1994 XJS convertible 6 cyl - 75K miles
Summer toy

This morning I jumped in to start - nothing - no click - no crank - no start obviously

Yes battery at 100%

Someone please steer me innthe right direction.

Starter solenoid? Starter motor? Secret Jaguar electronics?

TIA

 

Try giggling the Shifter, there is a neutral safety switch.

 

orgullodemexico,

Need a bit more info and a few more tests.

- What was the battery voltage before you turned on the ignition? a. at the battery terminals b. at the bulkhead battery posts
- What was the battery voltage with ignition at Pos II ? a. at the battery terminals b. at the bulkhead battery posts
- Where all the ignition lights on with ignition at Pos II ?
- What did the ignition lights do when you turned the key to crank position?
- What did the voltage do when you turned the key to crank position ?
- Did you try to crank it in both Park position & Neutral position ?

Cheers

Paul

 

Make sure the terminals on the battery are clean. Scuff the metal up.

Also, make sure the terminal clamps on the wires are clean and clear of any oxidation. Scuff that up as well. (Positive is more likely to have corrosion)

Free and easy to check and perform.

 

Also check the water level in all the cells.
I missed that once and it cost me a battery.

 

I am going to hazard a guess that the white roller is part of the nuetral switch. I stuck a screwdriver in the opening and activated the switch a few times. The car did start finally, but I don't have 100% confidence that I found the root cause.

It appears switch replacement is a bit of a nightmare, disassembly of the whole console

 

Thanks Paul

To begin, I used the car for a short trip early in the morning, no issues. I needed to use it again after lunch and it wouldn't start. I did not take all voltage measurements you asked, I do know at the battery is was 12.2 volts. As for the instrument lights, everything appeared normal as I cycled the ignition key, just no click, no crank. I never tried to start in nuetral.

I read in another thread that the camshaft position sensor is a common failure.

I've owned the car for 17 years and have never had a failure - just keep the fluids clean.

If it acts up again I will take more voltage measurements.

 

Clean the terminal connections at the battery.

Schumacher BAF-B1 Battery Terminal Cleaning Brush https://a.co/d/6k00JHs

Any car parts store will carry this, or something similar. Roughs up with male battery post and the female cable connecting to it.

 

Sounds like either battery connections or the inhibitor switch. Could be the ignition switch but less likely, I'd think.

As Vee suggested, clean the connections, but definitely check your battery voltage at the bulkhead terminal rather than at the battery.

Also get the battery charged, 12.2v is too low. Having said that, it would still try and crank with 12.2v

If it plays up again, try moving selector to Neutral and then try. If that cures it, it seems like the inhibitor switch.

Cheers

Paul

 

Did the dash warning lights come on?

 

Not the camshaft position sensor, but the crankshaft position sensor which is a component that can fail.

But that's not your issue as failure of the CKPS doesn't preclude the car from cranking.

Paul

 

When i bought my 93 it wouldn't turn over or start. Long story short, it turned out that the trace in the transmission rotary switch had fried, making it to where the car never knew it was in park or neutral. I soldered a bridge, and it has worked perfectly ever since!