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before feeding the new cable into the cable route from above, prepare the cable end by filling the end with soft solder. This will prevent the cable end from fraying & snagging as you feed it through.
without a solid end on the cable it is almost impossible to get the cable into the bracket on the handle.
also do not forget to ease of the socket screw that is located opposite to the bolt that holds the cable in place. Once the cable is in the handle re-tighten the socket screw first, then tighten the bolt on the opposite side.
For: DrScientist
Great Idea!
I understand the consept, but am confused on the execution. You get a bicycle spoke ; one end is bent and you cut the bend off. The other end has an adjustment thread. You take the cut end and thread it through the latch and then into the cabin to the handle. The screw end is up on the latch.
This is where I need the help. 1. How did you attach it to the handle? 2. Did you use a cable stop on the handle end?
afterburner:
the handle mechanism has (on my 91) a small attachment piece which i can not find a decent photograph of.
there is a hole through which the cable/bike spoke is threaded. the cable/bike spoke is then held secure inside the hole by a separate small bolt situated at a 90 degree angle to the cable/bike spoke.
cable/bike spoke is 5.
at the very bottom of 5, you can see a very small bolt head which points in the south west direction in the image. (didn't know how else to explain this) this is the bolt that holds the cable/bike spoke in place.
Clear as a bell. I have not seen the handle mechanism yet. It is difficult for an old guy to get into the proper position
Thanks for the very detailed response
understandable. i do remember having to lay myself out half in the car half on the garage floor trying to get my hands up in there. much easier if youre a gymnast, which i'm not.
Seriously, there is another tool that makes that type job easier. It's call an air mattress! Other observations: Swearing is of no help and calling your wife for assistance confirms irrational and utter desperation
Home Depot sells a braided cable, about 1/16 inch width, for 24 cents a foot. Being braided There is no need to solder the ends. I like the spoke arrangement because once it is in place adjustments in length can be made at the latch with the spoke adjustment device (screw end)
Bought a 12" spoke at the local bike shop for $2.33 and installed it today per DrScientist's instructions above. Deviated in a couple of areas. I threaded the spoke to the handle mechanism and did not remove any of the panels. I did remove the lower handle screw and loosened the upper. In this way I could rotate the handle to intercept the spoke and capture it in the stop. At this point you can tighten the locking screw and rotate the handle back to it's original location and make final adjustments.
The spoke has a screw end and that end should be on the latch with it's screw device. In that way more adjustsments can be made at the latch. I did the handle work on my knees outside the car (Great pain!)
P.S. On the 1993: Pull the handle to the rear to lock; forward to release
Last edited by afterburner1; Nov 7, 2014 at 08:13 PM.
Late facelifts are different. We have a (gentle) slam shut type bonnet. And a plastic pull handle to release. Whereas the earlier cars have a handle that latches the bonnet closed, and unlatches it open.
Dave
Atlanta
MY 1996 XJS has a mechanism like RAGJAG.. Quoted below.
I have the same concern regarding the wire snapping and not being able to open hood.
Originally Posted by RagJag
Yes, goodness knows and aparently nobody else. I have to push down on the hood one corner at a time to get the latches to engage. They are spring loaded with a catch to lock them. Pulling the cable by the underdash lever unlatches them. I would have thought someone, by now, would have had a cable break or slip loose and been forced to devise a way to get the hood open.
I am tempted to purchase a set of latches that have keys to unlock them as some custom cars do. Neat chrome ones without the post sticking up with a cotter key-like thing as race cars use.
I will probably wait until it is too late though. If it ain't broke don't fix it deal.
RagJag
RAGJAG. Nobody else EXCEPT ME... We must have unique XJS. My hood locks using the same procedure...one corner at a time... My local jaguar dealership was also surprised on how I close hood.
The last time we talked about this was in 2014. I installed a spoke at that time and it hasn't failed yet. The spoke is threaded thought the cable sheath to the latch. If you want a fail safe attach a wire to the latch and feed it to the bottom of the car. If the operating spoke (cable) breaks you can elevated the car and pull on the wire.
I have a similar problem in that my hood stays open and the lever inside the footwell doesn't move and is in the down position. It's very hard to see how the cable attaches in the firewall area and the latch/release mechanism is very hard to remove as it attaches via Phillips screws and I can see they are partially stripped from someones attempt to remove it. I've used a mirror and can't really tell if the cable connection has come off or what as I don't think the cable is broken. Anyone have a good photo as the schematic seems to show a solid cable (similar to the bicycle spoke mentioned) but mine has a braided wire cable attached to the lever inside the vehicle footwell. There's 2 bolts on the hood latch mechanism (drivers side) but I'm afraid to remove them as the inner pieces would come out so I'd rather take the whole latch mechanism off. Extremely hard to get a screwdriver on the screw heads as was previously done by someone. Any tips????
Big tip: the screws are NOT Phillips. The XJS used no Phillips screws from the factory. They are Pozidriv screws. Similar, but a Phillips screwdriver will round out Pozidrive screws, especially when tight. Buy the correct screwdrivers. Also get hex drive Pozidrive bits and a ratchet to drive them. They will get into close quarters.
The XJS uses primarily PZ2 and PZ3 drivers. There are a few PZ4 screws, and their might be a few PZ1s.
Amazon sells sets of the Pozidrive screwdrivers, and Harbor freight sells cheap bit sets that contain Pozidrive 1, 2, and 3 hex drive bits. Amazon sells separate PZ4 hex drive bits.
Thanks Jon. Obviously I'm new to Jaguars and debating whether I want to start a new research project but want to fix some important things before I decide to sell it or tinker some more. Just afraid it might take up too much time as everything is new to me on these! Appreciate the tip!
Thanks Greg. After looking thru this, I'm still scratching my head how the cable from the lever in the cabin, connects to the release/latch mechanism on the firewall. Since I can't see the cable coming thru the firewall except with a small mirror, I'm wanting to remove the latch and found out via the post above that it's attached not by phillips screws and I see yours has bolts. The cable has a few components attached but it's wedged tightly so it's hard to see what's going on. Gonna have to get some Pozidrive tools per the post above. Mine is stuck in the open position and the lever in the cabin cannot move so something is wedging it tight so unless I remove the latch, I won't be able to see how it connects or operates. I can see the cable as it comes thru the firewall but it too seems to be wedged tight and cannot be wiggled or even moved much so I think the only way I'll figure it out is to remove the latch from the firewall. My cross cable seems to be connected as I can pull on one side and it moves the other latch so no problem there. Really hate how engineers seem to think using specialty connections is beneficial as I've lately had to buy special tools for a few other things I'm working on. Grrrrrr!
So I found some Pozi bits and was able to get 3 of the screws out but the backside threaded receptacle for 1 screw is loose on the back of the firewall. So the screw just turns and doesn't come out. Tried for a half hour using pressure on the plate and still the screw seems locked into the threads. Almost ready to try to cut the screw off as I'm certainly not going to want to reinstall a screw there so 3 screws should hold it assuming I can get it cut off. At any rate, I'm able to see the cable thru the firewall a little better and it seems to be attached to whatever (assume it's correctly attached) but still the lever is locked up. With much of the latch mechanism loose, the lever moves about 1/4-1/2 inch but still doesn't move the cable very much. The cable seems intact and the lever inside seems fine so not sure if the cable has just slipped or ? Will hafta fiddle with it more as it seems like this shouldn't be that hard but it is for me!!!
Think I figured out the problem with my bonnet latch mechanism. Someone had worked on this part previously (is saw 2 of the 3 bolts were replaced with a different type of fastener) and looks like they pulled the cable out and when they reinserted it, the bolt and set screw that holds the cable onto the latch mechanism was installed backwards. So they flipped the metal cube such that the bolt head was hitting parts of the lever and appeared to me it would not allow the lever to move into the closed (Lever up) position. Sure enough, I saw the photo in the "sticky listing" which confirmed mine was installed backwards. Didn't have time today to adjust it as it still would not operate and I believe (hope) that the cable is just out of adjustment!
