Oops - Cranks without starting
 

Hello Jaguar enthusiasts.

Recently bought 97 XK8. Wonderful car. Took it for its maiden drive. Died on the road. Waited, started, drove home. Seller provided a replacement Transmission Computer Module (TCM). Put it in. Original was suffix AB. This was suffix AA.

Car just cranked. No fire, no rumble of trying to start. Wife let me know she was not happy with me.

So today, disconnected battery, swapped TCM back to original. No change. Car just cranks, no fire, no rumble.

Boy oh boy did I ever screw up royally.

Any reasonable suggestions?

Dumbfounded. Bob G.

Start here
 

Not necessarily :)

Take a look at this procedure from Gus' Site Of All Things:
JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

Mike

Check fuel pressure at the schrader valve- pressure- yes? Next check compression- if low itsa bore wash

In your other post, you mentioned code 0706, which has to do either with the transmission rotary switch or the position of the gear selector cable (Technical Bulletin 307-01 shows how to adjust it.) As someone else posted, it's odd that a sudden problem in this area would completely shut you down, but I'm not sure that it is impossible either.

Assuming the problem is in this area:

Do the lights around the shift lever (PRND42) light up. If they don't light up, I don't believe the car will start and it is likely the problem is in the selector cable or rotary switch.

Again, I think it's odd that this system would just shut down suddenly.

So, before doing anything drastic, jiggle the shift lever and try to get the car to start. If the cable is out of adjustment, this might be the problem.

Second, I would look for a fuse or relay that is related to the transmission or transmission control. Can't say for sure that there is one, but it is going to be the easiest solution before performing surgery on your Jaguar, which is your next step.

I believe you cleaned the transmission console micro switches. Even if the micro switches are undamaged, it is possible the gear selector cable is out of adjustment, causing your lack of center console lighting and a no-start condition. Unfortunately, you have to jack the car up and climb under to check this out. And you might (will) ! have to cut out a section of exhaust pipe to reach the selector cable...

As you might imagine, this is a project that I've done (so know all the gory details) and can tell you it is a little difficult to access either the selector cable or the rotary switch. As mentioned earlier, you will have to cut out a section of exhaust pipe to reach these, unless you have really tiny hands. I did, on both right and left, though - my apologies - I can't recall if it was necessary to cut both. Also, I can't recall if the adjuster is on the left or right side. (I think it was on the left and the rotary switch is on the right.)

Try to adjust the selector first, as it costs nothing. If that doesn't work and the console lights still aren't going, you will probably have to replace the rotary switch. It is of course possible that the switch somehow got disconnected, so you will want to check that. If you do need a switch, I recommend eBay, as a brand new switch runs close to $1,000 (and a used switch about one tenth that !)

If you are like me and hate climbing under the car, you might have a shop do this job, especially if they have tools and experience in moving the exhaust system out of the way. Adjusting the cable and replacing the switch is easy, but splicing the exhaust pipes was time consuming and involved a lot of cursing (thought no one was around to hear it.) If I had to do it again, I think I would have someone else do it.

Let us know how it goes. I'm hoping it will be something easy !