Hello everyone, My first post here and I wish it was a happy one. I just bought this car with 94K miles in mint condition. 2 weeks ago while I was driving around the block the tranny fault, cruise control inoperable, restricted performance came on and went into limp mode. I pulled over and shut the car off tried to start it again but it was dead (all electrics work but no crank no start).


I did plenty of researched on this forum and other sites and talked to my mechanic that night and did the following:


Swapped relays, fuses, checked all connections at battery, false bulk head, jump started the car, reset the inertia switch.....nothing worked. left it for a few minutes and came back and it started right up.


I drove it for a few days with no glitches at all till 2 days ago where the same thing happened yet again.


I was out and about made a few stops and it started every time no problem then on my way home the same erroe codes showed up again and the car went into limp mode. I pulled over, shut the car off and it has not started since despite all my repeated effort of everything i had attempted before plus swapping batteries with a new one that did absolutely nothing.


I had it finally towed to a Jaguar Indy service and checking systems for 2 days the conclusion was YOU NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION at $4800.


They also said mainly that they COULD NOT COMMUNICATE WITH THE TCM. Also, What i have noticed is that since i bought the car if i remember correctly, pressing the brake pedal did nothing as far as releasing the J-gate lever, as it did that with out having to push the brake pedal. Don't know if that is significant.


I find it hard to believe that a tranny will just die like that with no issues before hand like slipping or running rough. The starter is ok as they tested it and can start the car no problem from under the car.


I have read every single thread on this but have not found anything to mimick my condition i described exactly.


To summerize:


no crank no start immediately after error codes show up
starter is good
relays and fuses are good
batter good
no corrosion or loose cables on bulk head
brake switch DOES NOT control J-gate lever movement
Inirtia switch reset did not help
car will not start in any gear
TCM is not communicating with diagnostic tool
Problem occurred twice in a 2 week period
No prior tranny problems (slipping, rough...etc)
Cannot clear error codes even after hard reset (touching ground and positive per instructions on this forum)
Used cruise control once or twice may be briefly as well as adaptive CC


Any input will be appreciated.


Thanks

 

Lots of views and no posts. Any ideas would be much appreciated.

 

Wow, dude I am so sorry this has happened to you. Let me say up front that I don't have any technical advice or some magic code to offer and I really just wanted to offer sympathy for your situation and to say hang in there. There are some really experience and smart people on here and I have to believe SOMEONE will have some good advice for you. I recently bought an 06 XJ8L with 108k on the clock and I have to admit something like what you are experiencing would destroy me. I mean almost literally as I am counting on decent DIY skills and forums like this to get past issues, and of course the condition of the air suspension is largely unknown in my car, I have already had a few minor issues. But again, just hang in for a day or so, and I hope you get the help you need.

One thought: Does the TCM exist as a separate, replaceable module, or is it only replaceable as part of a full transmission swap? It's the only thing I can think of that could get around what your shop is proposing. And I have to agree that a transmission that was symptom free should not need a full replacement. Makes no logical sense. Of course your not gonna do that but still.

 

alfanuts,

Welcome to the Jaguar Forums. Like John, I'm also sorry to hear that your XJR is exhibiting such distressing behavior.

What would be most helpful would be a list of the exact Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) that were stored in your car's various control modules.

The fact that the shop's equipment could not communicate with the TCM could mean the shop's equipment has a problem, or there's a loose connector or damaged cable to the TCM or some other problem that is causing a network communication problem. There are plenty of things that could be wrong beside the TCM.

To answer John's question, the TCM is part of the "Mechatronic" valve body inside the transmission. Jaguar lists the TCM/valve body available as a separate part, so if the TCM were determined to be the cause of your problems, you wouldn't need an all new transmission, and replacing the TCM and valve body are relatively easy. The TCM part number depends on your engine and VIN. You can view parts diagrams and part numbers in the Electronic Parts Catalog (EPC) downloadable from this forum in the X350 'HOW TO' quick links near the top of the home page for this X350 forum. Since the ZF transmission used in our cars is also used in cars from other manufacturers, it may be possible to source a TCM from a vendor other than Jaguar and save some money.

Depending on the exact DTCs stored in your car's control modules, the X350 Workshop Manual lists many potential causes and procedures for diagnosing them. The manual can be downloaded in six sections from the same 'HOW TO' quick links area I mentioned above. The transmission diagnostics are in the Powertrain section of the manual.

Please keep us informed, and please visit the New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum and post an introduction so we can give you a proper welcome and learn something about you and your Jag.

Cheers,

Don

 

John & Don...Thank you so much for your input and kind words and direction. I did look up the codes just forgot to list them in my original post. they are:


P 0560
P 1643
P 1000


I also looked them up and found out what they mean. I am truly hoping its an electrical connection that's causing all this drama. I have owned a ton of European cars over the last 25 years including Mercedes S55 AMG which handled better than the XJR (sorry.. truth be told imho at least) But is no where near the Jag's status and ride quality. And boy was that a money pit. Never again...ever, unless its under warranty.


I bought the Jag because I was always a fan of the older style XJR, hence the X-Type sport in the garage initially before he XJR acquisition. I also read that Jags are more reliable than their German counterparts according to owners and JD Power.


Don, thank you for you for your input. again any other suggestions would be much appreciated. I will go ahead and follow your direction.


Thank you in advance

 

P0560 is very worrying. OBD / TCM comms fault could be due to that.

Any chance at all that you have a failing battery? If not, go hunting a bad earth/power problem.

It's nearly always the battery...

 

Thx for your input. Yes, I swapped batteries early on in the diagnostic and it did absolutely nothing. The car has an interstae battery which shows 850 cca. The new battery I swapped it with was a brand new generic a 845 cca . Anyone know what the correct battery specs should be?

The car starts if you jump the starter and drives, however in limp mode and it is rough shifting from drive and reverse.

My indy mechanic who is NOT a Jaguar specialist, told me today he thinks it might be the neutral safety switch or shift lever out of allignment as it is not seeing that its in Park position, therfore not allowing it to start. Does that make sense?.... Would that make the TCM unresposive?

He thinks it's affecting the comunication between the TCM and ECM in the car.

 

Here is one possible answer-

At the alternator, probe the Orange wire and compare voltage on the wire to what is at the battery. They should be showing the same reading.If voltage is low, check at the ECM SENSE fuse under-hood, to see if also shows low voltage or if matches the battery.If voltage is OK at the fuse but low at the alternator, check the Orange wire for a problem.If fuse has low voltage, check connections in the fuse box for poor connection. The Orange wire is the sense wire the alternator uses to determine output from the alternator. If voltage is low on this wire, the output from the alternator goes up and vice versa.

 

Thx meirion1,

Here is the latest from the mechanic. He found a broken plastic piece (gray in color) that surrounds the shifting lever under the J-gate cover. He also found that the start fuse at the front passenger fuse box gets no power at all. He also found a dead fuse in the front passenger kick panel fuse box that says (Diagnostic Connector).

He is trying to source out a complete J-gate assembley as he truly believes thats the culprit.

Again, any ideas or has anyone experienced similar problems that is related to the J-gate?

 

I don't know if that explains all your symptoms, but problems are well-known with what was called the Park / Neutral Safety Switch on previous models but is called the "Not-in-Park Switch" on the X350.

Page 71 of the 2004 X350 Electrical Guide downloadable from the link below shows the NIP Switch as an integral part of the J-gate assembly and the Electronic Parts Catalog (EPC) does not list a separate part number for the switch. However, it may be possible to test the switch by checking for continuity and non-continuity between the Red and Black wires in the J-gate electrical connector, depending on the position of the gearshift lever.

http://www.jagrepair.com/images/Elec...al%20Guide.pdf


Don

 

I had a problem with the shifter moving through the J gate slot and I pulled the cover and found a broken plastic piece jamming the shifter. I pulled it out and everything has been fine since. It must have been unnecessary because all is working fine so I did nothing more about it.

 

I would also change the J-Gate.

Something similar happened to a friend with an S-Type (same driveline as the X350) and in the end a replacement J-Gate solved the problem. The issue for him was that the J-Gate had lost comms with the ECU/TCM which immobilised the car.

Sounds very similar to your issues, although I can't recall what the DTC's were in that case.

 

About 2 years ago I had a similar problem and the J-gate was swapped for a known good one. I was then told all was well until the CEL light came on as I drove away from the shop ! I left the car with them for a week and finally they removed and cleaned the connections into the transmission that actually plug in to the TCM which is inside the transmission. I never had a problem starting, but apparently the TCM gets a signal from the J-gate that the lever is in Park or Neutral. An anomaly can result in the system not invoking Start because it thinks it is "in gear".

Since that problem was solved, I have had no more problems, knock on wood !!

The car should start in Park, without the brakes on, or in Neutral with the brakes on. Try braking, moving the lever to Neutral and seeing what happens; you never know !

I find the myriad checks in the system to be totally baffling and extremely inconvenient at times; we never got this hassle with the old Borg-Warners in the Series 3 XJs !! The fact is they are there to prevent claims against the manufacturer, i.e stop people being stupid, starting the car in gear and driving over a cliff. Yes it has happened !!

 

Try to look at my experience not too long ago...just some more reference for you.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...t-saga-112925/