Hi to all; I was told buy the dealership today that after they scanned the modules there was no communication with the ECM internal engine control module. I had it in there for a intermittent restricted performance message. They said they can run some elect. tests to determine cause of no communication.
I would appreciate any thoughts.
Thanks in Advance
Mitch

 

Relevant thread titles attract attention. I'd have gone for Intermittent Restricted Performance to grab the interest of members with relevant knowledge and interest. If you agree, I can change it.

Graham

 

Quite a few Jaguar dealerships are no longer equipped to work on our pre-Tata era vehicles . They no longer have the diagnostic hardware, software, or experienced techs. Some of them outright refuse to look at our vehicles for even the simplest of problems. You will be far better off if you locate a local independent shop that knows Jaguars and has both the equipment and the personnel to delve into your issue....

 

Snap Graham, I just changed it to make it more relevant.

 

The communication to the ECM would be through the diagnostics port, by your left knee. This port is powered, and protected by a fuse. You can check on this fuse yourself. Normal OBDII diagnostics (with a common reader) would be done over ISO-9141. Parts stores offer the use of a scanner, typically for free. Or you can buy a cheap ELM327 device (eBay, Amazon) and a phone app. For a more complete diagnostic, the same port offers access to the SCP and CAN buses, but it requires a Jaguar-aware scan tool. Sometimes the connection at the diagnostic port is a bit flaky, and the connector has to be put at a slight angle for better contact. All of the "smarts" are digital, so once you have a working bus, you should have it all.

This port is well documented in the electrical guide, so repair is likely feasible, in case it was tampered with by a prior owner.

Best of luck, keep us posted.

 

You are correct. Thank you for changing the wording.
Mitch

 

fmertz; Thank you for the your quick response and great info
Mitch

 

Jon89; I do have a shop near me. Does good work. Been there for many years. I had to go to the dealer to reprogram the remotes. On the '99 you have to hook it up to the dia machine so I just asked to see if they could read anything. The ECM was the only module that didn't respond. They said everything was clear.
Thanks very much for your help
Mitch

 

I'd be reluctant to throw money at having Jaguar Dealer diagnose why their SDD didn't read the ECM. Your concern is the intermittent RP and this SDD session failure isn't necessarily relevant. Starting down the road of having the dealer investigate the ECM read issue could lead to a frightening invoice and still do nothing to resolve the intermittent RP.

Graham

 

Agree with Jon89 and GGG as your intermittent Restricted Performance is the issue. I would investigate this, taking the dealer's ECM thoughts as a starting point only. Check the OBD2 port first as GGG suggested.

Not too be too disparaging about Dealers, but in general, they often don't have the software and skills anymore for their older models >10years old. The indy garages will have old timers would have seen our XK8's faults through the years. In Bahrain they have an expression - "Old is Gold." To me, the wise old mechanic (more white hair the better) will probably have seen your problem half a dozen times, and he'll probably have a defunct laptop still running the original Jag software on Windows 7. After plugging it into the car's OBD2 port, he will know that some particular connector is bad and/or a wire is pinched somewhere. His costs will be far cheaper then leaving the car at the dealer for 3 days only for them to fail miserably, which happened in my case.

Long time ago, I had a power steering fault and the Dealer couldn't find the problem and 3 days later, the Jag UK head office came back to Bahrain, having identified the problem. Then the Dealer couldn't source the parts, so after Terry's Jag came through for me, the Dealer then couldn't even install it. I did it myself with a local indy mechanic (who by the way had no hair)..

 

Thank you for your help and suggestion. I have a good shop not far away.
Mitch

 

Although I have SDD v1.55 on a modern laptop for my XK, I still keep my old Panasonic Toughbook with SDD v1.34 because it's the one to use on older Jaguars.

Graham

 

Mitch,

Please keep us posted. It'll be good to follow how this progresses and is resolved.

Graham

 

I will
Mitch

 

Hello; Solved my ECU problem. I called Foreign Auto Computer (800-241-6689) asked if they had a remanufactured one in stock. Which they did. So I shipped mine down to them. They transferred the info for my car to the new unit and sent it back. I plugged it in and car runs great. Comes with a 5 year warranty. $275 for my car plus two day shipping $50. Return shipping is included in price. They received my unit on Fri morning and I had new unit back at noon on Mon. Excellent people to deal with. You can look them up on Ebay (facr_inc) or their web page just type in Foreign Auto Computer Inc. Their web page lists ECU numbers for many brands and models. I believe it was less expensive to do than any dealer. The new unit corrected a couple of problems I had with restarting engine after driving it.
Address: 176 Private Rd, Hawkins, TX 75765.
I hope this helps someone
Mitch

 

IDS is used for pre 2005 Models as SDD started for the 2005 Models.....Now I don't think I'm wrong as that is what it says on my IDS SDD Computer program....So, if I'm correct and it is correct, I'm surprised they could read anything on Mitch's 1999 XK8.....But Graham, all that counts here is that Mitch got a re-Programed computer for his Car...and the Guy in Hawkins, TX is really good, so I'm sure he got a good ECU from him...I just wish someone would clear up the IDS thing..Am I reading this thing wrong? Not what is written here.....In Texas....

While we are at it, here in Houston there is at least one Jaguar Dealer that won't work on anything less than a 2007...I had a Blow-out about a mile from them and had to be Hauled there.....The Service Writer had to get permission from Management to sell and install a new Tire on my 2005 XKR.....I just couldn't believe it! He saw us coming in the drive and started waving us off!

Billy Clyde

 

Hi; Thanks Bill for the reply. It is a shame that some Dealers have such a bad attitude. Here in Southwest CT we have the same problem. Unless your there to buy a new or used car they try to ignore you. I don't think Jaguar Headquarters would be too happy to hear about that dealer. They don't stop to think that maybe someday you might be back to buy something newer and remember the good service you received.
Thanks again to you all for your help. Jaguar Forum has the best people.
Mitch

 

It's unfortunate that some dealers don't realize that true car collectors spend more on their "Collector cars" than they do on their new cars, but they still need new cars to drive on a daily basis. If I had a dealer wave me off like that I would certainly make sure not to bring any "New car" money into that shop.

 

Duly noted

 

I bitched a bit to the Service Writer and his answer was that although they had been a Land Rover Dealer for some time, they had only started the Jaguar Dealership in 2007, therefore Jaguar gave them permission to turn down any earlier Model Jaguar than 2007.....If that is true, then Jaguar is cutting all the X-100s out of the Picture.....Strange thing about it is a friend of mine, who worked in their Parts Dept. told me they had a bunch of X-100 Parts still in stock. I guess they will sell that stock to someone on eBay!

Billy Clyde