Gentlemen,

I have been reading this forum for awhile...and am glad to finally contribute. Unfortunately, its on undesirable circumstances.

My 2001 XJR has 70k miles on it. It had been sitting for the past 8 months because I work as a merchant mariner and was overseas. The car stayed in covered storage for the duration of my trip. I realized while I was gone that I had left the battery terminals connected. When I returned the battery was dead...so I had it replaced. I drove the car for a week with no problems whatsoever.

One week ago my family flew in and I took a trip (3.5 hour highway drive) up to DC in my 2001 XJR. I dropped off my wife and 2 year old son while I looked for a place to park. I turned on the AC and rolled up the windows and realized the air wasn't cool at all. I noticed the 'low coolant' indicator illuminated. I then took a look at the temp gauge and it was spiked all the way up with the light on. I pulled over instantly and let the engine cool for a while. Like a jackass, I figured it was cool enough to open the coolant reservoir and add coolant. Ya, I was wrong...and my coolant painted the asphalt. Lots of steam was coming out at this point...and I let the car cool for another hour before I added coolant and got it back on the road.

Unfortunately, this was not the answer. We driving on the freeway (about 5 minutes from DC), turned on the A/C and the car again began to overheat. I turned on the heater all the way and the temps came back down. I let the car rest for 30 minutes and drove them the rest of the way back to Norfolk, Virginia with no problems other than the annoyance of having to leave the heater on high during a warm September evening.

I talked to a few of my friends who knew cars. They told me to first replace the thermostat and get the coolant system flushed. The mechanic called and told me he couldn't get the coolant to move around the radiator because the water pump was bad. The impeller plastic blades had broken off. Today, I picked my car up from the shop and was told my car had been road tested. Sure enough, i drive the car for 20 minutes then i turned on the A/C for a test. Nothing but hot air blowing. 5 minutes later and the temperature spikes. I shut down the car. I'm left with a headache, a $750 bill and the same problem. My wife is calling me an idiot for not specially noting the overheating problem to the mechanic. I just felt as though it would be better to ask them to change the thermostat and flush the coolant than to show up like a dumb blond and say "my car is hot and steamy...please fix it".

I have read other similar posts here and can tell you that I haven't checked the fans yet while this problem has occurred.

Please help...

 

first do the fans run on when the car is stopped? If a bad thermostat, they run virtually all the time.
Air con pump adds to the engine's workload, get the aircon system checked for refrigerant and lube.
It could be that the aircon pump isn't working as it should.

 

Well, it seems to me that you have two problems that may or may not be directly related. If they are, the primary connection between your two problems is the cooling fans.
If the AC is low on refrigerant, then little heat is generated in the condensor and it cannot account for the hot engine.
If the engine is hot, it cannot account for the bad ac since the condensor is in front of the radiator, unless the cooling fans are not running. If the cooling fans are not running, then enough air to cool the engine is available while you were on the highway, but not enough was there when you began looking for the parking space. The AC possibly added to the problem by warming the small amount of air before it reached the radiator. The heater trick seems to confirms that the engine not generating too much heat, it just could not get rid of enough.
So, I bet that your fans are not running, at least when the AC is on. Lok for a bad fuse or a bad fan relay.

 

Hey guys...thank you very much for the responses. When I drove the car today, I checked the fan when I started the car. It was off...but I figured the car was cool. After it was warm I pulled over and checked it again. The fan was again not on. I turned on the A/C and same result...no fan functioning. I hate to be a jackass...but I only saw the large fan next to the radiator...where is the other fan you guys mentioned? Today, I left the A/C and heater off.....the car didn't overheat. Therefore, the problem has only occurred when I have turned on the A/C. I'm convinced of two things...like you guys said...the A/C is messed up....probably has no or low refrigerant....and the fan is not functioning. I hope you are right and it is a relay...any ideas on how much those fans cost?

On a completely separate note, why do people say the 02-03 XJR's are better? What exactly is different between those years and the 01?

Have you all heard of Eurotoys? I'm curious what you guys think of their performance mods for the X308's.

 

There are two fans in the fan "cartridge". The fan cartridge is big $, but there is a good chance the fuse or relays are bad, not the motors. The fans run in series for low speed and parallel for high. If the relays are screwed up, or one mootor is "open circuit", then they do not get spinning in low and will blow the fuse when they try high speed..
As to the AC, without the fans, it won't work very well, and will give high head pressure. hat will shut down the compressor, or vent (I believe the XJ8 has a HP vent)
By MY 02 the engine had steel (not Nikasil) liners (sometime during MY2001, actually) and the timing chains and tensioners were upgraded. Also , the transmission was upgraded to fix a weak clutch pack, I think.
Now, get your fan and AC fixed, and begin enjoying the car.

 

HERE, HERE ON THE FANS BEING THE ISSUE....Thirty amp fuses at 12 and 14 in the fuse box closest to the radiator on the drivers side. Check them both.....

 

So, a few days later I checked back on this forum. First things first, I checked the fuse box next to the radiator as mentioned by John. First I checked fuse 12 which was good to go. I started to get a little nervous. I then checked fuse 14 and it was blown. Ironically, I had extra 30 amp fuses sitting around in my glove box the entire time. Slapped in a new one, and the fan came to life, A/C blows cold, engine stays cool, problem fixed. Thank you guys so much for your help. You are pretty much my heroes and if ever in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area I would love to treat you to a cold beer and a session from my favorite Asian masseuse. Thanks so much for the help.

 

Best thank you I've ever seen offered! Makes my recent license plate drive for Brutal seem like a 1st grader fundraiser.

 

If the fuse blows again, I would check the wiring harness to the fans for a short, or a burned or loose connector.