Wet Feet

[PaulE]

Returning from a delightful run and lunch with the Lincs. North members last Sunday, I was rounding a quite sharp left - hand bend onto the A1 when my feet were unexpectedly cooled by a trickle of water from somewhere which lasted no more than 10 seconds. It had not rained, but the aircon had been on all day, and we had been through a ford about 6 inches deep which are the only sources of cold water which come to mind.. Anyone had a similar experience? I think I shall do nothing and see what happens next. Any other ideas?

[BigCatXJS]

Hi,
Depending on the XJS model you have, then there is a known issue with the drainage pipes for the Delanaire Air Conditioning getting blocked-up. The water cannot escape so collects and eventually spills over into the passenger/drivers footwell

Best checking to see if you have damp footwell carpets.

Check-out the fault database at KWE;

http://www.kwecars.com/jaguar/tech-centre/index.php and click to download the xls spreadsheet; check row 51 - matches your symptoms!

Rich.

[PaulE]

Thanks for that Rich, and I am sure you are right to suspect the condensate drains. The KWE site suggests 'access the control box' as if it is second nature (which to them it will be), but for lesser mortals such as me, how does one do that? I can put my finger in and dislodge the accumulated debris OK if I am given a clue on how to approach the site. Any hints?

[almcl]

Remove to two screws holding the plastic footwell vent and slide the cheek panel off.

You should see a double ended flexible plastic duct coming off the air con unit going to the fan (and you may want to remove the underscuttle casing to make things easier.) You can remove this double duct to get access to the unit and remove whatever it is that's causing the blockage.

You should then be able to see where the clear plastic drain tubes come off the bottom of the unit and go through the transmission tunnel. If you don't fancy the chinese puzzle of reattaching the flexi duct, it may be easier to go in via the clear tubes.

[ng4xjs]

It is a bad design fault with these cars. Had a larger diameter piece of tubing been used I suspect the problem would not be so manifest.

The other cheat is to squirt a little compressed air up the tubes from underneath. Not always an easy option but worth it if you have access to a lift and some air.

You also need to watch out that this water doesn’t overflow into the blower motors as it will over time create all sorts of issues. Clearly the best course of action is to keep the pipes properly cleaned out. However. I remember drilling a small hole in the base of each blower assemblies to drain water out and in truth was surprised by the amount that had collected there (Obviously not suggesting anyone else tries this.) on a previous XJS of mine.

Nick

[PaulE]

600 miles now done with dry feet following a good squirt of compressed air up the drain tubes which released a deluge onto the floor. All a bit crude but in future a job to be done at each service I feel. Has anybody fitted larger dia. drain tubes? If so was it a cure. As remarked this is a built - in fault with these cars and a permanent cure is really needed. Any suggestions?

[dhdove]

Paul

Congrats on releasing the flood from the air con chamber.

Remember though that all you have done is blown the offending blockage back into the chamber to rejoin the rest of the debris. This will last an indeterminate length of time until it blocks the tubes again.
Long term there is no substitute for accessing the chamber as detailed above and cleaning all the crap out by hand - if only I had a pound for all the times I've done this over the years

Regards
TonyS

[PaulE]

Another 200 miles with dry feet since last entry, but as this is an obvious fault with these cars I feel that a more permanent cure is needed, Has anyone fitted larger drain tubes?

Good thing the cold water did not descend on my wifes feet or the love affair with Jaguar could be wearing thin. I have never heard of this problem with other brands yet the same aircon system seems to be used in many others, Strange.

[poprivet]

I'm sure there were photos in the gallery covering the problem but I don't know if the gallery is still available? I haven't found it yet