2003 XJR (X350) w/138k miles

Hi All,
I'm looking for some advice please. I'm new to the forum so my apologies if I'm posting this in the wrong place. A few days ago I got into my XJR and it started but then died on me a few seconds later and showed restricted performance on the dash. I tried a few times and it starts but dies every time. Luckily I live next door to a garage, so I asked them to see what fault codes were coming up. They found 24 fault codes (some repeated) as follows:
P0351 – Ignition coil A primary/secondary – Faulty
P0352 – Ignition coil B primary/secondary – Faulty
P0353 – Ignition coil C primary/secondary – Faulty
P0354 – Ignition coil D primary/secondary – Faulty
P0355 – Ignition coil E primary/secondary – Faulty
P0356 – Ignition coil F primary/secondary – Faulty
P0357 – Camshaft position sensor A (Bank 2) – Signal too low
P0358 – Ignition coil H primary/secondary – Faulty
P1367 – Ignition system – Malfunction (Bank 2)
P1368 – Ignition system – Malfunction (Bank 1)
P1582 – Data record – At least one data record stored
P0351 – Ignition coil A primary/secondary – Faulty
P0352 – Ignition coil B primary/secondary – Faulty
P0353 – Ignition coil C primary/secondary – Faulty
P0354 – Ignition coil D primary/secondary – Faulty
P0355 – Ignition coil E primary/secondary – Faulty
P0356 – Ignition coil F primary/secondary – Faulty
P0357 – Camshaft position sensor A (Bank 2) – Signal too low
P0358 – Ignition coil H primary/secondary – Faulty
P0560 – System power supply – Faulty
P1367 – Ignition system – Malfunction (Bank 2)
P1368 – Ignition system – Malfunction (Bank 1)
P1582 – Data record – At least one data record stored
P1000 – ODB system test – Operation not completed

After the mechanic looked at the car today, he said that there was a strong smell of petrol in the engine bay after starting it and looking at the codes suggested it might just be a bad Camshaft Position Sensor as it's unlikely that all the codes are actual faults. Unfortunately, the garage is extremely busy right now and don't have time to investigate in detail.

As I'm not a DIY mechanic, I would very much appreciate any help the forum community could give me in diagnosing what the problem is most likely to be.

Thanks in advance.

 

Always begin any diagnostic procedure by confirming the battery voltage. What is the battery voltage across the terminals with the ignition in the OFF position when checked with a voltmeter?

There must be a minimum of 12.6 volts present for all the system to function correctly. If there is less than 12.6 volts, charge the battery for five hours at 2 to 5 amps and retest with a voltmeter. If the voltmeter indicates less than 12.6 volts, the battery should be replaced prior to conducting any further diagnosis or tests.

If a new battery is to be fitted, make sure it's fully charged prior to installation as batteries can discharge whilst being stored on the shelf in a parts house.

 

I highly doubt that it would be a defective cam shaft position sensor as the engine would typically run regardless. Actually, the engine wouldn't run as smoothly and efficiently, but it would still run. By the way, a defective cam shaft position sensor can easily be verified with a simple analog voltmeter as the movement will pulse if the sensor is functioning.

 

The codes shown are basic OBD codes without Jag specific ones. There will most likely be some more specific to the actual failure. I would expect more unrelated codes, even in basic OBD if voltage was the problem. Since the car actually starts most things are functional, even if default. However the computer is seeing something that it feels will damage the engine, and so shuts it down. If all of the coils were bad you would not get it to run at all. Same goes for ground or battery fault, or you would get the 'Christmas tree' effect on your dash.
What are the messages on your screen?

 

HI NBCat,
Thank you for your advice. I asked the garage to check the voltage on the battery and it showed 11.1 volts so they put it on charge. Then they put the battery back in, cleared the fault codes. The car now starts and runs but they say it's misfiring on one side of the engine and it threw up the Camshaft Position Sensor fault again and something to do with the coils. Unfortunately, they did not save the codes that showed up this time so I can't tell you exactly. To be honest I don't think they know much about this car and as they are soo busy, they don't seem interested in helping further. They have advised me to take it to my local Jaguar specialist.

Any further advice before I take it to the Jag specialist would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hi daihard,

Welcome to the Jaguar Forums! It's great to have you with us.

It would definitely be prudent to find a reputable independent shop that specializes in Jaguars. The solution to your issues may be simple for someone who understands your car.

To help you understand Jaguar's definitions of the codes your car is triggering and their possible causes, see the document below:

Jaguar X350 DTC Summaries

Cheers,

Don

 

** Update**

Thanks everyone for your advice so far.

I asked the garage to check the voltage on the battery and it showed 11.1 volts so they put it on charge. Then they put the battery back in, cleared the fault codes. The car now starts and runs but they say it's misfiring on one side of the engine and it threw up the Camshaft Position Sensor fault again and something to do with the Ignition Coils. Unfortunately, they did not save the codes that showed up this time so I can't tell you exactly. To be honest I don't think they know much about this car and as they are soo busy, they don't seem interested in helping further. They have advised me to take it to my local Jaguar specialist.

Any further advice before I take it to the Jag specialist would be greatly appreciated.

 

I do not know what your garage is using to read codes. It looks like they think you have a 6 cylinder XJR. Do you?
The code marked as cam fault is actually just Cyl 7, the same as the ones before it - so no cam fault!
Since all coils are failing it looks like common ground or power problem. The ground is the one behind the strut tower on the right side of the car. A real bear to get at I think. It is fairly well protected but may fail. Ignition off - Disconnect a coil and Ohm test for ground - Black wire pin 3 to a good ground point. It may show you what is happening at the ground point.
Ignition on - check voltage between pin 1 and ground - should be battery voltage.

 

*** Well overdue update ***

Hi Everyone, my sincere apologies for not updating this post to let you know what caused my issue.

As my local garage could not diagnose this fault, I had the car towed to a Jaguar specialist. It turned out that a RAT had decided my engine bay would make a nice new warm home and moved in. It then chewed through the wires going to the coils on 'A' Bank and destroyed a fair amount of sound proofing foam. That rat cost me £300.

 

Daihard,

Thank you for the update and for reminding us that it's always a good idea to check for damaged wiring when these kinds of symptoms occur.

I'm going to mark your thread RESOLVED!

Cheers,

Don

 

Hi Don,

I'm now spraying mint essence in the engine bay and around the front wheel arches regularly to deter those pesky rats. Seems to be working so far.
Also new issues with the air suspension to deal with now but will post separately on that.

Regards,

David.