Driving home in the rain last night meant I had the top up, which is very rare for me. Anyhow I put on the interior blowers and was surprised that the air pressure wasn't stronger. Is this normal?

Is there an intake which might be blocked with dust or something which I should clean?

The fans themselves seem to be running normally in so much as they are variable speed and are not making strange noises.

Any ideas anyone?

 

Check your cabin air filter. An easy test is to temporarily remove it and recheck the performance. It's probably clogged.

 

Do you know where it is?

 

In addition to the possibility of a clogged filter, it could be stuck distribution flaps if you haven't used the system for a while. The air distribution is described here:

JTIS - 2000 XK8 Air Distribution & Filtering.pdf

The pollen filter is awkward to access because the wipers must be removed to get to the filter housing:

XK8 & XKR - Pollen Filter Kit.pdf

Before going straight to dismantling, try putting the blowers on Max and cycling the air direction through screen / face / footwell a few times using the console buttons.

Graham

 

My understanding is that Jaguar did not put in cabin filters XK8/XKR until 2003 although there is a spot for them.

I had a filter put in by mechanic and Jaguar insisted that I was not possible but yet my mechanic put one in!

In any event the filter is under the wiper blades and the cowl.
It is not an easy job or quick. Both wipers need removing and the cowl then you will be able to see the filter or not.

If you decide to put one in, I believe there is a setting in the computer that can be set for a filter and it bumps up the fan speed to accomodate for the filter and the extra resistance it creates. But of courser you need the computer to set the setting.
If you do have a filter it is most likely your culprit at this time.

But will say that my air does not seem to flow as fast or with as much volume as is used to, do not know if the blower just gets tired after 10 years.

This is my experience with cabin filter hope it helps. My car 2001 XKR. Happy and safe motoring!

 

Thanks - I a will try this out in a while and report back if it resolves it.

I looked up the pollen filter install which gave a detailed explanation on the dismantling of the system to clean it out... Looks like a bloody awful time!

The good news is I still haven't had my new windshield installed, and so most of the job will be done at the same time, letting me out of some of it!

 

I have always found the actual airflow out of the vents to be pretty feeble on the XKR given the noise the fan makes. And my car doesn't have a pollen filter.

 

I believe that Brutal recently posted that the XK series did not receive a factory cabin filter unit until the 2007 model year....

 

With the 'fascia' button selected, the air volume is distributed across the four fascia vents. If the two side vents and one of the centre vents are closed, an acceptable breeze emerges from the remaining open vent!

XK8 Air Distribution Vents.pdf

In normal use, with air distribution divided across the number of outlets on the vehicle, it's hardly surprising the blowers struggle.

Graham

 

Yeah this will almost certainly solve my problem. Then again I have had the car on the road for almost 3 months and until last night have never needed the air so its not the end of the world for me.

 

Well when I hit the "auto" button it feels like I'm in a wind tunnel initially then it settles down. When I just turn on the vents you have to adjust the flow rate by turning the knob.

 

I will try the auto button... Tried turning the knob.

 

In spite of having 2 Fans, the Air Flow is not great.

However, if you select "Recirculate" the Fan Speed will be greater.

In Full Auto, Recirculate is usually selected, at least initially.

 

Recirculate and closing the some vents worked well. Thanks.