www.jec.org.uk

It just stopped working. No heater/aircon blower. It was ok one day but not the next! Mileage 90,900.

Fault codes gleaned from my iCarsoft 930i showed B2514 blower fault, U2520 instrument cluster message missing and U2521 ABS message missing. Early indications imply the blower motor resistor pack has failed which may also have caused a CANBUS issue as regards the other two codes. Nav screen menu is unaffected and all controls are showing as visually operable.

PTJS1 and I drew our initial conclussion when we hooked up the other evening. I decided to farm this job out to the trade as laying on my back under the glove compartment is not one of my favourite activities. A quick phone call to Ray Brown at the Surrey Jag Centre in Croydon has me booked in for a repair on Monday morning.

I`ve not used Ray`s services before but he comes highly recommended by PTJS1 and also by Richard SEL. I`ll post back after I`ve been to see him.

Mike

Early visit to Ray this morning. Excellent fellow, a warm welcome and great workshop staff.

New blower/climate module fitted as C2C39577. Essentially a resistor pack with heat sink. Totally sealed and no way of looking inside. Part cost £142 plus VAT...ouch. Rays labour charge was very reasonable and his service quick and very efficient. The business employes several technicians and also admin staff. I can`t fault any part of the experience. A recommended Jaguar repair facility just off the Purley Way on the A22.
So an effective repair but at a higher cost than I`m used to. The effect of paying labour charges plus VAT!

Job done. Normal service resumed.

Mike

My X350R was back down to Surrey Jag Centre again for an MOT and some further heater investigations.

During the pre-Christmas lead up and the bitterly cold sub zero temperatures at the time, I found myself having to endure very low cabin heater output. Initially, I put this down to a failed auxiliary heater pump or electrical malfunction of some sort. Above zero outside temperatures had cabin heat return to rather more acceptable levels but still not high as I would like.

With New Year over and the World returning to normal speed, Ray re-opened his doors and I was down there like a shot. The car flew the MOT without issue so no issues on that score. The malfunctioning parking of the wipers corrected itself so Ray couldn`t fix what wern`t bust! Ray and his lads itemised the heater issue to a partially blocked heater matrix on the drivers side. As at 03/01/2018, Jaguar OE replacement matrix are unavailable. However new units are due to become available again within about a week. The part number is C2C7071 and the cost, £119.39 plus VAT and post. Those in a desperate hurry for a matrix may however perhaps start contacting well known genuine Jaguar OE suppliers in the hope someone may have one on their shelves.

Ray and I decided that in view of the current supply situation, there was little more we could do as regards correcting the heating issue at that time so we would re-visit the problem once new matrix were once again in the supply chain. Driving the car home with outside temps at around 6 degrees, the cabin heat was surprisingly acceptable. Maybe Ray disturbed an air lock whilst the car was in his hands? Who knows?

Once this cold weather has moderated, I might try a cooling system drain down, hose flush and add a couple of bottles of rad flush to the system for a day. It might be worth a shot as there is definitely flow through the matrix on both passenger and drivers side sections. If flow is present, then possibly rad flush might just clear the blockage....it might also induce a load of leaks! I think it is worth a try and even if the matrix does start leaking, I`ll not have lost much if the unit is on its last legs. If it clears the blockage without leaks, then I`ll have saved around £144 plus labour charges and yet more VAT. Book time for a matrix change is about 3 hours. So its a good £300 job.

Here is an image of the matrix. This schematic shows the matrix as part number 5 with part number 8 being the heater control module I had Ray replace a short while back. Image in my original post above. Owners of the X350 petrol models should note that coolant circulation for the heater is provided by an electric auxiliary water pump located at the rear of the radiator pack immediately below the header tank. Replacing the pump requires the header tank to be removed. Access from below is not possible due to the sub-frame being located immediately below the pump. That is a real cuss as its a long reach down from the top to get to that electric pump. The engine driven conventional pump only supplies circulation for the engine cooling needs. A further electric inter-cooler pump is used on supercharged models. Access requires front bumper cover removal with the pump being located below the off side main beam headlight. Access is possible from the front once the bumper cover is removed.

Winter finds all the faults!

Mike