XKR 2001: J Gate lights ok with engine off, not ok with engine running

[Robban59]

Hello all,

I got a year ago an XKR coupe' MY2001 which has proven reliable so far, but there is an annoying problem with the J Gate lights.

First of all, the J gate light module is not the original one, but has been substituted with a new on by an official Jaguar dealer/service centre 3 years ago by the former owner from whom I bought the car, due to the upper plate being cracked; I got also the old J Gate light module just in case it might one day be useful.

When the ignition is on but the engine is off, all the lights light up and stay on ( P,R,N,D,4,3,2 ) , when selecting them one by one moving the stich shifter.
When the ignition is on and the engine running the situations changes :

- P : lights up and stays on
- R : light flashes very quickly then turns off with the stick shifter in position R
- N : lights up and stays on
- D : light flashes very quickly then turns off with the stick shifter in position D
- 4 : light off, not even quick flash
- 3 : light off, not even quick flash
- 2 : light off, not even quick flash

As already mentioned, I have got the old original J Gate light module at home, so I might have a couple of options :

a) Install back the old J Gate light module after having swapped the upper plate with the engraved P,R,N,D, 4,3,2 positions
b) Keep the new J Gate light module and fix it but how ? maybe swap the electronic circuit board inside the module ?

Has anybody had this problem when substituting the J Gate light module in an XK8 / XKR X100 generation ?

P.s.: I have filmed with my phone the two behaviors, but files too big to attach here, but can send by email if needed.

Thanks in advance for any suggestion !

Roberto

[mike020150]

From the information supplied, it could be that a very small selector cable adjustment is required. Consequently, it would be as well to check the adjustment, if only to eliminate it from other possibilities. The adjustment is carried out by placing the gear lever in neutral and adjusting the cable where it attaches immediately below the lever mechanism. If the cable and its locknut have been slightly misadjusted, movement caused by the running gearbox could make all the difference to the alignment necessary for correct lamp illumination. Mike.

[Robban59]

Mike thanks very much for your suggestion, I will check the selector cable and see if it needs a small adjustement !