So yesterday I fixed an issue I was having with my 2014 Jaguar XF 3.0 AWD. The hood latch sensor was not being met so the doors wouldn’t lock. I adjusted the switch and success! Hood/bonnet closed sensor is working and the doors lock and unlock as they should. Unfortunately, now the car won’t start! Press the brake pedal and it’s very stiff, press the start/stop button and all I get is a click. Press again and nothing. Dashboard shows “ignition on” but car is not starting. I’ve tried charging the battery and tried jump starting it but still nothing!
HELP!

 

Try pushing the brake pedal very hard when trying to start. That was the solution to my no start problem.

 

Make sure the brake lights are coming on when pushing the brake pedal.
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+1

The brakes will go "hard" as you say after sitting up due to the brake booster. This condition makes it harder to engage the brake switch which must be activated to start the car. Don't be afraid to push harder on the brake pedal when this happens.

 

So I got the car started by hooking up a jumper box, and I didn't have to push harder on the pedal. It started very easily like the battery wasn't the problem at all. The brake lights were coming on just like normal.
Unfortunately, the car died again a day later. Just was driving it to the gas station and when I went to start it again, NOTHING! No crank even. It left me stranded at the gas station in Painesville, OH. I tried to push it out of the way, but couldn't get it to go in neutral.
That's my new issue. The lever under the trim panel in the center console is GONE! I can't shift into neutral and I can't get it to start either.
No amount of battery charging is working.
When I push the start/stop button I hear a whirring sound which I think is the fuel pump pressurizing, but no starter solenoid click and no crank.
I'm starting to suspect the car doesn't know it's in park because the lever and cable or whatever mechanism changes the transmission from park to neutral in an emergency is not engaged properly!
Please someone tell me if I am on the right track. Why would the emergency lever be removed unless the previous owner was having problems too?

 

I'm sure I read somewhere the emergency gearbox release is under the hood on AWD models, and I think there should be a tool to attach to it with the toolkit in the trunk.
Perhaps it just needs a new battery - has it still got the original ~10 year old battery?

 

Correct. On AWD models for some reason the emergency release is under the hood. Open the hood and look for a red ribbon on the drivers side of the engine towards the back. Nothing has been removed from your car.

All this is listed in the owners manual? It's good to read that too! Do you have a copy?
Here is a thread all about it. Not a great picture of the release cable either but it does show it.
AWD Neutral

As always without codes you just shooting in the dark. Can you DIY anything?
Again listen to Phil and change the battery out if older than a couple of years.
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Yes, found the release under the hood, thanks. I do have the owners manual. In the morning I’m going to try again to start the car.

 

Follow-up: I've been out of town on business so haven't had time to work on the Jag, but this weekend I started investigating further. Still no success starting the car. I now am wondering if the problem is with the Central Junction Box. After I bought the car I discovered the windshield washer fluid pump was not working, so I filler the reservoir and tried again, but still no washer fluid. On this forum I found out this may have caused fluid to enter the CJB and shorted out some components. Specifically the ignition relay may have been damaged. SO my next mission is to locate this junction box and check/replace the relay and see if there is any corrosion in there.

 

You might want to remove the wheel arch liner and check the washer pump? I "believe" it's the drivers side? You also can get gunk buildup in the reservoir that needs cleaning out.

As you posted there is a known failure where the washer pump stops working and the washer fluid then starts to migrates up the wires under the insulation. It then wicks up and into the fuse box in the engine compartment if left unrepaired. Causing all kinds of problems due to the corrosion which should be visible and green.

Jaguar has a fix out and it's real simple. They create a "water break" in the wires by adding a connector somewhere in the wire. Then the fluid still migrates up the wire but can't jump across the quick connects. But if the damage is too bad Jaguar will replace that junction/fuse box.

Here is a long thread that might help too?
XF Not Starting


This guy made his own water break!
Home Made Water Break

Hey I found the TSB! See attached.
Post back what you find?
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Today I checked the fuse box for signs of moisture or corrosion and saw nothing obvious. I removed and replaced some of the fuses and relays to check for trapped water or corrosion but saw nothing. One very glaring issue I found was fuse 14 was missing. Not blown. This 30A fuse is for the starter solenoid. If it was missing in the first place how did the car start before? Some sort of voodoo wiring perhaps? I got a new windshield washer fluid pump and plan to replace that tomorrow. Will keep posting with what I find. This has been getting curiuoser and curiouser.

 

Not sure but does the circled area have soot on it?

I think the radiator fan fuse lives there, but I may be looking at the wrong fuse diagram.

 

Maybe a wiring change? Might need to make sure your manual covers the SN of your car?
I have a 2014 XJR and my manual for the fuel pump wire was completely wrong and until someone posted what they got off Topix I did not know what was going on.
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The water/screenwash from the washer pump travels though the wires to the CJB behind the panel in the front footwell ( top left connector as you look at in a saloon car. ) Not to the engine compartment fuse box ( though it may be the case that a headlight washer pump leaking in a similar way could sent it there, that's not the common failure. )

 

Ok thanks for the correction. Differences between the sedan and sport brake?
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On the sportbrake there are two wires to the BCM ( instead of one for the saloon, other one being connected to ground ) to allow polarity to be reversed to select which pump output is used. They are on the blue connector, so that's the one you have to look for corrosion on for a sportbrake. On the sportbrake it seems the next thing to be effected by the corrosion is usually the ABS/DSC as the power pin is adjacent on the connector. While on the saloon it's more likely to effect the climate control system.

 

Did the new washer pump work?
( if it's not worked since you got it it may indicate some has "fixed" the CJB/BCM with SDD to get the car running again, but the emulated eeprom is still corrupt. Generally when fixed in that way the washers don't work, and further disconnection of the battery ( or otherwise allowing it to get to a low voltage ) will cause the car no longer to crank, with a smart key not found message on the dash ( do you have any messages on the dash? ), even when holding the key in the emergency position against the plate below the fog light switch )

 

Unfortunately, I had to work late today, so didn’t get the chance to replace the washer fluid pump. The washer fluid pump has never worked since I bought the car last month. There are no error messages, and I don’t want to disconnect the battery to try to reset it because of all the bad outcomes I have read about on this forum.
The battery is at about 12.5V when I connect it to a charger. I charge for about an hour then try to start it, I really don’t hear the starter try to turn and only sometimes hear the solenoid click just once. I’m sorry it sounds like I keep doing the same thing and hoping for a different outcome, but I don’t want to pay for another tow since I still can’t get it in neutral. I found the emergency cable to manually put it in neutral but I’ve tried pulling on that cable as hard as I dare to without breaking it. Plus, I don’t have a local shop that I trust for Jaguar repairs.

 

So today I replaced the washer fluid pump with a new one. and found the tubing was clogged at the “T” where I believe there is also a check valve. I cleaned out the “T” and tried again. The new pump didn’t work either until I removed and replaced the plug, then it worked one time. But multiple attempts to unplug it and plug it in again and I never got it to work again.
Still no engine start. I am looking for the starter relay. I believe it is relay 17, I swapped it with relay 13 and still had the same result. If it’s not the battery, and not the relay then maybe it’s a bad starter. The battery is new-ish as far as I can tell, not 10 years old. Is there any other safety feature that would cause the starter to not turn over? Hood open? Or door open? Engine management fuse or relay? I think I tried all those things and still have no click and no crank.

Anybody know where this two pin connector is supposed to plug in? Could this be the reason why my car won’t start? It is obviously in the battery compartment area

 

It does not plug into anything but there is a slot for it to keep it out of the way.