2003 Jaguar XJR non R1...

Changed out the upper shock bushings and put everything back together. Now a Suspension Fault comes up. No codes or anything. Anyone have an idea?

 

Do you have CATS suspension ?

 

Have you checked the wire connector on the top of the shocks?
I found this comment on another posting in the thread on the forum by member janbache:

" had a loose connection between the sensor and shock on my XJR, that caused the "suspension fault" error to show.
To rectify it I just removed the black plastic protector thingie in the engine bay removed the connector and reattached it."

Most XJR have CATS (adaptive) shocks with an electrial connector located at the top of the shocks.

Jim Lombardi

 

Yeah I have CATS. I've checked them multiple times, tried resetting the system... Out of ideas

 

I'd go back over the connectors - You sound as if the tall nuts have not been tightened down enough for the connector (male, grey) to slide in and make it home. It could take 1-5 turns to make room so it's all the way home.

I've done the same thing, tighten down some more, put the battery back on, and no suspension fault..

Hope that helps.

 

I agree with Sean ^. Check that the electrical connector is fully seated into the shock. The outer plastic ring of thee connector should easily snap over an indent on the nut and lock in place. When I 1st changed my upper bushings I added an extra washer and then the nut for the shock. The extra washer prevented the nut from threading down enough to allow the connector to engage the pins inside the shock even though the connector locked in place on the nut. Once i removed the extra washer the problem was solved

 

I extracted the Install shock absorber steps for the CATS from the JTIS:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f5haww4gra...%20Warning.jpg

Note: click on the image after the dropbox webpage opens (it will sharpen the image).

Key points are:
Torque: 16-18 Nm on vehicles with adaptive damping

On vehicles with adaptive damping:Connect the shock absorber electrical connector, ensuring the electrical connector key locates in the socket keyway.

Looks like the tighting the upper mounting nuts to proper torque values and seating the top wiring connector are important steps.

Jim Lombardi

 

Dealeris telling me the shocks are bad... Unscrewed the nut and connected it to the shock and it still had error.... Connected to new ones made the fault go away. This wasn't the case prior to changing the upper shock bushings

 

That's convenient - take a closeup picture of the top of the shock where it plugs in, lets see if there's a bent pin in there...if not maybe a squirt of contact cleaner on the plug and connect it a few times.

FWIW - The cats defaults to firm setting in case of a fault. Do you see any sign of a leak on the culprit? Does it cope with a bump/rebound test, for example pushing down, does it come up under control and settle in one movement or bounce up and down?

Your dealer seams to be able to find expensive faults...

 

The ride is extremely rough and seems lower. They plugged the connectors to new shocks and the fault went away. It came back as soon as mine were plugged in. I'm considering going to non cats and unplugging the module.

 

Definitely worth checking that the pins in the top of the shocks are not bent or pushed back?

Might be worth carrying out a resistance check across the pins, then reconnecting the plug and carrying out same check by pushing through the insulation on the wires to the core - should be very similar reading...?

 

Changing the upper shock bushings would not have damaged the shocks unless the inner electrical pins were somehow broken. If the pins were bent the connector will not fit down onto the pins. As mentioned you can visually check the pins (2 electrical and 1 guide pin) to see if they are straight and OK.

The dealer has the equipment to read the fault code(s) on the CATS system. If the "suspension fault" message is lit then the system has thrown a code that the delaer's equipment can read. A standard OBD II reader will not be able to read it. I don't understand why a dealer would start plugging in new CATS shocks without reading the fault codes.

You mention shocks (plural). Is the dealer stating that more than 1 shock is bad? Also the CATS system checks only the resistance of the electrical connection of the shock. It cannot tell if a shock is bad. When I bought my car it had a bad front shock but ther was no "suspension fault" message. The passenger side shock was always in the soft mode even when unplugged. It was not firm when manually compressed the way the other side was but it had not leaked either. It worked fine in compression and rebound as a normal shock would it just was softer than the the other side. The shock no longer had the firm settingbut the CATS system could not diagnose that

Before you buy any new shocks, ask the dealer to show you the code(s) that the system has set. If 1 side only is showing a code then switch your shocks side to side and see if the code changes. Also, you can manually compress the shocks to check them without having to remove them. Just unbolt the entire top mount and the shock should extend above the body. If it takes both hands to push the piston down and then it extend back up then it is in the default mode (power off) and are OK hydraulically. You cannot manually check the soft setting as the car has to be moving.

 

Jaguar advise changing them in pairs, so it's a thousand dollar job....this is why it sounds fishy to me, particularly after the last couple of quotes/invoices from these guys princemarko posted...

 

Sounds fishy to me as well. Maybe he should start the car and see if the "dealer fault" message is displayed

 

They showed me the computer and said Open Circuit on both. They want $1400 with labor.

 

Gut's telling be bent pin....get a look at the pins asap.

Prices have gone up....$1400! what are they charging for the shocks?

 

Pins are there and not recessed.

 

$453 each

 

Princemarko - I measure 1" from the very bottom of the cavity for the pins to the top of the nut. What does yours measure?

 

We took the nut off and inserted the connector, still same open circuit readout