Not sure if this goes in this forum, but here goes:

Hi all,

Normally I wouldn't do this, but these are desperate times, I tells ya'!

Morris (89 XJS Lucas Ignition) won't start. It seems he blew his pickup module, and unfortunately NAPA is the only local place that seems to be able to get one for $250+ dollars. Yikes.

So, I am turning to see if any of you might happen to have one that you might be willing to sell me at a more affordable price. Let me know, would sure appreciate it. Morris is currently sitting at my work's parking lot, and I'm not sure how much longer they will tolerate him just sitting there, taking up a valuable parking spot.

Eskr

(P.S., I am sure that it's the pickup module, too. Ran every other test, and all signs point to this. Fuel is good, injectors firing, coil sending spark, but no spark to spark plugs.)

 

Pickup module? Is that the same as a crank sensor? I honestly don't know - looking to learn here.

 

The pickup module is located in the distributor, under the cap itself and by the rotor. It senses when the rotor arm swings by and has the spark plugs fire on time. When it goes out, the spark plugs won't get any electricity.

The crank sensor is usually located on the front bottom of the engine, often behind the bottom gear pulley. The usual job, if I'm correct, is to sense the timing of the engine, and if it goes out, the engine will not start.

Some correct me if I am wrong.

Eskr

 

Google "AEU1721 Jaguar".

If you can't find a used one there are some new ones out there for as little as about $140-$150. Not that $140 is nothing, but it's better than $250

Cheers
DD

 

Check out this place

Jaguar Parts detail from David Manners Ltd

An OEM part will cost you $105. (You don't pay VAT)
He also shows an aftermarket is available, which you'd have to contact him for a price.

Of course, shipping isn't included, and it would be coming from the UK, but I'd expect that your original $250 cost is already cut in half! Using an aftermarket part could cut it even further!!!

Keep searching, and you could do even better!

 

This might sound dumb, and it won't be the last time.

Does the Lucas ignition system use a crankshaft sensor? I was under the assumption that it does not, as all the problems I keep finding for crankshaft sensors seem to have to do with Marelli ignitions, NOT Lucas. So as spark plugs are not getting any spark, and the coil, cap, and rotor seem to be good, the only other thing left was the pickup module.

Morris is at work, so I can't just go off and check as I oft want to do. It does show every symptom of a bad crankshaft sensor, but again, I was under the assumption that Lucas ignitions did not have them (two, right?) or that they would not affect making the car go. Also, the only ones I keep seeing for sale are listed as being for Marelli ignitions, so there's also that.

I have been known to be wrong before. Horribly, horribly wrong.

Eskr

 

No crank senor on the Lucas ignition cars. Good idea to change the pickup module in any case. Excuse my asking, but have you renewed the ingnition amplifier (square back thing on top of B bank inlet manifold)?

Greg

 

shouldnt his '89 car be a Marelli ignition system , as it was introduced in the UK late '88 , and my UK January 89 car is a Marelli.......

i suppose it is possibly an early or middle 88 car, that was shipped out to the US , and then registered ,


UK price new from jaguar for the above part is £100 UK , and is still available to buy new

BB

 

Definitely a Lucas ignition. The cap and rotor are for a Lucas system (low profile, single arm), and the amplifier box says Lucas.

Before running off and merely throwing money at the car, what else might be causing this? The pickup module makes sense. What task does the amplifier box do (the black one sitting on top of the intake, driver's side)? Any way to see if this is the problem?

Eskr

 

Early 1989 MY cars has Lucas, up to VIN 156xxx.

These would certainly have been built in 1988 calendar year but, as we know, "model year" designations get confusing...especially when the USA cars are thrown into the mix.

What might be called "early 1989 model year" for most of the world was "mid 1989 model" in USA-speak

My XJS was built in Feb 87 but was assigned a 1988 VIN !

Cheers
DD

 

cool

my Vin is 158xxx , and was ordered in nov 88 , and supplied to the new owner Jan 17th 89 ,

so it must have taken a while for the US cars to get shipped over and registered in the US


BB

 

Check Ebay. About $150.00.
RagJag

 

I can most assuredly tell you that I have a XJS that was delivered in first-half of 89, sometime during February through June. I actually have the original carbon paper of the company that took signature of it in New Mexico. It was bought by a company, though looking through records it looks like a guy bought it through his company. The second owner took possession of it in 1995, drove it for about three years, and then it sat for five years. I took possession of it in March of this year, 2013. Chances are that it was indeed made in 1988, took a year to make its way to New Mexico, and got tagged as a 1989 model.

Anyhoo, another question that came up whilst searching for the rare Ignition Module creature: do the Lucas and Marelli ignitions/distributors use different ignition modules? I can't seem to make out if they do, as some places list one module, and other state that they are for this ignition system or that, yet they look identical in the pictures.

Thank you all.

Eskr

 

The tag that has the paint and trim codes should also have the production date. As i recall you find the tag in the door jamb, left door.





To clarify, on the USA cars the model year is "tagged" by the factory when the car is built, as (since 1981) the VIN numbers must comply with specific USA requirements....which includes a model year identification. So, your car left the factory with an USA compliant VIN that tells us what model year it is. In some other part of the world the very same car might be a different model year, though

In other parts of the world, and sometimes in the USA pre-1981, model year designations are determined in different ways. Some use the build date, some use the date the car was first licensed, etc.

Nowdays all VINs (as far as I know) include a model year designation although the VIN itself may be formatted differently for non-USA market cars.




Lucas and Marelli are totoally different ignitions; they don't share any parts. Many of the on-line parts catalogs get things all bollixed up

Cheers
DD