Hi I have a 96 xk8 4,ltr I have had it for four years ,, has full service history etc and only cone 98,000 miles, Problems started about 2 years ago when I was run off the road by a on coming car on my side of the road i had to go up a grass embankment to avoid a head on, got the car on the road again and abs faults was showing replaced the front left abs sensor and the problem then was intermittent. Then I had the dreaded gearbox fault come up which again was intermittent, While i was shopping one day I parked next to a little old man with the same car and we was talking and I explained what was happening and he smiled and nodded then told me to pull the scart lead of the abs pump and put vasaline on it, low and behold everything cured, Used the car for a big journey a holiday didnt miss a beat then about a week after getting home I got low engine performance and then car cutting out and and having to waite 20 mins to restart before it would could cut out again ended up ecu rebuilt cured, Now again I went out last week car running perfectly then all of a sudden pulling out of a junction gearbox fault and limp mode, got home regreased what the guy had suggested fine for a mile again limp mode , I was having new tyres fitted and it was booked in so limped to the tyre centre intermittent on and off with gearbox fault , got home recharged the battery yah worked about 15 miles down the road it started again, no reason to it can be doing 50 it cuts in as a fault can be going to pull away it can be a fault or slowing down,, can hear it going up and down gears normally untill the fault kicks in, I have just ordered a fault code reader, and the tramission fluid was checked last year is full to the top. I dont think it is a gear box fault but a electrical fault somewhere checked the main fuses for transmision etc all seem good and clean. The battery was tested and the guy said its out put is a little low but not enough to make a diffrence at the auto centre. (sorry for all the info about the abs etc but thought it may all toe in some way) Any suggestions?

 

Be aware that these vehicles require a very strong battery at all times (they are essentially rolling computers). Once the battery begins to fade, many spurious codes and issues can arise (including transmission faults). If your battery tests even the slightest bit low, it should be replaced. Have you checked all six battery cells to see if they are properly filled with water?

 

I checked the battery when I put it on charge all seemd ok with it, I know about it being low etc thats why I had it tested , The garage said it was ok and still in the green on there meters but the bottom end of the green , so shouldnt be that, still dubious about ti though to be honest although the garage is saying its fine

 

So not used the car for 2 days, but thought i would run it round the block today, Started the car, trac control light flashed on for a few seconds , tried to put it in gear wouldn't go in, left it running for 5 mins then turned it of and restarted no trac light and into gear, pulled away and asc flashed on for a second or so then back off . I ran it round the block no problem at all, So Jon 89 even though the garage is saying the battery is fine with those other faults popping up it is confirming what we both think its the battery probably, So when my pension goes in next week i am off to get a new one any one have any sugestions? looking at the battery it may still be the original since its a Jag battery at 90 amp (the car is 22 years old so if the battery is the original I don't think anyone can complain at that) was looking at the varta 100 amp would this be ok? (hopefully this will cure the problems if not I will be back next week begging for help again)

 

The battery should read 12.5V or more after sitting overnight. If you don't have a multimeter consider buying an inexpensive one. New batteries do not seem to last as long as older ones, so if you are able to plug in a battery maintainer that would help.

 

OK - this is a long shot. Check the condition of your right rear wheel bearing (do the 12 o'clock / 6 o'clock wiggle thing.

I had a right rear bearing starting to go very badly, and was getting all sorts of warnings: ABS, DSC, Tranny limp home mode, etc. Someone said that the transmission get's its speed signal from the right rear. Sure enough, when I removed the hub assembly, the ABS reluctor ring had been so beat-up by all the wiggling that it was spinning freely on the hub's splined coupling. All the warnings disappeared after installing a rebuilt assembly, I guess whoever said the tranny's speed signal comes from the right rear ABS sensor must have been right.

It's possible your off-road odyssey may have pushed those rear bearings too far.

BTW: I've had both the right and left rear wheel bearings go, and in both cases there wasn't a hint of sound alerting me to their impending failures. So don't think that just because you don't hear any typical bearing whine that they're OK. Jack the car up and check them.

 

Thanks Jim I will check that out tomorrow.

 

Ok wheel bearings checked they seem fine no play etc, Started the car to move it to flat ground to jack her up today no warning lights etc , checked the bearings all seem fine, restarted her still no warning lights etc, drove her about 5 miles everything seems perfect today, It has to be the battery what ever the garage says, So I have ordered a big heavy duty battery for that will be here on Wednesday and the fault code reader should be here Tuesday, so can check those then, Jim I have had a wheel bearing go before on a car and there wasn't any play then, with no warning signs etc, so even if there isnt any play at the moment it may still be shot, (a 67 Alfa I had when we took the back hub etc apart the bearing fell into about 5 peices, and as i said no play etc then), So if this doesn.t work with the battery I will strip it down and look hell if im stripping it down may as well replace them, so thank you for the advice, will let you know next week what has happens

 

Sounds quite good. Like I said though, this idea "was" a bit of a long shot, but you never know, .... ;-) Thanks for the Alfa experience. I had a front bearing on an X1/9 going bad (fair amount of whining) with no movement either. I think what drove my XKR rears to the point of shambles, was that there never was any noise. They'd probably been going bad for many thousands of miles before any symptoms (lots of wiggle) started to show-up.

Good luck!

 

So the fault code reader has arrived, I shot out with it to connect it up following all the instructions' No faults found thought even if it was the battery it would of found one being stored but nope, (scratching head now but the problem has not acured for nearly a week, oh well new battery will be sorted either tomorrow or Thursday so see what happens then, again thanks guys for the advice

 

Hello chaps. Do hope everyone is ok. I need to ask something on the GEAR BOX FAULT. Yesterday driving my XK8 I received the GEAR BOX FAULT and RESTRICTED PERFORMANCE message . Car gone on to a limp mode. What was strange, is the fact that there was no light on the “J” gear shift panel. No red light on the D, or R, or anything else .
Had the car parked for few minutes and restart it with no problem at all. Battery is fine, had the GEAR BOX oil change only few hundred kilometers now, and the car has just 72.000 km. Any ideas on what else to search for maybe , or what might be the source of this ?

 

Even though my scanner was not showing any faults the garage scanner has showed the above

 

I have not had any problems for nearly a week and I fitted the new battery today, had the garage wipe the fault codes, (It is due its MOT monday so see if anything is thrown up on that) So I will run it now for a few days and see how it goes, hopefully it was just the battery going down (which I had retested it was 122.4 volt and 400 amp yes I know looks like our guess was right and a duff battery, fingers crossed and again thank for your help guys

 

Cpt.Nkt
I would suggest first thing check the battery, These are not cars they are rolling computers any loss of electrical power and they throw hissy fits, Then perhaps check the shift solenoid, (I can find my way round Alfa electics (spaggetti even but Jags sorry i think its more of a art form than a science, so if neither of those things helps you need some one more experiance with cats than me)

Hope you get it sorted as you can see I have been having problems also so fingers crossed for you

 

Thanks. Truth is that even though it’s a new battery, car is used twice a month, mostly on weekends. I think I’ll start from the battery voltage and look it over....

 

Commit to driving the car more frequently. These cars do far better when they are exercised more often....

 

Yup they need to be driven and not 2 miles to the shops and back, would suggest you do at least a 30 to 50 mile trip at least once a week,

 

Hello chaps. Do hope you are well. An update on the gear box fault. Finally it showed that the problem was caused by the battery. Even though it was brand new the voltage wasn’t adequate. Charged the battery, driving the car couple of days now, and everything shows quite normal. You are right though, have to drive her more often. Thank you all and fingers crossed to be the end of it .
Cheers.

 

Hi I took mine for a 60 mile blast yesterday, no problems at all so again It looks like it was the battery, Cpt .NKT is your car garaged? may be worth you getting a smart charger if you don't get time to play with her very often, and leave on charge i the garage, Thank you for your help guys, now fingers crossed for the MOT tomorrow, the local garage said they can not see any major faults so looks promising.

 

Ok another 50 miles done today before the mot to get her all warmed up and she flew through on everything , seems all the gearbox faults etc was battery so thank you again guys