stuck in park

[Geof54]

Hello everyone,
Had my first real drive of my XK8 while having a break over the last 8 days in the UK (I live in Germany and the day I bought the car it was put carefully in the garage and I flew home the next day). Fitted a new battery and found a garage with some petrol. Used the car for a couple of days and then set about giving it a good clean and wax. Finished two hours later and then started car. Unfortunately it was stuck in park - what happened ? Checked fuses but all seemed ok. After about an hour of searching and cursing I could get out of park but problem came back when put back into park. Gave the car a good drive and problem seemed to disappear and for the remainder of my holiday the car was fine. Any ideas ? I have seen some mention of a solenoid possibly causing the problem on an e-bay advert.
The car is currently being given a good service including full tensioner / chains (97 model), water pump and thermostat change.I have returned to Germany but hopefully I will fly back next month and then drive the car to Germany for the summer. Hope to impress a few German friends.

Geof

[Nik]

With the engine running you should be able to hear a click when you press the brake pedal , it's the solenoid that allows the gear selector to move once the foot brake is applied , your problem may be a faulty brake lamp switch , a simple check would be to see if the brake lamps are working correctly , as an aside , ensure you apply the handbrake especially when parking on a incline as it puts excessive strain on the parking pawl.
if the problem occurs again you can remove the torx headed screw cap that's located to the L/H/S of the gear selector and push a key or similar into the hole gently to release the interlock while moving the gear lever gently back , if you force it you may do damage , further details can be found in the vehicle handbook ,

Hope this helps ,

Nik

[Geof54]

Thanks Nik.
I will pass on your suggestions as I am now back in Germany but the car is still in England.
Geof