I have never been happy with the design of the tank filler caps on the various XJ series of vehicles. Even with a cleared drain pipe it is not really large enough to carry away large amounts of water around the filler caps and relies on the rubber seal to keep water out.

My car is normally parked in a garage but I needed to park outside overnight under a shade sail. Of course that night we had 5" of rain in am hour and the left fuel filler was right on the point where water ran off the sail. Car started OK and dove about10km OK but after that was rough starting and eventually stopped needed a tilt tray to bring the car back home. I changed over to the right tank but drained the battery before it could fire.

I haven't started looking at it yet but I assume the left tank has a decent amount of water in it and this has filled the fuel filter and fuel rails etc. I will drain and clean the left tank and get a new fuel filter.

So my question is - will the water in the fuel rail self drain through the injectors as fresh fuel is pumped in or do the injectors have to be taken out and cleaned. On my Range Rover diesel fuel will clear the injectors but I am not sure on the XJC.

Thanks

Garry

 

My suggestions, based on dong so, the PreHE D Jetronic is easier than the later P Digital.

Spark plugs OUT, label the leads, your memory aint that good, Coil HT lead OUT, usually on my pocket, Once the below is done, lay a towel over the rail and crank the engine. Stuff will spray out the 12 holes, hence the towel. When you be happy, fit NEW Sparkers, and refit the leads, and go for start, and the rest I suggest below.

After fixing the stuff in the tail, change the filter, have another handy, prime the rail, Ign ON and OFF 3 times, then with the Ign ON, open the throttle SLOWLY. You shoulf hear 9 clicks, as the wiper passes the segments in the TPS. Those clicks are the LAST 6 that operated before shutdown, and I have NO idea how that Analogue system knows that, its just what it is. This will spray liquid into those cylinders, and drain the rail/s, so repeat once more.

Fire it up, it will cough and fart, and eventually clear itself. Make sure the air filters are installed, as they have a real bad habit of farting flames out of the Inlets, scary suckers these are.

BUT

If this water is more than 72 hours old, and that is just my suggestion, the Injectors are possibly already rusted.

If you get ot running, and its not on 12, take a SMALL hammer, and CAREFULLY tap the body of each Injector while its stumbling, that has worked for me on many occasions. Thes Green Injectors are TOUGH and robust, unlike the newer stuff. DO NOT beat the Injectors, just a quiet "tap, tap, tap" is all that is needed.

 

Thanks for the input Francis - great stuff but now overtaken by events, maybe I was just a little too pessimistic.

About 24 hours after the stoppage, I went out to see if it would start and of course it started straight away and ran smoothly. That was on the right tank and the problems yesterday were with the left tank. So the test would be if it still ran on the left tank - and of course it did - left it idleing for 15 mins to clear and water from the fuel lines or indeed suck more into the system and no issues, went for a drive around the block and no issues.

So - not the issue I initially thought but something from the past coming back to haunt me.

I purchased this car 3 years ago and when I got it home I washed it and the engine - it did not like it one little bit and even drying things like dizzy, coil, etc etc still did not run but came alive 3 days later. So water gets into the ignition system.

Two years ago, car had to be parked outside under a water proof car cover and had a night of high dew point and lots of dew and water under the cover. Drove no issues to the local servo and fuelled up and then failed to proceed - another tilt tray to the mechanic where of course it started first go. Mech went right over it and could not find anything.. This time in the rain, seems to be the same issue. Water in the ignition rather than the fuel. But car drives Ok for a while before issue kicks in.

So do I replace dizzy cap, and coil and inspect and reseal all ignition wiring or just not park it outside. I might replace components as I also have a ignition miss at 4500rpm so at next service - replace them, plugs and upspec the coil.

Glad it runs OK now.

Thanks for the input :-)

Garry

 

G'day Garry,

Great news, I'd run the car on an ethanol fuel blend, in both tanks, for a while which should absorb any residual water in the system.

Cheers,
Jeff.

 

Goodo Garry,

A few things ticking from those days.

1) The Opus Ign Amp WAS installed in the V, just forward of the dizzy, it gets fried, and heat soak shuts it down till it cools down. There was a "by complaint" retro in late 70's ish to move that outside the V. Came in a Jaguar Kit, and thats all I remember. Did a few, and memory is it was attached to the battery casing????.
2) Ignition coil is old and not friendly anymore. I use Bosch GT40R cylindrical style, NOT those stupid T Coil fiascos. I would be careful with "upping" the spec of the coil to modern things, as that Opus may have issues.
3) That large Ballast Block attached to the throttle pedestal is OLD, and frail, still OK, but I would CAREFULLY remove ONE wire at a time and clean and refit.
4) Cap and Rotor, inc leads, and sparker (BP5EY is mine) never a bad thing. WATCH the rotor they send you, as yours will have a magnet in the heal that riggers the EFI via the trigger board. Carby versions no got magnet, and they are plentiful.
5) Ignition switch electrical section needs some TLC, see the attached PDF.

More will come when my one eye settles a bit, does not like this screen stuff too much.

 

Thanks Jeff - yes I had thought of that - both tanks are full so topping up with E10 might be OK but it is only about 92 octane - the fuel in it at the moment is 98 octane so topping up with lower oct should not be an issue.

Cheers

 

Thanks for these comments - one thing I had not mentioned was that I no longer have the opus system fitted. It has been replaced with a Motec ECU full sequential system with only the dizzy remaining acting as a crank sensor. However it does still have the old single coil. I also am a fan of the Bosch GT40R and have one in my Etype. Unfortunately Bosch changed production of these coils from Germany to China a while back and the chinese ones are not good. I will see if I can pick up a German made one.

Thanks for the help

 

A different beast for sure.

Ign switch still in my sights, just because I have done so many over the years with all sorts of issues.

Look at the Fuelmiser CC215 coil. I use them on the HE, and other things. It is their Universal Electronic Ignition Coil. With the system you have, it could be a better thing than the GT40R, which is really a beefed up points coil.
I have been retired 7 years from the Parts Industry, after 60 in it, so they class me as the Fossil now, coz my info is considered "old" by todays standards, so be it, I get lots of phone calls for "old" stuff info, HA.

Good luck mate.

 

Thanks for that incite - great information.

Garry

 

Well it seems that I do have water in the left tank. Car runs for about 10km and then stops or runs rough.

So time to drain the tank, refill with fresh fuel and put in a little dewatering fluid to take up any drops left. Drained the tank and got a bit of water and not much crud. Next to replace the fuel filter.

Well who was the idiot who designed the mounting system for the fuel filter and fuel pump. Is a combined bracket with the mounting bolts under the lot where you cannot get at them. It is little wonder mechanics are loathe to do this job which should be straight forward.


It seems there are no tools to reduce the size after upload.

The old filter is the one at the top, still attached to the fuel pump and bracket. Having rest before going back out to try and remove it. Really some engineers really need to be made to service items they design. Three bolts that mount the assembly to the floor and only one has reasonable access.

My issue also highlights how mounting the fuel fillers in a flat horizontal surface means that the seals for the fillers need to be perfect or water will enter the tanks even if the drain is clear when there is a high volume of water falling on the car.

Garry