Hello - I am new to the forum so I hope this works!

I experienced a light on my dash yesterday that said DSC System Fault. It came on, stayed on and then went away after I turned the engine off and restarted it. It did not come back...

Can anyone tell me what this might mean? Thank you...

____________
2005 XK8 (added by GGG)

 

Have your battery and charging system checked. A low battery voltage will cause false codes.

 

Welcome to the forum Ron,

I've moved your question from General Tech Help to XK8/XKR forum. Members here with the same model will be able to help.

Please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some info about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

 

Mine throws a DSC light if the car sits more than a week or two, it has a good battery and always has a tender on it in the garage. Light comes on first start and will then clear on the next start, I've learnt to ignore it and if I'm going a distance I just stop and restart the engine once it is up to temp.

 

Could be a failing battery. Could also be that your wheel speed sensors need to be cleaned and their wiring harnesses need to be checked for deterioration. Very easy to do with a bowl of dish soap and an old toothbrush once you have removed all four wheels....

I clean all four sensors on my wife's 2006 XK8 at every tire rotation I do (6,000-mile intervals). No random ABS or DSC messages have been displayed since I began doing this task in early 2013....

 

What Jon89 said....

 

Thank you all for your suggestions - souns like I need a new battery...

RM

 

It may not solve your problem, but it's the basic starting point and has to be eliminated before looking further.

 

+1 - on a cold start on a cold day Nessie will throw a DSC fail error during starting even with a good battery (possible earth resistance) but second start on no problem and never in summer.

As a general note, operating with a tired battery is a false economy on an XK8 especially since cranking current and thereby volts is the first casualty.

 

I have gotten these faults temporarily when triggered by going over bump or something. It almost always goes away the next time I start the car. However the other day the DSC Fault warning light was triggered when I was slowly rolling to a stop and the brakes juddered a bit setting up a vibration. When I started again the light DSC Fault message came on again and the same thing today--wonder if some wheel sensor connection was shaken loose?. I have to bring the car in to address an annoying coolant leak (from the norma fitting on the octopus hose) so I will have the DSC checked out at the same time.

Doug