Hello,

Recently repaired my broken 4-3 spring within valvebody - however I have no way of clearing fault codes - will these clear themselves?

Also, is it likely th stored codes are causing problems to remain present?

Thanks.

 

After a small number of warm-up drives the MIL should go out and the car considers the problem(s) fixed. The actual codes are stored for ages just in case they turn out to be needed but do not affect drivability. (An OBD tool can clear them.)

If the MIL is still on then one or more faults are present.

Normally you'd have disconnected the battery during the repair and that clears the codes completely. You can still disconnect it. Afterwards you'll need radio code, to reset windows and so on (see handbook).

 

Thanks,

Well the other annoying thing is there is no fault message on the light cluster - i thought the broken 4-3 spring would solve this slipping problem.

If anyone has had similar issues please get in touch.

 

Codes provide far more detail (see the PDF) than any message centre so do you still have any codes?

 

Hello JagV8,

Here's the dilemma,

3 weeks ago we road-tested the car with a technician - prior to this test NEVER ONCE saw any fault messages or mileage readout on LED cluster - I was told "a fuse might have blown somewhere" when purchased Jaguar in February - the occasional intermittent "BOOT OPEN" appeared even though it was shut...

So during road test, technician switched-off and restarted car (can't fully recall his key method)...we pulled-off and "GEARBOX FAULT" flashed up on LED cluster. Also the next day vehicle mileage and even "LOW FUEL" message appeared...then slowly "flickered" out - wiring problem?

Since then absolutely nothing has appeared on LED cluster - even with low fuel in the car and transmission symptoms still present.

Recently another garage couldn't retrieve any fault codes.

This morning I hard reset the ECU - for 2-3 seconds "BOOT OPEN" reappeared - and again slowly "flickered out" never to reappear.

Can anyone suggest if wiring looms need attention or how the technician was on this occasion able to produce fault message?

Much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

To hard reset I suppose you opened the boot so it may be that there's a damaged wire and the likely place would be where it flexes (have a look at boot hinges and harnesses by there). Otherwise I'd suspect water/damp in the boot - often seen under the spare if you look very carefully. Nightmare if you have that (see existing threads) but fixable with effort.

Fuse/relay also a possibility and best way to debug those is probably to swap them one at a time so you know what you did and when.

 

How's the battery, how old is it. Have you checked it ? I suggest you get a hygrometer and check each cell, one or more could be weak and giving you problems.

 

Hey Lenard. Sometimes I'll end up tripping a code in my S-Type from starting the car without a component connected or something. Leona can either take a 10 minute drive to clear codes or sometimes can take days and days.

I'm assuming you don't have the diagnostic tool to scan and reset the codes yourself, so here's my advice. Rather than doing the whole "disconnect the battery for 10-20 minutes" thing, I say drive your car down to your nearest AutoZone or whatever and ask them to scan the codes in your car. Not only will you know exact what codes have been having issues lately, but then ask the person to reset the codes.

So those are your four options; either wait it out, or disconnect the battery, or buy a code scanner (that has the reset feature) or have an auto parts store reset it for ya. I say use the "wait it out" method until you happen to be driving by an auto parts place and then stop in and have'em reset it. JbB

 

He's in England. No AutoZone here and no free OBD tests. Could get a cheap tool from ebay or such as Gendan.

 

Hey JagV8, what's the cheapest scanner you've found online that's capable of doing a code reset for our cars? I did some research a few weeks back but gave up because I wasn't sure what would work with Jaguars. The scanner the autoparts store, AutoZone, uses here on my car to reset codes is $70-$80 U.S. dollars ('bout £50) local.

 

you can display 3 DTC's and other checks by using
S-TYPE Instrument Cluster Self-Diagnostic ETM
To place the cluster in ETM, perform the following:

• Press and hold the stalk trip cycle button whilst turning the ignition from position 0 to position II, until 'ENGINEERING TEST MODE’ is displayed on the RH Message Centre display. The stalk trip cycle button must be released within three seconds of 'ENGINEERING TEST MODE’ being displayed or the instrument cluster will exit Self- Diagnostic mode.
• To navigate forward through the instrument cluster Self-Diagnostic Mode tests, press the trip computer ‘MLS/KMS’ button.
• To navigate backward through the instrument cluster Self-Diagnostic Mode tests, press the trip computer ‘A/B’ button.
• To exit Self-Diagnostic Mode, press the stalk trip cycle button for more than three seconds.
• The Self-Diagnostic Mode is also deactivated when the ignition switch is turned to the 'OFF' position, or low battery voltage is detected.
• If the Self-Diagnostic Mode cannot be accessed (check function of buttons), use IDS/WDS to diagnose the instrument cluster.

 

ETM's not a particularly good plan as you don't know enough about where they're from or how old. If you want to know more about it lookup my old posts on it which explain in detail.

I got the cheapest elm327 off ebay. Then bought another for a mate. Both work fine but some pre-2003 S-Type owners report they have problems (different comms on those cars). The cheapies I bought just work everywhere but maybe I got lucky. About £8 ($13) now I think.

You need a laptop (or similar) so if you've not got one then get any standalone tool.

 

Good to know, thanks.

 

Thanks for all your replies,

I've driven the car a couple of times since on short journeys and nothing has appeared including the LOW FUEL warning when running low.


Jagv8 - is it possible that a certain electronic fault would prevent a garage from pulling codes from the Jaguar? We want the codes as i've just replaced the 4-3 prestroke spring and want to diagnose any knock-on effects (and clear the prestroke code).

I'm under the impression the garage (reputable in my mind before I dealt with them) didn't provide me the codes because i'm capable of changing, for example, the solenoid block - making them no profit.

Do the following symptoms sound familiar for solenoid failure - a judder when a) hitting the gas b) kick-down at speed and theatrical hill-starts of 2500 - 3000 rpm for a snail pace crawl...

Someone suggested the rear-diff could be shot?

I'm keen to keep this pretty black cat on the road.

 

Also,

The "stalk trip button" - I don't see one.
It's a 2000 model but there's a trip button is on the dash cluster?

 

An OBD tool can have no communication but would say so. Not common (except with bad OBD devices lol). The kind I listed have always "just worked fine". If the battery's been off the PCM codes are already lost.

I don't have that trans so you need someone else for those sort of mechanical details.

 

JagV8,

You said battery's disconnect removes the PCM codes - but if the problem still exists after reconnect will these re-appear when ECU is plugged-in.

Thanks.

 

Yes (*). Read the codes PDF to understand more.

(*) not always!! Be aware that sometimes it can be that because of clearing the codes (whether by OBD tool or battery off) the PCM cannot figure out what is wrong and just ends in a mess. Rare but does happen and debugging is then a nightmare. This is why you should never clear codes (any way) unless you believe you have fixed the fault(s).

 

Well we tried again with the garage technician and discovered "ERR" codes are still being thrown-up before each of the 9 ECU's. I.e the Car is failing to communicate with the outside world (hence the lack of cluster activity).

There's a bad connection somewhere - which would explain why the cluster lamp very rarely illuminates (weeks ago) and fizzles out slowly - poor circuit.

So if I wanted to resistance-test each brain and isolate the ECU with the bad connection - could I test this myself to then isolate and pin-point the problem wiring loom?

What kind of pack-tester would i need?

Thanks.

 

There will be no such tester but you likely won't need any. Chances are you have one or more:
1. corroded/chafed wire
2. corroded connection and/or splice
3. bad relay/fuse
4. a bad module
(5. did I forget anything?)

JTIS shows you where everything (nearly!) is so "all" you need is that, plenty of time and to work logically making careful notes.

Avoid test lights etc because they can readily burn out the delicate items (a DVOM is OK).

Ideally you'd have a decent OBD tool (such as AE - AutoEnginuity) so you could remove a module and check the rest of the networks, then repeat with each module in turn.

Things to check include water/damp such as in the boot and getting down between windscreen & scuttle (aka cowl) - but you could have a problem anywhere.

Expect this to be very time-consuming unless you get lucky, even if you have AE. For a tech it may cost more than buying another car of the era of yours