At times this notification will appear on my dashboard dial. If I turn it off, it will go away and reappear without notice. The engine seems to run fine, regardless of the message. What is taking place??

 

Some combination of inputs to (and perhaps monitored outputs from) the PCM when fed into its algorithms ends in a bad place where it can't figure which code(s) to flag but is also unable to control the engine in the way it normally can. It would flag code(s) if it could.

Any recent work is suspect. Failing that, maybe you can find a sensor whose value fools the PCM but which you can tell is wrong.

 

I believe a misaligned transmission shifter can cause this. Is it really random or is it in response to something you are doing, e.g. using the manual transmission shifter?

 

No, this comes and goes from time to time. (I am not shifting the transmission/gearbox manually).

 

I get something similar if and only if the car is outside in strong winds, and it does not do it every time.

Upon start will get the full Christmas Tree effect and not running well. Key off, wait one second, restart and all is good.

Every connector and wire checked. All connectors clean. Grounds checked. No collision damage. No prior messing around by unqualified techs or dealer.

My specialist ran the full dealer diagnostics and found nothing after an event. He came to my house. We have concluded that the wind is causing a static charge situation in some component.

Going to live with it. Sometimes it is better that way.

 

I'll warm up the XK8 and drive it for a while and then the warning comes on. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for it.

 

The darned Failsafe Engine Mode keeps returning without any change in engine performance. Should I take it to my mechanic and ask him what on earth is causing this?

 

Locate and check all grounds first. Might be an easy solution.

 

I took Ian to Consolidated auto works in Portland, OR and determined the problem is a brake switch causing an ABS/Fail Safe Engine Mode codes to be thrown.

Part cost? $250.00 (USD).
Labor? 1 hour $120.00 (USD)
Total cost? $370.00 (USD).

Conundrum solved.

 

“ Ian ”……. ?????

Z

 

This is the name I have given my 2000 Jaguar XK8 Coupe.

I had the brake pedal switch replaced, but the ABS box requires habilitation. To the tune of another $400 dollars + (USD).

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

 

Look online. There are a couple of companies in the US that will repair the ABS module. Failure of these crummy Bosch controllers is very common. One is ModulePro, in Idaho, IIRC, and the other is Module Master, in Van Nuys, again IIRC. I've used both companies and they do good work. The most recent was with ModuleMaster.

Getting the module out is quite fiddly, but you'll save a couple hundred dollars if you DIY.

 

I have 2002 XK8 have had this issue on and off since about mid 2008 ( I am original owner). Dealer kept thinking throttle body and all sort of other things that never fixed it. Only happens in higher heat weather. Transmission fault light comes on car will not start. Lock car and wait a few minutes and then it works. Was once thought to be soldering behind dash and in higher heat, wires touched. That was fixed and happens rarely but still does when outside temps high. I live in AZ and only drive it 20 mi/week OCT-May now.

 

If you can get the ABS unit out, you might as well fix it yourself. It's almost always the power post that has lost it's solder contact. There are a lot of threads on here about the subject. I did the fix on my 2001 XK6 (many years ago).