Handbrake snapped
 

Pulled on the handbrake to park, thing went snap and left me with a handle that gives zero resistance to pulling on it.

I think the parking brake is disengaged as I had little difficult driving home. But the brake warning light is on.

Now I already have to dismantle much in that area to replace the convertible latch hoses. But does anyone know what parts I might need to order for the handbrake repair?

If the light is on, my guess it is engaged, although it appears only partially if you could not feel it while driving. Not sure about repair, but it shouldn't be that complex, i'd try an independent mechanic first. The parking brake assembly may need a new brake shoe if you drove it while engaged. It may have issues passing inspection if you don't. Do you have a JTIS CD that shows the parking brake assembly...let me see if mine has it. yup... enjoy!

Hand brake
 

While you're fixing that, you might try this:

http://www.georgiajag.com/Documents/...Handbrake.html

Works pretty good!

More than likely the cable broke. Gotta get under and verify that is the case. I think you could easily repair with a non-OEM cable splice if you obtain the correct hardware.

PS>> FJK: Nice mod to the handbrake assembly. Next time I am under the car with nothing to do, I think I will give it a try.

Have fixed it, new cable cost only $60 from the dealer, could have bought it from Coventry West for 25% less but not worth waiting for the sake of $15.

Was not such a big job,

1) lift up the carpet - which means take out the driver's seat, unbolt the seatbelt restraints, take off the cushion and side panel, unscrew the rear seat, remove the tread plates.

2) Take off the handbrake gator and unbolt the handbrake. Remove the plug to the microswitch. Identify the place where the handbrake cable end crimp goes, there is a clip over it, remove that, remove the old crimp.

3) Trace the other end of the cable jacket, it has another retaining clip, remove it with a screwdriver or whatever. Push the free end of the cable through the rubber seal so there is plenty of slack, that will help in a moment.

4) Jack up the car and get underneath. I jacked it up on one side and chocked the other. I didn't want to use ramps without a functioning handbrake.

5) Identify the other end of the cable, where it connects to the cable assembly, unhook it.

6) Remove the old cable and run the new one.

7) Underneath the car, hook the new cable in place - this requires a bit of strength and both hands.

8) You can now lower the car if you like or wait till you are done.

9) Now the tricky part, getting the other end of the crimp in place. There is obviously some tool to do this the easy way. I used brute force and IQ.

The first thing to do is to identify the ratchet mechanism and release it. I then used a cable tie to lock the handbrake in the released position.

Next I pulled through as much of the cable as I could using pliers and moderate brute force. This allowed me to get the crimp secured in the right position using the slide in circular bit.

Then two of us pulled on the handbrake assembly and I maneuvered the jacket part of the cable assembly into place.

Assembly is the reverse of disassembly.

Tools required: Torx bolt spinners, 9mm and 10mm spanners, needlenose and bent nose pliers, large adjustable wrench.

Optional: Vaccum cleaner

Does she still hold at the 3500 RPM for like 10 seconds (i think) to pass inspection, at least here?

Light off I suppose too?

that's quite a DIY list, any chance you took pictures along with your excellent documentary?

Sorry, no room under the car to take photos. For the trim removal, follow Gus' excellent guide to fixing a hydraulic leak.

Have not checked the holding power, but it is a lot stiffer and firmer than it had been. My only concern is that the brakes might be on slightly in the release position, but that does not seem to be an issue.

My experience parking in Cambridge MA is that the Jaguar engine is more powerful than the handbrake of the Lexus that decided to park less than an inch off my bumper, blocking me in :eek:. Since he clearly did not mean to park right there, I reparked him to save him the bother. Took a lot less than 3500 RPM :):D

The brake warning light reports the position of the handbrake lever, not the brake. It goes off if you simply disconnect the plug going to the switch. But doing that requires removal of the handbrake gator which is probably tricky if you don't have the driver's seat out. With the handbrake cable fixed it now works perfectly.

can you fix mine?
 

can you fix mine?

I am in DFW area.

Lynne - welcome to the forum - this is a very old post and the member has not posted since 2010. Recommend starting your own thread with the details of your issue

also as this is your first post - please stop by the New Member section and post an intro. In return, you will receive a warm welcome and some useful tips for navigating the forum

New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

Well this may be an old thread but the attachment with instructions to mod the bracket is great!