I went a head and pulled off the solenoid on my pump. The plastic elecro connector has Rapa then NV090 then on the last line 99W25. Rapa is a company that makes valves in Germany. They also seem to be in Alabama. Has any body else had to replace the solenoid? Has anybody got any ideas about this?

Thanks
Trchaves

 

Do you know what's wrong with the solenoid? Shorted? If it's mechanically sound, rewinding it might be an option ... maybe not too hard.

Photos possible?

 

Cabriolet Hydraulics (www.cabriolethydraulics.com) or Top Hydraulics (www.tophydraulicsinc.com) may be able to assist

 

just read the fine print -unless you want the pump refurbed, Top Hydraulics will only deal with the solenoid if you send the pump in for refurbishment

 

There are two fine wires I tried to fix. It does not seem be otherwise be damaged. It is the plastic electrical connector that is snapped off.

 

I bought my first XK8 for about $4000 less than average because the owner had tried to remove that connector when the problem was the obvious hose failure at the latch. He had all his service done at a dealer and when he was quoted $4500 to replace the pump he dumped the car.

My recommendation is no one should remove that connector unless they know the cost of pulling the wires out of the solenoid.

 

What Test Point said.

Trchaves, not sure I can picture what state things are in, but do you have an ohm meter? If so, can you test the resistance between the two fine wires? Test it in both directions.

(You can apply power to these wires to see if the solenoid will operate but ONLY if you're sure of polarity. I think there is a diode across the coil internally and if you apply power in the wrong direction ... not good.)

 

So let me try again to describe it to you. I failed to see the solenoids on top of the pump. I removed the mounting screws for the pump. The wires going to the solenoids were still attached. The shorter lead, the green or blue dot one, that controls the latch, reached its limit and snapped off the connector part of the solenoid. YES, THANK YOU, I shouldn't have done it! Yes I could be a further IDIOT and go buy a whole new pump from the parts department of Jaguar, for some $4000 +. Wonderful for you, if you were able to buy a Jag at a great price, because some body else made this mistake. Thank you for that great bit of trivia about your car! Its nice that you would take the time out of your busy day to relate that to me. It would be a whole bunch MORE helpful if you came up with a clever way to fix or replace the solenoid some where in the $30 price range or even had a useful or helpful comment. Surely, you were not foolish enough to go to the dealership... or were you?

 

That the coil is still good, is probably true. I stopped when I got to the point of breaking off the electrical connector. At this point I just want to find a replacement for it and get on with the real problem, a leak some where on the driver's side. I can tell its there by the puddle of fluid under the back seat.

 

I left them a message on their web site. Hopefully this will lead to an answer!

Thank you!

 

I did try to fix the connection, but the wire is a bit too fine for my 40+ year old eyes to be sure I had a good connection. I was able to download a parts manual, that seemed to list every nut and bolt on this car, EXCEPT the solenoids. Why are they so difficult to locate?

 

[Crickets]

 

I was able to find a damaged pump assembly from a car that had been hit in the right rear. Body and solenoids were good just the reservoir shattered. Since I has a good reservoir that was easy. I believe that it cost $90 shipped. You are not going to find the solenoids as individual parts or at least I wasn't.

 

Well here is my trivia! When I broke the el connector I also broke the wires. As test point stated I also wasn't able to locate the individual parts needed to rebuild the pump. I was concerned with soldering the wire due to their size, my fear was that I would burn the wires in half. Went to a 2 way radio repair/SADA systems company and they were able to solder the wires. Note we had to splice a piece of wire between the broken wire in order to have the proper length to reattach the el connection. I used wire ties to attach the connector to the pump. Installed the pump and she would not work, checked the fuse and if I remember correctly a 25 amp #20 in the boot fuse panel had blown. Installed fuse and she has been operating for over 2 years.
On a personal note the members of this forum offer their trivia as you put it not for you but the other 300 + viewers, so they may not make the same mistake that you and I made. They do what they do for a very simple THANKS and the love and passions of being part of the best forum out their!!! And the reason its the best is because of them!!!
I hope this helps Jim (oh the cost of the repair was a bottle of Jack)

 

Thanks Test Point! Where did you try to find it?

 

Thanks berlin 1977. Now that is a good suggestion. I will check in to it. It seems silly that the part exists, someone manufactures it, and it cannot be found. Come on! Cuba kept old cars from the 50's running, by making parts out of what ever they had... everyone on this fourm is stumped by this problem? The truth is out there!

 

Took a week of internet search of the majority of JY's in the US, but like you say, they are out there.

 

trchaves - try 707autoparts.com - they have a few XK's they are breaking and may have a pump that could suffice as a donor

 

I work on a lot of different automobiles for a living. Regarding that solenoid, (and for that matter, the whole pump) I couldnt help but notice that the late model (C7) Corvettes seem to have an identical pump for their tops. Same solenoids, same design, etc. I have no idea if these parts interchange, but it might be worth investigating. Could be a big money saver.

 

Well the issue persists. After waiting to get past the holiday weekend to get to the automotive electrical repair place (Hogans). No luck. Their boss took one look at it and said it wasn't fixable. The company that makes the valve Rapa or Rausche and Pausche, is in Germany. They have a web site that doesn't take orders. (rapa.com) I tried contacting them... no reply yet. Also found they opened a plant in Auburn, Alabama. They seem to have no web presence at all. Still working on it.