Hello I just purchased a 1989 XJS V12 Convertible with 121k miles on it. Starts, runs, and drives. I actually drove it 2 and a half hours home on the freeway. Things I would I noticed that was wrong with it.

1. Parking brake light is on whenever the car is on.
2. Oil Pressure gauge is inop
3. Turn signals do not work
4. A/C not working, blows air out the the vents but is not cold, I did notice that my A/C fan does not turn on at all, hopefully that is the issue?
5. Strong Fuel/gasoline smell in the cabin/outside, not very strong in the boot area. Any ideas?
6. Headliner needs to be redone.
7. Transmission shifts harshly, when driving home I felt like the car is dangerously slow.
8. Drivers door does not stay open and closes by itself.

I will search the forums to see what I can do to fix these issues, but thought I'd introduce myself and seek the help of forum members. I have owned a 2000 XJ8 (sold) that I worked on and also a 1982 XJ6 that was too much of a project to be worth working on. I would say I am a below-average DIY'er but very capable with the help of tutorials/youtube videos. Can anyone recommend some quick easy fixes, that can be done relatively easy.

 

Congrats, and let me see if I can help with some of your issues:

1. Parking brake light is on whenever the car is on -- likely that your hand brake is not fully released. You have to pull full upwards, then press the button and push downwards.
2. Oil Pressure gauge is inop -- It's probably fine believe it or not. Could be a sender, but in practice the only time you'll see much movement on the oil pressure gauge is when the engine is cold. The XJS V-12 has a huge oil capacity, large oil galleys and kind of uses a brute force "more oil is better" philosophy.
3. Turn signals do not work - check the hazard switch. It can get stuck in a position which prevents the turn signals from working.
4. A/C not working, blows air out the the vents but is not cold, I did notice that my A/C fan does not turn on at all, hopefully that is the issue? - You likely need a new compressor (standard GM Harrison A6 type, if these aren't run frequently the bearing seals leak).
5. Strong Fuel/gasoline smell in the cabin/outside, not very strong in the boot area. Any ideas? - Forget all your other issues, and focus on this one, and thank the automotive gods you made it home without a fire. It is likely that you need your fuel rail rebuilt because the rubber hoses deteriorate from the heat in valley of the V12. Here is some info: https://jaguarfuelinjectorservice.co...ne%20Fires.htm
6. Headliner needs to be redone. - available from lots of sources and not a difficult DIY job. I think there are youtube videos out there.
7. Transmission shifts harshly, when driving home I felt like the car is dangerously slow. - new fluid might help, and maybe not having the parking brake partially engaged. If you need a rebuild it's a standard GM Turbo 400 and fairly inexpensive because of how prolifically that transmission was used in GM cars.
8. Drivers door does not stay open and closes by itself. - least of your problems at this point. Focus first on your fuel rail, and fuel lines. You'll likely also need a new injector harness if your fuel hoses on the rail are failing. Get rid of the fuel smell, then work on the transmission issues.

Though the info I just gave you might seem a bit scary, don't despair. There is a lot of info in the archives and lots of expert and helpful people here. It's a 30 year old car and it just needs some love and attention to get it into fighting shape. Good luck.

 

Welcome to the club. You are already half wya better off than me lol.

 

Thanks for the replys, I'll try to be more descriptive

1. I will try to release the parking brake again but I'm fairly confident that I am doing it correctly.
2. My oil pressure gauge actually doesn't move at all and sits at zero or below zero
3. When engaging my hazards, the turn signals blink. Using the turn signal stalk is a hit or miss though, they do work sometimes. Good call on checking the hazards
4. AIr doesn't come out the center vents as well, I had air come out of them one or two times but can't seem to replicate this anymore, I will try adding R134a sometime this week to see if there are any leaks before attemping the compressor. Also the fan in the engine bay located on the left (drivers side) I have not seen turn on so I'm assuming it is inop. What does that fan affect?
5. With my nose up against the fuel rails and engine bay I don't smell any fuel odor, with my nose in the boot against all the fuel stuff I have a slight smell, the smell is really strong and gives me a headache when I'm standing right outside the car almost as if im getting carbon monoxide poisoning. I haven't look at the link you provided but will after this!
6. Are all headliners and tops made equally? I'm not sure what to buy I see numerous vendors on ebay.
7. Fluid looks bright pink from the dipstick, so might need a rebuild.
8. From my light research it looks like it is a hinge assembly or spring, I'll post here once I find out!

I drove the XJS again twice today and it feels like it ran better then yesterday. The fuel smell will be my first priority because this headache is killer! I would like to take care of any easy fixes though! I appreciate the help

 

Hello Stran

When you smell the fuel - are you standing near the front left hand fender?

If you are - this could be the pollution control being tampered with. Some previous owners disconnect the carbon canister. Doesn't usually result in such a strong smell, but under the right circumstance - it could

Cheers
Steve

 

I don't use hand brake (parking brake) very often. But on couple of situations when I needed to use it, it seemed like it was stuck in "ON" position, despite my repeated efforts to disengage the parking brake. I had to move it up and down multiple times. It finally disengaged

 

I'd soak the whole rear brake assy in liquid wrench. Yes you might smoke abit next time you hit the brakes but a seized sticky E brake is worse.

Biggest issue is the fuel smell. Could be a leaking fuel line or a cylinder pumping raw fuel with no spark. if a bank fails and isn't delivering ignition and your running the car your measuring the car's life in minutes after that it will burst into flames. It is required at this point to simply redo all rubber - fuel & coolant hoses do it all spare yourself the trouble of going back several times.

Unlikely but...your car may have the Cats deleted and running rich which is a different smell more like boat gas on the lake rather than simple raw gasoline. Either way the source of that issue is critical I wouldn't drive it until resolved.

For context: My car has the front cannister ripped off, cats gutted, and runs rich like an outboard motor but never had a real gasoline fuel smell..theres a distinction between fuel and combustion gases. In this configuration the various smells are annoying but not alarming.

 

You have a vast amount of detailed important catch-up maintenance to do on the car. The question is are you prepared to do it? If so, get some covered space and everyone here will ensure you know what to do. There are no quick fixes, this will be a journey, fun, frustrating, but ultimately you will have a wonderful car as a reward, if you work methodically and persevere.

 

Check out living with a classic on youtube for a good video on replacing the hoses and other stuff in the fuel injection rails

 

I’m at work right now but the smell is when I’m standing by the front left wheel. The car is currently parked in the garage and this morning I would say the car made the garage smell like gas. The smell might be combustible fumes like another post mention. The car itself was a one owner dealer maintained. No actual records but is a califronia car. I did see a sticker on the car from Downey jaguar from 2007 saying next service due at 116k miles and another sticker stating plugs, rptors, a/f, etc. Dated 2011. Car now has 121k. I’m located In California right now

 

I agree that you've got to address that fuel smell first. In had problems with my turn signals as my car had also sat for a couple of years I checked my emergency flasher switch but that wasn't my problem. I did what many will warn against, but it was all I had on hand. I sprayed WD 40 up into the mechanism of my turn signal lever, while working it back and forth. That did the trick and it's been fine for several years. Best of luck on your new adventure. And XJS ownership is an adventure!

 

Hello Again Stran

Smell left hand front wheel.

So this is my theory - in the back of the boot (trunk) top right hand corner of the fuel tank are 3 small hoses. These 3 hoses disappear to above the right hand rear wheel arch to a vapor separation device.

As the fuel tank expands during the day, vapor and fuel liquid rises. As the name implies, this little canister separates gasses from liquids. The liquid (fuel) returns to the main tank, the fumes leaves the boot area by a 4th hose that disappears to the front of the fuel tank, and then reappears under the car in front of the rear left wheel. It then travels to the front fender to the charcoal canister where the fumes are stored until the engine starts again.

As the engine starts, it pulls a vacuum from the canister into the engine, purging the charcoal so it can start the process again.

So if the vapor canister has failed (which is known to do), instead of returning the liquid back to the tank, maybe the liquid has entered the vapor line, when the engine starts, this liquid would be sucked into the canister. Carbon is really good at handling fumes, but does not handle liquids that well, and it would not take much to saturate and then to stay saturated.

With the system not being able to handle the liquid in the vapor system, that liquid will turn stale.

When the car is running, it is still pulling a vacuum through this stale fuel - resulting in the smell you have. (Stale fuel smell is enough to give me a headache if exposed long enough)

Way of proving

I think you have to remove the cover to expose the canister, or you might get lucky an be able to pull the small rubber hose from the steel pipe as per photo 1. This will allow the fuel tank to vent to atmosphere - do not plug this line

Under the bonnet - front left corner, you will see a fuse box sitting on a plastic cover. Just below the cover you will see a bigger hose coming through. (at least on mine). This is the vacuum line from the carbon canister to the engine. Pull the hose and cap the engine side of it.

Start the motor and see if the smell stays away.


Little hose leads from the fuel tank, middle size hose leads to the engine, big hose is clean air intake required to purge the system as well to allow air back into the fuel tank as it contracts during the cooling of the afternoon

Fuel tank - vents top right, 2 small hose allows the tank to expand, but takes both fumes and liquid. The octopus looking thing separates the two, fumes are suppose to go to the front of the car and liquid is returned to the tank. The octopus is a known weak point of the system. Maybe fuel has gone down the vapor line, trapping it which has then gone stale

The octopus. It does not sit very high when compared to the top of the tank. I have removed this from my car and have replaced it with a 2 way vent

Hope it helps and is just my theory - but please take note of the other warnings above regarding the fuel line conditions.

Cheers
Steve

 

Okay so after much sniffing around, I smelt the left (drivers U.S.) exhaust which had close to zero smell. The right side exhaust however had the strong smell of alcohol (the smell im trying to describe) so I am assuming whatever that is causing the right (passengers side) exhaust to emit this odor has to be the problem! Any ideas? Thank you Bez74 for the detailed post and pictures do you think what your describing might cause my right exhaust to smell?

can you tell me where this is located? I would like to try this

 

Nope - only fuel related hoses on the right hand side is the high pressure fuel line that runs from the boot bulk head and comes up near your windscreen wiper bottle - it then leads to the valley through rubber hose.

I cannot think of anything that would give a real powerful smell that would give me a headache on that side. Especially since you drove it home pretty smoothly, so obviously the fuel in the tank is not stale. Maybe what Vancouver mentioned above.

So will leave that one for our more experienced personal

Anyway - location of the carbon canister, hidden behind the bumper and in front of a panel near the front left wheel

 

Could it be unburned fuel?
Do you get EXACTLY the same pulse from both exhausts?
Or, can you feel a distinct pulse from the right exhaust? lf yes to this you may want to check your injector wiring on the right side, you may have a short keeping injector/s open.

Cheers AOI

......................................even if this is the cause of your smell as has been said you should do all the fuel lines in the engine bay. Yes, its that important.

 

Both exhaust produces what I feel is the same amount of pressure, I will say they are not the exact same pulse though- I will have to check and verify that one. Tonight I put my hands behind the left and right exhaust and the left exhaust felt like a nice hot furnace blowing and my left exhaust felt cold/not hot. I smelt both hands and the left hand didn't have a smell but my right hand has the same smell im smelling in the air. When I have my ear up against the engine bay I hear a distinct ticking/clicking that might be the fuel injectors? How do I check my injector wiring? Sorry but I have very limited knowledge and 99% of my know-how is through youtube/tutorials and forums. As for the fuel lines that is on my to-do list as I feel like the hoses are rock hard. Do you guys recommend using jaguarfuelinjectorservice.com or is there a good tutorial outthere that I can use with the part numbers I need to order! Thanks again everyone

 

I've used that injector rebuild service, he is good just be sure not to let 'refurb' injectors sit long or they seize, besides that I saw a roughly 10% gain in fuel flow vs my old set so...noticable boost there.

I can't see any legit reason why one side would be hot vs cold unless you had some or a few cylinders not igniting very well, unfortunately these cars do not have cylinder contribution sensors like modern engines so pinpointing such a fault can be an issue. If it was me I'd replace both o2 sensors asap (if equipped) then begin the task of manually checking spark, failing all that You may simply have a clogged injector and I can say with certainty after three decades those original injectors will look like ear wax.

The filter basket in the injector is often the most forgotten service item.

You could also try dumping seafoam in via sparkplug holes soak for 24+ hrs on a hot engine then go for a rip, load up the fuel with other cleaners or a 1 gallon of xylene on 1/4th tank of fuel. Dont hate me if your fuel filter clogs to!

 

So now the car doesn't start I feel like it might be an electrical issue, just a hunch. With the car off and sniffing the right hand exhaust I do smell fuel in there though I think.

 

I think you have Marelli ignition, and that is really a pair of 6 cylinder distributors stacked on top of each other and have a single cap. It's a dual level cap, and also has 2 coils. It's possible you have a bad coil which will affect one bank. I would not run the engine much until you have determined that you do indeed have spark on both banks.

 

Ohhhhhhh you are in an awesome place!!! Cool.

I have a 1990 convertible that sat for around 10 yrs before IT got it's paws on ME... A wise man (several of them) more than once told me to slow down and get methodical... I was literally running around the lady being pulled in toooooo many directions,,, and it still happens. Tons of things to look at and do.

Air, fuel, spark...

I would start in the trunk, pump and pump relays. Have a Dremel and slowly start cleaning all of the electrical connections that you come across associated with the fuel system back there (and others for that matter) unless you'll be needing and depending her to get you back and forth to work all this week,,, that is??? If not, you'll have time... Clean all electrical connections... Replace the fuel filter for sure. Check the fuel sump tank in the boot too. But be careful with the gas. Careful! Mean stuff that gasoline can be.

ALL OF THIS MIGHT SEEM HARD and SOUND NUTTS BUT ITS NOT... Once I decided it need to happen (and it did), under the hood, I disconnected the main fuel lines completely and closely checked the fuel pressure regulators for fuel/gas being pulled into the intake thru their vac lines. I did this before the fuel that would be in them dried up (needed to replace one FPR IIRC). I completely removed the FI wiring loom (buried in the V - thanks Grant!) set it aside (still have yet to rebuild the harness). I Snipped all the rubber hoses, right in the middle, that were connecting the top metal fuel rail to the individual fuel injectors (saved pintle caps). Except one... *I kept one WHOLE to use as a reference measure for my new rail to injector lines*. Snipping them in the center made removing the entire fuel rail easy, lol... Removed all of the injectors and cleaned them to the best of my ability and checked for flow and function with a battery and the cars (a) fuel pump and a small tank of gas (be careful gas is mean) away from the car. Many of my injectors were stuck closed.

I also removed (making sure individual wires are numbered) all of the spark plug wires and distributor cap. Replaced rotor and left disassembled a while. Replaced plugs at this point. Pre gapped (check gap on this site)! Cheap NKG or Bosh plugs.

Basically,,,, I cleaned out the V of much of the components and grime... Checked coils and connectors there too.

Keep cleaning electrical connections in the engine bay - ESPECIALLY all ground points. You'll be happy you did!

Clean up the gizmo in the picture and alllll wires and connectors associated with it. And ground points.

Take 3, 4 or 5 days to do this stuff.

In the mean time (and please check on this) order 20 feet of Gates FI rated 5/16th like this stuff... I could be making mistakes here so ANYONE please correct my errors...

Did I mention cleaning electrical connections and ground points? Especially the ones around the rad on both sides. Should just take a few minutes... At the fire wall are 2 big important ones.

And for the transmission, and you can come back to it, under the car, on the passengers side and on the side of the transmission itself,,, there would be a vacuum tube that goes into a Modulator on the side like this one... The diaphragm in mine had split and much of the transmission fluid was being pushed out. Leaking. The vac tube that regulates it goes up the underside of the tunnel and connects to one of the ports on the back of the RH intake set up. It was fried by the heat of the exhaust, as well.

Check out the picture below. This "resistor pack" is MUCH to do with the FI system... Found under the hood to the RH side of the radiator behind where the headlights would be mounted on the opposite side.... There is a good bunch of info on the resistor pack in this thread. https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...sistor-134745/