Hello all! New XJS owner... I've had the car about a month now, and been lurking through the forum to find answers to stuff. This place has been very helpful, so I thought I should finally register an account and introduce myself! The engine has 62,000 miles on it. Been driving it regularly to get a feel for it. It's been a lot of fun so far! I get compliments everywhere I go.

Searching this site has been helpful. If anyone cares to advise on some very common items that I should look out for, please chime in! I'm also seeking recommendations for the best Jaguar mechanic shops near me. I wanna bring it in to a place that regularly works on these cars.

Outside of some typical car maintenance required (slightly squeaky brakes and occasional cloud of exhaust on start-up), I've built-up a more XJS-specific list of things to fix:

• Clicking sound (from gear box?) while braking, and at various random times while driving and idling.
• Convertible top operation is a little noisy, but not in an alarming way.
• E-Brake doesn't lock in place... I just hold it up to operate the convertible top.
• Hazard switch likely needs its connectors/contacts cleaned. Switch is causing issues with turn signal & sometimes brake lights. Checked all the related fuses (all good) and I replaced the flasher relay. Didn't have this issue when I first started driving it, but after using the hazard lights often to quickly double-park in the neighborhood, this issue has now popped-up. The turn signal and brake lights work fine, until I use the hazards. So, until I can properly address it... I just won't use the hazards.

 

A quick comment; The handbrake is a semi-fly-off type so the lever will always sit at the bottom. You need to read up on it in your drivers handbook as you've probably got it engaged right now and it will rip out the brake pads if you drive like that.

Cheers

Paul

 

Thank you for the note!
I'll look at the manual. However, the park brake indicator light has never appeared on the dash, so I suspect its cable needs repair or has been disconnected.

 

The ability to lower and raise the hood comes from the switch on the end of the lever which also sends the signal to illuminate the warning light. So if the hood can work with the lever raised and the light is still not on, then it's not the cable causing the problem. You might want to look at the warning bulb.

Good luck

Paul

 

That's helpful to know, Thank you Paul. I'll look at those things today.
Cheers!

 

So... I looked at the manual and played with it today.
I got the handbrake reset into a mode in which the lever sits all the way down, then requires a pull upward against strong resistance to engage the brake... and its brake light appears on the dash until I let the lever down.

Followed instructions to release the brake, lifting the lever (with almost no resistance) then pressing the button and lowering. I hear a loud bang noise as if the brake has released.

However, I can only operate the convertible top while holding the lever upward. Its like as if the brake never fully engages. The fact that the lever never had any resistance to it for all the driving I've done had scared the **** out of me. But, I had no signs of driving with the brake engaged. No resistance... no burning smells of brake pads... no deterioration of the brakes, nor requiring me to press the brake pedal really far to stop. I would know that... I did it by accident when I was a teenager!

I will continue a work in progress and for any issue I solve, I will post an indivual thread recapping the issue and solution.

 

If the handbrake light is on, then contact has been made on the microswitch on the lever. Therefore, the hood will receive the same contact and should be able to operate. As I said, the physical engagement of the brake is not relevant, it's merely whether contact has been made on the microswitch that the hood circuit sees.

As you've appreciated, once the handbrake is engaged and the lever dropped, there will be no resistance to then lifting the lever until you reach the engagement point. The "loud bang" bit would concern me. Perhaps it's time to get your head under the car and see what's happening to the handbrake lever and pads?

Cheers

Paul

 

I'm gonna take it into a Jag mechanic and have them address the things I can't resolve on my own!
But, I will certainly create dedicated posts with the issue and solution, to help others on their own troubles.