Help!!! Sport mode was working and now it's not is there a fuse that controls this and also noticed when trying to shift manually 2,3,or in 4th it acts as if it's in D
New to me 2006 xk8 any help would be greatly appreciated
thanks

 

This happened to me once and it was a weird fluke. It could be a coincidence but it was right after I had hooked up the Ctek charger to top off the battery and when I restarted the car the Sport Mode light was off and I could not manually downshift. HOWEVER the next time I started the car all was well and (knock on burl) it hasn't happened again. After now having my car for 12 years, I have found there are all sorts of "problems" that show up but then resolve after the next restart of the vehicle.

Doug

 

Thanks for the advice I do keep a trickle charger on the battery just to keep up but not sure that's my problem

 

The ZF 6psd J shifter and sport button are all CAN communication based. There is a cable that selects PRND but the rest are just messages sent to the transmission control as you move the lever or press the button.

Most likely a hiccup in the communication that will go away after a restart. If it persists, then it could be the J module itself, a dirty connection and the plug or something to do with the wiring in the CAN bus (least likely option).

 

Thanks for the info I've always enjoyed British cars first being a Vauxhall, then a triumph but the jaguar is a whole different breed

 

I am still trying to understand what the "Sport" light controls. I have it 'on' or 'off' and not tice no difference in performance, or sound. Of course after deleting 4 mufflers, I doubt I notice a sound difference.

 

I believe the sport mode just changes the parameters of when it actually shifts

 

According to the Driver's Handbook, "when sport mode is selected the gearshift points are extended to make full use of the engine's power reserves". In other words nothing more complicated than the intermediate upshifts occur at higher RPM. I never noticed this making any performance difference on my XK8.

Graham

 

The sport mode switch sometimes acts funny. The fact that it is positioned in the "splash zone" of a cup holder fail is probably not helping. I'd say try and activate the switch by pressing the front side, or the back side to see if it makes a difference. This is a real on/off switch, not a temporary contact switch, so there is an change in the elevation between the 2 positions. I could be wrong on this, but I believe the light on the switch reflects the TCM's understanding of the switch position, it is not simply wired with the switch. So does the sport mode light turn on while the button is being pressed on and held down, and then disappears once the switch is released? If so, the switch might have sticky internals and fail to latch. It can be reached fairly easily, especially in the later models with that chrome trim surround, and cleaned with contact cleaner spray. Or just replaced outright.

Best of luck, keep us posted.

 

To comment on Sam's question. Best example of what does it do can be seen cruising at about 34mph. Floor it sports off. Then repeat with sport On. Big difference.
John

 

Yes, I recall from the owners manual that with sports mode off it will downshift one gear, but in sports mode it downshifts two gears.

 

Thx. I spend a lot of time 'Cruising' at 30-40 mph(neighborhood driving). I am trying the Sport mode to see if I notice a difference. The engine seems to lug around 30-33 mph. I may end up using the manual shift during this time.

 

My 2006 XK8 started doing te same thing. It was worst when it was so hot here last summer, which made me think "electronics" when I decided to try to deal with it. The "S" mode is useful when you want to move the J-gate to a lower gear range to get a little engine braking. Otherwise, it only seem to prevent the trans from ever getting into 6th gear!

Anyway, now that the ambient temperature is 56 F instead of 116, doesn't seem to be any problem.

 

Update on the sport mode must have been a hiccup tried this past weekend and it worked just fine
just like a cat go figure
Thanks for all your advice