Went out to start my XK8 yesterday. (73,000 miles) Sounded like one cyl fired but didn't continue and died. Now all I get is starter gear noise while cranking. I just parked it there the day before without incident.

So far:
-Tried starting fluid... nothing different.

-Took snorkle off and propped open throttle for 2 hrs in case flooded.

-45lbs pressure at furl rail Schrader valve

Its not parked where it is easy to do disassembly troubleshooting so I haven't taken the covers off to check spark plugs for spark or injector for squirt.

Conclusions:
Probably not timing chain ( no rattle/bang/backfire and it doesn't sound like one bank is different than the other when cranking

Probably not fuel pump (have 45lbs)

Probably not bad coil/spark plug ( very even rhythm when cranking unless all 8 died at the same time)

I'm thinking fuse for coils or injectors. I've checked all I could find. Anyone know any specific ones to check, or does the timing chain die without a whimper?

 

The last time the car started and ran di you just run it for a short time?

 

long enough to drive out of the driveway and back it up a couple of times to parallel park it.

 

When attempting to start the car does it sound like the engine is rotating with no compression?

Never use starterstarter on this car you stand a chance of cracking the intake manifold.

Gus
JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

 

Yes, nice smooth cranking. No banging or any sound other than the starter whine.

Wouldn't a timing chain slip/break on one bank at a time? If so wouldn't it lope as the one good bank compressed it's cylinders?

Don't understand "Never use starterstarter"

 

Gus is suspecting bore wash.

The starter starter comment is in reference to the starter fluid.

 

Sorry to hear about your woes, but always worth doing the zero dollar checks first.

1. Short drive may have caused bore wash. Lots of info here to fix it. Just use search. Drop gas pedal to floor to try and crank to clear the excess fuel in cylinders.

2. Wiring check. Spark plugs etc. See Youtube video below about ignition modules.

3. Go to left side dash end fuse box to check crash/inertia safety switch hasn’t tripped.

4. Start checking “world of pain” - check key, security modules etc ie KTM, BCM etc

 

Thanks for the pointers. I did the foot to the floor trick. No change.

Have been avoiding the spark plug exploration because of the lovely location of the plugs and the walk back and forth from the garage to the street where it's parked. (I always seem to have the wrong version of any tool I bring to the car (Metric/SAE - Short/Long - Hex/torx) Also since there are a couple of broken bolt loops on the sparkplug cover, spilled oil and water was in the sparkplug wells the last time Looked on my other XK8. I don't have an air hose or vacuum long enough to assure debris doesn't fall through when I take the plugs out.

So, what's the problem with a spritz of starting fluid in the airfilter box (before the MAF sensor) to see if there's enough spark to fire?

 

If it's bore wash you already have too much fuel. Adding more will achieve nothing useful.

 

Starter fluid causes an excessive fire in the cylinders and can cause the intake manifold to crack causing a vacuum leak. The only repair is to replace the manifold.

I have done excessive research on Nikasil and cylinder washing the attached links will give you a better understanding.

Link to Nilasil JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

Link to getting it started JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

Link JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

I hope this helps

 

I'm thinking crank sensor.

 

Mine started showing an ‘engine fault’ message, the code was neutral safety, but my switch was fine, even verified it with IDS, basically my ECM locked into a start inhibit, no ignition, no injector. I got it to clear after confusing the ECM. Anyway, mine will enter this lock state anytime it cranks fir more than 3 seconds without starting. So I flood it, then get inhibit. Check for codes.

 

Any progress?

Gus
JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

 

There’s a couple of things that will inhibit starting: the BCM, security system, neutral safety switch( car will crank, but spark and injectors disabled) the Jaguar software will tell you if it’s ECM inhibiting you.