My name is Robt100, and I have an addiction to Autoshite purchases...my cars hate me 1/5/26

[robt100]

Right then, a small update.....
After the rear light debacle, Ron was just getting the MOT sorted. Went out yesterday to drive it out of the yard and... its turned itself into a low-rider

Tried running the car - No pump running

Turned out with a bit of investigation to be a dodgy plug on the pump solenoid valve. So pump back to working again, good news? No, sadly not....

Even with the pump running the car would not rise up. Did the usual 2 min run then stopped. So onto the system in the boot.....

Taking the feed pipe off let a little bit of pressure escape, so something was happening. Ron connected up a pressure gauge to the line-in and it was struggling to even get the gauge to show anything. Suggesting the pump. He then plugged his workshop compressor into the valve body, and 6 bar raised the car 1 inch, so seems the valve body/struts are still operational.

But it makes me wonder what has happened, as a failed pump shouldn't cause the car to drop surely? As that should be stopped by the valve in the distribution block/manifold isn't it??? Which makes me wonder if there is something else playing up. Worryingly, amongst the bag of bits that came with the car, I have found one of BagpipingAndy's rebuild kits! So will be dropping that off later next week to see if that helps build the pressure.

But my main concern is why it dropped, could there be something else wrong, or just some weird quirk of a failed pump?
I vaguely remember the OSR going down by maybe 1inch after sitting for 4 weeks, could all the fiddling round with the fusebox etc in that area have disturbed something?

[robt100]

Bit of an update on the above. @Jikovron has been earning his keep troubleshooting things. Put a pump rebuild kit on it and cleaned up the drier side (it was a mess) then refitted the pump and.............. 

Sod all inflating.

Video from fitting a pressure guage to a setop end on the pump feed

https://streamable.com/tuna81


Vid after turning off, so definitely a leak somewhere between the pump and distro block
https://streamable.com/zriy4k


New pump time? Or a hidden feed pipe from the pump to the tank that may have a leak, no idea where it runs to/from?

[robt100]

Right, another small update.
Changed the pump out, main dealer jag want £1,345 for theirs....so got a chinese special (probably from the same factory as jag!) for £92 instead 😅

All fitted and....

IT WORKS!!!


Now just to hide the slightly worse for wear brake hardlines under a slab of grease to protect them and its MOT time.....unless it decides to throw another wobbly!

[DirtyDaily]

Long live the XJR!

[robt100]

 

😁

[robt100]

Managed to get over to @Jikovron today to pick it up. In typical JLR fashion it has a few electrical niggles, "restricted performance" has popped up again pointing at a knock sensor, and the OS headlight likes to flicker every now and again, but got a feeling some of that is probably down to sitting for 2 years!
So apart from not being able to go past 3k (not that its a problem for normal driving) its lovely, very comfy and quiet, and even got 26mpg on the way home, for a 4.2V8 with a supercharger I dont think thats too bad!

[robt100]

Well, this weekend was dedicated to getting the Jag sorted if I could. Started by giving it a clean on Friday before the sun faded away, looked much better!

Next job, try and find this P0333 error and fix it. P0333 knock sensor - high voltage, after a bit of digging around it seems that this can come up also due to a connection fault as well as a failed Knock sensor. Not one to reject the option of getting something fixed for pennies rather than pounds I had a bit of a dig around the wiring loom to check on the connection......




Yep, that'd do it!! Brown wire completely detached and the black wire chafed and not far behind! After a little bit of youtubing to see how to get the pins out of the plug. Grabbed some wire from an old sierra EFi loom I had on the Capri 10 years ago (and mentioned it to the wife to prove that keeping tat for decades IS a good thing🤣) and got out the soldering iron. All wired up and the error has gone!

Took it out for a little drive, booted it and, oh dear, lurching with my foot down...

Hold on...

Ahh all ok, just the TC clinging on for dear life to 400+ BHP on a wet road😁

With a slightly more graceful right foot, it shifts, like, REALLY shifts. If I have a licence left by the end of 2026 I think I'll be lucky🙈

 

[DirtyDaily]

Took it out for a little drive, booted it and, oh dear, lurching with my foot down...

Hold on...

Ahh all ok, just the TC clinging on for dear life to 400+ BHP on a wet road

With a slightly more graceful right foot, it shifts, like, REALLY shifts. If I have a licence left by the end of 2026 I think I'll be lucky

 

This is truly great news. Youve shown great persistence with this, something i definitely wouldnt of had with it.

But yes, they really are ballistic. Theyre not heavy and they are big power. The supercharger whine, the back of the seat g force pin. All in sublime comfort. Well done that man

[robt100]

23 hours ago, DirtyDaily said:

 

 

This is truly great news. Youve shown great persistence with this, something i definitely wouldnt of had with it.

But yes, they really are ballistic. Theyre not heavy and they are big power. The supercharger whine, the back of the seat g force pin. All in sublime comfort. Well done that man

Not sure its "my" persistence. More that of @Jikovron who has spent about a year working on it😬 so a big thanks to him really!

Next job....fit the detachable towball and really confuse the locals 🤣

[Heidel_Kakao]

1 hour ago, robt100 said:

Next job....fit the detachable towball and really confuse the locals 🤣

I noticed the towing capacity for an X308 when I was reading the brochure the other day is 1900KG. I bet it would look impressive towing a twin axle caravan but I shudder to think of how bad the fuel economy would be.

[robt100]

I would think you'd be lucky to see double digits @Heidel_Kakao🙈

Tiny update for today, bonnet wasn't closing easily, so adjusted the brackets/hooks on the bonnet, passenger side shuts fine, drivers side...nope, nothing. Tried activating the latch with a trusty screwdriver and yeah, drivers side just pings back to open, no latching mechanism on it for some reason. So £20 to Autoreserve Jag for a spare one, hopefully I can get that done and save the bonnet flapping about!

[robt100]

Well, so much for it all being sorted....
Restricted performance popped back and dissappeared again the other day, EML on but no codes on a basic reader.

Oh, and got a new latch for the bonnet as advised, and nope, not that. The cable is knackered, seized up so it wouldnt return to lock the latch after opening. Middle section has rusted out of the sheath and is all bent, have done an AS special and filled it with half a bottle of 3in1 for the time being, but looks like its going to be a new cable job, why Jag couldnt have made the cable between the two latches a seperate piece is baffling, instead you need to redo the whole thing.
Oh and the wiper mech is now screaching, so got to get the scuttle panels apart to lube everything up 🙄

[robt100]

I've put the bonnet cable issue to one side for the moment (probably to my detrement later on no doubt!) to try and focus on getting the restricted performance warning to stop coming up intermittently. Both the code reader and SDD seem to not be able to find any fault codes But as the car is an early XJR, and has been through around 4 different drivers over the last 800 miles over the span of 3 years, I decided its probably best to reset the TCM adaptations and if possible, update the firmware. So Thursday in the pouring rain was coding day (thank goodness for the carport to keep me dry!)

 

Thankfully there is an outside socket right next to the car, so could hook up a battery charger and keep the laptop on mains supply too. Got a chance to go out for a gentle test drive today to try and do the calibration run (a little hard to find a quiet flat road when you live in a dip between 2 schools 500m from the A1) as best as I could. All seems to be ok, its definitely different, the clutch flare seems to be from 1-2-3 now, but I think its just finding its feet, at least there is no harsh changes. Will give it a bit more running and see how it behaves.

I did struggle to find out how to just do a normal code scan in SDD,if anyone can point to a step by step that'd be helpful. It really is a clunky bit of software! Oddly the flight recorder part that stores codes had no mileage or date for anything it had logged, so trying to track anything down was....interesting. On the plus side, it did (Sadly) confirm that the head unit hasn't been swapped and there is no modules for heated seats or a heated screen...even though it has one fitted.

 

[robt100]

Was buying up parts for sevicing the BMW last night, and decided to get some for the Jag too, as going through the service book and recipts I couldn't see anything for an oil change since 2018, over 50k miles ago😬......
Then today I thought I'd message @DirtyDaily just to check if he knew as he bought it from the fella, but first I checked the original for sale thread and what do I find....it had a service and new sump gaskets etc just before buying it.....800 miles ago! @DirtyDaily you never updated the service book ya git 🤣 ahh well, given its spent 2 years sitting and spent most of that running crazy rich and idling due to all the new appearing faults and fixing, its probably worth changing anyway! Also got a replacement PCV valve as its looking pretty caked up. Hoping it'll be a nice simple job. 

And yes, I know the best way to spend my time off in December😅

On another note, the wiper mechanism is having a good screech as it wipes. When the BMW did that the arm and mech came off at 70mph on the motorway, hoping this one doesn't do the same because it looks a horrible job!

[robt100]

Still trying to track this restricted performance error. As far as I can tell, it flags up just as the idle comes off its warm-up cycle. So as the RPM drops from 1200 ish to 700 or so the light comes on, but also if I get driving right away, it'll come on at about the same time as if I had sat idling until the warm up drop-off. Won't come on again for the whole journey and doesn't seem to leave a code. Going to go round and tighten any air hoses etc and see if there is just a tiny leak somewhere. 

On the plus side, did a 250mile round trip to cambridge and back, did 29mpg on the way there, and avg of 27 for the whole thing including a trip into town and a demonstration of the 400bhp.... so happy with that.

Next job this week, bumper off, headlights out, re-do the earths, and fit new D2S bulbs to hopefully get rid of the flicker on the O/S headlight. Sits fine for a minute, then starts to flicker like its on an odd hz rate, then drops out every minute or so for a split second and reboots. O/S headlamp also needs its cataracts done so will give it a sand and polish whilst its off. Might also attempt the bonnet release cable whilst I have the acess. Anything else I should be thinking of? Bearing in mind I'll be freezing my arse off in the cold and have about the same cold/wet tolerance as a Cat 🤣

[DirtyDaily]

Then today I thought I'd message [mention=28666]DirtyDaily[/mention] just to check if he knew as he bought it from the fella, but first I checked the original for sale thread and what do I find....it had a service and new sump gaskets etc just before buying it.....800 miles ago! [mention=28666]DirtyDaily[/mention] you never updated the service book ya git 

Sorry about that!

I service my cars well but only i know i do!

[robt100]

Decided as I had saturday free I would do the "easy" task of re-doing the 3 earth points behind the slam panel, and change over the headlight bulbs as one has a flicker, and clean up the drivers side headlight unit as the lens is starting to yellow, and swap over the bonnet release cable before it really lets go and I get stuck out of the engine bay.

First off, remove the radiator grille, that was easy..... And then that was the end of easy! Started working on getting the front bumper off to be able to change the bulbs (must have been designed by the same guy as the Audi A6). Good news - or so I thought - @Jikovron has been in here only a month or two ago, so everything will be easy to get on/off. Well, he had done the hard part in coming across every bolt being seized/broken, so all bar 1 external fixing was now cable ties. But the one fixing that was left wouldn't budge for love nor money, had to end up drilling it out (not until after snapping a 1/4" socket end mind you!) then came the agressive wrestling and wrigling required to remove the bumper. But got there eventually!




Removing the pipe to the headlight washers to get the bumper out of the way was a nightmare, had to slice it to pieces in the end. Then traced the wonderful bonnet release cable, which is riveted into the bodywork from the factory. One fixing is only acessable with a drill by removing the radiator, so stuff that idea! A bit of heat fatigue a.k.a wiggling the metal plate attached to it like a madman, then prying it with a metal trim tool managed to snap the rivet so it was loose. The other rivted connection is in the ever so easy place of hidden under the airbox and power steering fluid reservior 🫣 So by the time they were both out, this was the trail of destruction left behind..



As you can see from the images below, the cable takes a lovely route under the airbox, then under and up past the oil reservior (the cable that can be seen poking out the top left behind the cap) then takes a sharp turn (again) into under the scuttle panel, where all the scuttle, wipers and pollen filter assembly needs to be removed to get to the other end, plus any interior panels needed. I'm saving that for another day though, my back is killing me!



It feels like someone got feet and metres mixed up when ordering the cables, so just routed them in such a way to take up the slack, so many alternative, easier, smoother routes but there we go...

Also thought id best check the ballasts on the headlights as the drivers side was flickering a little, I assumed it might be bulbs, but on turning the headlight over, all the 6 torx screws were heavily rusted on the ballast, and 4 of 6 snapped the heads off when trying to remove it. So I think thats probably shot too, so cheapy chinese version ordered as a replacement! Also getting a bit concerned about the new bulbs, every website where I put in reg or make/model says it has D2S bulbs, but the glass on the headlight says D1S....could be a costly mistake! Hoping the shop I got it from will accept a return/swap due to their system mis-identifying the part. Doesn't help a D1S is about twice the price though 😭

[Jikovron]

That bonnet cable would have sent me feral with the way its routed, it did latch down a few times ok but may have been just on the cusp of being so.

It may be that it wants a sustained period of use after all that sitting to get it all operating , solenoids, actuators and all the bits that may be slightly slow moving enough to stick on the limp but not long enough to flag a code 

I noted that it has a red light for doom mongering and yellow for lesser errors?

[robt100]

2 hours ago, Jikovron said:

That bonnet cable would have sent me feral with the way its routed, it did latch down a few times ok but may have been just on the cusp of being so.

It may be that it wants a sustained period of use after all that sitting to get it all operating , solenoids, actuators and all the bits that may be slightly slow moving enough to stick on the limp but not long enough to flag a code 

I noted that it has a red light for doom mongering and yellow for lesser errors?

It hasn't sent me feral yet, but I've yet to attempt to remove the wiper arms to get the scuttle off, that may send me over the edge!

And yep, red is a problem, yellow is Jaguar being fussy😅. Like I said before, if I delete the code once its running, it wont come back again even on a 2hr drive, so I reckon you might be right about something being a little sticky etc.

[Jikovron]

Good news the wiper arms are dead easy  , just undo the nut, lift the arm and give it a little side force to undo the taper 

[hairnet]

audi in disguise ffs

[robt100]

Well, work on this ground to a halt a little as I seem to have caught a very nasty cold and/or Covid over last weekend. Though I did manage to get out and do a little 'pottering about' on the car today. The biggest jobs were too remove the scuttle cover, and restore the headlights.

Scuttle cover proved quite a challenge, going by the amount of crud attached I don't think it had been moved in the 23 years its been on the road. To make it equally fun, one side pulled clear of the bottom seal on removal, the other side took the seal with it off the windscreen! Took both off, gave them a good clean with a wet cloth and a toothbrush for the tight bits and have put the seal back on, will give it a decent dose of GummiPflege before assembly. This also revealed the sheer volume of silty dirt caught under the seal and the scuttle corners, must have removed a mug full of dirt from around the edges and near the drain channels. Whilst there I also gave the channels where the wing bolts on, behind the headlights, and the strut tops and crash bar a little wipe down, nothing great but it has improved things.

 

Given its done 177k miles and spent almost all the last 18months sat in various damp yards under trees, I don't think it has cleared up too badly for a quick once-over! I also managed to remove the two interior lower trim pieces for replacing the bonnet cable, I had noticed a small hairline crack in the edge of the kickplate panel before starting, so just to ensure it wont snap due to being cold and brittle I warmed the panel up with a hot water bottle for a while before having a go at it🤣 did the trick though!

Next it was onto the headlights, as you can see from the first image in my last update, the drivers side unit was going rather cloudy, with the full beam lens very yellowed and translucent. Rather than buying a 1-car kit (as I have 3 vehicles that all need doing/will need doing soon) I bought a job-lot of sanding pads of various grades and mini polishing pads for a drill attachment, plus a headlight uv protectant to seal them in after the restoration. Started off on 800grit and medium speed as a safer starting point and just gently worked over the lens a bit like polishing a car. Then went down to 1500 grit, same again, then 3000grit, then a once over with 5000grit making sure the lens and pad were kept moist/wet to reduce friction and possible burning. Seemed to go well, although it must have disloged a sharp piece of something on one lens as there is a scratch I cant get out. Anyway, did that process then checked it against the N/S light which looked "new". And it was better, but I wasn't happy with it, so went through the process again for a second clean. Looked much better but still a bit cloudy. It felt very smooth, so decided to just go to the next stage and get the bit rotary polisher out and a cutting pad with a good blob of G3 on it. Polished them up a treat, to the point I actually went over the other headlight with G3 as it was looking a little dull! 🙈

Whilst everything was out (and because I don't want to be touching that bumper again!) I decided to give the bulbs a change, and I'm glad I did as it turned out the N/S full beam bulb had been put in upside-down and was pointing at a very odd angle, previous person just brute-foced the clip on to hold it in place. It would explain why I thought the full beam was a little naff compared to the HID dipped. Also fitted a replacement ballast on the O/S unit as it had been starting to flicker and do the turn-on/ignitor bulb flash after about 10-15mins of use which was distracting as a driver, and not boding well for trouble-free illumination. Anyway, here is a shot of the lights after all this was done. Note the difference from the original yellowed unit in the previous post.

and now, I'm exhausted! Have sat down at the PC and don't think I can move until I sleep. Going to stick the Daytona 24hr on and try to recover.

[robt100]

Just a smaller, photo-less update for today.

The good news:

Managed to get the new bonnet release cable into the Jag. Some rediculous routing needed, worked out that using a more direct route the cable could be about 40cm shorter! But only fits to length by going round the houses. Couldn't get the grommet on the bulkhead to seat in the hole, needs pulling in from the interior really, but there is no way to access it easily. So just shoved it in as best I could and will hope for the best, its pretty much stuck in  position anyway so I wouldn't worry. Problem was the new rubber was too new and soft (a bit of silicon grease to help it in probably didnt help in hindsight!) so wouldnt push it easily without major deformation and not going in the hole. But at least its done and all works.

The bad news:
Put the lights in, turned on the ignition and something is squealing down near the drivers side headlight, the sidelight on that side doesn't work but everything else is OK. Not sure if the noise is related to the lights though, as when using the headlight button on the keyfob with the ignition off, dipped beam is fine with no noise at all. Took the headlight unit out anyway, and found the clip isnt staying on the new ballast module and keeps falling loose, so I need to work that one out. I also cant see how on earth to get the sidelight bulb out/reseated, so thats a challenge for tomorrow perhaps.

In other news, SWMBO came home yesterday to tell me the interior fan in the BMW isn't working again, only changed it out a few months ago! Going to try and check the fuse this week once I find it. But don't want to do that job again, even if the part is in warranty, too many aches and pains for it now. Was already considering putting it up on here anyway to get something petrol, as we have realised we are only doing sub 10-mile journeys in it, and for a big diesel thats not healthy, especially with modern DPF gubbins and the like. Think this may have just confirmed it, doesn't help the MOT is due in 3 weeks, so will put it through that and see how it all comes out.

[robt100]

Bloody jaguar designs!
Trying to change a sidelight bulb that seems to have given up (could be the ballast, but a £2 bulb is a "cheaper" check). They are located in a tiny gap in the back of the headlight unit, inside an odd tube holder, that needs a tab pushing up and then pulling out....

... which would be great if at some point someone hadn't just rammed it in 90 degrees out from where it should be. Stuck solid with no way to get it out, no other access, looks like its £200+ for a 2nd hand unit just to change a bloody £2 bulb!

[robt100]

Bit calmer now, dont think recovering from the cold/flu/covid giving me a load of pain was helping. 
Managed to rotate the holder to its correct orientation. But some tit has pushed the bulb holder in too far and past the locating 'ring' so its now stuck behind that and I cant get it out, so having to use a hacksaw blade to cut through to prize it open. Due to the lack of room this means using about 3 teeth of the saw, so I should be done by December...

[DirtyDaily]

...


I dont think this was me... dont think i got that far!

[robt100]

I think youre safe on this one @DirtyDaily. If not, I know where you live.... 😅

[robt100]

Well, cutting it fine with my initial goal of finishing the Jag by the end of January!

After finally getting the bulb holder out on friday, I changed the bulb to a spare I had, well I say spare, one I nabbed out of a spare set of clocks for my old Ford Capri that were sitting on the shelf (both use the same w5w/501 capless bulbs) and put it in and....... nothing! Decided to hang up my gloves for the day and give it another try tomorrow.
So, todays first job, get the other light out and swap over the sidelight bulbs as that one is working. And as if by magic, it works in the other headlight too, trust me to pick the only faulty bulb out of the Capri clocks to replace the other faulty bulb with 😅, pulled another and now I have two working sidelights 😄

So I've put (almost) everything back together, bumper is fixed by an array of clips, bolts and cable ties thanks to the new holes made by @Jikovron as all the old bolt/clips are rusted solid, couldn't even get through them with a drill or multi-tool 😬 Probably doesn't help that the undertray is missing, so I can't secure the centre section anyway. Haven't bothered to do the interior panels yet, partly because im knackered, and partly because I had just put all my tools away when I remembered it needed doing....

So now I have working lights, bumper on, everything cleaned up. Just need to see if that dreaded restricted performance light pops on again when I turn the engine on. Will go for a drive later to test out the lights and my new wiring....

[robt100]

Spoke too soon! Lights all work fine and the bumper hasn't fallen off, but...

EML on
P0300
P0332
P1316

so there is a misfire somewhere (it was very lumpy at idle) but it doesn't know where apart from maybe bank 2 (which is the side where the airbox is and the new bonnet cable goes) so going to have to have a nose about and cry in a corner..

[DirtyDaily]

I think order of priority is as follows...
Knock sensor maybe bad, dread valley hose leaking and damaging the sensor?
Vacuum leaks? Have you got a smoke detector?
I suspect itll be a bit of a job getting that knock sensor unfortunately