Hi guys,

I have a problem and I need advice if anyone has encountered it..

I own a 2014 Jaguar F-Type S. In a rather critical situation here in the Czech Republic, water poured into my car, despite parking it in a garage.
The engine and trunk remained intact, but to the interior leaked through the door and water stood there for about 12 hours - especially on the right side (passenger side), where there could be, say, 20cm of water. I immediately disconnected the car from the battery. Surprisingly the seat units work even though they oxidized, and I bought the new seats (but without new units, when the old ones works). I cleaned the carpet and let it dry properly, the interior too, I cleaned and dried everything to the last part (in the interior). I cleaned the contacts with contact cleaner, checked all the fuses in the car - none were blown.
The interior is folded. Everything works perfectly, but it won't start the engine. The ignition can be turned on, the only error is the warning about the locked steering wheel, which cannot be moved. When I try to start it nothing happens and after about 2 seconds everything shuts off as if I manually turned the ignition off.
Disconnecting both batteries does not help, as I wrote, all the fuses are OK, the battery was very discharged after the flood, but I charged it to 100% with the charger. Unfortunately no change.

Is it possible to determine a possible cause based on the symptoms, or I will not miss the towing?
Thank you for any help.
Denis

 

Isn't there a fuse box under the carpet in the footwell, or is that later MYs? Have you checked that?

 

Thanks for the reply, yes it is. I checked fuse after fuse this fuse box, as well as one under the steering wheel on the left, the two in the engine and in the trunk. Everything is OK.

I searched and found that one is related to the other. If the car locks the steering wheel for some reason, it cannot be started. I found a solution, including a Hard Reset, which is described as disconnecting the "-" battery cable and connecting it to the connected "+" for 30 seconds. Does something like this work for the F-Type as well? The second option can be the doors. I didn't open them and theoretically it could also be damp if there is a unit there..? I don't have keyless unlocking, the remote control works correctly, as do the windows, alarm and others.

 

The battery disconnect trick has worked for others on the F-Type, usually after a smog test that leaves the car with a power drain. Have you read any codes -as that may give clues as to what the car thinks is stopping it from starting?

 

Unfortunately no, I don't have diagnostics and, frankly, due to the very difficult availability, unfortunately I have no idea how I should have the car towed to the JLR service from there, that's why I'm first trying to find a possible solution to start the car myself..
So in theory I could try a "hard reset" by connecting the + and - battery cable, if that wouldn't help..?

 

Usually the battery reset is to shutdown any "stuck" modules that haven't responded to their shurdown request. Since your battery went flat that should have shutdown all the modules anyway. Are you sure the battery hasn't been irreparably damaged by running flat? It may show lots of volts, but it's current that will start the car.

 

I honestly have no idea. It was discharged, according to the charger, almost completely, but the car was able to unlock, start the ignition, etc. It only reported a low battery level. After recharging, it showed 100% and the car does not write low status. Discharged enough to disconnect the car completely, but it wasn't. Only today I disconnected the + and - on both batteries for about 30 minutes - with no change.

 

So, okay, connecting + and - did nothing..

 

One note? Your not in the US but over here the dealers have started to turn away 10+ year old jaguars and will not work on them anymore? I would at least call your nearest JLR dealer and ask if they still work on 2014 cars?
I don't know how much money your willing to spend on the car either? Again it's 10+ years old and with used car values it might not be worth fixing depending on cost?

Usually the only way this will work is if you can DIY the repairs.
.
.
.

 

I often go to the local JLR, it's still a relatively new generation car, the service is unlimited. Paradoxically, the car was just 3 days after a major $4,200 service...
Still dripping from the chassis from the center of the car and around the exhaust. I don't know if the water could have affected the wiring there, but anything from the bumper down should be ready for water, so I doubt it.
The interior is dry, today I also removed the door cards and everything is fine, there was no water in the door.
Apart from the warning about the locked steering wheel and the inability to start, everything is fully functional, as if nothing had happened. According what I was looking for is one related to the other, probably due to security. The engine does not even try to start, the starter does not even move. So it will be electronics - either a battery as written above, but I don't know if I could help myself in any way by replacing it, because it needs to be registered and I don't know if there would be any change without registration, or stray currents will confuse some control unit, for example an immobilizer, or something similar. With regard to the functionality of everything other, I perceive that it should perhaps be just some banality and not an ultra glitch. Unfortunately, I haven't come up with anything yet.
I will try to contact JLR for advice, but I am still afraid of the answer "we don't know, come". Which wouldn't be a problem, but given the access to the garage and the fact that my F-Type is lowered by 30mm on 21" wheels, I can't imagine how I'd get someone in here. And I can't push away, because the exit is very uphill and it doesn't work the steering wheel..

 

I don't think the battery has to be "registered" - dealers will run a programme to set it up but as far as I'm aware the car will sort it out for itself given a bit of time. If you have a new, fully charged battery you could attach it via the underbonnet jump terminals and see if that makes any difference. But it would certainly be in your interest to get the codes read rather than stumbling around in the dark - see what the car thinks is the problem.

 

is the car still wet? All the connectors have to be checked. Will the car lock and unlock?
do you here the starter engage? Terrible situation…

 

Clearly, diagnostics would be the best solution. But I don't have it, there is no one in the area who specializes in JLR and it will not be easy to get the car to the service, so I am trying to postpone it as much as possible..
I could take a spare battery from the Passat B9, but I don't know if it would have enough capacity. I don't have the original battery for the F-Type available, I would have to buy it.

As I wrote, the interior is completely dry. Water still drips in small amounts from the undercarriage in the center of the car and around the exhaust.
I described the behavior of the car above, to put it simply, it works perfectly correctly, including unlocking and locking, alarm, air conditioning, infotainment, sound, lights, seats, mirrors,... Everything. The only error message is the locked steering wheel, which is really locked.
When the ignition is on, it works, but when I try to start it, after about 2 seconds, the car turns off the ignition, the starter does not even start to turn.
​​​​​​​The electronics are apparently blocking it, apparently in connection with the locked steering wheel.

 

It might be worth getting a Bluetooth OBD2 reader, they aren't as good for reseting things as the proper obd2 readers but would be a cheap way of finding out current errors that are logged.

Other thoughts are these cars can be susceptible to the main earth corroding which can stop it turning over, under the wheel arch on the front left (I think).

Other thought is you need your foot on the brake to start it, could the sensor on the brake pedal be faulty / waterlogged?

 

Thanks for the tips. I can look under the wheel arch, the question is how high it is and if it would have time to corrode that much in 12 hours.
The sensor can also be a tip, but it will probably be above the pedal? The water wasn't that high. Also, the brake lights work, being a bad sensor, they probably wouldn't come on, right?
Anyway, I'll try to call JLR service tomorrow and ask about the options. And probably, as you write, I will try to buy the diagnostics and find out more.

 

In a telephone consultation, JLR confirmed that the impossibility of starting is 99% due to the security system due to the locked steering wheel. The steering wheel can be locked for several reasons, one of which is the immobilizer unit.
On Wednesday, a local mechanic will come with universal diagnostics to find out more. It might help smooth out the mistakes, but I doubt it.
We'll see, stay tuned.

 

Good luck!

 

FYI, there’s quite a bit on the Electronic Steering Column Lock (ESCL) in the workshop manual, search for ESCL. It’s powered from the Central Junction Box (CJB). “The CJB is an integrated unit mounted at the base of the left 'A' pillar. The CJB contains fuses, relays
and a number of microprocessors…”

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/o6d1x...k7yc02pyx&dl=0

 

I'll look at it, thanks!

 

Hello from Germany

same happended to a friend of mine. Jeep Grand Cherokee flooded, inside the passenger room 15 cm water up to the seat frame.

Result - Total loss because of water in a lot electronic parts. His insurance payed the residual value.

Thomas