When you first start the iCarsoft, is there an OBDII icon of some sort, besides a Jaguar/LR icon, or does it go straight into JLR mode? I was suggesting to try OBDII mode for this basic temperature read.

The short version is that the ELM327 solution is limited to standard OBDII. The longer answer is that the ELM327 device itself is capable of reading ALL hardware protocols in use for OBD, including the ones our cars use (SCP, CAN, Serial). It is kind of a "converter" for data on these OBD data buses to/from a serial link carried over Wifi or Bluetooth. The limitation is that the cheap apps typically used to interpret that data stream only "understand" standard OBDII.

 

Good morning guys and thanks for your help. I'm an old wood tick and this is making me mental. When I first start the iCarsoft scanner it comes up with 9 panels on the screen; diagnostics, oil reset, voltage, OBDII/EOBD, DTC look up, review, set up, help and info. I then have to choose Jaguar or Landrover then model and year. I'm at the cabin now and don't have the car or scanner with me. I will be home tonight and any suggestions on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated. It sucks having a car I can't trust to drive for fear of cooking the engine and I still can't figure out why the temperature gauge in the car goes down to cold if it's overheating.

 

Hello folks. The battle continues. I replaced the thermostat this morning and took some more readings. The temperature on the scanner said 55C before I started the engine, outside air temperature was 14C and the car had not been started for 2 days. By the time I finished installing the thermostat the temperature said 77C before starting the engine. Refilled the coolant tank and burped lines again and started the car. The temperature said 105C at the 1/4 mark of the dashboard gauge and 125C at the midway point. The temperature dropped to 119C when I turned the heater on. The hose to the cross over pipe from the top of rad was quite hot but the hose to the bottom of the rad from the thermostat was cooler and both felt firm making me think that there was plenty of fluid in them. At no point did the fans come on. I checked the fuse for the fans, #12 in the fuse box in in the engine compartment, but it was good but I replaced it anyway. I'm letting the car cool down so I can top up the coolant reservoir. Any ideas or suggestions are more than welcome.

 

Ozbot,

Quick way to check if cooling fans work. From a cold start, turn your cabin AC on - both high and low fans should start immediately.

 

Hi David,

Thanks for the great info. I'll try it on Sunday when I'm back home from work. She's going to the mechanic on Monday and any extra info I can give him really helps.

 

Just an update. Fans work fine. Took the car to the mechanic to run their diagnostic test. Car passed with no problems or fault codes. Temperature when gauge is at middle during the road test was 89 - 90C. Thermostat opens at 80 - 84C and was fully open at 96C and the water pump is working fine. I guess the iCarsoft scanner is faulty. I'm calling it resolved. Cost me $185.34 which I consider cheap for peace of mind. Thank you to all the help you folks have given me.

 

Did you ever confirm the expansion tank is correctly piped? The '97 is piped with an extra bleed hose to the radiator. To my knowledge, the new tanks come with that connector/nipple plugged. Read, and then re-read this TSB to be sure. These tanks are known to crack at the seam, and the float gets stuck sometimes, too. Yours is likely not original. Whoever replaced it may not have realized the intricacies involved. Just a thought before closing this off.

303-15.pdf

 

Hi fmertz. I do have the old reservoir with the 2 bleed hoses, 1 goes to the top of the rad and the 2nd goes to the top of the thermostat tower. Both are going to the right place. Sorry, I should have mentioned that before. I also took your advice and ordered the ELM327 on ebay. Good thing since the iCarsoft reader doesn't seem to work and they haven't returned my email yet. Thanks again for all your help not only with this problem but others I've had. Owning a Jaguar is a real learning process.

 

So I took the car to work on Sunday, just under 650km, and the car ran great until I hit a 15km stretch of road construction. The road was really rough and the wire to the coolant temperature sensor rattled lose. The car immediately went into limp mode, the temperature gauge went to zero and the check engine light came on. I pulled the car over and after reading the fault codes I reattached the wire and checked the coolant level. The car ran great the rest of the way to work but the check engine light stays on even after not running since Sunday . What do I need to do to get the check engine light off? The car ran great the rest of the way and I don't get the engine fault messages on the dashboard any more and the code reader now reads no fault codes so I think it's good to drive.

 

Ozbot,

On your OBD scan tool there should be a function to reset codes. This should turn off the CEL warning light.

As for the wire working loose on the coolant temp sensor, the connection should securely clip together. Common to have a faulty plastic TE connector. I too have it and made do with a duct taped temporary hack. I will post a new thread once I put my new connector on (thanks to fellow forum member michaelh posting it to me).

 

Hi David,

Thanks for your help again. I'll try to reset the codes with the scan tool and wrap some tape on it before I head home next week. I probably broke it when I replaced the cross over pipe last week. I just read your thread and I'll be replacing the connector too. Thanks for adding the part number. I'll order it today and hopefully it will be there when I get home.