New owner- few issues

[Donnydall]

Hello guys,

Im a new s-type owner (at 21 so pretty young for a 3.0 v6!) And im having some issues.

So initially theres a battery drama in which some, not all of the eletrics arent working (code -----1) on radio, cutting out etc. I assume this is a bad battery as ive driven 70 miles with it and it still cuts out.

 

Then the second issue was i drove about 50 miles and it was fine in reference to temperature, then i stopped briefly to pick up a friend and drove about 2 miles to tesco doing around 70-80 and when id got to tesco and parked everything was stil fine. Then id started !Removed! about with the buttons to see whatd worked with the car running and whilst i was mucking around with the a/c and heated seats i randomly seen the car was overheating and i got what i assume is "limp" mode and it stated it was cutting engine power.

I then had a friendnotice id had a SMALL amount if smoke/steam coming close from my side of the bonnet, so i pop the bonnet and its gone. Turns the engine off and on and it was fine for a minute but started steam/smoking clear smoke however a small amount, as i got out the car again the smoke had stopped.

Im yet to check the fluids as im away untill monday but has anyone got any ideas?

Its a 2001 3.0 v6 and im unsure if the head gasket would go driving 80mph

[Old Peter]

Welcome to the club, Donovan.

The s type is a great car, and its good to see younger people appreciating it.

However it is susceptible to niggles in the electrics if the battery is not up to it.  The life of a battery is about 5 years, and I changed mine at the end of December when it was 4 years and 10 months old, as I was having an electrical problem.  Problem cured immediately.   The s type will shut down unnecessary electrical items if the battery is failing.

On the other matters, my engine is the 2.7 diesel  --  quite different from the 3.0 litre petrol, but you will get some assistance from other members.

Regards,

Peter.

[Donnydall]

Hi, thanks mate

Im going to change the battery on monday and install a trickle charger next month.

I love the s type in all honesty, and cant wait to have her running+

[TargetDan]

Does the fan kick in when the engine gets hot? Could be seized if it only happens when stationary.

[Old Peter]

Hi Dan, 

Does the engine overheat?  Not being an engineer, and driving a diesel car, which takes it's time getting to its normal operating temperature, I am guessing that the fan only kicks in when the engine needs cooling, which is when the car is not getting the thrust of air on it.

Regards,

Peter.

[Tim Jag]

Hi Donny,

I have recently had similar problems with my s-type too, and low and behold, a new battery fixed it (not after driving me mad for a few days first of course)

 

welcome

[Donnydall]

So im going to get a new battery today, and 

On Sun Mar 05 2017 at 5:52 AM, TargetDan said:

Does the fan kick in when the engine gets hot? Could be seized if it only happens when stationary.

Yeah the fan kicks in but im unsure whilst driving

[JOE-DOT-COM]

Hi

Could be one of many things

possibly thermostat stuck closed, but with you saying fan kicks in, means radiator is also getting up to temp, so might not be thermostat

I've known radiators to get blocked and sludged up, if the radiator/expansion tank water is clean and clear then its unlikely be that

If there's any leaks, and the system won't hold any pressure, the system will overheat and boil over early, water boils at 100 deg C, but when you put water in a pressurised system, say at 1 bar, the water boiling point is raised to just above 120 deg C, most coolant caps are approx 1bar to 1.5bar, so the higher the pressure the higher the boiling point

so check for any leaky hoses, radiator, rigid pipes to the heater valve and also the expansion tank, which is a common failure

also if your handy with tools, do a compression test, I know its not the easiest job on the jaguar v6 petrol, as you have to remove the inlet manifold, as the left hand bank spark plugs are hidden by the inlet manifold, but a good, even pressure test on all cylinder, would eliminate head gasket failure, which is also another common problem on jaguar 2.5 and 3.0 v6's

most garages can do a sniffer test or pressure test to check cooling system and head gasket, sniffer test check for CO ( carbon monoxide ) in expansion bottle, CO in there means head gasket gone, Pressure test just pressurizes the system and then you wait to see if it drop off, if it does leak in the system or headgasket

cheers

Joe

[Donnydall]

On Mon Mar 06 2017 at 7:46 PM, JOE-DOT-COM said:

Hi

Could be one of many things

possibly thermostat stuck closed, but with you saying fan kicks in, means radiator is also getting up to temp, so might not be thermostat

I've known radiators to get blocked and sludged up, if the radiator/expansion tank water is clean and clear then its unlikely be that

If there's any leaks, and the system won't hold any pressure, the system will overheat and boil over early, water boils at 100 deg C, but when you put water in a pressurised system, say at 1 bar, the water boiling point is raised to just above 120 deg C, most coolant caps are approx 1bar to 1.5bar, so the higher the pressure the higher the boiling point

so check for any leaky hoses, radiator, rigid pipes to the heater valve and also the expansion tank, which is a common failure

also if your handy with tools, do a compression test, I know its not the easiest job on the jaguar v6 petrol, as you have to remove the inlet manifold, as the left hand bank spark plugs are hidden by the inlet manifold, but a good, even pressure test on all cylinder, would eliminate head gasket failure, which is also another common problem on jaguar 2.5 and 3.0 v6's

most garages can do a sniffer test or pressure test to check cooling system and head gasket, sniffer test check for CO ( carbon monoxide ) in expansion bottle, CO in there means head gasket gone, Pressure test just pressurizes the system and then you wait to see if it drop off, if it does leak in the system or headgasket

cheers

Joe

Joe,

Thanks for a lot of help,

Turns out you were right, water leak in the radiator, oil leak in the rocker cover!

Just under £800 in repairs: great one!

[Mr Lawrence]

JAGUAR MOTOR CARS LTD

EMPTYING YOUR WALLET SINCE 1922

[JOE-DOT-COM]

Hi

That's why they go so cheap, parts on a expensive cars are usually expensive

cheers

Joe