Hello. As the title refers I have a J-gate interlock question. After doing an oil change to the transmission I now have a locked in park issue with the J-Gate. I can of course override it manualy with the hole in the top of the J-Gate but this isn't a permanent solution.
I have ruled out the brake switch as the brake lights work as does the cruise control button light. ( connected through the B.P.M. I think - was told to check these on another forum )
I have also rule out the the micoswitch lever in park which is fine. The nuetral lever has brkoen off some time ago but has never affected anything.
Today I disconnected the interlock solinoid in the J-Gate which made no difference to it being stuck in park. Me thinks maybe that if it is broken then then it is keeping the J-Gate lock closed.
What are your thoughts please?
Thanks in advance

 

Just remove the solenoid. I did that years ago and never looked back. Now I never have to worry about not being able to put the car in drive. Disconnecting it from power won’t do anything for you as the default is locked.

 

Cheers for that, didn't understand that the default was locked even though it wasn't connected.

 

glandanielxk8,

You are talking about an interlock or something that has to do with the Shifter....I remember several years ago; I was at the Post Office and drove past the Postal Box a little too far.....I jammed the Stick in Reverse or something and it Locked-up....I couldn't get the Stick to move at all!... It was just "dead in the Water"! All Locked-up! I called a Jaguar "Service Writer" that I knew and he told me about removing the "Little Screw" at the top of the Cover and sticking the "KEY" down in there and unlocking the "Shifter"....It worked! Is this what you are talking about? Is this what the "Little Screw" is all about?

Billy Clyde @ Cinco Ranch

 

Yes, I mean that little screw hole which allows you to put a screw driver down to move the gear out of park.

 

I was patching the broken black plastic that the gear selector slides against and while in there I also removed the solenoid, never missed it other than the jaguar click sound.
wj

 

When I first got my '97, I found someone had stuck a broken pencil in the mechanism to keep the interlock open.

Also found documentation of about a year or two of mechanics trying to fix the interlock unsuccessfully.

Additionally, I found a year or so long thread from the early 10s where some fellow tried and failed to fix it.

There is a orange and black or green striped wire that leads from the Body Control Module to activate the solenoid.

Mine never did, but I like having safety devices so I hot wired the solenoid through the brake switch.

Now, every time I press on the brake, there is a solenoid click, but it's not terribly noticeable.

And the brake interlock works.

 

Thanks for taking the time to share that useful andd helpful information. I can appreciate your level and desire to keep the interlock working, however I think I am either going to remove or disable it. There is also the 3rd option of just replacing the solinoid, they go pretty cheap on E-bay. Thanks again.

 

Update. Having now disconnected the solinoid completely I can switch gears no trouble at all. One small issue that remains is the rapid warning beeping from the steering column when I turn the car off in park. This goes on for about 12 seconds then stops. Anybody else have this issue?

 

That means one of the microswitches from the line switch is bad and that is what was causing the interlock solenoid to stay locked.
The car thinks it’s in any other gear when it’s in park when you turn it off.