Hi,
I bought a 2006 Jaguar XK new shape three days ago which I am very pleased about.

I just have one question the previous owner had a new radiator fitted as it had stopped working and changed the thermostat. The heater and other components are working fine it would seem as I am getting hot and cold air.

Now on my 80 mile journey home I had the engine temperature too high notice come in and engine overheating notice appear. I stopped the car checked the engine and the coolant and all seemed fine I started the car again and there were no issues all the way home for the remaining 50 miles. The only thing that does happen is that my fan will continue to run even if I have only been on a 10 minute journey does anybody have any ideas? I was thinking on changing the water pump.

Any help would be great.
Cheers,
Sean

 

Considering there was work done on the cooling system I would verify that it was bled correctly and that there is no air or leaks in the system. For the fan to run after shut down implies that the heat soak is higher then the temp sensor limit. Also the warning information might be a clue that there is a problem with air in the system especially if it did not return after you restarted the engine. I would start here.

 

When the fans continue to run it most times is related to a faulty or incorrectly installed thermostat. You shouldn't drive the car til you get this sorted or you risk frying the engine. Considering the cooling system was recently serviced, you shouldn't be having these problems, but my bet is with the thermostat.

 

Agree , where is the fan switch located . Is it controlled through the ECU via a temperature sensor or is it just a bi-metal switch in the radiator.

 

Hi,

Thanks for your advice, well the car has probably covered 80 miles on various journeys since and there have been no problems and no issues, not even any warning notices.

How would I bleed the cooling system if I have air in it. Also how could I change the thermostat are there any guides?

Thanks,
Sean

 

Hi Sean,
OK, how does air get into the system. Almost anytime the cooling system is opened, for whatever reason, air can enter the system. To what degree, depends on what service work is being performed. Changing a radiator is major, as the system has to be drained.

I'm of the opinion the cooling system will self-bleed, if the previous mechanical work was completed in a professional manner.
These days, most all of our motor vehicles run closed cooling systems. They have either an expansion tank or overflow coolant recovery system. These tanks are located near the radiator and is the place we "top-off" our cooling systems. As owners, need to insure these tanks are filled to a recommended fill line on them. This being the case, as the engine cycles through heat and cooling cycles, the pressure cap allows for radiator coolant to flow either into these tanks (heated) or from the tank back into the radiator during the cooling cycle. This movement of coolant, will expunge any air trapped in the cooling system. So, if you check your tank and it is full and you have driven often enough to have several of these "cycles", most likely, bleeding is not your problem. As was mentioned, I would check the temperature switch.This switch tells the fans when to turn on and when to turn off. Us old "E-Type" guys call these switches an "Otter" switch.
Good Luck....

 

Ken during the drain and refill of a cooling system there may be some areas where a air pocket forms. These become hot spots and at times take a long time to go away. Coming from the old Ferrari community we would spend hours in bleeding the systems and Ferrari designed in multiple bleed ports specifically designed for this. As to Jag I don't have enough knowledge yet on the engine/cooling system so I only suggested that maybe there was air in the system. Just like a hot water heating system when refilling air gets trapped and causes problems. So if we assume the system is air free then I would go to the old otter switch (66 E-type guy here) and see if that is the problem but if it was bad I would thing it would be either on or off all of the time. Just sayin

 

You bleed the system thru the 'screw' on top of the Expansion tank. Download the service manual for your car and read it.

 

Thanks Hailers...that's good to have in the war chest.

 

Hi,
Simply stated, removing trapped air in the system is exactly what occurs by circulating coolant, letting the engine cool, re-firing and running again. As I mentioned, with the engine running, both, air and coolant are circulated to the radiator and to some extent, on into the expansion tank where any air is trapped. As the engine cools, only coolant returns to the engine, therefore, replacing any air, previously expelled. While this may take a bit longer, it is affective for the novice DIY'er. Explaining this is not so much for your benefit, as it is for the gentleman seeming challenged as to how this process works.
Another method (requires more skills), I've used to speed up the "burping", is remove any water ported plugs in the highest most section of the engine. Idle the engine and begin filling the system through the radiator until coolant is seen at these ports (this assumes the T/S is open). Shut the engine down and replace the plugs. Wish we had those "bleed" ports, btw.....

 

Ken the old Ferrari guys always had problems bleeding the rear mounted V8's. The trick I used was to lift the front of the car a little higher then the expansion tank in the rear. On top of the Fcar radiator there was a bleed port. Put a hose on the bleed port and fill the tank up. Let it sit and top off. Some guys would even replace the bleed nipple with a steam radiator air bleed valve which never required having to manually bleed the system. By the way we used to change all fluids every 2 years. Oh Ferrari also put another bleed fitting on top of the thermostat housing. I used to put aside a day to do all of the fluids but being retired it wasn't a problem.

 

Wow Jagtoes!, sounds like these Jags should be a piece of cake LOL!
Yeah, I'm retired too and can take my time, as well.
Happy Trails.....

 

BURKEY 9112...........................I've a 2007. Over a year ago one summer I noticed that the fan kept running after I shut the engine off. It had never done this before in the summer.

I removed the Cooling System Outlet Assy and found the innards of it were broken. Replace the same item with one from Gaudin Jaguar 2007 Jaguar XK Parts - Direct JPLV Porsche Parts.com

and all is well since. What was happening, was the broken innard part was not allowing the proper routing of the water from the water pump and this meant some of the water never passed thru the radiator. Not desireable.

Another part made of plastic that can fail, and it did happen to me in the last month and a half, is the Expansion Tank. Its plastic and it can look just like brand new from a first glance. What gets bad is the nipple on the bottom that connects to a hose from the expansion tank to a hard metal line below it. This nipple you can't see unless the hose is removed. On my car and others, that nipple turns to a crumble cookie state and just flat comes apart.......crumbles and then you lose all your water if the engine keeps running. That nipple snapped off/crumbled off when I saw the hose leaking a bit and just tried to unclamp the hose clamp. No real pressure exerted, it just seperated from the tank. New one cost approx 150 bucks give or take.

Other than those two items, mechanically the car has been great. Electrical wise the TPMS gave me problems and the cruise would drop out for unknown reasons at times. Adaptive cruise control it is. I've a love/hate relationship with Adaptive cruise control or as Mercedes calls it Distronic Cruise Control. That Distronic dropped out on me today on a 200 mile trip but recovered all by itself after approx five minutes. The Jaguar Adaptive has recovered all by itself at times but I fiind just turning the car off and then back on will correct that problem.

 

I have a 2008 xk. I recently had it in to dealer for a check engine light issue. They said they had to reprogram something. Ever since, i notice my fan sometimes stays on for a five minutes after I turn car off. The dealer didn't seem to be concerned about it. Hope that helps.

 

Something I always did if I had to take a car in for some sort of service is get an explanation of what they did and show me the bad parts. Even if we don't know what he said it puts them on their toes .

 

Evening all,

Thank you for all your assistance, I have now fixed the problem. Firstly I noticed that the flow wasn't great through the expansion tank so I took a glancing look at the thermostat housing and couldn't see anything, I then progressed down to the Water Pump of which all was still clear. I then worked my way back to the thermostat housing and found that the pieces of plastic used to support the thermostat where missing and that the stat had been glued in. I then looked further into the housing and found that it had been butchered with what looked like a jigsaw. I replaced the housing and stat and now it is all good and well.
Thanks for you support.

 

The continued running of the fans is a nearly certain sign of thermostat related issues. So glad you got it sorted and can now enjoy the car without worrying.