I just got a 2004 XJR in Florida and am driving home to WI. Great trip until today. The air suspension fault light comes on every 30 miles and the front end drops down, once low enough to trigger the "vehicle too low" warning. Stopped at the Jaguar dealer in Chattanooga and they spent over two hours trying to find an issue...nothing shows up. The didn't charge me for their efforts but I am continuing north to try to get home with heartburn and stress.
When the warning in comes on and the front drops, I pull over and shut the car off for a few minutes and restart. Everything is fine for another 30 or so miles.
Ideas?

 

Temperature.

Under about freezing temps the airbags start to leak.
Your compressor tries o keep up but the system shuts it down after a couple minutes so it won't burn up.
That gives a yellow light.
If you keep going, the car lowers until the red light comes on. You can feel the hard ride with little air in the bags.

If you're lucky, you can have only one unit leaking. You can hear it hiss after the engine is off and the hood is open. Replace it with arnott's for 400 bucks and you're good to go.

Good luck.

 

There's something rotten in Denmark when a dealer can't find any problems yet one obviously exists. Obviously something is amiss either with the compressor and/or the reservoir's ability to retain any air in reserve. It is capable of pumping up the shocks after a short rest but over the next 20-30 minutes of highway driving they've bled back down again.

I think, as a temporary measure, using the system at start-up in this way. After they pump up after a short stop turn the engine off for a couple of minutes and then start it back-up again. Maybe that will allow the compressor enough running time to also put some reserve air into the air tank and give you some greater range.

Do both shocks in the front-end go down the same amount or is it just one side? As I recall the front has a pressure sensor on both front shocks whereas the rear shocks just share one sensor. It would seem not very likely for BOTH front shocks to start leaking at the same time but not so odd if the problem lays back at the reserve tank and solenoid where the air to the front is distributed from.

 

Any chance that this was a black xjr from Jacksonville?

 

It is a black on black from St. Petersburg. One owner, 85,000 miles. Very very clean. Just seems very unhappy to be headed to WI and the cold.

At one point today I did hear a hissing from the right front, and that seems to be my problem corner. At one point when both the air suspension fault and vehicle too low were both on both front corners were down. When the too low light isn't on then the right is lower.
It's been in the mid 40's for most of our travels today, but it was 33 this morning when we got started with this mess.
It is down to 39 now...just left Tennessee into Kentucky on HWY 24. Hoping to make Chamaign IL tonight. It's only going to get colder so that will certainly test your theories.
The Chattanooga dealer went over every component and retightened all connections. Maybe I'm lucky an that is all it was...
At this point I've been driving for 6 hours since leaving the dealer and no more issues. When its working this is the best car I have ever had. It sounds mean when you get on it!
Pray for me...

 

Scratch that. Back to square one.

 

Didn't make it to Illinois. I'm about 50 miles away still in Kentucky off of HWY 24. Got a hotel to rest and clear my mind. Update tomorrow. Anyone around here want to help me change my front shocks tomorrow?

 

They'll get you a shock pretty quickly.
The instructions that come with it are perfect.
You'll need some common wrenches, sockets and a decent floor jack.
A warm garage helps.
Good luck.

 

Went out this morning and the front of the car is all the way down. The compressor tries to pump it up, and there is a loud hiss from the right front (similar or worse than yesterday). It does not go up to normal height, but does move up some. It is undriveable.

I have a couple of plans.
1: NAPA is going to bring us a wrench and a bottle of the green slime. My thought is to shoot the slime into the shock while it is still on the car because I refuse to lose my optimism. If we get lucky, maybe it will seal the leak enough for us to make it the rest of the way home.
2: if that doesn't hit the leak, I will work on getting the shock off the car and getting the slime to roll around everything in the shock.
3: if that doesnt work, I call Arnotts and have them overnight a new shock to me here at the hotel and hope I get it tomorrow. I would then have to put it on in the parking lot.
4: if that doesn't work, there will, be an abandoned XJR in Kentucky.

 

Not so, it's the other way around. Also note that after a run, the system will blow some air out through the compressor to clear out the accumulated moisture. You hear this as a 'whoosh' and it last a few seconds. Front springs are controlled as one unit.

 

The hissing I heard was more like that of a leaking tire, and it will go on for over a minute after the shock pumped up. Now, I went back out again this morning and it pumped right up. We can make 15 miles or so be fore it comes on again. I stopped and got the slime but you really can't get any in the shock. I puddled it on the top of the shock tower for something to do. After disconnecting the airline on the right and totally deflating the shock it pumped up higher than it has and is staying for now. We are going to try to make it across the Illinois border.

 

Good luck!
Like I said.
Get a shock coming your way.
Heat is your friend.
Black?
Park with sun side on the right...
Strong lightbulb in the wheel well.
Boiling water
Whatever.
Get it home.

 

The only pressure sensor I am aware of is in the solenoid block!

One more coilover candidate. Even if you change the bags, the compressor is probably shot. And so it goes.

 

Fortunately it is 46 degrees in Normal, IL right now and the shock is holding. We bought foot warmers at Walmart that last 8 hours and duct taped them all around the shock. Likely wishful thinking but worth a try.
The temps are going to drop fast and then we will likely get in trouble...

 

Check the compressor, as this is the shortest life component in the system. Fault code C2303, (I think), or maybe C0203, anyway it ranslates to reservoir plausibility error, i.e the reservoir is taking too long to load up.

 

Well, I'm home. I made it within 80 miles from home and then it was done. Shock is shot. Had AAA flatbed me home. I will get new front shocks ASAP and get back to loving my new jaguar!!!

 

Well that was epic, glad you made it. You going with original or ditch the air system in favor of coilovers?

 

https://www.arnottindustries.com/part_JAGUAR_yid20.html

Steering-Suspension | Jaguar XJ - X350 - XJR | British Parts UK

Brand-new OEM ones ain't cheap !!

 

Definitely sticking with my stock sport shocks, but I will use the Arnott rebuilts. Any advice where to get the best price?

 

Someone here had a retailmenot link that was a 10% off. I think it was a code like jagsave10 or jagsave14.

Worked as $75 savings for me. Arnott quickly posted my core return credit, too. I think 2 fronts were 730ish after discount and core credit.

Thanks
Mag