So here is one for ya...

I have an 02 X Type, roughly 40k miles on it, never any problems.

Then all of a sudden, the starter solenoid started ticking, and I could hear the starter spinning down. Thanks to this forum, I had a clue on how to replace the starter. Which I did.

In replacing the starter, I removed the battery. Then removed the engine support that the starter was bolted through. Removed the ground wire and electrical connection. I managed to get wiggle the starter out.

And by stroke of luck, I was able to get the starter back in, re-attached the ground, the electrical connection. Re-attached the engine supports, and then the battery.

Turned the key, and the belts turned; but no luck on the start up. A Matco tester attached to the battery questioned whether a battery was attached or not. Soooo.... I replaced the battery with a fresh one from DieHard.

So I'm thinking, Great! I should be good to go!

NOooooooooooooooo....
I got in, turn the key, and nothing but the mechanical sound of the starter turning. At first, since I could not see under the hood while I was turning the key, I thought that the flywheel was also bad.

But once I had my father standing under the hood (an aircraft mechanic by trade mind you), he could see that the belts were turning; albeit not very fast. So I ruled out the flywheel.

The battery cables are on tight, and the terminals are clean.

We removed the fuse for the starter, and switched it out for the fuse that corresponds to the rear winder defroster I think it is... Forgive me, I do not have it in front of me, I'm writing this from memory. No joy, no start.

While turning the key, the head lights do not dim.

I made sure that the shifter (automatic) was firmly in the P position. And I even tried starting it from neutral. No luck.

The final thing that I tried was having my father shoot starter fluid into the front air intakes. NO luck again.

I, and my mechanic father are at a loss!

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

Well...
This is a good turn of events!

Being a bit obsessive about not being stumped, I kept trying to figure out what the heck was going on with this car. I got concerned that the fuel pump had gone bad, after considering the F92 fuse, and it possibly preventing the starter from sparking.

Which in turn led to finding some info about the inertial shut off switch. So I located it, right inside the passenger side door, slightly forward of the door frame.

I stuck my finger in, found the rubber button, pressed down and heard a slight "click".

Boy did I get hopeful...

So I turned the key... More of the same, no start.

But just as I let go of the key, I'd swear that I thought that the car tried to start. And it reasoned that the car hadn't been getting gas.

So I tried once more, and boom! She fired right up!

I thought that I was going to start dancing!

I let the car run for about 15 minutes. Then I shut it off, praying it wasn't a fluke that it started. Sure enough, it fired right back up.

Now... on to changing the brake pads...

 

That's lovely, your X roared back to life . It's good you already got help from existing messages as well

 

Help is an understatement Cadillac. This place was akin to a technical manual.

Certainly a LOT more helpful than my dealer. I knew better, but I made a stop there to inquire about buying a technical manual for my car; and was treated quite poorly. Apparently there are certain things that one is not supposed to ask for from the parts counter.

That was strike two btw. The first strike against them was also making the mistake inquiring to purchase my starter there. The gentleman behind the counter said with a straight face, $850 for the starter; just the starter. That is not an installed price...

Off to my fav local auto parts store, and for $150, I got the same part.

If there wasn't plenty of guidance via this forum, it would have been a much more irritating process.

 

chokeu2,

That is great that you did the work yourself and figured it out, (pat on the back.) Nothing like that feeling of self-accomplishment. But $850 just for the starter?!?! That's crazy!!
I know how you feel, My windshield washer pump died, they wanted $120 at dealer and at the auto parts store it was $20. Thanks to Jaguar Forums for guiding us to the DIY threads.

I +1 for the Jaguar Forums for saving the day!

- Dave