mindofitsown

Hi Garry, I'm not up on modern vehicles but the symptoms you describe would suggest to me the master cylinder seals are gone (what is the mileage?). I do hope this is not the case but I have found in the past that seal/servo problems tend to manifest themselves at the point of extreme conditions such as MOT tests (when they stamp on the brakes and is abnormal) or when replacing brake components and exercising/displacing the system components from their normal operational positions. It usually happens because the braking system was about to fail anyway but the extraordinary conditions/stresses have brought on a failure that was imminent. Check first that there are no leaks in the hydraulics (which will also give you the same symptoms), then for air in the system (which I doubt if a simple pad/disc replacement but possible if master cylinder fluid became too low at some point for some reason). Also check the disc(s) are properly fitted and square to the hub. Sorry I'm not much help, regards

Thanks guys (again). Andy, I did do a similar search to what you suggest but the only references were to ignition on situations rather than off. Sooooo glad others have encountered this and it sounds as if its normal so now I feel better and wont worry about it. Thanks again everyone

Well thanks guys. At one point I thought Andy was pulling my leg as the light is not very effective. Got to say the forum is magic.

Seriously Andy?

Hi all, Got another gremlin to report. After switching off the ignition I hear a strange ticking/bubbling noise from behind the dashboard for about 30 seconds or so. Its not a regular ticking but does almost forms an audible pattern. I've searched this on the net and found a Technical Bulletin No. JTB00066 of May 2010 which seems to describe the symptoms exactly but this bulletin refers to a problem with the actuators for the CC system when in use. The difference in my situation is it happens when the ignition is off when I presume the power to the actuators would be off. Any ideas?

If it can be proven that the staff has been told to over-emphasise problems as a revenue generator then this would be tantamount to fraud and is a criminal offence by the management. Worse still if the staff was provided any financial incentive for their actions this would mean the individual technicians were guilty too. The original post is a good reminder to us all to question and challenge all conclusions reached by dealers/garages, particularly in these times of austerity. I'm getting a bit old for it now but, for some 36 years I've nearly always done my own work on vehicles. Not always because of the fear of being ripped off or generally the high prices but mainly because of the shoddy work I've seen on other peoples vehicles and the simple lack of care exercised. My s type came with a full dealer service history which I have double checked and it is clear the previous owner would not have done his own work. However, having only clocked 65K some items were clearly the victim of lack of technician care. This includes the plastic under-tray about to fall off because it was held on by only two of the many clips. Similarly the plastic cover under the bonnet and covering the headlamps held by one of four clips because the others were missing. Under time pressure many 'technicians' simply slap it all back together again without sufficient care. If they drop a fastener they don't bother to find it and just leave it off. If I have to have work done that I can't do myself I tell the technician to 'treat my care as if it were your own' (this is particularly important when having tyres replaced at which I insist on seeing the points where jacking will take place as I have experience too many ruined sills in the past). Anyway, enough ranting from me.

Sorry if this is basic but I'm still getting to know my s type. Does anyone know what the little orange light (led?) in the middle of the interior light cluster above my head actually indicates? I just can't find reference to it in the handbook. Regards

No such problem but I was frustrated at my original 2003 dvd not recognising newish roads. So recently bought a cheap DVD update which loaded but suspiciously quickly. The version shows 2012 on the screen but it has made no difference to the recognition of roads. There is a local road I take that was built around 2004 and the sat nav gets lost in it and many others.

Something similar happened to me locally only days after buying my Jag, when an older chap started to reverse out on me. It was too late to stop so floored it to escape. Made it by an inch or two but impressed by the responsiveness. The cat leaped and I was sooo proud of her.

Could it be immobiliser issue? There is something in the handbook about flashing led and the number of flashes having different meanings.

I'm no legal expert but this is decidedly dodgy! The discrepancy regarding the tyres may suggest the original MOT technician should have his/her authority withdrawn by VOSA (but this is my opinion). Hope it gets sorted to your favour.

Er......scrap yard maybe £20?

The original 'close' solution is brilliant!

Hi Paul, Thanks for this information. I am definitely interested in both projects. I just going off on holiday for the week so will be in touch after that. Regards.

Hi Paul, Thanks for quick response. I've had mine (53 plate SE with factory Satnav) for a month now and so far quite happy except for repeated message of "engine coolant low" and each time I check the reservoir its between min and max. I think its an air lock because it only happens at 60mph or more and then goes away in traffic. How do you make power fold work from remote? I will be checking my seat to see if I have 8 or 16 functions.

Hi Paul, I'm still new to the S type so excuse my ignorance but what is this 16 function memory thingy? Also, are you referring installing heated rear seats? I think I could easily get bitten by the bug too. I'm interested in retro-fitting: phone, voice and power wash lights, in that order. I have been following various previous posts on the subjects and I'm confused about the phone part, ok-ish about voice, and can't see too much of a problem with power wash lights (the latter is only included on the list because I can't stand those blanking plug things on the bumper that make it look cheap). I'd love to know how you get on with your projects so please keep posting. Regards, Dennis

Hi, I have had this problem when buying an unofficial disc. I decided to try again by ejecting the disc and re-inserting it (before complaining to the supplier) and the same message appeared but this time only for a moment after which a different message came up saying "loading". So for me it was a case of persisting.

Hi Robin, Wow, just 44k in 15 years! I thought I did well recently when buying mine with 65k in 12 years. I too am annoyed by lack of footrest. I'm thinking of a wedge shaped block of wood but have to figure out how to make it secure enough so that it doesn't fall under the brake pedal etc. an alternative is going to scrapyard and get one off a car that you know from past experience is comfy. For me that would be a Scorpio. Regards

I don't suppose this post will help you much but my partners car (peugeot 206 Auto 56K miles) has the very same problem, works fine cold but slips when hot. It used to work fine but then one day it appeared 'slip out of gear' particularly on bends. So I checked the fluid level and topped up but then it started to happen again. Checked the level and found in just a few miles a lot of fluid had disappeared. Couldn't see the source of the leak but noticed the undercarriage and rear bumper was coated in a mist of fluid. Thought then that the leak is obviously only happening when vehicle is in motion (hence no real puddle on driveway). Traced the problem to one of the diff/box output shaft oil seals (FWD). First thing to do then was drain existing fluid at which time I found a lot of water came out first, then fluid oil!. Realised then that the water and oil seal deterioration was the result of having to drive through lots of flood water in previous months. Don't do this with auto tx! Ok so then replaced the seals and filled with fresh fluid. Problem appeared to go away having driven 8 miles to town then back. All was well until just outside the house when all gears just slipped and would not return when really hot. Pushed car onto driveway and noticed the engine/tx smelled really hot. Checked level and found it was fine (no leaks). Conclusion is that either tx or torque convertor are damaged from the previous low fluid and/or water ingress or, the convertor still has a lot of water in it because most of the liquid in it wont drain when draining tx. Only solution is to pull out convertor. Its still waiting for that.

Hi Elvis, I too got a warranty from the dealer (3mths) when I bought my S type about a month ago. On reading the policy documents I realised you could fit what they DO cover in a single paragraph but what they DONT cover consumes several pages. Dealers are trying to shirk their responsibilities and pass them to warranty companies as its easier and in the long run actually cheaper for them. They cannot however shirk their responsibilities regarding consumer legislation. In your case you asked the warranty company for their permission for the diagnosis, so whatever the outcome they should pay for this as they had the opportunity to tell you what is and is not covered i.e. the go ahead on the diagnosis was not conditional on the outcome. If it makes you feel any better I too have an intermittent problem with my fuel gauge indication which I believe to be the sender unit. I recently had an occasion when after putting £20 of fuel into the tank, on re-starting the indication was no different to before fuelling. I almost thought that the petrol station pump was faulty and had not actually delivered any fuel! Yesterday morning I had the ignition on before starting and noticed the fuel gauge reading zero when I knew it was about quarter full. For a second I thought the petrol had been nicked. Thought to double check this with the trip computer remaining miles message and it it said 'invalid signal' (or words like it). Went through the trip menu again, came back to 'remaining miles' and this time it said '783 mile remaining'!! Hey?? Switched off and then on again and then the gauge and computer went back to normal. Weird. I think its either a dodgy connection or the sender unit or possibly charging/battery problem.

Hi Colin, I too am currently having an issue with my climate control system. In my case the drivers side would always blow hot air whilst the passenger side is tepid. I had the a/c re-gassed anyway with only slight improvement on passenger side and no improvement on driver's side. Concluded that either the heater valve or CC electronics faulty. Removed DCCV (surprised how little coolant escaped, to the extent that I got my money back on the antifreeze I bought in advance). Did some research and found that normal operation is that each solenoid should draw less than 1 Amp. Tested DCCV solenoids for resistance. Passenger side 12 ohms (a bit low), drivers side 9 ohms (too low). Bought new valve on net for £79, arrived next day. Before fitting, measured the resistance of new solenoids and both were 15 Ohms, confirming a problem with old valve. Fitted new valve. Result was that passenger side greatly improved but drivers side still the same. Conclusion is that old passenger side valve was partially closing and with new valve fully closing hence big improvement. Driver's side old valve not functioning at all and still not with new valve. Having previously confirmed that the wiring was ok, concluded that CCM electronics for drivers side burnt out by old valve drawing too much current hence not controlling solenoid on new valve. Further research suggests this is a common effect when continuing to drive with a faulty valve. This is because the fuse protecting the circuit is some 10A (as it has other circuits assigned to it) and no internal protection exists in the CCM (poor design). Also found out that in most cases the damage is a burnt pcb track rather than the drive transistor. So could be easy to fix. As I put my back out replacing the DCCV a few days ago, this is as far as I've got. I have spent time since however designing a simple current limiter that I intend to incorporate into each solenoid driver in the pcb as I don't intend to risk damage (or even worse a fire) again. In the mean time I simply put a hose clamp on the drivers side heater hose to emulate valve closure and this works really well. So until I fix the CCM I do at least have full temp control on passenger side and no hot air on driver side. I hope this information helps you or others. Regards, Dennis.

Hi Ron, I tried that new disc again and this time its seems to have worked. I say seems to because the loading took about 2 seconds! A message came up and was superseded by another so quickly I couldn't read it but it had the words "DVD" and "map" in it. The second message said it was loading and that lasted about 1 second and then the screen returned to normal showing me my location. I did check via the sat nav menu option 'DVD version' and it came back and said 2011. So I guess its done?? Regards Dennis

Hi Peter, I'm a newbie too and my sat nav was a surprise to me too in how different it is to my old Tom. The ability to save is great. I use a "waypoint" as a 'via' location i.e. go from a to c via b, with 'b' as the waypoint. I do miss the speed camera alerts however and true speed indication. Regards, Dennis

Thanks Ron, I am laid up with a very bad back at the moment after working on the Jag yesterday. I can barely move and was planning for today to re-try the dvd I bought before any further action. I will bear in mind your offer but won't know if I need it for a few days yet. However, please don't let that delay your plans to advertise it. Best regards Dennis

Thanks Peter and Ron for your welcome. I bought a 2013 update disc from satnavdvd.co.uk for £20 but when loading the screen just comes up with "communication error" after a few moments. Put the original disc back in and nav screen recovered but CC screen came up with communication error. Then switched engine off and re-started and thankfully all back to normal again. I may pluck up the courage to try new disc again but am fearful of losing everything. Any ideas? Regards, Den.