So does this mean we have a way to re-calibrate the software on say a 1996 XJS 4.0?
Finding a tech with a PDU or WSD is nearly impossible.

MOD EDIT: new thread split from XJ40 section

 

I grabbed a '96 XJS 4.0 VIN from the internet and made some tests with IDS V118 and IDS V42
(V118 is the last version of IDS, and V42 is the first ever) and here is what I could see as options to work on that car; pictures attached







There were many more screens/menus but these are the main ones I think you would be interested in.

So IDS can read/clear codes from the ABS, Climate, Engine and Transmission Modules.

Setup and configuration options as you can see on the screen shot.

Without a car here to test it's hard to explore all options, a couple of the menus are not accessable without being actually connected to a car.

The early IDS has all the functionality of the WDS for the 94-96 XJS, at least that's what i've been told by several people and how it looks here.

Things changed a lot from the PDU to WDS & IDS, it could be that the PDU has some additional functionality with the XJS that the later versions didn't get, it's a bit hard to tell, at the very least the terminology of the functions seems to have changed between the diagnostic systems.

 

So frustrating trying to deal with the local dealership that told me this doesn't exist.....now to find someone local with this capability. This is not something I can download this on my laptop and connect it via a purchased cable?

 

We have a contact in Keansburg, NJ, he's a forum member with a VCM and IDS which would do what you see in those screenshots. I think that's about a 1-1/2 hour drive from you?

The VCM is not the cheapest thing to buy, about $750 is the going rate...

 

I'd love to find out whether the VCM can reset idle adaptations or not.

Please keep this forum posted if you decide to go this route.

 

I asked motorcarman about this, and even he wasn't 100% sure.

And the TSB that Bob mentions can be found here 18-53 DTCs P1176, P1177, P1178, P1179.pdf but there is no specific mention of resetting "idle adaptations".

It does appear that routine of resetting Fuel Mass Flow Rate as described in the TSB, for the PDU, is probably the Fuel trim set-up which can be seen in WDS/IDS.

Maybe the idle adaptations is also part of this routine? I don't know, I don't have a 95/96 XJS to play with and see what these routines do exactly.

As I mentioned there are other functions in the IDS that I cannot see without connecting to a car... so frankly the only way to find out is try it.

Someone must know, there are other gurus here on the forum; XJREngineer, xjrguy, NTL1991, who might be able to shed some light on it.

 

Guys,
Thanks for the help and the interest. Can you share with me who the contact in Keansburg, NJ is?

 

I've sent you a PM with contact details.

 

I think I got in there one time, to the Fuel Trim Set Up in my v134 WDS program, however I think it started to ask me for exhaust readings. I ordered a knockoff mongoose from British Diagnostics a while ago, mainly as a means to read the ABS. It's spotty, but it works when it decides it wants to work; and it read the code. For the $150 I spent on it, I have broken even on it since anyone with a device capable of reading the Jag ABS codes, wanted $150 to pull the code. (After identifying the faulty sensor, I cleaned it up and no more code!)


Would resetting the idle adaptations require some kind of exhaust reading?


It does the O2 orientation, as well as the TPS reset. Even though I also get the pedal position setup, I don't believe it does anything.

 

In theory, the Legacy IDS that's built into SDD V144 should be the same as the IDS V118.5 that we use with the VCM.

And, for a 95/96 XJS the capabilities of the IDS should be the same as the WDS, but i'll fire up the WDS when I get home next week and have a look if there are any differences.

However what you cannot know for sure is if a clone Mongoose is communicating properly with the car, they are notorious for not talking on the SCP bus properly (and the 95/96 XJS is all SCP)

 

OK it breaks down like this.

In the beginning, there was the Jaguar JDS (Jaguar Diagnostic System), a big refrigeator sized machine, it was the diagnostic tool for the earliest "electronic" cars.



It went away sometime in the early 90's and was replaced by the Jaguar PDU (Portable Diagnostic Unit) which was a branded version of the Ford FDS2000



With various updates over the years the PDU covered all Jaguar vehicles from the Series III XJ up to the XK8, X308 XJ8, and the first of the S-Types, up to around 2001 or therabouts.

The PDU was replaced by the WDS (Genrad GDS3500) and there was actually a period of overlapping. The WDS was a brand new system nothing shared with the PDU at all. The WDS was "the future" and actually they left out the coverage of the pre-94 cars, Series III, XJ40 & XJS, even though the hardware (cables) were made, they never included it in the software.



There were different software versions for the WDS; Ford, Mazda, Jaguar and Aston Martin, though essentially the hardware was all the same. The GDS3500 was basically a custom-build touchscreen tablet computer, late 90's spec, with a multiplexer. It ran Windows.

The WDS was replaced by the IDS with VCM & VMM in 2006 or so. Instead of the custom-built computer now it was a regular laptop computer, and the multiplexer part was moved to external interfaces i.e. the VCM (for OBD2) and the VMM (for electricals).



However the first iteration of the IDS software was 99% identical to the last version of the software used on the WDS/Genrad GDS3500. Actually the first two versions of the "IDS" software to run on a laptop with a VCM/VMM was called WDS.

The IDS was progressively updated for a few years but when Ford sold off Jaguar (and Land Rover) then the diagnostic software was developed in a new direction, was revamped and called SDD (Symptom Driven Diagnostics) although the hardware remained the same (VCM & VMM) and the basic coding of the software was based on the older IDS, which was in fact the WDS software from the late 90's...



So SDD was initially same hardware as the IDS, just software, it only worked with the VCM. But then in 2011 or so further capability was added to use J2534-compatible interfaces, like the Mongoose, DA devices, Bosch i-View, and others. And this is when the cheap clone devices really came to be in the mainstream. Sure there were always clone VCM's but it wasn't on the same scale as these clone J2534 things...

The SDD software was only covering "newer" cars, meaning the older models like the XJS, X100 XK8/R, X300's, X308's, and the pre-2002 S-Types were only supported with IDS. So if you try to connect SDD to one of those older cars, it will automatically revert to the "Legacy" IDS software.

BUT

The IDS was not designed with these newer J2534 interfaces in mind, only the VCM, the software was "patched" to enable it to work but to be honest JLR didn't want to do this, they were kind of forced to, so the Legacy IDS doesn't always work perfectly with the newer J2534 interfaces, there can be bugs, which nobody wanted to pay to fix.

And now finally, since the contract between JLR and Ford is coming to a close, IDS & SDD will be replaced in 2017 with a new diagnostic system called Pathfinder, it will only be for newer cars 2014MY onward, for the older vehicles the SDD will remain but "frozen" with no more updates...

 

Cambo, What I'm hearing then, being 1996 XJS centric, is that an old laptop (plenty of them lying around), the software that is available on this site I think, and a VCM with cable interface, I should be able to set my TPS, reorient the O2 sensors and whatever.

Is this correct?
My daughters 1996 VW Cabrio had VAG COM...similar I think. Had to set the throttle and other parameters to make it run right.

 

I can confirm that you are correct, you can (a) set your TPS and (b) reorient the O2 sensors, but that's where things get a little fuzzy.


You see, with your issue, you want the last of the three items you haven't listed; reset base idle adaptations. If you could do that, then the laptop/VCM/cable interface would let you do everything the car was programmed to let you do.


(You will also be allowed to see the ABS and Transmission codes; something standard code readers will not be able to do)


I think we are waiting for someone to chime in and confirm that this VCM can, or cannot do the base idle reset. This is the part that you need to fix your car.