HELP!

Hey everyone, long time no see. So I sold my 97 to a friend. He had been enjoying it for a while. Anyway, the pertinent info:

He drove the car, parked it normally... next day, key in ignition, all lights working, *click*. Installed a new starter, now it turns over but there's no spark. It's getting gas, the starter is cranking, all other electrics seem to be working fine, just no power to the spark plugs.

I did go through the various starter issues threads I found and in the guides.

Some random details:
Owner says the left front and left rear lights burn out prematurely... like he has to be careful with the turn signals and brakes at the same time or things act weird for a second. (sorry, he's not very articulate and that's the most I could get out of him.

He did have an error for the cruise control not working or something.


Could this be an ECM issue?


Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

Check the relay for the ignition coils and the fuses associated with it.

Link http://jagrepair.com/images/AutoRepa.../jagxk1997.pdf

 

Is it a standard relay that I can temporarily switch with another?

The mechanic said he checked all the fuses and relays though, but I'll go and check.

I need to make a decision on whether to tow it home or to another shop.

 

You can swap with like relays just know it might start but a problem will be at another location.

Edit Also did you try to start it in "N"? You also have 2 fuses involved, check the chart.

 

Well I don't remember if I tried it in neutral, but I'm fairly certain I did. I know there's a microswitch there.

I looked at the chart, I'm good with most things except electrical, so I'm just gonna have to have it towed to a Jaguar shop that has a good troubleshooter.

I really wanted to know if the ECM could be responsible for the Cruise Control error and if that finally died if it could cause this ignition problem...

 

If you see the relay look to the right and you will see a square and a circle with numbers inside them look to the bottom left of that page and using the numbers find the page that they reference go to that page and it will tell you what fuse box and fuse it is that it is feeding from.

 

A 97 ecm could cause the ignition failure, but it's usually a misfire of 2-4 cylinders. I don't recall anyone reporting a cruise control failure due to the ecm without other problems. More often it's the brake switch that causes cc failure.

But certainly a 97 ecu is a suspect. If the problem is not resolved by swapping relays and checking fuses it might by worth sending it to ASI fot testing.

Are you absolutely certain there is no power to the plugs? An engine that has fuel but doesn't start could be suffering from bore wash.

 

No spark. Everything else appears to be functioning. Has gas. Engine cranks. All switches and knobs working fine.

The mechanic asked if I had cleared the codes, nobody did.

The car ran for a good while and then was parked that evening. The next day morning, he went to start it only to get a click. Replaced the starter and now it'll crank but no ignition.

Cylinder wash has never happened on that car, even when it sat for a year.

 

I'll print it out and try, but it still confuses the hell out of me.

 

Look in the engine management fuse box and look at fuse #18 it is a 10A fuse and fuse #14 it is a 10A fuse. Fuse #14 is to control the relay and fuse #18 is the power to feed both ignition modules # 1 & 2. Now to find the fuse box it is located on the left forward under the hood if you look at the link I had attached look under the heading Relay and Fuse Box Identification and Location page #24.

As for the cylinder washing a quick clue would be that the engine when cranking it spins as if it has no cylinder compression, when it is spinning to start the engine spins freely.

 

I'll take a shot on an easy item to check...There is a large ground strap that attaches to a transmission bolt under the car. Could that have been disconnected and not re-attached when the starter motor was changed?

 

That strap should be from the frame to the transmission if it is off disconnect the ground strap at the battery and clean and reinstall that grounding strap. Once that strap is installed do a hard reset and install the battery cable then start the car.