Odd problem and I'm hoping you guys would have some insight. 2002 XKR. I recently had a bad head gasket that I had repaired at a local indy shop. It worked great since then for a few weeks and then one day, without warning I was picking up my son and loading him in the car and the headlights turned on by themselves. I figured I must've hit the light button on the keyring and thought nothing of it. I drove home and tried to shutoff the car but it kept running. I put the key back in, put it in run and then turned off again and pulled the key out but the car kept running. I eventually engaged the starter (not a good idea I know) but the engine of course stopped.

I tried to restart it, and it worked fine, shut it off and it worked fine, then tried another start and it wouldn't even attempt to engage the starter. I also could hear pumps running in the engine bay as if the car was in the run position. I took my son inside (he was sleeping) and figured I would deal with the car the following day.

Well, the next day, the battery was dead and I figured maybe I had a bad battery that caused my issues. I purchased a brand-new battery, installed it and the car worked fine for another week or so until the same thing happened. When the symptoms are happening, the clicker doesn't work. I unplugged the battery and performed the "reset" proceedure but it still didn't work. I then left the battery disconnected for a few days, reconnected it and it started right up.

I started reading on the forum and I found a post with electrical issues caused by the transmission connector plug shorting out. I changed the transmission plug and cleaned out the harness (soaked in trans fluid) and had no issues for another week and I thought the problem was solved. It's not.

It is doing it again and I'm out of ideas.

Symptoms:

• Car won't start (starter won't even try)
• Everything electrical on the car seems to work (radio, blower)
• the key FOB doesn't work when the condition is happening
• I can shift to N, R, D and P and the light on the shift does change to indicate the gears have changed
• I can hear pumps in the engine bay running regardless of key being in the ignition or not (sounds like it does if the car is in the "run" position but not running)

What makes it work:

• Leaving it sit for days

What I've done:

• Swapped all relays
• Checked all fuses
• Changed transmission harness plug
• Visually inspected all visible electrical connectors
• Inspected all plugs
• Inspected engine bay for pinched wires or broken connectors
• Ensured ground in trunk was in good condition

Please see videos of the incident. Sorry for video quality, it was at night and I was repeatedly putting the key in the car and pulling it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQmU...ature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtCA...ature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZbK...ature=youtu.be

 

It's possible the little door in the ignition switch is not closing when you pull the key out, and the ECM thinks the key is still in the ignition. The can be fixed with a lock lubricant, not WD40.

 

silicone spray? Or a white grease?

 

This is why this forum is awesome. I know I would never had known this if I had not seen this post.

 

It sounded like the gate closed when the key was removed but it could be the switch. Did you do a hard reset after all your work?

See if your sunvisor mirror light is working.

Gus
www.jagrepair.com

 

I did do several hard resets but didn't appear to make a difference.

I will check the mirror as soon as I get home. I am not sure if it's the key gate, because when I pull the key out the steering wheel moves in and out and the dome lights turn on when the key is removed.

 

Not likely the gate, then. But the ignition switch almost has to be supplying the power.

 

Broken ignition switch? Loose wire in steering column flopping around? After-market remote starter acting up?

 

As silly as it may seem check the sunvisor mirror lights to see if they work.

 

I checked the sunvisor and the lights do turn on

 

OK! Fuses to that light have been related to no start situations.

 

I had the car towed to the Jaguar dealership and they found there was a wire bundle by the throttle body that was rubbing and causing a short that is responsible for the condition experienced. They are repairing the wires and that will (hopefully) solve the problem.

 

I had the same problem two days ago. Engine wouldn't turn off, even with the key removed. Instruments and Radio turned off fine. Car would not lock with the remote control. So I disconnected the battery, reconnected, same problem. Left the battery disconnected for the moment.

I drove thru heavy rain just before, so I figured there might be a connection.
After some research here and in other forums, I turned my attention to the front relais box in the engine compartment. Cleverly placed right under the hole in the bonnet..
Found the box cover not completely closed because one of the pre-owners broke one of the latches. Inside soaking wet, ignition control relais to the very right was sitting in water.
Dried everything out, reconnected battery, everything back to normal.

Just in case you run into similar troubles.
Chris

 

Follow-up: Did the repair of harness damage by throttle body solve the "XKR won't turn off despite removing the key" in 2014 and was that the end of it? I'm having this problem on my 2001 XK8 right now. Also, an XJ6 in Spain has a new post like this: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...arness-147193/
Cheers, Mark

 

This specific issue is almost always the ignition cylinder needing lube inside, a hard reset needed,a battery over 4 years old, or a sticking relay. Jaguar is best at diagnosing this if one does not have good automotive diagnosing skills and experience. The bcm and module in the driver door cab cause weird things over the can bus communications as well. If it gets to that point, a jaguar scanner has can bus diagnosing capabilities we cannot easily duplicate. The charge is usually just a hour with the scan tool.

 

I have intermittent non-response to the key for both, (a) won't stop with key removed, and (b) won't crank to start. In both cases the instruments and electrical indicate the car is in "run" condition. I shut off by disconnecting the battery, but have no easy way to start if no response to key, which is typically soon after shut-off but not a problem after a long sit. Your comment about sticking relay is especially interesting - is there an obvious relay that determines the "engine is running now" mode? That seems like a perfect reason for non-response to the key for cranking (Jaguar inhibits cranking while running) and shutting off. Mine is a 2001 XK8, new battery. Thanks

 

There are 4 relays, passenger fuse box,driver fuse box, trunk by battery,1st brown one center row, one passenger engine fuse box,passenger side,door.if you slam your driver door and get the dash lights to flicker, as well as warning messages, its your instrument cluster pack at fault, causing can bus errors.simply remove it, have it fixed, $150 eBay.1day service.

 

Sorry, I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "There are 4 relays, passenger fuse box,driver fuse box, trunk by battery,1st brown one center row, one passenger engine fuse box,passenger side,door." I don't have the problem of slamming door and having dash flicker.
My symptoms are: The key will start the engine after it's been sitting a long time (as if the relay has had plenty of time to relax back to the "off" position). The engine will not shut off when the key is turned off and removed (as if the relay hasn't relaxed back to the "off" position right away). While the engine is running without key, I can kill the engine. Once killed, the dash still indicates as if the engine were running (as if the relay hasn't relaxed back to the "off" position right away) and the starter won't engage (as if the relay hasn't relaxed back to the "off" position right away).

Are you saying there 4 different relays respond to the key turning to on position? And that any of the 4 relays can keep the engine running if it stays stuck on? I was hoping there is just one relay that can keep the engine running if it is slow to return to the off state.

Are you saying the relay at fault is most like the first (does 'first' mean furtherest toward passenger side or furtherest toward driver side?) brown relay in the center row of the passenger side engine compartment fuse box? Thanks much.

 

Just my 2 cents as I'm confused by the replies however all the relays used in the jag are the same and interchangeable. So try swapping a few around!

 

Just an update. Since my visit to the Jaguar dealership last year, they did indeed find an issue by the throttle body with a wire that was frayed. The other issue that was found was with the main wire harness at the very front of the engine bay zip tied to the cooling fans. This clip had broken off and was rubbing in the front, allowing part of the insulation to wear off and shorting out randomly. The tech at the dealership fixed the wires and I haven't had this condition happen since.

Though I didn't see the actual wires that were frayed, the tech told me that he really had to do some examining with a really good flashlight before he was able to see it.