Hello guys,

My name is Joe and I just picked up a 2004 VDP and have only had it about a week and lucky me I'm already having issues. The first issue I think may have already been solved using the search function. I think I've narrowed it down to the auxilery water pump failure as the car doesn't seem to have strong heat and it seems to be the same from all the vents temp wise. From what I've read the heater core issues will usually show the driver side with less heat from the passsenger side but like I mentioned it's just barely warm across the board. Feel free to chime in if you may think my diagnosis is correct and if there is anyway to definatively check the AWP before swapping in a new one and also if there is anything else I should replace while I'm in there.

My other problem is when I remove the key from the ignition the dash info screen remains lit up and the chime continues to go off as if the key was in the ignition when the door is open. If I get out of the car and try to arm the alarm I get two beeps and the car will not arm itself. When I open the door with key in hand the beeping starts back up again as if the key is already in the ignition but it is not... The only way I can get the beeping to stop and the dash info lights below the speedo to go off is to bang on the lower dash area below the ignition a few times and then the chime and lights stop. The thing is the first few times it happened and I did my Fonzi move on the ignition the car would then arm itself with the key fob but now that no longer works. I can't get the alarm/keyless lock function to work.

I went to the autoparts store and got some key de-icer/lubricant hoping that might help but nothing. I haven't had the car a week yet and have only driven it 3 times so far and already I've ran into these two issues and now I'm getting scared as to what I may have gotten myself into with this car. I'm hoping these are relatively easy fixes that I can tackle myself as I'm fairly mechanically inclined and do most of my own maintenance and repairs but this is a whole other animal of a car with all the do dads and computers so I suppose I'm in for a rude awakening, lol... Anyways, I hope someone with some knowledge and williness to help ou a fellow enthusiast with these issues could maybe point me in the right direction or give me some ideas on what the problems might be and how to go about fixing them! Thanks in advance and hopefully these are the only two things I have to fix in the forsee able future ;-)

Kind Regards,
Joe

2004 Jaguar VDP w/104k miles

 

Hi Holshot

Well at 104k miles your car should be good for another 100k at least ! Here in the UK the editor of the Jaguar Enthusiast Club magazine has a car like yours and it's on well over 200k miles. These cars can run the marathon. However like a lot of cars there can be problems from time to time !

However, as for your issues....

Yes, the auxiliary coolant pump (for the heater circulation), can fail. If you can find it, you should be able to hear it running. If it is running, you may have the blocked heater matrix syndrome. Unfortunately the only cure for this is a new heater matrix as most owner experience on this forum is that flushing doesn't work.

As for your problem with locking, it doesn't sound hugely serious, but obviously is a nuisance, but needs someone more expert than me to suggest a cure. Is there any Jaguar independent near you ? If not, in the end you may have to take it to a Jaguar main agent and get it checked out.

It does sound like a bad connection somewhere and your "mechanical " fix has further damaged whatever the fault was. When you drive the car, are there any fault messages ? What position is the gear shift in when you take the ignition key out. It should be in Park when you exit the car.

Hopefully others will be more knowledgeable on this matter and advise you soon.

 

Thanks Fraser for the reply... I haven't sourced a local independant just yet and yes there is an authorized Jaguar dealer not to far but I'm sure they would charge an arm and a leg. I don't trust dealers as they are usually always trying to pad the bills or tell you things that aren't neccessarily true so they can make more money off of you. I've had friends who were service advisors for various dealers and because they are under such stress from the top brass to meet certain quotas every month they admitted to me of "adding" thing to work orders to get them where they needed to be... Not cool but I suppose tis life...

I had a '91 Mercedes 560SEL a few years back and the small independant dealer I bought the car from included a freshly cut ignition key. When I got it home I tried the newly cut key which went in a little difficult and then would not release. After going back to say they cut the key incorrectly they refused to take care of the problem and blamed it on me. Long story short after trying everything to get the key out it eventually broke in the ignition. A trip to the local Mercedes dealer and they quoted me almost 1,000 bucks to replace the ignition. I decided to tackle the job myself. Found a new ignition online for 150 bucks and tore half the dash out, cluster and dropped the steering column and changed it out myself.

Moral of the story the never trust the small independents unless you know them personally and the authorized dealers try to rip you off every chance they get. I suppose that's why I've become so mechanically inclined after being burned so often but I think in the end it's made me a better man. I do enjoy a challenge from time to time and don't mind wrenching on my cars assuming it's something I feel confident tackling on my own. Plus, there are always forums which have been a God send for DIY guys like me who can reach out to others who have "been" there "done" that and can help out with their knowledge and experience.

Hoping someone else might chime in with some ideas or someone who had the same issue who can maybe explain what it ended up being and what needed to be replaced so I can address it ASAP! Thanks again... Joe

 

Hi Joe,

I had a similar issue in my '95 (though not my '04, but they look similar). There is a "Key In" switch within the ignition switch, and mine had stuck open. There is a little tiny door that swings away when you insert the key. See if yours is there or not with key out. It took a few 'spray then wait' cycles of WD-40 to clear the gunk that was sticking it in the open position, but eventually it started working and has worked for years since.

If that doesn't do it, go to the download sections at the top of the X350 Forum and take a look at the 2004 MY XJ Electrical Guide. Search within the .pdf for "Key In" and you'll find the schematics that include the switch in order to troubleshoot issue. Often the issue is just a poor connection and can be solved with some contact cleaner.

PS - When Fraser mentioned an independent, he wasn't referring to a dealer, but to a repair shop that specializes in Jaguars (they also often specialize in Land Rovers because later model ones share diagnostic computer systems).

 

Thanks Mac!

I just got back from the parts store with electric contact cleaner and some graphite spray. I first started out with your method of spraying then wait cycles and inserting the key and turning it to accessory about 5 times and now I can say that it's working perfectly once again! The little door is now opening and closing as it should and the alarm is working once again as well... Phewwwww that was easy and the knd of fixes I don't mind, hahahaha...

After coming off that high I decided to tackle a faulty key fob as well after finding a nice thread with everything you need to know when it comes to the fobs. My spare fob I noticed today would not lock the car but all the other functions worked. So now armed with a win and the electrical cleaner spray I disassembled the fob and immediately noticed it was really sticky line some soda or some soft drink found its way inside and had gummed up the buttons. After some cleaning it dis-lodged itself and is now working as well.

Now the next step is going to be diagnosing the no/low heat issue. Hopefully someone will chime in with ways to test it before I jsut go ahead and replace and then find out it wasn't the problem. I've already checked the fuse for the pump in the trunk and that's ok so nit sure what else to check just yet...

Thanks again,
Joe

 

With ignition on and heater fan on, you should certainly be able to hear the faint hum of an electric motor. It is on the RHS of the radiator, underneath the expansion tank. If it is not running, do check the fuse for it, the fuse is in the trunk, go figure.

However m at 100k miles, it is probably worn. It runs whenever the climate fan is turned on. You could extend life if we turned the climate system off.

 

By worn, dsetter is referring to the brushes inside the motor which can be replaced and possibly without removing the pump. I read a great write up in this forum on it. This is a lot cheaper than replacing the pump obviously. As you have evenly distributed "weak" heat, this is a likely culprit. I assume by your comments you've eliminated faulty thermostat, weak antifreeze/ coolant, low coolant etc...

Best of luck and please let us know your findings on the heat.

 

Been reading this thread with some interest - as I see you are already experiencing the roller coaster ride of emotions when we fix things - whee! and when we hear, see or find something broken - groan!

Anyway as the previous poster mentioned you should eliminate some obvious items before pulling and replacing that Aux Pump. A major achilles heel in the X350 is the thermostat housing. This where Jaguar decided it would be a great idea instead of running all the cooling lines in the block and heads to take a plastic set of pipes and mount them externally at the top front of the "V" - Its an odd setup with an inner smaller channel right behind the thermostat that controls cold AND hot water flow, and the inner pipe cracks under stress and heat. It runs right unto the top of the block directly under the throttle body inlet. Then there are two pipe running into each head. When you get one to replace yours you will see it looks a bit like a heart! (not "if", but "when")- trust me I had 108 K on mine when I got it and prayed it was only the 4-piece thermostat - that's NOT a typo - you assemble the parts and the housing has tabs on each side to hold it all together while mounting. Worse, when I went back armed with the entire housing I had ONE of the 4 Torx screws strip. On the bottom of one of the pipes that go to the right head. No way to get a drill/stud extractor in there unless I pulled the radiator.... so I did what any red blooded driveway DIYer would do. I got a hammer and beat the crap out of it until the stud was sitting there with no plastic around it anymore. HA! I showed IT! And no, it didn't make me pay for my destructive leanings, I got a vice grip around the stud and had it all together 5 minutes later. In other words I got lucky.

This was not meant to worry you here. In fact, while I see a number of design weaknesses (and sometimes material weakness with Jaguars need to use plastic on their engine designs) on the X350 vs. the X308 it replaced, the X308 was an old design and much of it went back to the XJ40. It was developed further over all those years but was dated, where the X350 is a fully modern, world class design. It does suffer from some early model year issues, but nothing disastrous, and if you are willing to work on MOST stuff yourself, you should not have to spend a small fortune to maintain the car. I limit what I let others do for me by the tools/facility required (Lifts, presses, alignment racks) and in a pinch, by the hours required/outdoor temps. I usually end up doing 90% of the work myself, and shop wisely regarding aftermarket vs. OEM parts (I try to determine when it matters and when its less critical.) With those types of approaches the car will likely treat you very well over the course of ownership. Be sure to look at the Sticky for "What to look out for in an X350 - you need to know!" in the x350 section. And seriously plan on getting new fluid into that "lifetime Fluid" ZF 6HP26 Transmission. It is probably one of the best life-extension techniques you can perform on an X350 besides obvious maintenance and fluid changes. I am getting setup to do mine as the weather gets warmer here, and will feel a lot better once completed.

 

Thak Sean... From everything I've read I'm leaning toward the AWP as the fuse is good, the coolant seems to good as well and the car comes to temperature as it should on the gauge on the dash. I'm not sure how to check the thermostat so if you have a trick other then looking at the dash gauge I would greatly appreciate it! Again, it looks like all signs point toward the AWP so it looks like I will be sourcing a new unit here shortly. Any ideas on who might sell them at the best price? I'm not sure if there is a dealer that the forum guys tend to deal with who offer discounts? Thanks again for replying!

 

Hey John, thanks for the reply! You sound just like me at times with the hammer. I couldn't stop laughing reading that... Since there are no visible leaks or coolant under the car I'm assuming that for now that mess of a plastic thermostat housing isn't the culprit. I'm still leaning towards the AWP as everything points to that and I'm at the mileage when they seem to start failing. Now I have to start searching for the best deal on OEM parts. Any thing else I might want to replace while I'm in there replacing the AWP? I know I have to use the specified Jaguar coolant when I top off what ever I drain as I hear the OEM stuff does not mix well with the standard green stuff at the parts stores. Also, my trans fluid was flushed back at around 75,000 miles. I've read that the trans in these cars aren't the best so when would you say the next fluid change be done? I know the trans issues were more prevalent with the generation prior to '04 and up but none the less I would like to stay on top of these to make things last.

 

If tranny fluid was done at around 75k miles (same as mine), I'd add on about 60k, and allow 10k over if you go on a long trip somewhere. My local shops say do it around every 60k miles. Not just fluid, though, the filter should also be replaced too, and that comes as part of a new sump cover, so its not all that cheap, but affordable. The tranny fluid does cost a lot, though.

 

Maybe set yourself a maintenance baseline by doing all the oils, lubes, filters and probably the spark plugs too. Once this routine maintenance baseline is set and the mileage known you will personally know how to carry any simple maintenance task in the future and you will have a good idea about the location of most mechanical items on the vehicle. As a buyer you have no idea when the last time any of the service maintenance was carried out.

I don't want to throw a spanner in the works on the heat issue, but have you checked that all the heater vents are opening and closing when you change the air distribution. Maybe they have become stuck in a half open/ half closed position?

I would also check the heated seats and steering wheel function work and that the AC does actually work. Oh and change the fuel filter... a 15 minute job.

Just throwing stuff out there...