Need your expertise…

My car’s alarm lights start to flicker and draw power from the battery, there is no way to stop the process while it’s happening until the battery is dead. And the car can only work again after a jump start.

I brought the car to a “specialist garage” that found out “after extensive testing the instrument cluster is defective”.

Jaguar doesn’t produce or repair the instrument cluster for this model anymore.

Here my questions:

- Anyone of you with a similar problem was able to “get rid” of the issue and how?

- Is it possible to repair the defective instrument cluster, where?

- Is it possible to install and successfully reprogram an used instrument cluster from a different car/same model?

Any other way to go around this issue and have a reliable drivable car?

 

Yes they are usually and all,most always repairable. Google is your friend. I just did a search "automotive instrument cluster repair Pennsylvania" and found one in AllenTown, another in Lancaster, etc. Don't know where you live in PA but you get the idea. There are guys who have shipped there cluster to repair shops. They'll chime in but local might be an option for you.

Replacing from donor car is an option but an expensive one, and one where you need the correct software which is SDD. It has to be decoupled from the donor car then paired to yours. Then the keys will need to be reprogrammed. A quality shop can do it, but know it's $$$$.

No there is no way around a defective instrument cluster.

Good Luck.

 

Hold on…what do you mean by “alarm lights”? If you mean the external indicators flashing “until the battery is dead”, you have found the issue: the battery. On the XK the end-stage sign of a dying battery is the flashing of the signal lamps. So, how old is your battery? Have you brought it to full charge?

The battery is ALWAYS the first culprit for ANY issue which is not obviously mechanical. Why? Because the car operation assumes full voltage to all the electronic modules. When they do not get sufficient voltage, any number of electrical components will misbehave.

 

It appears to me that your "specialist garage" couldn't figure out exactly was wrong. They gave up and said your instrument panel was "defective." What you need to know is why. If you're lucky, it could be a simple fix.

You need to find a Jaguar-trained technician with years of X150 experience, including instrument cluster problems. Otherwise, you'll spend a fortune taking shots in the dark. Call your local Jaguar dealers.

Replacement is the last resort:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...cement-246280/

Good luck!

 

Hi, Replacing a cluster is pretty straightforward. You will have to get the old cluster out and get the serial numbers off the back, find a used cluster with the same numbers or at least as close as you can get, I couldn't find a suitable cluster in the UK so had to buy one from Ebay in the US. Any technician with SDD experience should be able to transfer the immobiliser and key information but reprogramming the cluster with the correct mileage can be a bit trickier, my Jaguar engineer was not able to sort the mileage discrepancy. After getting the car working I found a brilliant chap who managed to change the cluster mileage to the correct figure, it took him 10 mins so can't be that difficult if you are experienced with this type of thing, he normally does remapps and key replacements.
Best of luck and hope you get it sorted.

 

Isn't that what I said? Finding that rare technician with X150 instrument cluster experience and expertise is easier in GB than in the USA. Sure, removing and replacing the cluster is easy, but getting it to work properly isn't.

 

The possible solutions to the issue of "flickering alarm lights" and the subsequent dead battery go from the simplest (the battery) to the very complex (the instrument cluster); yet the OP has not answered the very direct questions in #3 above...Perhaps the original poster would care to comment?

 

the battery is brand new, the cluster is the issue. And my questions about the cluster remains…

 

And you (and your specialists) may be accurate on this assessment.
But we don’t mind the challenge and have a history of wanting to be helpful.

@RMLTBr , you seem to be new here. Out of interest, when did you acquire this car? How much time had passed before this security system began behaving this way? Are you using Jaguar FOBs?

There are a number of ordered pinpoint tests for such issues that should be completed. Perhaps, this is the “extensive testing” reported.
But out of interest, specifically which B1XXXXX DTCs (and any other codes) were being thrown, to which such a root cause was deduced?

 

Yes, I just got in the forum.
I owe the car since 2009 and this problem started 5 years ago when the battery life was getting to an end. Since the summer 2023 it started acting out even with a brand new battery. And now it’s an intermittent issue that happens frequently when the car is locked.

I don’t know about the codes you are asking, I did not get a written report from the car’s mechanic and when I spoke to him today, he said he doesn’t have one, really?!

I know the garage is a reputable one, that he has experience with European cars. He assured me today that all the tests they did indicated a malfunctioning cluster and that he tried to graft two used cluster from the same model, without success. Therefore, here I am picking your brains up!

 

Going to suggest you pop out to Amazon and get this code reader:
It's cheap, easy and will give us all Jaguar codes (Engine, body, Chassis, etc.) Easy to use. I did answer your questions btw. My answer assumed your mechanics know their stuff. @guy is suggesting we help verify their findings. The code reader is the starting point of course.

 

Cool.
Well, welcome to the forum.

Merely as an FYI, determining a new cluster is needed, without justification by the appropriate DTCs is a little half hazard.
Moreover, the age of a battery is no indication of its health. There are many modules on your car that demand a full voltage and appropriate current in order to run successfully. The first pinpoint test in anything electronic as dictated in the workshop manual is: confirm battery health.

Graft an instrument cluster sounds like a hack to me…. be afraid.

There are many “service professionals” that have not read the “Instrument Cluster” section of the workshop manual. And come to conclusions based on search engine and youtube searches. Moreover, there are specific operations in a specific order which must be completed. And I am proposing that if done, it will save you in the long run.

In order to properly assist you, we need to see all the DTCs that are being thrown. I assume there will be a long list.. And for giggles, if you could take a voltage reading from the battery (it must be cold, not connected to any charging device, not with the engine running, and sitting for 6 hours) that would also be helpful.

I have assumptions, but Need the evidence.

 

I wish the problem was that simple, the car only shows fault while the problem is happening. When the problem is not there, it passed all the tests they did.
And when the problem is happening, the cluster is going nuts!
No other issues were detected with car while the issue is happening, besides the cluster itself.

I don’t have the details of the tests that were done (and my goal is to find out if others had a similar issue, and how to solve the problem. And considering the problem is most likely the cluster, how can it be repaired or successfully exchanged/programmed by an used one from the same model?)

Thank you for your interest and helpful comments

 

And I see @Sean W just posted as I was typing. its a very good suggestion.

 

Sorry… that’s not quite accurate thinking. Codes are stored for a useful period of time…. unless they are actively and purposely being cleared.

 

Incidentally, whether I visit my Independent service provider or my preferred Dealer, they ALWAYS give me a report of ALL thrown DTCs, along with an estimate of root cause and effort to correct.

 

Ok, I will insist with the mechanic to give me a report with the DTC’s. Wish me luck!

 

@RMLTBr If your "specialist garage" mechanic is diagnosing the instrument panel on your 2007 XK without using a Jaguar-specific Diagnostic Code Reader, he's not qualified to work on your car. That instrument panel includes complex circuits that communicate with several modules to verify mileage as a precondition to proceeding further. If you try to hack that system, you risk bricking the electronics and being left with a very expensive doorstop.

Even though "... the garage is a reputable one [and] he has experience with European cars. ...", when you explained that "... he ​​tried to graft two used cluster from the same model, without success" you put chills up my spine! It's a miracle if that didn't brick your car! Or did he? Maybe that's why it won't start.

Your car, your money, and your decision. But don't say you weren't warned about that mechanic. It might already be too late. Pray 🙏 it's not.

 

[QUOTE=
this problem started 5 years ago when the battery life was getting to an end. Since the summer 2023 it started acting out even with a brand new battery. And now it’s an intermittent issue… lockedQUOTE]

Being a dog with a bone here but “the problem started when battery life was getting to an end”. NOTED -
”Since the summer 2023 it started…even with a brand new battery” NOTED…but are you aware that new batteries are very rarely fully charged? And if the usage pattern is primarily of frequent short runs, the battery may NEVER reach full charge?
Verification of full battery charge is the first thing; the fact that the engine starts does not confirm battery strength. The XK is a sensitive beast and it does not do well on a restricted voltage diet.

Some years ago my 2007 XK failed to start. The clear culprit was the battery despite the fact that it had shown no other symptoms before this failure. New battery needed. As I know that “new” batteries very often, in fact most often, are below full charge at point of sale, I asked the clerk who sold me the new battery to test it. He brought out the tester, which printed the report that the battery charge was “GOOD”. Hmmm…I took the battery home and BEFORE installing it, put the battery on my CTEK battery maintainer. It took more than 24 hours to bring this (declared GOOD) battery to full charge.
The XK with a less than fully charged battery will exhibit all sorts of strange behaviour. This topic has been well covered in these forums.

Your issue might be with the instrument panel display, but the simplest explanation is very often the correct one (see “Occam’s Razor”). And it is often the least expensive to repair. Please note that low battery charge will affect the performance of the electronic modules, thus triggering codes!

 

Because your battery has gone completely dead, it will never be able to be completely charged. Every time a battery goes dead, it loses a little bit more of its life expectancy. The age of the battery is less important than the number of times it has gone completely dead.

Before you conclude that your instrument cluster is bad, get a new battery. That might solve your instrument cluster problem - unless, as I mentioned above, your mechanic has already bricked it.

There is no need to buy an AGM battery, as your car came from the factory with a conventional flooded (wet cell) battery and that's what your alternator was designed to charge. Just make sure that the new battery is fully charged before it's installed. A trickle charger or battery maintainer won't work; they charge too slowly. You'll need a real charger with an output of of 10 Amps or more.