I drive a 2005 3.0L jaguar x type and I parked it for a couple days and it won't start. It cranks and it's not timing, spark, fuel or compression. My check engine light was on so I pulled the codes and got a P0420 and a P0430 which leads me to believe my Catalytic Converter is shot. Is there any way to diagnosis the cat before I go out and change it and if so how would I go about doing it. Also is there any way I can get it to run and drive it? I'm not concerned about my emissions. Could it be a fuse or an O2 sensor?

 

kolbe, your problem most likely is the fuel pump. Seen this on a lot of cars. I have 2 things for you to try. The first is to make sure everything is turned off in the car (stereo, dash fan, etc). Now, rotate the key to the RUN position (NOT START). You should hear a faint whirring sound that goes for a second or two and then stop. This is the fuel pump priming the fuel rail. After say 2 seconds of the car sitting in RUN, now take the car to START and see if the motor will start now. Sometimes it will. This is a sign that your fuel pump is starting to fail and it is allowing the fuel rail to drain back to the tank.

If you turn the key to the RUN position and you don't hear the fuel pump run, then you will need a second person. What you are going to do now is have one person turn the key to the START position as the second person lays on the ground in front of the right rear tire. The person laying on the ground is going to want to look at the bottom of the gas tank and find a half moon indention in the gas tank. Making a fist, hit upwards in the middle of that half moon. This will jar the fuel pump and sometimes cause it to start working. But again, this is a sign of the fuel pump on its way out and it will need to be replaced.

Now, I am making an assumption that you are not getting a message on the instrument cluster saying something to the effect of "Security Failure" and that you are not getting a red light on the center console. Both of these would say that your problem is not with the engine, but with the security system of the car. This is a different monster in itself. The final thing to ponder is while unlikely, your inertia switch for the fuel pump may have tripped and simply depressing the reset button will reapply power.

Try what I have said, tell us what you found so we can take things from there. With what you have described, it can be a lot of things. This is where we can walk through this one step at a time to narrow the possibilities down.

 

Thank you for the information. I'll check the fuel pump tomorrow to see if I can hear it running. do you know if there are any spots I can check for fuel pressure? I know they deleted the schrader valve but is there any kind of hose I can disconnect to check for fuel? I was suspecting fuel at first but I didn't know how to diagnosis it. The tank is pretty low on gas (under a quarter of a tank) do you think filling it up would help the pump?

 

You said it's not timing, spark, fuel, etc. but now you think it's fuel? Have you tested for spark? If it cranks, it can also be ignition - so perhaps a bad CPS which won't show a CEL or code.

 

For diagnostic purposes, get a can of spray starter fluid and shoot it up the breather inlet or into a vacuum port. If it fires up for a second, you've got a fuel blockage or fuel pump issue that may be the fuel pump, fuse or relay.

 

The way to check the Cat is a temperature check using a laser pointer temp gage when the cat is up to temperature. The inlet end of the cat should be cooler then the exit end of the cat if working properly but of course you need the engine running first

 

I had a similar problem with my 2007 x-type located in the USA. Sat for several weeks with low fuel. No start. Troubleshooting led me to assume that it was the fuel pump. Was not looking forward to that expense. Did more investigation and read where perhaps the ethanol mix and water may cause similar no start. Added a small bottle of dry gas and added an additional 5 gallons. The next day, the car started and has been running fine since. I no longer let the car sit for extended periods or will low fuel. Adding the dry gas and additional fuel worked for me.
Squito

 

kolbe, like was stated, remove the vacuum line off the top of the intake, squirt in some starter fluid, put the vacuum line back on and then attempt to start the car. If it catches and runs for a second or so (depends on how much starter fluid you sprayed in). then you have pretty much confirmed a fuel pressure issue.

Unfortunately, there is no way to check the fuel pressure on your car. It sucks, but it was decided it wasn't needed.

 

Thanks for all the advice guys I was able to get it started not 100% sure what did it but I know the fuel pump wasn't priming when I turned the key. It ended up kicking back in and I may have to replace it in the future. Thanks for all the tips