2006 XK8 Convertible top, malicious mechanics, a continuing mystery
 

Last March (2021) I had the classic top-won't-latch problems. This first started 2 years ago and was fixed by tightening the screws around the latch, occasional manual closure and resetting the top. By 2021 resetting the top worked less frequently, so I bought a new battery for the 1st time since buying this beautiful (20,000mi!) Victory Edition in 2014. (The only car I ever purchased!) The new battery permitted the convertible top to close and all was well! 2 weeks later the top once again stopped an inch from the clasp and the quarter windows would not close.

I took it to Midas where a mechanic had kindly made a minor repair on my old mother's car for free, and asked them to please let me know if I had purchased a bad battery. When I picked it up, they charged me 'only' $125 for the check, secretively whispered to each other, the 'friendly mechanic' who had helped my mother wouldn't look at me, and they said the hose connecting the hydraulic pumps needed to be replaced. When I left the car with them, the pump was filled to the brim with fluid (I had checked earlier while attempting to diagnose the problem.) Upon pick up, hydraulic fluid was spilled everywhere and I soon learned they had broken the $7000 to-replace pump and the latch.

(The solenoid valve had been broken off at the wire plug. This can only happen when the pump is torn out in a careless manner. Lines going to both rams at quarter panels needed replacement, likely due to changes in hydraulic pressure/air in the lines that was caused by loss of hydraulic fluid. As the convertible top was able to be closed on its own after the battery replacement, the latch was likely damaged when forced shut.)

The local Jaguar guy, for $2500, replaced the pump (rebuilt by Cabriole Hydraulics in FL,) the lines going to the quarter panels, and the latch assembly. The roof still didn't work. As a medical intern working too many hours for ~$12/hr, I needed the car back. So I drove I while we awaited delivery of Convertible hood module DAC7355/DAC11133. That didn't work and was returned. Does anyone have a recommendation? I just found @Ledmi 's LED light bulb issue of 7/4/20 and will investigate that.

Thanks in advance!

Its a sad truth of XK8 ownership that if you cannot diagnose and repair it yourself then its not the car for you.

Have you had a look at Gus's website? He has a wealth of information on our cars, including how to diagnose and repair the roof hydraulics:-

JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

Start here with his troubleshooting guide:-

JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

Thanks so much! Looks great.

No such luck! Thank you for thinking of me :) I do however have an appointment tomorrow to hang out w/ the mechanic. Since I last wrote, I have re-acquired the “cruise not available” and “check rear lights” errors, which have not been a problem for several years. No idea if these are connected. I’ve also learned that the mechanic, after restoring the rebuilt roof pump was able to get the roof to close to ~ 1 inch from the clasp, which was the initial problem that led me to take it to the crooks who broke the pump when merely asked to please check the battery. (Replacing the battery solved the “won’t close entirely” problem for 2 weeks.) I _believe_ I found a solution to this on this forum a while ago though will have to search again— if anyone recalls this I will be most grateful for the link.

“ever since” guy strikes again

nobody broke your pump you’re driving an 18 year old car, sometimes things break during diag

Please see initial post. They broke off the solenoids and spilled fluid all over the trunk. It didn't happen on it's own. Plenty of problems due to age and being a jaguar, but the pump breaking is not one of them.

The alternating CRUISE NOT AVAILABLE / CHECK REAR LIGHTS on your dashboard message center typically indicates that the two very flimsy microswitches in the brake pedal switch assembly are failing. Quite a few of us have replaced those two microswitches with more robust ones from sources such as mouser.com....

Thanks again! And to @jaguartopguy I did indeed follow Gus’s procedure for cleaning the latch mechanism, and the roof still stops partially latched— not sure why it won’t close the complete way, especially since the latch completely retracts when the top is done opening…. I will leave the metal cover off the mechanism (and manually close top) for a day or 2 in hopes I will find an answer…. I have a video tho not sure how to post it….

Thank you for the reference to Gus's website - great resource! Just had my own convertible top fiasco, managed to get the top closed after a failure to latch and then zero movement either way, with quarter windows down. In short, used the allen wrench while pressing the roof button, seems to have somehow reset the thing.

Wow! Will try that! My mechanic took out the switches for the windows while I am supposed to have someone else diagnose it, but will see if the latch problem is solved that way…. Going to attempt Rick Astley’s solution #3 for the “cruise control/ check rear lights” error today too.