Nige005

Hi. For the Window problem I found that cleaning the Plug from the door to the " A " pillar twice a year helps a lot. Just disconnect and give both plug and socket ends a good soaking with Switch Cleaner ( preferably not WD 40 ) and then plug and unplug it several times. Not 100% but it works to keep things correct a lot longer than just the reset ! I had a problem with starting on mine. It would crank over but not fire up. It was very intermittent but seemed to happen mostly, but not always, when the engine was hot so Initial thoughts were the Crank Position Sensor. Changed this and all seemed well - for a little time and then back to this worrying problem again. Then changed the Rotary Switch on the Gear Selector on the Gearbox, this worked for many starts whilst I was still at the garage so drove home feeling pretty happy. However, being a pessimistic old sod, I switched off when I got home, waited two minutes and.... no start - again. On the 'phone to my local Indy and he then remembered that he'd had this problem before. It turns out that the grease around the Gear Selector Rotary Switch and levers had gone hard and so prevented the Rotary switch going to " just " the right position so although all the Indications that you were correctly in " Park " the Gearbox thought that it wasn't , so stopped the engine from firing up. A good clean up and re grease sorted this out. A quick fix once the correct diagnosis was given - hope that you are as lucky !

Just had another thought. When I had problems with the ABS Electronics my Indie sent it away to a place that repairs/rebuilds the Electronic bits. I did see the that this company had a big range of bits that they repaired to a set price. Sadly I don't know the company name or any details. However it does show that there are places out there that do this type of work so if you spend a bit of time on Google you should be able to find someone who can help. Good luck.

I have had quite a few spares from here : - https://www.autoreservejaguar.com/ Used parts have always been good and are usually guaranteed and they are very helpful. Not quite sure what you need but browse the site or give then a ring - they will help if they can.

Done a few since then Peter, including the XK8 !

Same here Peter. Mind you I used to have the same reluctance to remove Door Cards ( various cars I've owned needed access ! ) but needs must and all that ! Must say that doing Trim work really frightens me though, always afraid I'm going to make things worse. My friend who I bought the XK8 from removed the centre console to replace some bulbs in there, another job I'm hoping that I never have to do......

Thanks Peter, yes it all seems to be OK now. If only I could sort out the Roof Lining as quickly........!!!

Oops. Admin, seems that both myself and Garry had a problem Posting here, hence the multiple Posts. When clicking the " Submit Reply " button nothing seems to happen and so you click it again, and again...... When you exit the Thread and then return you find that every click has indeed worked. Sorry about that, perhaps you could look at this.

Hi Garry. Thanks for your reply, good to hear that it wasn't too bad a job although I must say that I'm still not sure that I fancy it very much ! Thanks also for the name of the supplier, had a look at the site and they look good,

Hi Everyone. Just noticed that the Roof Lining is starting to sag, mainly around the Light Unit. I've looked at a few options but would welcome any advice and experiences you may have. Option 1. New Roof Liner. These seem to available for around £200. Problem. Apart from the cost and time and effort to fit - none. This is the ideal option but I don't know any Trim Specialists around this neck of the woods and as it's a job I don't fancy much myself it's still a problem. Option 2. Maybe it's possible for a good trimmer to repair the existing one as apart from the " sag " it is in perfect condition. Problem. I'm guessing that the cost of the repair, excluding removal and refitting of the Board, would be at least a £100 so for an extra £100 I could go for a whole new one, seems a better way to go. Option 3. Remove Light Fitting in the hope I can then get to the saggy bit to get some glue in and so re-fix the fabric to the Board. Problem. 1. I don't know if removing the Light Fitting would give me the access I need. 2. I suspect that the glue may well soak through the Fabric and so look a right old mess. Option 4. Inject ( somehow ) glue through the fabric in the problem area to re-fix the fabric to the Board. Problem. 1. Don't know of any glue that I can inject and have no idea if you can actually buy Hypodermic Needles. 2. Again glue staining the Fabric is potentially a problem. Option 5. Some people seem to have used Upholstery Twist Pins to re-fix the Fabric to the Board. Problem.1. Not sure that it does work, is the board thick enough to take these pins and is there any risk of damaging the Roof itself by pushing up against the underneath of it with a sharp point ? 2. It wouldn't look brilliant. Brilliant ? Lets be honest, it would look bluidy awful but I suppose it would be acceptable as a temporary fix. So people, what do you think ? Any ideas or suggestions.? I suspect I know the answer and expect to wave good bye to about £500 for a new one but I'd appreciate your thoughts. Could have been worse I suppose, at least, last time I checked, I don't suffer from a soggy brown bottom, just a sagging beige top....... ! For those of you, who like me until yesterday, have no idea what an Upholstery Twist Pin looks like here's a pic.

Hi there. Had a similar Brake Light problem on mine although the Dash Indication did come on. The cure was to disconnect the connectors from the Rear Light Clusters and give them a good clean and reseat them, I think it's safe to say that these cars do suffer from little electrical glitches often caused by poor connections so for me the first port of call for problems like these is the associated Connectors/Plugs/Sockets. A Can of proper Switchcleaner such as Servisol ( NOT WD 40 ) is a must for the garage shelf ! The ABS problem you have is pretty well discussed in the " ABS warning light on 2002 xk8 " Thread just a couple of Posts down in this Lounge. Although I'm no expert I don't think this problem would also cause your Brake Light Snag.

!!! Who knows but fingers crossed !

This all sounds good. When I had the Traction/Stability/ABS fault come on ( again ! ) whilst I was out and about I called in at the local indy as I was nearby. He put a generic Code Reader on and it just came up with a Code that was basically " Comms Error, " The Reader was talking to the Car but not helping much with any diagnosis. Had similar with other makes of car so real world advice from a Forum like this is invaluable. Later on when I returned to the indy he put the proper Jag one on and it revealed the fault immediately, very impressed with that. Nice bit of kit with dedicated tough display and a wireless connection, live data and everything, even CBeebies I think, which would be good right now to avoid the overblown school Sports Day claptrap everywhere I look...........

Jason, STOP !!! Before you start taking the Door Card off remove and clean the Connector Plug on the " A " Pillar that connect the car electrics into the Door. This is very simple and may save you a lot of time ! Do it on both doors if you have but do the Drivers one first and then test. If you still have problems then do the Passenger one. If you still have problems after doing both Connectors then then start digging into the Door itself. I'd put money on the ABS fault being caused by the ABS Control Module but cleaning the Connectors for each wheel is a good starting point. No idea about a Code Reader, my local indy is happy to do it for me for free so I haven't had to look into this. Good luck !

No problem. The previous owner of mine, who is a friend anyway, took about four years to find it !!!

A bit odd re the Boot thing Jason. A clever work around but don't you have a key opening for the Boot Lock ? My 1998 one has one. Admittedly it's a bit hard to see, it's in between the X and the K of the XK8 badge at the bottom of the Boot Lid. Oh, and about your Sport Button snag No idea really but it would probably just amount to removing the centre console bit and replacing or fixing a broken bit of plastic. Carry on the good work, Battery for you next !

Hi Jason, I should have finished this topic, my excuse is that I forget things a lot now, perhaps more ( or less ) beer needed ...... ! I solved the problem quite simply in the end. My initial thought was the Processor Module inside the door but as usual there are several different types so the Door Card had to come off to check which one I ( thought ) I needed. Before removing the Door Card I got some new fasteners/fixings in case I broke any removing it, I didn't in the end and found that the Door Card removal was remarkably easy. Once inside the Door I set to and unplugged and cleaned every connector I could find and also identified the Door Module type fitted. I then tested everything but found no improvement, still a problem. One thing still bugged me though, I hadn't found the connection point from the car into the door. Sitting on the edge of the seat pondering this I looked at the cabling going from the door into the car and bingo, what I thought was a grommet protecting the cables as they went into the " A " pillar is in fact a connector. Doh. This is a twist off connector, easy to remove and after a quick clean up and a few squirts of Switch Cleaner normal service was resumed all round - happy days ! Like you, when it first happened I was under the impression that the door was mechanically misaligned and so was causing the problem but NOT SO, the Door was fine. So for yours I would suggest that the first thing to do is clean the Connector on the Drivers Door, and if necessary, the Passenger Door one also. Do the Drivers one first and then test, you may well be a happy man ! Ideally use a proper Switch Cleaner such as Servisol rather than WD40. As has been said many a time it is absolutely essential that you have a good quality Battery in good condition on these, if you have any doubts replace and save yourself a lot of grief, go for a Bosch or similar high quality make. A Battery can appear to be OK, still start the car and appear to work normally but may still not be up to the job, any doubt just bite the bullet and spend a hundred or so beer chits..... So happy hunting, let me know how you get on. Cheers, Nige..

Fingers crossed Jason ! Sadly on mine it just got more and more and more " mittent " rather than " inter " and as it was getting towards MoT time ( ABS light on = instant fail ) I went for the fix. TBH I'm pleased I did, the lights were driving me nuts when they were on.

If the ABS Warning Light comes on with the Info display also showing, alternately " Traction Control Fail " and " Stability Control Fail " it may indicate a failure of the ABS Control Module, this is a known and common fault. The cure is to have the Unit rebuilt at a specialist company, it costs about £150 for repair of this module. This happened to mine, started off only happening occasionally but got worse over time, eventually I got sick of it and had it repaired at the local indy, the whole job was about £250. Another possibility is a poor connection from one of the wheel sensors. The best way to diagnose is to have the codes read with the proper Jag software, I've noted that the generic readers do not always give the codes and will come up with something like " Comms Error " rather than the fault code.

Could use some help here folks. I have the usual Drivers window not auto closing problem and usually a " reset " cures the problem - for a while. However today it really didn't want to reset and after several attempts it got even worse. The Window would not move at all using the switch and further checks showed that neither would the Passenger Window or either of the Mirrors. After about ten minutes everything started working again and I was able to reset the Windows. But after checking the Auto Drop about three times it all went wrong again and nothing was working. Again, but this time after about twenty minutes, everything started working. Repeated the Auto drop checks, worked OK for about three times but then everything stopped working yet again.This time it took more like a hour for things to start working. I have now managed to reset the Auto Drop on the Windows and so I'm finally able to close the door, not too keen on doing any more checks as I don't want to be stuck with the Window " UP " and the door " OPEN. " The only common thing I can see with both Doors having identical problems is the Body Processor Module but this is really a bit of a stab in the dark and I'm reluctant to start pulling the Glovebox out ( Module is behind this, I believe ) and then spending £££s on what is essentially a guess on my part. Desperate for any insight into this so if you have any ideas....... Thanks, Nige.

That makes sense - in every way. Thanks for the info.

Can't help with the Fusebox, never had it apart, sorry. Re the Alarn Sounder. When I've accidentally set my Alarm off it seems to me that it is the normal horn that goes off and on and off etc. Do Jaguar consider that an Alarm Sounder ? Might have to look at the Fusebox, do you mean the one on the right looking from the front ? The Heater on mine does not get very hot, fairly warm, but not toasty hot. I s'pose a possible reason for this would be the Heater Pump not running, hmmmmmm. At any rate, glad that everything is back to normal operation for you.

Have fun !!!

I'd forgotten about the knob on the mirror, never even think about it as the Auto Mirror doesn't work anyway, hasn't done for years to my knowledge. Did look for used ones of these and there are a few around but was discouraged both by the price and the need to remove the existing one to be sure that you buy the right one. Odd this as reading about these in other places it seems the main gubbins of these things are all made by the same company and they are pretty cruddy devices. Maybe one day I'll revisit this, perhaps when Uncle Ernie coughs up a decent about of beer coupons.......

I apologise if I'm teaching you to suck eggs but are you sure that you have the auto function fitted ? On my 98 model although the Switch has the auto position the auto function is not fitted, believe it was an option. No idea about the connectors, usually connectors have obvious clips to disconnect but I know there are some types which are very different. Hope you can sort it all out.