
I've done it one switch at a time, that way I don't get a mess of confused wiring plugs. It really didn't speed up the windows a whole lot to clean the switches, the best solution for me has been to inject silicone spray into the felt tracks or 'guides' as the glass goes up and down. (the rubber and felt "tracks" where the glass runs, it really made a difference). If you remove the door panels, then you can spray the actual window mechanisms with lubricating oil.

 

Wow - I don't think mine came with those! Can you post a pic?

Can you post a link to this manual I keep hearing about? I searched on eBay but couldn't find anything good.

 

this one: JAGUAR XJ6 SERIES III PARTS & SERVICE MANUAL 1979-87 CD-ROM $16.00

Book Shop Manuals on CD books | LBCarCo

this is the Jaguar Service & Parts Manual on CD. It does not run on Windows 7 or Windows Vista.

there is a Jaguar Paper Manual on ebay for $95.00 but it does not have the Parts Manual. Too expensive. With the CD you can print what you need and go work in the car.

 

Jose:

Yes, I've messed up the order from time to time, even if I try to splay the connectors out into a quadrant to match. So, I hook them up and test then install. When the sunroof swith pooped out, I put it in backwards. I was going to live with it, but it was confusing, so, I went back in and fixed it.

 

Sorry for the delay all, Ill post pics of her interior asap. Just had knee surgery and will be recovering for a while. I did get her road legal and drove her last week. bad news is she is losing a bit of brake fluid. turns out the drivers side rear caliper is bad.... and from what I hear it is one HELL OF A JOB. I'm capable but not excited lol. might be a spring project. otherwise it seems the sending unit on gas tank 2 (passenger side) isnt working. put in 30 tank 1 and 10 in tank 2, when i select tank 2 the gauge drops to empty. still no horn, cigarette lighters, or power door locks. but Ill get there. will report back asap.

 

first things first: Knee first, rear brake later gater.

 

indeed, pretty sore. torn meniscus is no fun. also back to the Jag she runs rough in the rain but I figure a good tune-up will solve that. got the parts on order, (plugs, wires, cap & rotor) but it'll be a couple weeks before I can turn any wrenches.

ttys all

 

I have a 86xj6 vandeplas dose the rear arm rest open like on your 85 dose anybody have one that opens. Lake3705crest

 

Alrighty.. 17 days out from surgery and feeling great... not 100% but not far from it. I added some interior pics of her (including rear armrest with flask) to my album.

Bad news, seems as though the alternator died on me. Any chance a wire melted ? is this alternator a PITA to replace ? any tips would be great. Plan to change it out this week. Battery if fine, but not getting a charge. Definately alternator or wiring to it. And other question.... Rear brake caliper......... From my research, the entire rear end has to be removed from her, I've heard as much as a 12+ hour job. DAMN ! true ? any tricks there ? I did see the calipers are mounted in close to the pumpkin and on top. doesn't look fun. also she has dual shocks in the rear (4 total). Looking forward to getting the resto started, but alternator 1st.

Thanx in advance. =)