Hello everyone - I own a 2004 XJ that has an electrical problem with multiple systems, as follows:

- Air conditioning turns on, but its blower won't run
- Air suspension pump does not run - it was leaky, but would always run
- Radio unit does not come on at all
- Driver side seat adjustment does not work

I have checked all the fuses inside the engine compartment, cabin and the trunk that had anything to do with the failed components and found them to be good.

History: The last problem that I had with the car was that it wouldn't shift out of Park - while pressing on the brakes - so I followed instructions I found on the web to remove the center console and the shifter to get to the gear lockout tab, which I removed, so I could then shift it out of parking.

Once I put everything back together and got the car to shift, I noticed that the air suspension was not pumping back up and then discovered that the air conditioning blower, radio and driver seat adjustments were not working either.

Other Clues: Prior to that I had a problem with not being able to open the trunk when the battery had died, during which I tried to power the instruments by connecting the charger to the engine compartment fuse box - which didn't help and caused the horn to go on. I eventually had to take the back seat off to access the trunk through the speaker holes and pull the cable that opens the trunk.

So I don't know if the electrical problems started after I dealt with the battery issue or the transmission lockout issue. I should note that I also had an existing front air suspension leak on the front passenger side and a noisy air suspension pump as well - both of which I have fiddled with a bit.

Potential Culprits: I am wondering if I may have accidentally disconnected a connector that would cause all of these systems to not work or if I may have blown a relay when I was dealing with the battery issue.

Any advice as to what connectors, relays or other areas I should look into would be much appreciated - as the problem is affecting multiple systems, most of which are motor driven, with the exception of the radio.

Many thanks for your time and help!
Paul

 

Welcome to the forum Paul,

I've copied the issues from your Intro thread for advice from members with the same model.

Graham

 

Hi you say you dealt with Battery issue, did you replace it?
A lot of multiple faults show when battery is not 100%.
I had parking faults and host of others, car started fine but put a volt meter on battery and it showed 12.25 Volts: way low, charged it and all faults gone, just waiting to see if battery is ok as it had been parked up for a while.

 

Jim, Norri, Steve & Elinor: Thank you for your greetings and making me feel welcomed!

Graham: Thank you for providing more visibility to the issue.

-------- reply to joesoap
Hello Joe:

The battery was replaced about a year ago, but since the car is not being driven, I lose the charge from time to time. I just charged it up and should add that even with the charger hooked up to the car the issues are the same.

To do my part in responding, I also just checked the voltage and it reads a normal 12.5V.

Thanks for your suggestion.
Paul

 

This is a common fault on the earlier cars due to the fan control module failing. This is located on top of the blower fan and can be accessed by removing the glove box. The later modules have bigger cooling fins so run cooler.

Eventually the compressor will fail, which is what it sounds like with your pump. However, best to check it is getting volts first before you whack-out on a new one, (or fit the 'bagpipingandy' piston seal kit.

Sorry, don't know much about these two, but the seat may be a bad connection under the seat that connects to the seat control module. I don't think these two faults are linked but if they run off the same fuse, clearly that is the main suspect.

 

Hello Fraser - thanks for your pointers. It is certainly possible that I may have multiple problems, as I tried to introduce power into the instruments through the engine compartment fusebox to open the trunk and I have poked into multiple things - in most of the failed areas.

I quickly checked the connector under the driver seat as I had previously removed the seat and it seemed to be connected; I will remove the seat to make sure soon its a good connection later.

I will search for details on the air pump to see which lead should carry power and check it out - thanks for the info on checking it and the 'bagpipingandy' kit.

I will also check the fan control module. Many thanks for your time and help!
Paul

 

Hi Paul,

Welcome to the Jaguar Forums!

I agree that you probably have multiple issues. There is a lot of information on this forum so some time spent using the Advanced Search function under the Tools tab may be productive, as well as Google searches that lead back to this forum.

Regarding your HVAC blower motor, Fraser's right that the Blower Control Module is the most common problem. Here are photos showing how I rebuilt mine based on the pioneering work of others:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...2/#post1058751


Regarding your air suspension compressor, even if the piston ring is worn, the compressor should run, unless you have a message on the dash like AIR SUSPENSION FAULT. The air suspension relay is in the front (engine bay) fuse box and off the top of my head it is R1. There should be 12V on one of the pins in that relay socket any time the key is turned to Position II, whether or not the engine is running. Search for threads on the air suspension relay for more information.

Regarding your driver seat, there are several electrical connectors under the seat, some of which cannot be easily accessed without tilting the seat back. The seat is secured by six Torx screws, one at the front end of each rail and two at each rear end. Remove those screws and the seat will just tilt back so you can access the connectors. It would be worth opening every connetor and cleaning it carefully with zero-residue electrical contact cleaner spray (put an old towel under the seat to protect the carpet. This is also a good time to lubricate the seat adjustment mechanisms with white lithium grease.

Regarding your radio, have you checked all the fuses? Beyond that, it could be a loose or corroded electrical connector or ground/earth point. These cars rely on many ground points that are threaded aluminum studs welded to the aluminum monocoque. Aluminum nuts secure wires with ring or eyelet terminals made of aluminum. A thin whitish corrosion forms on the terminals, nuts and threaded studs that reduces the conductivity of the ground. It is worth thoroughly cleaning any ground point you are working near, but note that the torque specification is only 6.5 lb. ft., just beyond hand-tight. Many owners have snapped off the threaded studs without realizing how low the torque spec is, so take care.

The X350 Electrical Guide will be very helpful to you - you can download the guide free here:

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


The X350 Workshop Manual can be downloaded free from this forum in six sections:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/md...f+contents.pdf
http://www.mediafire.com/download/aa...nformation.pdf
http://www.mediafire.com/download/n3...2.+Chassis.pdf
http://www.mediafire.com/download/9b...Powertrain.pdf
http://www.mediafire.com/download/0i...Electrical.pdf
http://www.mediafire.com/download/4j...+and+Paint.pdf


The best explanation of the air suspension I know of can be downloaded here:

http://www.mediafire.com/view/7rdkgg...on_Section.pdf


And for more "how to" and other helpful info, see this thread:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...k-links-20085/

Cheers,

Don

 

Just let me tell you about my flickering headlights that were nothing to do with ballasts.

Headlights occasionally flickered at night and I though nothing too much of it until one dark, moonless, night they went out for 2-3 seconds on a very twisty road. Pile in pants time !! I looked at the electric diagram, and it showed there were only two moving parts between my finger and those lights; (1) binnacle lighting switch and (2) the relay.

A new binnacle switch cured the problem in 2012.

Moral of this tale is never to jump to a conclusion, always study the circuits.

 

Fraser - great tale and reminder to not jump to conclusions... Working on cars certainly helped my character as I had to become more patient with trying things and a less expecting person - biting my lips to not say "this will fix it" too quickly.

Thanks,
Paul

 

Don,

It's great to have the benefit of the manuals and the great Tech Ref on the air suspension pump! Many thanks for the wealth of information you have provided, as well as the quick links and your suggestions - I appreciate your time in helping me out!

I need to spend more time with the schematics and am planning to check a few relay inputs and switching, which I assume I should do by connecting wires to its legs - the schematics are helpful in that regards.

I will do the seat connector inspection/cleaning and the radio connectors/grounding. The blower heat-sink fix is amazing and I certainly hope that I won't have to go through all that - but much appreciated so I can save money.

I will certainly report back once I have time to go through things over the weekend.

Thanks again,
Paul

 

im no Jag expert but check out that earth strap behind the headlight area, ive read it causing electrical issues many many times

regards

Andy

 

Hi Andy - I will look for the strap and check.

Thanks,
Paul

 

From experience, when you have many gremlins like yours at the same time.. Go buy a new battery.
These XJ8's are extremely finicky about their electrical loading especially the crank amps.

Go buy a new battery, if it doesn't work out your issues take it back. I purchased from Autozone the following battery because it has increased Crank Amps: Duralast Gold H8-DLG.

The battery at Autozone

 

Hi Trosty - I will keep your suggestion in mind once I verify that I'm getting power to the failed components - as the battery is putting out the right level of voltage (12.5V measured) and plenty of amps to crank the engine with no hesitation and run power accessories like the windows.

I appreciate your suggestion and will follow-up on it after some due diligence.

Thanks,
Paul