A short history: this car was suffering from a battery drain that I traced to a faulty ADCM-CONTROL UNIT module. The main plug had suffered a broken pin and a previous owner had soldered in a wire to bypass it and in so doing had inadvertently connected wired power to standby power and this caused the drain. I replaced the module and returned the wiring in the plug to its original configuration and the battery drain disappeared.

From the beginning last August when I bought the car it has shown the CATS system fault and it continues to show it now. I am not sure whether the ADCM module change had any effect on the fault display.

I had the car into a local British car operation but his scanner would not deal with the CATS system and he was unfamiliar with this particular system on an S type. He suggested taking it to the dealer.

The dealer wants at least an hour to run a general check/scan on the car and this will cost about two hundred dollars.

I wonder if Canadian Tire would have a scanner that might do the check.

My question: is there anything simple I can do like disconnecting the battery and touching the leads together to see if I can get the CATS system operational before I book an appointment with the dealer?

My local mechanic said that the suspension does seem to be hard and somewhat locked up. He tried to push the rear end up and down in my presence and it would hardly move. The car's ride is very firm. I just took this to be Jaguar sporty type suspension but he replied that it should be more responsive. He let me see the underside of the car when up on the hoist and he drew my attention to the rear suspension unit which he thought had been replaced. Perhaps this is a source of the CATS fault?

This is all new to me. My 95 Volvo seems quite primitive alongside this car!

Bob

 

You could buy yourself a mongoose clone on the ebay and then use a copy of the SDD/IDS program to check the codes. I use v1.30 as it stand alone and does not need an internet connection. Then use the JTIS program from the stickies to fault check. This would be the cheapest option for you

It is not recommended to program modules with a clone.

 

You'll need to have the module programmed, and I recommend someone with an SDD to do that.


Also on a few rare occasions, I've had cases where it will show a CATS system fault on the dash, but when you look at the vehicle configuration, it shows NOT to have it, when the car is fitted, that is just as simple as changing the configuration file ( has to be done by SDD ). Since the wiring has been tampered with, I would go through and check fuses to make sure fuses aren't blown as well.

 

I had to take my car to a shop that had AutoEnginuity to clear the CATS "C" prefix codes. I had errently set the codes by powering on the system with the shocks disconnected during a service. Nothing would clear the codes except the Jaguar dealer's system or a shop a with high end system like AutoEnginuity (cost I think is around $10,000).

The cost for clearing the codes at the shop (Cerrone's European in Redwood City, CA) with AutoEnginuity was $78 so a relatively cheap lesson learned. Shops using this software provide a written report on the codes found. If there's a true fault in the system this can give clues where to look.

 

I did pull many if not most of the fuses in the search for the battery drain. This brought me to the ADCM module as the culprit and then I changed it out and the drain disappeared.

Sorry to be so ignorant but what is an SDD?

The local Volkswagen dealer has said over the phone that he could run a scan for me for sixty-four dollars as a basic charge. I could go for that.

 

Perhaps this is the way to go. A Volkswagen dealer has offered a scan for a fairly reasonable sixty-four dollars. In my case I disconnected the ADCM module and pulled a lot of fuses searching for the battery drain, but the CATS system fault was showing before I started all that.

 

Since I am unfamiliar with the terms 'mongoose clone', 'SDD/IDS' and 'JTIS' and 'stickies' perhaps I am unfit to go your way. You really are speaking a language that is almost unintelligible to me at this point in my history with the car. Maybe next year I will have learned enough to adequately understand your post but for right now I guess I will have to get some help from the garage. But thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt.

 

Don't worry.
JTIS stands for Jaguar Technical Information System. ( its a computerized workshop manual) easy to use.https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s-type-s-type-r-supercharged-v8-x200-15/details-win7-64-bit-new-install-method-new-jtis21-s-type-archive-66031/
Treat yourself to an elm 327 from Amazon for excample, this a code reader for the engine will cost around 15 dollars.
If you have an Apple/ Android phone then you can get an app which will allow you clear the engine codes. Bluetooth or WiFi elm needed

I use a French program on a laptop with usb or wifi elm. https://www.boutiqueobdfacile.com/eobd-facile-software-a64.html you can get a free copy to try but to clear codes you will have to buy a copy.
The advantage for you is you can read your neighbours codes for them and get a few pennies back as it will work on most OBD II cars.

The mongoose pro is manufacture specific
​​​OBDII reader. The Jaguar version can be bought from the internet when you google it. It quite often comes with the program but do not use it has been found have a virus.

It has been found that the best version that works on the pre 2005 s types is version 1.30. I can point you in the right direction if you want a copy.

I tool will allow you to read the codes that are deep in the system that are specific for Jaguars and allow you to deal with them.

when you have problems just ask. The only stupid question is the one you did not ask.

 

The easiest way to see if you have CATS suspension is to go to the front of the car look at the top of the suspension struts under the bonnet/hood and if they have a wire coming out then you have CATS suspension.

 

Okay. Thanks for your patience and for your explanations for all of the initials. So far I have been getting through life without an Apple or Android phone [although I do have a simple cell phone that I use for emergency calls and for travel calls] so this would not seem to be an option for me at the moment. I am still using a computer with windows 7 as its operating system. Might be time for me to switch but for the time being what could I use? I had a look at the elm 327 offerings on Amazon and there is a plethora of choices all at very reasonable prices. Perhaps I could ask for a lead in that direction. Still feeling a little drowned with all of the initials. OBD II? for example.

 

I also had to learn all of this. My Jaguar is the first time that I came across this.

OBDII is an Industrie standard that means that the problems with a car are logged to help with fault finding. I do not know how it works but it is very helpful.

You plug in the interface (elm 327 for excample) and it will read the codes for you. Once you have the code the JTIS will tell you what to do in fault finding step by step.

I have a laptop which I bought second hand of flea bay for peanuts it also runs on windows 7. I found that it is better to use a 32 bit one (even cheaper). I have then installed all the programs for the jag on that.

I use the elm with the USB connection but you can not use this setup when driving the car.
The French program I find to be very easy to use it has free updates.

These cars are very expensive when you go to the workshop to deal with faults.

I had one when the car ran in restricted mode because I drove over train crossing and the microphone which makes sure that the engine timing is correct picked up the noise. It would have cost a lot of money by a dealer but I checked the code.

read up on the JTIS and checked the part and everything was in order. reset and drove off and everything OK.

I find that there are a lot of helpful people on the Jaguar Forums who will be willing to help you.

 

I have a friend with a couple of elm 327s and he is going to come over this afternoon. He has had no luck diagnosing his Subaru so far but maybe one of them will work with the Jag. They use Bluetooth so I guess I don't need to find a USB hookup somewhere. I will try to download the JTIS manual today and if I am able to get something from the elm 327, maybe I can progress further with the diagnosis. I am totally on board with your aversion to dealers [Volvo taught me that a long time ago] but my lack of knowledge about computer diagnostic skills is holding me back. I am looking forward to the challenge and you have given me some of the tools to do the job. Thanks for the encouragement. Will report back later on what I find.

 

There is a wire coming up from the top of the suspension so the CATS system seems to be installed.

 

You won't be able to get the code for the CAT from the elm it only works with the engine. Get a copy of the French program that I gave you the link for. It will work on your friends phone. Make sure the elm is version1.5

It will also help him with his car because it lets you choose the car manufacturer and then you get the correct diagnostic codes.

To read the code from the CAT you will need the jlr mongoose pro
e.g.
http://m.obd2tuning.com//jlr-mongoose-pro-for-jaguar-land-rover-v139-jlr-mongoose-cable-p-4.html.

but don't use the program it will not work with your s type
you would need this version
http://www.jaguarforum.com/showthread.php?t=75260

If you want to go this route I will be able to help with the installation.

 

Hi Ducmon,

My [formerly heavy duty truck mechanic] pal hooked up the elm after finding the connector under the dashboard near the steering column and then he tried to access the car computer using an Android ipod with Bluetooth. He could not get any intelligible responses doing this. I am not sure of the elm version but I think it corresponded to the one you recommended. I am currently trying to follow the links you provided to get the JTIS manual downloaded to my computer. I do have a Jaguar manual already but it does not provide any computer diagnosis from what I have been able to discern so far. I will find the link for the French program and try to download it once I have succeeded in getting the JTIS manual. Again, thanks for your patience. This is a steep learning curve for me.

Bob

 

No luck downloading the JITI file so far. I ran into some kind of roadblock about volume, i.e., "The required volume is absent" and on the next line "CRC failed in DATA\Graphic\J0003231.GIF" This appeared after many lines about extracting GIFs. I tried playing around with it but cannot overcome the obstacle. This is material I tried to download from Jim Lombardi's file. I do have a 32 bit HP computer to work with, by the way. Will keep trying.

On the French mongoose site, should I buy the Basic Edition at 30 euros or the Plus edition at 50 euros? 30 euros is about what I would pay the VW dealer to scan my system so it does make me think about the outlay at this point in my education. Can you point me to that 1.30 version you mention?

Bob

 

The French site is for the elm 327 it used to allow you to have a trail version which had all the functions except for the ability to clear codes. This only works on the engine codes and abs as far as I know.

To use the SDD/IDS program which was the jaguar dealer program you need a mongoose.
Here is where you can get the program but install it on a computer that can not go to the internet or it will update and then it will no longer work as you will have to pay each time you want it to diagnose the car. This is why I have an old laptop.

http://www.jaguarforum.com/showthread.php?t=93783.

Try to down load the JTIS once again and follow the instructions through that are shown.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/general-tech-help-7/jtis21-win7-64-install-method-new-archives-65926/

 

Ducmon,

I have ordered the following from Ali Express.

2017 Newly V2.1 Super mini USB elm327 OBDII code reader scanner ELM 327 OBD2 auto diagnostic tool free shipping

It includes a usb connector and a couple of discs.

Will this get me started?

Bob

 

Yes it will get you up and running pm me with you e mail address and I will send you a trail version of the French program.

 

SDD is the diagnostic software that is recommended for programming modules on Jaguar, such as your model. It stands for Symptom Driven Diagnostics. There are other diagnostics systems that are out there that will read codes on Jaguars, and maybe some programming, but I think for some its best to use genuine diagnostic software for programming. Depending on your VIN, you'll either be able to use SDD, or the previous version which was called IDS, but the SDD will automatically revert back to the proper program when connecting to your car.