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Igor, hi. In the end I got a towbar fitted to another car we have, a Volvo. Sorry but I have given up on the idea of fitting a towbar to my XJ8. Yours is a bit newer than mine so have you asked the Jaguar dealership? - Terry.

HI all I've got a 2004 4.2 XJ8 aka x350 and I would like to get a towbar fitted. afaik that model is homologated for towing and I eventually found a supplier. However the fitter I talked to said that he "wouldn't want to get involved" in this. He said he remembered fitting towbars to these back in the 2004 era and it was awkward back then, when replacement brackets or what-have-you were readily available. The dealership says the parts are no longer available. fwiw I'm only going to tow a 10-foot boat on its trailer or one of those 1 metre long Erde trailers to take garden rubbish to the tip. Anyone got a towbar on one of these please and if so how did you go about getting it supplied / fitted? Thanks, regards, Terry.

Hi Peter, thanks for your advice re that cover. Just need a dry day now and nothing more urgent on schedule! Regards from Terry.

Hi Jim, sorry to disappear for a week or so, I had to urgently repair a bit of fencing cos the area next door is being sold with planning permission so I wanted to clarify where the boundary is so I don't wake up one morning to find a JCB munching through my front lawn lol. Anyway, done that. I'll try to get to car soonish. Thanks again for your help. I ain't ruled out the OBD thingy though. - Terry.

Great thanks Jim!

Thanks Jim. I'll have a think about that OBD reader, looks good. Meanwhile I'll try to have a look at the reluctors and sensors, maybe on a day when it's a bit drier underfoot (or under-backside since I'll be lying on the ground!) Fortunately time is on my side since I'm not supposed to be going anywhere anyway 'cos of the lockdown. - Terry.

Hi Jim, tried third cycle and still got the fault. I'll have a look at the reluctors as you suggest. Are any of these things that claim to read OBD-2 codes any good? They seem a bit cagey about what they can read (P codes and/or C codes) and about whether any of the codes would be meaningful outside of a dealership workshop lol! - Terry.

Thanks Jim I'll try another cycle tomorrow.

Left battery on charge overnight then took it off about 1200 today. Waited 1 hour then checked voltage with my new multimeter. Result was 12.84 volts. Stuck it on car. Still got ABS/DSC fault but I expected that on 1st cycle. Drove around then left it for a while. Started it up again and still got faults on a second cycle. Maybe this is some thing like sensor(s)? Dunno!

Got battery out but boot lid doesn't seem to close properly it closes almost completely but there is usually a whirring sound as in gets pulled tight the last few millimeteres which of course doesn't happen w/o the battery

Thanks Jim it'll be on charge overnight now I guess so I'll bring it indoors. I'll get back on here tomorrow. - Terry.

Hi Jim, just wondering, are there any things to watch for when I disconnect and remove the battery, or do I just undo the connections and take it off. (I've got the radio code somewhere - I think!) Regards, Terry.

Thanks Jim, it'll be tomorrow before I get the battery on charge now, so I guess leave it overnight till Saturday, then test it. The battery was bought from the RAC when they came out on a "home start" call afaik and is under a guarantee so I can pursue that. The donkey starts on the button though - is that amperage rather than voltage I wonder? Regards from Terry.

Ah hi Jim, yeah sent that multimeter back, the return process was a bit different but I hope I'll get my money back, only £11.98. (The process seemed a bit hit and miss, I'd be worried if it was a couple of hundred quid lol! As it it, no big deal.) Anyway I ordered another multimeter @ £29 quid, so two-and-a-half times as dear, but seems (fingers and toes crossed) pretty amazing. Auto-ranging, and when you set the rotary switch it lights up the ports you should plug the leads into. So it should be idiot-proof which is good for me. To cut a long story short I've just measured the battery voltage at 11.93 volts. That's short of the 12.8 we were looking for. Regards from Terry.

Right I'll bounce that back to Amazon, maybe get something a bit better. Thanks for the help Jim. I'll report back when I get another multimeter. Come to think of it my son-in-law might have one. A known good meter would be great around now. But lockdown ..... I'll get back to you anyway.