inertia switch

[painter]

The inertia switch has triggered on my 97 XK8 (I think, as no electrics even though battery is good) and consequently the window drop has gone. Have opened drivers door but passenger door will not open, and that is where the reset switch is!! Does anybody have any experience of this?

[Nik]

Hi Painter ,

It's in part 6 of the driver's handbook:
Inertia switch
In the event of an accident, an inertia switch may trip, isolating
ignition controlled circuits, including fuel pump operation.
Simultaneously, the doors will automatically unlock. Once the
switch has tripped it must be reset before attempting to restart
the engine.
Note: The doors will not unlock if the inertia switch is tripped
when the ignition switch is in position ‘0’.
The inertia switch is located behind the trim on the left-hand
side of the vehicle, forward of the door post below the fascia.
The reset button is parallel with the trim panel top edge.
Resetting the switch
WARNING :
To avoid the possibility of fire or personal injury, do not
reset the inertia switch if you see or smell fuel.
If no fuel leak is apparent, reset the inertia switch as follows:
1. Turn the ignition switch to position ‘0’.
2. Press down the rubber reset button on the top of the inertia
switch.
3. Turn the ignition switch to position ‘II’, pause for a few
seconds, then return the key to position ‘0’.
Edit
As to how you get to this when the passenger door won't unlock and the window is up ,
perhaps this may work open the bonnet , there is a power pick up point on the passenger side of the engine bay protected by a black rubber cover , you could try connecting the positive side of a slave battery to this and the negative side to a good earth point using good jump leads , this may provide power to the ignition and door locks to at least open the door ????? Worth a try ?????

Hope this helps ,

Nik

[painter]

Hi Nik,
thanks for that, yes I did find the instructions in the handbook but all is lost if the passenger door does not open (the switch is concealed on that end of the fascia). The drivers door is fine as the key will manually open this, but the passenger door is locked (electronically) and I have no power. (the internal catch will not open it)

[Nik]

Hi Painter ,
I was in the process of editing my post when my daughter rang me from Bournemouth , it's now edited and hopefully will help in your problem ,

Crossing my fingers for you ,

Nik

[painter]

Thanks Nik,
worth a try, I can't think of another solution (other than stripping out the trim to access the passenger door mech. whilst closed!)
Does it show this (under bonnet) terminal in the handbook anywhere?
I don't think the location of this inertia switch is particularly bright, especially when using auto drop windows.

[painter]

Following several calls to main dealers and jaguar UK, (the suggestions ranged from front wing removal [achieves nothing!] to drilling through the fascia return) I have received a more knowledgable response from XJK Garage Services which involves bridging terminals in the drivers side fuse box to provide temporary power to the door mech. Will try this in the light tomorrow (crossing more than the terminals). Many thanks to XJK, wish they were nearer!

[painter]

Sorry folks,
not the inertia switch, so begins what is probably going to be a much more expensive solution. I will no doubt eventually justify to myself the expense of paying somebody to comb through the highly complex looms/control modules/relays in order to get it up and running again (for a while) but in the meantime it can sit on the drive like the terminal piggy bank that it is.
Full marks to XJK Garage Services who have been extremely helpful in eliminating the red herrings, and it is clear that these people know Jaguars far better than anybody else I have spoken to (and I have tried quite a few). If the car was running I would have no hesitation in driving up to the Midlands to use them, people who have this depth of knowledge on old Jags are few and far between.
I will post the solution (when it arrives) for anybody who may have a similar problem at some stage.

[designxkr50]

Painter

When you turn the ignition on does anything on the car light up? If not on the drivers side fuse box there is a 13mm nut in the top right hand corner of the box. This is holding a thick power wire. Check that this has 12 volts on it.

If not check the big 500 amp fuse in the far right hand corner of the tyre well in the boot.

Gie us a call on 01264 333523 if you need some advice. We specialise in the XK8/R so work on them all day.

Kevin

[painter]

Hi Kevin,
I am hoping to get the car to XJK Garage Services soon to get this sorted; It's beyond my scope now and I think I am likely to do more damage than good with my limited knowledge of auto electrics.
The whole thing started out with the car electrics dead (I thought battery but not). More recently after connecting battery, disconnecting/reconn etc. the boot lights came on and able to fire up.
No access through passenger door (deadlocked), no power to wing mirrors, passenger window ok using door switch, drivers window moves using passenger (left hand) switch, right hand switch nothing; whilst driving dash displays a warning of drivers door open, and if the drivers door is opened (engine running) whilst pressing the 'door closed' button on pillar the warning alternates from 'drivers door open' to 'passenger door open'. Unable to lock drivers door manually, and whilst driving the inner drivers door latch stays in the closed position but does not lock. (passenger side inner latch stays in locked position).
To say I am getting a little confused by this would be an understatement. I have heard of gremlins in car electrics but this is more in the line of
The post 2006 XK is looking very attractive if it weren't for the price tag, but of course there is no guarantee that an infection of 'loom worm' will not affect these in time.
I can see why the early XKs are popular, I'd prefer a mechanical problem anytime, but I'm not giving up on the old XK8, it will roll again.