Various Electrical Problems

[Blueborin]

Hi,
I own a 2007 2.7 turbo diesel automatic and recently posted a problem relating to a battery issue whereby little usage was causing the battery not to fully charge (I intend getting a solar charger fitted in the near future).

However, when I tried to start the car with this issue I got various warning sensors as if the checking of equipment had not finished correctly. Once the battery had been recharged these disappeared the car started perfectly.

I then noticed that whilst in the "Parked Mode", after say 5-7mins a yellow warning light appeared indicating "Parking Brake Failure". After stopping and restarting the engine this disappeared but re-appears if left in this position for the same amount of time.

I also noticed that whilst driving the car the "Cruise Control" had stopped working. There were no yellow warnings, it just wouldn't engage cruise, then suddenly it would start working normally only to stop again intermittently. This however could have been an issue before the battery problem as I hadn't checked it out prior to the battery issue.

With all these electrical issues happening I then checked all the electrics and found that the passenger rear window would not open and close correctly. It only comes up and down in short movements. It does not open and close in a full uninterrupted maneuverer.

After researching these types of faults on this site I decided to purchase a new Varta battery as the original was 9 yrs old and many electrical faults seem to relate to a failing battery.

It was fitted today, the garage waited 10mins before reconnecting in an effort to clear and reset the old memory. Unfortunately this did not work as all the problems still exist.
The garage informed me that there were numerous error codes relating to the battery problem and one apparently associated with the accelerator pedal. However they do not have comprehensive Jaguar diagnostics equipment, so were unable to interpret all of the codes.

I'm sure that these faults are somehow related as up until now I've had no issues with the car. Its been regularly serviced and only 4k miles ago had a clear error code reading when serviced at the main Jaguar dealer.
Its total mileage is 23K and its immaculate.

I'm not a mechanic and sure this type of issue is not a one off!. I live in Saltford between Bath and Bristol and before taking it back to the main dealer for investigation am looking for any advice which might help resolve these issues. We don't appear to have any local Independent Jaguar garages close by, although I'm tempted to try Swallow of Axminster if I can't get this resolved locally. Sorry this is War and Peace but its very difficult to explain fully in writing.

All help greatly received

Robin

[Martec]

Hi Robin,

I have an older car which I bought about 3-4 years ago, there were a few electrical problems, one stopped it in its tracks. Speaking to friends It was suggested that over time the various contacts could corrode and make poor or intermittent contacts.

With this in mind and using the wiring diagram for our car I found and cleaned all the earth points (engine bay and under wing points were corroded) plus the live terminal points (red) under the wings, and also pulled and refitted at least twice all the fuses and relays to clean there contact pins.

This helped but I also came across a reference to the throttle peddle and its 3 potentiometers, they are not water proof as are the 3 on the throttle valve under the bonnet. It appears that damp from air in the car on wet days can give different resistance readings so the ECU gets upset and puts the car into limp home mode, but flashes up red warnings prior to this (as did mine).

The simple answer is to undo the two screws holding the accelerator peddle unit into the car, unplug the terminal and leave it on the house radiator or in my case on top of the boiler overnight to drive off the moisture.

Like all cars they have their specific problems but corrosion on terminals is common.

Best of luck,
Brian

[J44EAG]

You are not alone with such issues, Robin.

All that Brian has said is totally correct. Poor, corroded and high resistance grounding points commonly cause such issues. As the car ages, then the problems inevitably grow. Similar issues also affect other models in the Jaguar range. There are many ground points and some of them are well hidden. Indeed David Marks highlighted the problem at the X350 seminar last Saturday. Each poor ground point will affect the operation of a number of vehicle services which may share a common ground point. The professional guys are rather luckier in that they know what service or services gets its ground return from a particular point. Failure of a few particular services will often lead them straight to the the correct point and a quick clean up of connections will restore normal service. Unless such a ground point diagram is available for a particular model, then for most owners, rectification may prove problematical.

A battery nine years old is almost certainly past its prime and can cause many issues. The battery in my recently acquired X350 is of unknown age and I know it to be on its last legs. Slow cranking especially in cold conditions, numerous MIL light illuminations with no fault codes evident, dropped glove box, self opening petrol cap flap, console light illumination and dicky parking sensors typify the gremlins I associate with a tired battery. Tonight a new premium grade Bosch Silver 100ah battery with six year warranty sits in a foot well awaiting fitting tomorrow. A stable battery platform is essential to these cars as are good grounding connections.

The joys of owning an aging car!

Take a look at the huge amount of battery related posts on the electrical section of this BB. many of us have been fighting similar malfunctions for years!

Try PJG at Longwell Green for a wonderful Jaguar independent repair facility. Peter looked after my cars in the days I lived at Hanham and could afford to have someone maintain the car for me. Please give him my best wishes. Highly recommended and very reasonable prices and excellent service.

Mike Kennedy. Former JEC S-type Co-ordinator.

[thomas45]

Hi Robin, Thought I'd posted there but seemed to have disappeared. Anyway just to say that I have had similar problems which I put down to battery power not being at its best. Even with a new battery last summer I was plagued with a park brake fault. That was only at first start -up, it would refuse to disengage so I would then disconnect the battery and leave it for 1/2 or an hour after which it would then be ok on reconnecting.
This was a regular occurrence until as now I keep the park-brake off by pressing the switch down until after I have withdrawn the key from the ignition when parking at the end of the day. My 2007 2.7 has 98k mile, I have it nearly 2 years but strangely never seen a fault code.
As not driving it enough seems to be my problem I make use of the trickle charger .
Thomas

[Montana5]

Remember new Batteries don't come fully charged despite what they say, this has caught out many S Type Owners.

Doug.

[Blueborin]

Thanks so much Brian, Mike Thomas and Doug for you excellent prompt responses. Its most appreciated that you have taken the time out to offer help based upon your own experiences and knowledge.
I'll certainly take on board all your comments and advice and Mike I'll give PJG (past Homebase) a call and send on your regards to Peter. That's an excellent option!

Will keep you posted.

Robin

[Blueborin]

Hi Guys,

I recently wrote about some Electrical problems I'd been experiencing with my Diesel 2.7, and said I'd keep you posted on the resolved outcome.
Mike suggested a local independent Jaguar garage whom he highly recommended (I passed on your regards Mike!!). Peter the owner quickly diagnosed the issues and sorted them out.
Unfortunately they were not battery related.

The rear window motor had failed and was replaced. The handbrake light fault and cruise control were related, and were rectified by replacing an electrical component associated with the brake pedal.
Peter was also concerned about how sharp the brakes were, and after further investigation advised (after a discussion with Jaguar) on a new Brake servo, as these are apparently a known issue with S-Types.

All the faults are now fixed. The servo and rear motor failure were a disappointment as the mileage is a genuine 23k, the car though is 9yrs old.

Anyhow its all fixed and hopefully will not throw up any new nasty surprises in the near future!!!.
I hope this might help others if they are experiencing the same type of faults. Thanks again to those members who helped out with the original issues.

Robin

[rosemary]

Last year I kept getting DSC. Unavailable up when starting my car,2005,2.7d 137,000 miles, Mike pointed me ,on the bulletin board, in the direction of crud on the exposed rear reluctor rings/ABS sensor and a weak battery, where the checking sequence during starting was not properly completing throwing up the alarm. Out with a toothbrush and a clean up programme implemented,also I replaced my old C-Tek charger for a C-Tek MXS 5.0 with a Recondition function.
This I think gave me another year with the old Battery,now in it's 11th year, however the alarm started coming back this May,becoming very frequent when starting the car after a day or so of little use. By stopping the engine after a short time and restarting I could clear the alarm. I fitted a new battery and initially disappointment,the same thing would happen. I checked the charge of the new battery and discovered that the supposedly fully charged Battery on purchase wasn't , I connected it to my C-Tek and within a day no more alarms when using the car. All I can say is thanks Mike and thanks to the Bulletin Board