hi all - just bought a new 1996 xjs 2+2 covertible in racing green! ~92k miles on it. a couple questions - i had test drived and had it in inspected and nothing too suprising. But then, on the first day, it stalled out on me twice at two different stop signs - car was warm and was just odd. Anyone have any thoughts - could it be an air mix problem - transmission seems fine (goes 70+ without breaking a sweat in terms of RPM). So a feq q's

1) what rpm should this idle at? mine is at ~600 - seems low? May need an adjustment?

2) i think the fuel guage meter and speedometer aren't very accurate - for example, I filled it up and the fuel guage went to 3/4 and then down to 1/4 in the same ride? Does anyone else have this issue? Similar with speedometer, seems to show ~30mph when im likely going more like 15 - any thoughts?

3) i don't have a user manual so can I get some help identifiying this light:

(see attachment)

4) similar for this one - comes on when i break on a hill

(see attachment)

thanks guys!

 

Hi and welcome to the forum,
The first light looks like a bulb failure warning, indicating you have a defective bulb in the rear of the car.

The second looks like the battery warning light. Could be your alternator is defective, you will need to take some readings.

For the gauges, it could be a grounding issue.

May I suggest you take some time and go around the car slowly and methodically and check all the lights and their respective sockets. Also the ground points.
With the car running, check the output of the alternator at the battery.

You may well be able to get a manual from this forum if you have a look.

Hope this helps,

 

Can't quite make out the pictures as they are a bit small but I think that the red one is the low coolant level light.
Is the car a V12? If so then the revs are about right on tick over I think.
If it is a V12 then get the coolant topped up immediately!

 

1st light looks like "transmission fault" warning light.

2nd light looks like "low coolant" warning light

Ignore either at your peril. . . . . . .

 

Welcome!

Another BRG AJ16 owner !

The fuel gauge issue is very common on our cars. Its the anti slosh module in your trunk , part number dac7624.

Your idle speed is perfectly fine. These cars idle low.

You do NOT have a transmission problem IF the light is coming on when you are stalling. IF its on all the time it might give a clue as to why she's stalling out. The light could also be a connector or a problem with the transmission module in the trunk. I would not drive her too much though.

The red low coolant level needs to be checked out immediately. The AJ16 engine is indestructible, but it won't take overheating. Check your level soon! It coming on at a hill because the level is dropping even more at an angle

There are a number of "must do's" on a AJ16 car to Avoid stalls and no starts. . Any if these could be causing your stalling;

Clean throttle body. I recommend you remove it and remove the TPS. If you are going to clean it without removing it from the car, spray the cleaner on a rag and not on the throttle body itself because the cleaner can spill down to the TPS which is possitioned right underneath. A very dirty one cause stalling

Clean EGR VALVE. They stick because of all the carbon in them. Can cause stalling

Get a new coolant temperature sensor (CTS) LHE1600AA. This is the sensor for the ECU and not the gauge. Many will fit. Must get the right part number. It's about 23.00 from Jaguar in the UK. Bad one can cause stalling.

New crank sensor LHE 1640. This part cost a little over 100.00. It's typical failure is no start, but can also cause a stall.

--now for the not so cheap culprits---

One or more of your ignition coils could be shot. This is very common, typically cause a misfire as well, part lhe1510. If it is one of the coils do not be tempted to buy an "aftermarket" one. They fail quickly.

Your Throttle position sensor (TPS) . It's the sensor I referred to earlier. It can cause stalling at stop lights and when going at speed. It's not cheap and a new one typically needs to be reset with a Jaguar computer.

Check your ECU. Our cars suffer from water ingress and water can trickle down and cause corrosion. The ECU is on the passanger side footwell. It's easy to get to. If you see corrosion or a bluish greenish gunk on the pins, you have water ingress and the reason for your stall. If not and if you plan on washing that car a lot or driving it in the rain, I would use some ECU synthetic connector grease (I use Ford XG12 grease) on the ECU pins and right above both connectors where the wires come in. This will divert water elsewhere .

I personally would replace all the coils and TPS on any AJ16 car whose history I don't know because I am very eccentric and like to eliminate any problems before they happen. But that's just me

Sometimes the problem can be as simple as a fuel filter or spark plugs, but those are the common eccentricities of the AJ16 cars.

 

Everything I said above is assuming you have an AJ16 engine and not a V12!

 

First of all, welcome and congrats on your new ride!

As others have said, your lights are for low coolant and transmission warning. Lots of good advice here and there are a number of ways you could proceed. Personally I would change all fluids and filters on the car first to give myself a baseline. That means,

Change engine oil and filter.

Change transmission fluid and filter (wouldn't surprise me if this has never been done and may cure your warning light)

Drain, flush and refill radiator (Hopefully will take care of your low coolant light and help ensure that your coolant is free from any gunk.)

Drain, flush and refill brake fluid (for safety)

Change fuel filter (a blocked filter could cause stalling. When changing, cut open the old filter and pour the contents into a clean container. If the fuel is dirty, brown in color or has bits of dirt and dust, you should have your fuel tank drained and cleaned.)

Change air filter ( Just sensible and can cause hesitation or stalling if very dirty)

Change the differential oil (again may never have been changed)

Change your spark plugs, making sure you stick with the specified plugs and gapped correctly. (inspect the old plugs for signs of fouling, burnt or damaged electrodes)

Then as has been suggested, I would go through all the electrical connections and make sure they are secure, clean and free from corrosion and pay particular attention to the ground connections.

Check the condition of all hoses and belts.

All of these things are relatively easy to do and reasonably inexpensive. They may well cure some of your ills and will help others from occurring down the road.

Your fuel gauge issue could be the anti slosh but could also be a faulty sending unit or a dodgy gauge. Before replacing anything download the electrical guide for your car from the "how to" sticky at the top of this forum and invest in a service manual for the car so that you can test the components.

Report back and let us know how you get on.

Cheers,

Allan

 

Thanks all - this is the inline 6 and not the V12.

Just a few clarification points, neither the transmission fault light or coolant light stay/stayed on - the transmission fault light was only only for probably 5 minutes.

Just a broad question, i paid ~9,500 for the car - if indeed something is seriously wrong (carfax, pre-sale inspection, test drive didn't really come up with anything), then i'm a bit worried - i literally got the car yesterday - would you reccomend jusy trying to return it to dealer and pay restocking fee?

 

Not at all. In general terms the 94-96 are very reliable cars but you must remember that you are buying a car that is 17 years old. The basic maintenance suggestions I made above are things I would do if I bought ANY used car, even if it was only 4-5 years old.

The XJS is a marvelous car that will provide it's owner with many years of enjoyable motoring if taken care of properly.

Cheers,

Allan

 

Then the transmission light IS NOT an issue. They will come on anytime the car stalls as I said earlier and you might be a little low on coolant.

The AJ16 XJS are very reliable within the context of Jaguar ownership. All the things I wrote in my post apply specifically to 95 and 96 cars. If you can handle those yourself you should be on with the car

 

I WOULD return the car and say WTH??? (well maybe a little nicer then that) I bought a car once then the next day the A/C wouldn't cool and the idle jumped up to 3000. The dealer was more then happy to check into it and pay for the repairs...IF they are "reputable" then their "reputation" is on the line...I wouldn't let it go another day though as the closer to the purchase date the better the chance to have a smooth result. "Low coolant" easy fix..."trans light"...I'd have them check that. It shouldn't be "acceptable" that it has troubles the next day after purchase just because it's a 17YO car you shouldn't pay good money and then just chock it up to age...they should be selling a reliable product, they are a BUSINESS, not a private seller. If the problems arose after time and miles then it's your issue not theirs.

 

Used cars, Jaguar or any other brand, always require some sorting out....especially when you get into the 15-20 year old range! It really isn't realistic to expect otherwise. I wouldn't be too worried at this point.

These are basically good cars. The problems are likely minor and can be worked through.





Um....unless you have some prior agreement with the dealer (do you?) it usually doesn't work that way. I hate to sound like a smart-a** and unsympathetic but you generally can't just return a car to the seller as you would return a defective toaster to Walmart.

Cheers
DD

 

Bad comparison. The toaster you'd be returning was brand new. The rules are different when buying a used car. There's really not any way to guarantee the engine or transmission isn't about to croak. It makes it much more difficult to get a dealer to stand behind problems like this....

 

My point, which apparently didn't come through, was that returning a faulty toaster is easy.

Returning a faulty used car isn't easy. If there's an expectation that it *will* be easy it needs to be tempered with the reality that it almost certainly *won't* be easy.

If you're unhappy with your $15 toaster, or it breaks, you take it to the customer service counter, show your sales slip, and your money is "cheerfully refunded" on-the-spot and they even say "thank you" afterward

That's not that way things happen when you're unhappy with the purchase you've made at a car dealership. Not as a general rule, at least.

Cheers
DD

 

Actually, I think Doug is saying exactly that.

Said a slightly different way. New products are generally protected by manufacturer warranties and numerous consumer protection laws. Unless bought with a warranty of some kind, most used cars are sold "as is". Dealers often offer Carfax reports and "100 point" check-ups to bolster buyer confidence but these are normally just functional checks and buying a used car is always a case of caveat emptor.

I'm still not sure that the OP has a significant problem yet. As Mark said above, the transmission light coming on was very probably caused by the stall and the low coolant light coming on while on a hill does suggest that the coolant level might be slightly low. The various suggestions in the above posts are not what the OP has to do but rather what he might want to do. Otherwise just fill up the coolant tank and see how you go!!

Cheers,

Allan

 

Thanks all.
Spoke with the dealer, I actually think they might take it back with a restocking fee. They seem(ed) honest and were surprised about the stalling (said they never experienced it/nor did their mechanic). They don't think it's a big issue though and think that's it likely an easy fix and said to come back on Monday and have their mechanic look at it.

So my question is, if it's something really wrong with the transmission, that's a real problem. If it's something less serious, that'd be okay. Any suggestion for specifically what I should ask their mechanic to take a look for (since neither the stall or the light coming in is particulalry repeatable - i drove 100 miles after the stall yesterday with no additional problem)??

my biggest issue is throwing good money after bad! read a lot of posts on this forum and it seems that a lot of guys have issues they spend a lot of $$$ and time on but never solve!

also a pic of the car attached!

 

The stalling sounds like an EGR issue, which is easy to fix. I had that problem, however I did get the Check Engine light on my 96.

I would definitely have the mechanic check the throttle body and the EGR Valve. Very easy for them to check and clean.

I don't know if they would be capable of diagnosing a faulty TPS. I don't think its ever easy to diagnose a faulty TPS since it could be functioning some of the time, or under testing conditions. You might be able to negotiate the cost of a new TPS and install.

That resolves most of the stalling issues. The other suggested options such as replacing coils and fuel filters could be the culprit as well.

As for the coolant. I get an occasional light as well. I just assumed my coolant level is a tad bit short. I never get around to topping it off since I'm due to replace it soon anyways. I'm sure if I poured in a bit of water I'd be in good shape. Let me know what their mechanic says about that though.

 

It's a good sign that the dealer is willing to look at the car, hopefully that gives you some peace of mind You could have him check fuel pressure, check the condition and gaps of the plugs, maybe hook up an OBDII scanner and see if anything is awry. As you have driven a fair distance without issue, however, it's likely that the mechanic will find nothing wrong.

I didn't ask before but did the car have a full service history? Was it serviced regularly by the previous owner(s)?

At the end of the day you bought a 17 year old car with 92,000 miles which has stalled twice but then run perfectly, not a particularly unusual or dire situation. You will most likely at some point need to do most if not all of the maintenance suggestions given in the above posts. If that causes you concern, then perhaps this isn't the car for you and you may feel more comfortable returning it.

From my perspective, I hope you stay with it. The XJS is a wonderful car that is a joy to own and drive. You must do as you feel led.

Good luck,

Allan

 

I hope you stay with the car too, but it would be a disservice to you to not tell you that these cars WILL require owner involvement. Most of us here have old E types or maybe modern V8's in addition to our facelift XJS's and in contrast consider the AJ6/ AJ16 powered cars like Toyotas when compared to our other Jaguars, but unless you are ready to wrench away, even a late XJS can become a big financial nightmare. That, and its 17 years old!!. So if you are fazed by the lights to the point you are considering returning the car, perhaps a newer XK is for you. Not trying to be ugly, just realistic.

Oh, and also, I really hate to be the person who tells people they overpaid for something, but for 9k dollars that 92k mile XJS better include a 2 year mechanical warranty and the exterior and interior better look like it did in 1996.

 

i think the issue is that I'm not very mechanically adept myself! but i will take your guys advice and have them take a look at the things you all referenced.

service history was good - only 1 owner for 17 years prior to me. on the point on price, unfortunately didn't get any 2 year warranty, but kbb was ~9.7k. figure for under 10k, probably holds value relatively well particulalry if i take good care of it(?).

i think big question for me will be whether it stalls out a lot (doesn't seem like it) and if i need to replace the whole transmission. would not be a great outcome...

pic attached correctly this time - hard to give the car up even after only 36 hours...