Thank you for all your kind replies. As you can tell I am a complete ignoramus when it comes to 'modern' vehicles. Up till now I've spent several hundreds of pounds on my XK8 on a trial and error basis and all on the advice of my garage. The light has been on now for several months and I was unaware...

Jim, Thanks, for your comments. I'm bound to ask what you mean by a small hole. I have arranged for the cat to be removed for inspection next week, so we should know its precise condition by then. David Marks has suggested that the code that the diagnostic gizmo throws up should give a more precise ...

Thanks for replying to my XK8 'Cat' problem. I read your piece in the magazine every month but I have to confess that I must have missed the bit about 'cats', or, I can't remember it. I'm sure what's wrong with mine is terminal as it appears to be ok when looking at it. I'm not absolutely certain th...

I need to replace one of the Cats. on my 2005 Jaguar 4.2 Coupe but they are now not available from all the usual sources. There is a firm in England which makes Cats. to order but do not have type approval for my car and are unlikely to get it in the foreseeable future, Another firm advertises Cats....

I thought I’d let you know that you were absolutely correct about the cause of the ‘white smoke’ problem with the Jaguar. It was E10 fuel left in the tank for too long. Putting E5 on top of it was simply wasting money as it just meant the problem lasted much longer. You wouldn’t believe the variety ...

Recently I had difficulty starting my 70,000 mile 2005 4.2 XK8. When it did start there were billows of white 'smoke' coming from both exhausts and the rev counter was all over the place. I have had no problems with this car during my 10 years of ownership. I have just done a gear box and engine oil...

Let me get this right, even if the switch test shows that it is working there can still be a dry solder in the micro switch.

Are you saying that you re soldered all of the pins in the micro switch, or the circuit board. If it is the circuit board, where exactly can I find it?

Thank you all for this information. I bought two new micro switches and had arranged for them to be soldered, but before that was done the switch was tested by my expert and found to be working! There is nothing wrong with it. Can you give any other reason for the warning messages re lights and crui...

Thank you for replying - I have a spare brake light switch into which I am having the micro switches replaced. I want to be sure it works when the job is done before I re-fit it to the car. How can I test the switch to determine that it is aok?

I am having the micro switches in my XK8 brake light switch replaced. How should they be tested before I commit to refitting the switch to the car? Does anyone know where I can buy these 2 micro switches for an XK8 2005? Thank you.

I have now looked at both of the utube videos that you recommended and it is a great pity that while the second one is perfectly clear to both see and hear the first one is not. It is so indistinct in both respects that I would not be able to use it to feel confident in removing the dash cluster. I ...

I have contacted Cartronix about this problem and they have told me that they can repair the stepper motor for £150 including vat and £12.95 incl. for return postage of the instrument cluster if I send it to them; or alternatively they would fix it on a while-you-wait basis if I take the car down to...

Thank you for your very comprehensive reply. I have already carried out a hard test to no avail. I am about to look at the videos but would be happier for a professional to carry out any repairs than to try myself. I have tried one instrument repairer - Actronics, who can't help but know of no other...

Under normal circumstances when my engine is at the proper operating temperature the temperature gauge needle is exactly on the ‘normal’ position on the gauge. Recently, however a fault with the gauge has developed: When I was sitting in the car and before I put the key into the ignition I noticed t...