Hi,I am very new to the forum. I'm just beginning to sort out a few things with my Jag. It's a 1997 Sovereign V8 4.0 Lwb. I've recently got a warning light come up on the dash saying, "Stabilitycontrol fail and traction control fail" and the ABS light comes on. After switching off the ignition and switching on again it usually clears. There appears to be nothing wrong with the traction or stabililty. The ABS judders a couple of times when braking and then clears itself . The problem seems to occur when the car is parked overnight when it's raining. Is it possible that a sensor is getting wet and ccausing a short. If anyone has any idea's I would be grateful.
Thanks
Simon.

 

A happy new year to you too, Simon!

And of course welcome to the forum!

If the message only appears at start-up and not while driving, and if it "prefers" to appear on cold and wet days, go for a new battery.

My Daimler had this issue and I replaced the battery last Saturday (and now I'm waiting for a really cold day to confirm that it was caused by a weak battery ).

 

Thanks for the reply. It does stay on whilst driving, but if I stop and turn the ignition off after 10 mins then it doesnt come back on again.

Simon.

 

Simon,
I've moved your post to the X308 section where you'll get more help.
There are many threads on this subject.
Probably start by cleaning the ABS sensors (there's a video on the XK8/XKR How-To 's

 

Yep, sounds like a new battery will cure it. If not stage 2, wheel speed sensors, or ABS pump motor solder points... plenty of info on each in the forum, but number one is the battery.

 

So I guess we're on the path to check the system. I'd recommend to draw fault codes first. If you don't have the equipment yourself you could ask a dealership or a garage with services for car electronics.

The corresponding fault message would determine further troubleshooting.

 

The problem with ABS faults is they don't set a Pxxxx code so can only be read with more complex OBD readers or for $$$ at a Jaguar dealer.

 

I'd first fully charge the battery, or have it tested at a motorfactors to confirm if it's bad and requires a new one.

If it tests good then I ask do you cover many miles in the car? drive it regularly? If not then it could just be a voltage drain/drop below what the car's electronic systems are happy with, anything lower than 12.5V and you can get many false errors - ghosts in the machine...
If the car has an old and failing battery (and cold weather is number one to find the battery's condition out) then replace it, ebay is a good source to find the correct amp hour battery, I recommend Varta as they're oem.
If a battery doesn't sort it out then the second favourite is the ABS sensors located on the hub of each wheel attached by a wire link lead, there are certain tests (measuring each sensor's resistance to confirm if there is a fault with any of them) Also eyeball the link leads.
As an example, I had an ABS/Traction/stability issue, spoke to Ken Jenks' Tech Director of the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club and he said yeh, battery. Forked out £110 on a spanking Varta and it threw the same fault as I went round a black ice bend.....kept it together luckily. Found a clump of dried grass stuffed around the rear driver hub, this was enough to trigger the fault as I went round corners (the grass would block the ABS 'hall effect' sensor from getting a constant reading from the abs ring). It fixed it, but there's one other favourite in the system, the pump controller (module) piggybacked onto the pump.

Intermittent faults pop up and stay on (Fault code read by Jaguar IDS software, good indie or main dealer can pull it = U1095) any other code and its new pump/module...

If it's the 1095 the module can be fixed, but lets see how you get on with charge/check/replace battery, and onto checking wheel speed sensors, with all the muck and sh*te about this time of year on the roads it might be a case of cleaning the back of the hubs. Also check the pull/push connector onto the abs module/pump assembly, (front passenger side behind the headlamp)

I know these systems and have become quite intimate with a number of cars locally that have been an easy fix with the 3 main issues.

Anyone that can offer advice other than these 3 I'm all ears.

Mate do a search, the place if full of the same fault, posts are over and over and over....going back years and the fixes. Probably the single most asked question in front of nikasil and tensioners - answers should be sticky to be honest on these 3 topics, it would mean no needless posts (literally hundreds). I should just have a copy and paste answer to them good luck, and do us a favour before you disappear, report back with the fix, it helps the other abs faultees get to the bottom of it after wading thru the 1001 posts on it, lol!

 

I have checked out the battery and it is fine, it's almost new. I will check the ABS sensors next. To be continued....

Thanks for everyone's help so far.

 

I gave the car to a good mechanic I know and he traced the fault to a broken wire on the abs N/S front wheel. Fortunately this solved the problem.
Thanks Simon.

 

That's a common cause.
Thanks for the feedback.