I recently brought home a 2003 XKR convertible to keep company with my 2004 XKR coupe ( my wife says Jaguars do better in pairs). I am hearing some detonation between 1500 and 2000 RPM with the engine under load and accelerating, such as climbing a hill. The detonation ceases when the transmission kicks down to a lower gear. Does this sound like a knock sensor failure, or possibly bad spark plugs?

 

Check for pending OBDII codes.

 

TSB 303-66 may or may not have the answer you need. It is something to look at!!

Jaguar addressed this over a decade ago. This info is in the large file download area where I and others loaded HUNDREDS of documents. It is a veritable LIBRARY of info and knowledge.

I know I'm beating a dead horse, railing about people not researching the area!!!!!

I feel better now!!!

bob gauff

 

You may also want to use a higher quality fuel with a higher octane value to see if the pinking goes away.

 

Mine pinks too under the same circumstances. I've only done about 700 miles since I bought it and using high octane fuel and dosing it with injector cleaner has helped significantly. I thought the TSB that Bob provided was only for normally aspirated cars, am now considering trying the dealer to see if it would help a supercharged.

 

Thanks motorcarman. My car does fall within that VIN range. I did research this - honest - I guess I didn't dig deep enough

 

The higher octane fuel, should only be masking the problem of the knock sensors, or ECM not doing their jobs. Do you have a check engine light. You probably should. If the knock sensors are working and the ECM is listening to them, the timing should be retarded to a point, where there would be no detonation. I believe on your engine, the timing can be retarded about 35 degrees, and the fuel going richer to try and stop the problem. Unless you got a REAL BAD tank of gas, or a knock sensor is loose(only tighten them to the specified torque) have the car checked for codes, if you don't have a reader yourself. This is my 2 cents. I am giving you general information from just years of experience, with feedback engines......Be cool....Mike

 

The OP did not mention having the MIL illuminated. Pinking does not cause a code to set, nor the MIL to come on unless there is a consistent misfire.

 

There are no Warning or Caution messages or indications. I had a pre-purchase inspection done at a Jaguar dealer, which included pulling codes, and there was nothing unusual.

 

Have you tried different fuel?

Reading short and long term fuel trims can also help determine the cause.

 

Have you filled the car up with fuel since purchasing it? I ran into the same thing after purchasing and having it shipped from Michigan---after running through the original gas in the tank and refilling with 93 octane I never experienced pinging again. I figured the dealership had the car filled up by a teenager before shipping and he just filled it with the cheapest gas at the station.

 

Good thought. I have filled it twice, with high test, since I got it, but both times it was about half full. I'll drive it down to a lower fuel quantity and fill it up with the highest octane high test I can find.

 

If it needs the TSB action then that's the thing to do and changing octane fuel isn't.

 

Does it do this from cold ?
If only when warmed up have you checked the intercooler pump is running ?
Easy to check. You can check by listening, it runs all the time when the ignition is switched on, no need to start the engine.
The pump is fitted at the front of the engine, under the air filter box and near the alternator.

Only I, and others on this forum, had a similar problem and it turned out to be the Intercooler pump had failed and also blown the fuse. There are no codes or any other signs.

See this thread https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...eat-fix-75561/

 

Thanks for the idea. I checked the fuse and it is intact, and the intercooler pump is operating.

 

Follow Up. I have run two more tanks of high test fuel through the car with no reduction in the amount of detonation. I took the car to the local Jaguar dealer today, with TSB 303-66 in hand, and they performed an update to the ECM. This has fixed the detonation problem. It also fixed another small but annoying RPM surge that occurred within the same RPM range of 1500 to 2000. This surge was more heard and felt, rather than seen on the tachometer. Probably only 50 RPM change over a period of 1 second - occurring at 5 second intervals under steady state operation at low speed. But now that problem has gone away! It was a good day at the dealer!

 

Sounds good - here's hoping!

 

There is one for XKRs as well TSB 303-69, so worth a try.

 

I am having the same spark knock issue on my 2006 XKR with 105,000 miles, but only after it gets to operating temperature.
• No codes. (I will check my fuel trims this weekend)
• I run only 93 octane & have run fuel cleaner and octane boos. No effect.
• In the last 2 weeks I have changed all coil packs & spark plugs and have had a full fluid service.
I have searched the Download section of this Forum as well as the internet and I cannot locate TSB 303-69 for the XKR. If someone has a link, please share.

 

FWIW, in my analysis, this pinging is very much related to fuel trims. Low trims (say under 5%) pretty much eliminate the issue. Higher trims (say, above 15%) very much exacerbate the problem. Remember that codes only show if trims are 25% or above.

Remember that trims are a function of load and rpm, so make sure you read trims under the pinging conditions (high load, low rpm). Most apps (torque pro) have a record function to help you keep your eyes on the road. IOW, simply reading the trims at idle may be helpful altogether to detect air leaks at idle, but are not necessarily representative of what is happening under pinging conditions.

TSBs are on jagrepair.com