Key transponder module

[Mini]

I recently bought a 1996 xk8 which the previous owner told me had suddenly stopped cranking and the alarm was going off. I only have one key and no fobs.

Having now got it the symptoms are

On unlocking the car with the key the Alarm goes off and doesn’t stop if the key is inserted into the ignition with 8 seconds.

The car will not crank but the dash lights come on.

The boot and petrol flap button do not work.

I am guessing this is the KTM.

So 2 questions.
If I buy a mongoose cable and SDd IDS v130 will this help with diagnosing ?
And if it is the KTM will IDS v130 be able to program a second hand KTM to my ECU ?


Thanks

[Astromorg]

Before you jump in at the deep-end can I suggest you first confirm that the battery is in first class condition and fully charged. As the car is new to you, also note the age of the battery - it should be on the battery somewhere. If it's over five years old, renew it.
These cars are notorious for misbehaving when the battery finds it difficult to hold a charge.

[mike020150]

Again, following the line of Astromorg's comments, can you be sure that the sole key you have, isn't simply a mechanical key without the vital electronics buried in its head or is one which has not been programmed to the car? Mike.

[Mini]

More info. The battery is brand new and fully charged.

According to PO this key used to work. Not sure how I verify that. When put in the ignition the dash lights come on and noises happen in the engine area but will not crank.

No DTC codes on basic scanner.

Symptoms

Door lock unlock does not trigger alarm. Key in the ignition does.
Boot and petrol lid will not activate from buttons
Valet button seems kind of broken and is permanently pushed in.


Any thoughts appreciated

[Lucky]

What colour is the key you have - black or green?

[Mini]

Black

[Lucky]

Good, it's a proper key not the valet key.

[Astromorg]

Could it be that the Inertia Switch, in the passenger side dash fuse box, has tripped?

[Mini]

Afraid not. I have tried resetting that.

Thanks

[Astromorg]

Looking through the electrical diagrams for some signs of commonality for your faults and it may be of relevance that the fuel flap, the boot release, the Ignition Key IN switch and the Not-in-park switch all share a common ground point. Not-in-park would prevent starting. You might try getting round that by trying to start in Neutral, but if the Ignition Key IN Switch is OOA that too would prevent starting I assume.

Their common ground point is on the passenger side A post

All your electrical circuits can be found here http://www.jagrepair.com/images/AutoRep ... xk1997.pdf
Ground points are on page 17 and Fig 13.1. Don't miss Data Page 13.1. Data pages come after all the diagrams pages.

[Mini]

Thanks a lot for the investigation and you were right the earth was very rusty. However I am afraid the symptoms still persist.

Any more thoughts ?

Thanks

[MarkX]

Have you tried the following "soft" computer style reset:
1. disconnect the battery
2. hold the positive and negative cables together
3. reconnect the battery

Also another possibility - the transponder chip in the key may have failed. It's not unknown for this to happen. Do you have any indication as to the code of your existing key? If you do it's relatively straight forward to get a new key & chip ready to program.

[Mini]

Yes I have done the reset.

How do I find out the code on the key ?

Thanks

[Astromorg]

Sorry I can't add anything to help Mark's ideas along, so some other thoughts that have come to my mind.

If the various faults are not inter-related, then the engine start problem could just be the starter relay or its fuses. The relay is in the driver's side enclosure. Exactly where is shown on Page 23 of the Electrical Diagrams that I sent you the link for earlier. The fuses are F3, 25A in the Engine Management Fuse Box in the lefthand engine enclosure and F5, 10A in the Engine Compartment Fuse box

For situation wrt the fuel flap and trunk release. The two solenoids for those systems are also on Fig 13.1 and like their switches, they share a ground point. It's in the boot/trunk close to the main battery ground stud. Possibly another corroded one. If it is corroded, this might be a sign that spending some time checking all ground connections as shown on page 17 would not be time wasted.

The awkward thing about these cars is that after a few old-school type checks of grounds, fuses and relays, it's easy to get into a guessing game that can get expensive with limited progress! I think your safest bet is to get a scan done for the codes that are surely there, but probably only readable by a Jaguar enabled scanner ie Bxxxx, Uxxxx, Cxxxx and Jaguar specific Pxxxx codes. The system you asked about sounds the right one, though I know the very early X100s can prove troublesome to many scanners that service later X100s and other Jaguars well. Contacting David Marks could get you some assurance before you commit.

[MarkX]

When cars were originally supplied they had a plastic tag on one of the black keys with the key number. If there is no tag it may be worth checking your owner documentation as some of these numbers may have been transcribed at some point by the dealers/ garages selling the cars on. If no luck then I'd probably contact a Jaguar Dealer to see if they can do anything.

Having slept on it I am wondering if there is something else happening as you are getting dash lights. To Astromorg's point it may be that there are multiple issues and having the codes read as you have suggested would be a good move. Have you put any form of code reader on at all to have a look? I am wondering if just using a cheap reader could help? John of To the Garage / Secrets of the XK8 You Tube channel fame has a 96 XK and recommends this very cheap reader - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Generic-U480-C ... s_li_ss_tl
Its unlikely to do the full works but at a 1/3 of the price of one code read at my local specialist may be worth a punt.

ALSO: Is the chirp sounder still connected and functional? They have standalone rechargeable batteries that degrade over time and if they fail, they can introduce a number of gremlins. The chirp sounder is located inside the offside front wheel arch and if not already unplugged it may be worth unplugging it.