Good Afternoon Forums!

I hope you can help.

My steering wheel (97 XK8) is stuck in the forward/down position. (the position it would normally revert to after turning off the ignition).

If I ask it to move out of position, or press the position buttons on the door, it will click and sound like grinding.

Anyone else have this? Am I looking at a blown fuse or something deeper?

Thank you

 

Unfortunately, It sounds as though the problem will be a little deeper. You can access the drive motor by removing the bottom cowling on the steering column for a look at the drives.
You might also want to look through the below post and the links listed in the post for more information.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...broken-117546/

The 2 below come from the "How To" sticky for the xk8
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-w-sound-4816/
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-1998-a-17191/

 

Hi Dutchess,

When you say door buttons do you mean memory? I'll assume yes.
Does the same thing happen with steering wheel selector? I bet it does.

The good news is that eliminates a bad switch and eliminates a bad electrical circuit to the body processor module (BPM). Bad news is it points to faulty drive mechanism. Not a big deal it can be fixed.

There are 2 movements telescoping in/out and tilting up/down. The noise you described is sometimes described as a cash register sound and indicates a faulty telescoping mechanism.

Let's narrow it down:

Does the tilt still work? If no, (I'll be surprised) what happens when you try to move up/down? Same result for memory and steering wheel switch? I'll make a few suggestions if you confirm tilt broken.

If yes, great.

Telescoping: the fact that you mentioned the noise (I'll be a lot more comfortable if you confirm the cash register noise) tells me the nylon drive cable/belt(?) Is worn to the point it cant move the wheel. Replacements are available, just price shop. The fact you hear the noise says the motor is ok.

I had to fix the tilt many times. Never had to do the telescoping. My memory tells me that one can force the in/out manually, but please wait for someone with more experience than me to confirm before you do so.

BTW, your seat and mirrors still adjust with the door buttons right? Just want to eliminate the BPM for sure even though the motor noise does so.
John