Hey guys,
This is my first post so I hope it's in the right place.
I got my 97 XK8 7 months ago. I had to replace the battery the first week (I reset the window range) then it ran smooth for 6 months. Then was a hard start hot a few times but never stalled. I washed it & then it was stuck in Park. It was hard to start & had a miss that smoothed out so I shut it off to see if it would start again. It didn't. I replaced the brake switch to no avail so I replaced the Park Lock Solenoid. Still no click so I manually took it out of Park. It shows 7 or 8 volts at the solenoid plug. Cranks but No start in Neutral either. All shift lights on in every position I put it in. I checked the Schrader valve which had some gas pressure. Checked a coil w/ plug & had No Spark while plug was grounded to a shock tower bolt. I hooked up an OBD2 and it loads to 96% & then says no link. Tried position 1 & 2 on ignition switch & still won't load for DTC's. The cig lighter has no power. Someone said it may be the circuit to the Data Link Power too. When I unlock the driver door the window rolls all the way down even after running the battery replace procedure with doors open, windows down again. When I turn key to position 2 LCD says Traction Control & Stability Control Fail, Gearbox Fault & Incorrect Part Fitted. The only parts I've replaced was the rear struts. I didn't find any bad fuses. The TCM & plugs all look clean & nice.
In Position 2 on ignition switch I hear 10 Beeps near the gauges. In studying the Service manual (on a PDF) I still haven't found what the 10 beeps is. I pulled the Crank Sensor & cleaned it off. It doesn't look bad. I don't see how to get to the plug to disconnect it. I haven't figured out how to test it yet because I can't find the plug it says to test Yet. The plug to the Coolant Temp Sensor had the lock tab broken off but still is tightly connected. While turning it over it sounds like there's compression because it did run faster at the 1 cylinder I have the spark plug out to spark test. The battery was low from test & crank so I charged it back up above 13 volts. I feel overwhelmed without having access to DTC's. Does anyone recognize these symptoms. I am so appreciative of all you smart guys out there and will be indebted to you forever for any assistance. Lyme disease makes it harder.
Sincerely, Neal Chevrier, P.S. At least the weather is nice in Florida but I'm at my 89 year old Mom's house caring for her so I had to lay in the sand to check the Crank Sensor.
I Miss My Garage & tools at Home !!

 

Neal,

I see this has had 23 Views but 0 Replies which is odd so I'm posting simply to bring it back to the top of the threads again.

Graham

 

Hi Neal,
With such a collection of errors, I would start with a hard reset. Member Gus describes it here with pictures:
JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

Follow that by measuring the voltage across the battery terminals. If it reads less than around 12.6V then it's either suspect or needs charging.

See if that helps and report back.

The cigar lighter is fed by a dedicated F14 (20A) in the passsenger side fascia fusebox, The fuses are numbered, but you may need a magnifying glass to see them if your eyesight is anything like mine.

Could water have got under the hood?

 

For OBD, it's either a fuse/wiring/connector or the tool (some don't actually work right and fool you cos they work on some other car).

 

Sounds like a crappy time... but to clarify, "I washed it" means you cleaned it, not that you had bore wash and you remedied this?

A couple more questions, is it turning over? Is the seal around the engine compartment intact? How much pressure at the fuel rail, a dribble or a healthy initial squirt?

 

Sorry to hear you’re having such a tough time.

+1 to the suggestions above.

I would also check the battery cables both live and ground. If they’re hot to touch, you’ll need to change them. Also check the the HPP fuse box on the trunk wall where the positive battery cable connection is known to work loose causing all sorts of weird problems.

 

Thanks Michael,
I did the hard reset and still get the same messages. Checked the battery for 12.6 VDC & it's good.
I checked the Crank & Cam sensors at the ECM & they are in range.
Is there a Security lockout that would let it turn over but not start ?
I'm suspicious about the micro switches on the transmission w/ a Gearbox Fault in the service Center.
So many possibilities. It's frustrating to not have the OBD2 connect & give me DTC's.
Maybe if I try a different one. At least I'm learning a lot about the electrical systems.
A 3200 page manual is a lot to learn though. Been so busy. Sorry it took so long to report
back to you. Thanks Again for your time & expertise.

 

I think you are right about the OBD2.
I will try a different one now.
Hopefully I posted my 97XK8 info in the right place
for you all to see. Let me know if it isn't right.
Thanks for the info.

 

Hey Dale,
Yeah, the seal around the engine compartment is good & it Does turn over with compression.
I pulled 1 plug & coil pack and saw No Spark but compression in all cylinders except the open one.
It dribbled gas & not good pressure.
I noticed the manual shows Relays with date codes & says to replace
them if they are older date codes like mine. There's 40 relays so that's not cheap to do but i could do the ECM & TCM.
I really have to put $ where it will get her running again. Because of seeing Gearbox Fault & Part Not Fitted Correctly,
I'm wondering if it's a micro switch on the transmission.
Thanks for your input.

 

Thanks David,
I checked the 250 Amp cable connectors & they are tight & clean.
The battery cables aren't hot. Do you mean After turning it over a few times ?

 

Doubt all the relays are bad (or maybe any of the relays), especially after it ran for 6 months.

If you don't have good gas pressure, I'd start with the gas, fuel line back through the fuel filter and pump (and the spark), you should have a good spurt.

Still unclear about the 'I washed it', was that a car wash or bore wash?

Good luck.

 

Dribbled fuel? with the ignition key on? You should have 45 psi.

 

I washed the body of the car with soapy water & a garden hose.
No spark, fuel or Trans Solenoid All happened at once.

 

Great, thanks for clarifying. Have you looked inside the TCM/ECM box (passenger side, under the cover, under the screwed down cover) for water? Is your air intake cowl (below the windshield) cracked anywhere? Alternatively, is the drain on the other side near the brake booster clogged and is there water there?

I'd look for water infiltration, take the ECM/TCM connectors off, spray them and the modules with electronics cleaner. Since a possible proximate cause is the wash, I'd look for water.

 

Seems to me the symptoms of No Spark, Fuel Pressure & No Park Lock Solenoid (even after replacing them) is a sign of something like a Security Lockout ? OR
ECM Failure, a Relay, TCM or microswitches on the trans. I'm learning as I study the service manual so it's a lot of new info to take in & test. The Cam & Crank Sensors tested In Range. Hopefully the Cam Tensioners are changed since it has 154k miles on it. I'm an old school mechanic so this is all fairly new to me.
Thanks for the help.

 

Generally with common mode failures (like here where you washed the car and everything went south), seeking a source that is based on what happened right before everything went south is the best bet. For example, water in any of the module connectors could cause many problems.

For one of your main issues, lack of any definitive diagnostics, you could, with the diagnostic connector (OBD) diagrammed below
1. Check the fuses for the diagnostic connector (OBD) in the driver side fascia fuse box
2. Check power to the diagnostic connector (pins 4 to 16 and pin 5 to 16 should show battery voltage)
3. Perform the CAN bus diagnostic between pins 6 and 14, resistance should be about 60 ohms (two 120 ohm terminators in parallel on that line). If it's 120 ohms, one of the ends is disconnected (INST or ABS). If it's infinite, everything is gone. If it's zero or much lower than 60 ohms, there is a short somewhere.

If it was me, I'd simplify as much as possible. The likelihood of unrelated things all dying at the same time is low, unless there is some strong electrical cause. Start with the battery (which you did), proceed to the CAN bus, as above, so you can get clues with your scanner... Meanwhile, I'd still encourage you to look for places water could have intruded into the electronics.


OBD connector

 

+1 to crbass’ suggestions.

Sorry you’re still struggling. I have A few concerns I see from your woes and I have a long shot idea.

Fuel pressure at the engine fuel rail, when ignition is on, should be primed prior to starting. It should literally spurt out violently out of the valve, not a dribble. I literally have to hold a rag over it to control it. Maybe the fuel pump is suspect.

Never tried the old school method of checking for a spark on my Jag. Removing and Grounding the spark plug while cranking may not work... never tried. Nowadays I borrow an in line light bulb tool which plugs in the coil plug.


Long shot- check the inertia switch in the dash LHS fuse box. It’s there in case of an accident, to shut the car down. It may have tripped, or gone bad.

 

Yes. My problem wasn’t after starting, it showed after about 5 min running, when the alternator should be charging the battery. The red positive battery cable used to heat, and that builds resistance so battery wasn’t charging well.

So onto other possibilities. Keep at it.

 

+1 to crbass' comment above. The old adage "When something breaks after work has been done, revisit the work done" (or words to that effect) is a good rule of thumb.

Note that there should also be 12V on pin 9 of the data link connector with the ignition switched to position ii (on). This is fed from F16 (5A) in the drivers side fascia fusebox. Probably OK as it powers the gear selector module, but worth checking just in case.

A security issue will normally inhibit cranking.

The fuel pump should run for about 2 seconds when you turn the ignition on. Can you verify if this is happening?

It can be daunting when faced with a multitude of seemingly-unrelated errors. Keep chipping away - you will get there

 

I did pull the cover for the ECM & TCM to do the Crank & Cam Sensor tests.
Everything is clean, dry & looks like new. The more I explore, the more I am learning.
After 90 American cars I took the XK8 as a challenge. I'm sure getting that !! As an
electrician I'm very impressed with the design but wish there wasn't so many sensors
and microswitches let alone modules.