Hi all

Was hoping to gain some advice on a niggling issue which has really had me stumped!

I recently acquired a 1980 XJ6 (4.2L, RHD) and everything has worked flawlessly in it, apart from one thing, the air con and window wipers! From my limited understanding these two are on the same circuit(?)
I checked the fuses, which were all fine and changed the relays, but here's the kicker, as soon as I swapped them over with new ones, the car would completely cut out, no power to the dash or engine... nothing! Now I'm not sure if maybe the immobilizer is responsible for this but either way, the car doesn't like the new relays.

So my question is, would any of you guys have any idea on whats going on here?

Cheers

 

OK, being as how you appear new, Welcome.

I would suggest going back to how it was, sounds silly, but trying to sort with so many things changed is going to drive you nuts.

Then sort one item at a time, as in one relay at a time.

Remove/disable/unplug/whatever that imobiliser until the car is sorted as you want it. Those things will drive you to drink if you are trying to sort electrical with it in the system, and YES, I drink now, I did not listen way back then.

Do not check those Lucas fuses, REPLACE them. Pay particular attention to the "50amp" rated biggy for the a/c. It is replaced with a 35amp "normal" fuse.The wings in the plastic fuse block will more than likely be all bitter and twisted and the plastic is maybe melting around that fuse, this is "normal", and NO it is not good. Some repairing here will be needed.

The S3 has a few more fuses for the a/c other than the ones in the main fuse block. The is one tucked up behind the park brake handle, and a real pain to get at. Some have one in the console, under the ski slope.

So, as I said, I suggest one repair item at a time, isolating dud relays etc one at a time as you progress down the line.

The engine no go I reckon is that imobiliser for starters.

 

Follow Grant's advice to get yourself back to square one. :-)

What kind of wiper and a/c problems are you having, specifically? What relays did you change, specifically?

The only relay for the climate control is the blower motor "relay pack" behind the console's left cheek panel. Is this what you changed? It's about the size of a pack of cigarettes.

The wipers don't have a stand-alone relay at all. But.... there is a wiper timer that's *looks* like a relay. Is this what you replaced? If so, and you replaced the timer with a simple realy, the wipers probably wouldn't work.

However, the wiper *does* feed from the "ignition load relay" which powers-up two or three different circuits.

Cheers
DD