Picked up a 2012 XK on Friday. Top went up/down fine a few times until afternoon on Saturday. Got a 'Hood won't latch error' on the dash and the top would remain about 1-2 inches from engaging the hooks.

Tried the full manual reset procedure. No change.

Tried disconnecting battery for a half hour and than the window 'teach'. No change.

Examined fuses (that seemed obvious), non blown. Battery voltage seemed fine. Always had car running when trying any auto open/close.

Top goes to close position in automatic mode just fine.

Ended up having to manually close and drive the rest of the way home with rear quarter windows down. No Jag service centers were open in the area. Thankfully no rain, or I'd have the Detroit cardboard windows going. The rear windows issue was undoubtedly linked to the error.

Will drop off at Jaguar dealer tomorrow. I almost had 24 hours of trouble free motoring Welcome to Jaguar?

On a good note, aside from a mildly annoying squeak in the steering wheel when in 'exit' position and very touchy brakes, the car drives quite nice.

I don't see a ton of complaints on the top malfunctioning, so I'm very much hoping its truly an oddball sensor issue. If it takes some 'flash' to correct I'm not going to be happy since that means the problem could happen again at anytime.

Having the rear windows down is not an option...rainwise or security wise.

Any insight on folks who have run into top malfunctions before?

 

Despite the fact that the engine was running, this can be a battery issue - failure to latch is one of the random symptoms of insufficient voltage....since this car is new to you, that is what I would suspect FIRST.

 

Battery voltage came to mind. Interesting no other electrical error or problem though, including top retract. That worked fine. Battery measured 12.56v when at idle with engine off.

Is that low?

Anyone else run into this error and it been a battery?

 

Dealer found a faulty microswitch in the top.

Will pick up tomorrow.

 

Glad it is fixed!

It sounded as if you tried all the right things, so the outcome makes sense.

 

Well, its not fixed. Top cycled close fine once then started happening again. Same error 'Hood won't latch'.

I have it on a ctek charger right now to see if its something funny with voltage that is affecting it. Once it hits green, I'll try to close it again.

I suspect I'll be back to the dealer on Monday


Update: full battery charge had no impact.

Not sure what they'll have to replace next. Maybe controller?

 

it is most likely the switch over head. Jag replaced mine on my 2011 with a new design switch. Works great now.

 

I doubt its the open/close switch since it functions in both directions.

The top just stops an inch from the frame during close and I get the hood latch error. Up to that last point the switch seems to work.

I have the 'pull down' / 'push up' switch (not pictured in owners manual).

No diagnosis from dealer yet. Will see what tomorrow brings.

 

Dealer ordered a new control module for the top. It is supposed to arrive today. Will report back on success or lack there of.

Got update. Installed module.

After several roof cycles, Hood Latch error reappeared. I guess the good news is they can replicate this odd issue.

They have a regional Jaguar Tech looking at it now. I hope this isn't the start (or continuation) of a long term issue.

I bought an XK, but now have more overall seat time in an XF!

 

I got the car back but I haven't cycled the roof multiple times yet to verify OK.

Jaguar Field Service Engineer traced issue to a damaged wire in a wiring harness somewhere in the top. This caused an intermittent condition causing one of the sensors to read incorrectly. This triggered the Hood Won't Latch error.

I'm hoping this is the last I'll see of this error.

I do wonder how the wire got damaged. Maybe it was nicked at the factory and slowly got worse over time? Hopefully this isn't a design defect subject to wear and eventual failure.

I'll be back for an update if the error returns.

 

I have the same problem. Does anyone know is the problem with the engine hood or the convertible top. Hood latch failure warning came on while the top was down

 

Have you tried to reset the top as described in the owner's manual?

 

If your top closes ok, than you have a different problem. If it doesn't close, you could have a top sensor issue...or a motor issue, or a control module, or a bad wire...

Try the manual reset first.

If the issue persists, you'll need to take it in for repair.

 

Yes my top does close. I was told that if the top operates slowly it can show that warning in the information center. Is that possible?

 

Justenough, I see now you have a '97 XK8. You are posting in the '06 and later XK group. These cars are totally different and you will not get correct answers here, especially when it is not obvious which car you have.

Please post in the correct group and put your model and year in your signature to obtain accurate help.

 

I can't thank you enough for this posting. I went 4 years without my top down because I was told I needed a new latch motor. I had the same symptoms. It would not complete a closing about an inch prior to the latch mechanism catching. They wanted $1,200 to replace the motor but I finally found a used one for $350 from a 2012 XK. We swapped the motor but no go. I read your post and started searching for the wiring harness you mentioned. The harness runs from the back of the hood to the front along the drivers side. It contains two medium sized wires plus 4 other very thin wires. We found a slight crimp in the harness right above the drivers side window. We opened it up and found the very thin white wire was snipped and no longer connected. We spliced the two ends together and immediately the hood closed, problem solved. It cost me over $500 but it could have been a DIY job for nothing. At least I got a less worn motor and gear out of it. One of the reasons the motor was suspect was because the gear inside the motor is plastic, not metal. This plastic motor gear does connect to a gear in the hood, but that gear looks like brass. The plastic gears on my motor were worn out so it was worth replacing the motor. It was possible to remove the motor gear but this part is NOT sold separately. I hope this info helps someone else in the future. Happy motoring in the XKR convert.

 

i read a while back of another guy had issues with the motor , plastic parts guy bought a part for a bmw convertible has metal motor parts and it worked great

 

This was EXACTLY the issue with my car when the same thing happened! It was fixed and the problem never reappeared.I think it is a minor design defect but mine also failed at about the ten year mark. So you're good for another 10-12 years....

 

Do you folks know where the break in the wire was? How do I access the top wiring harness?

 

The wiring harness runs along the drivers side from the rear of the top to the front. It is sheathed in a black plastic wire sleeve and is hidden from sight between cloth layers making up the conv top. In my case, there was a very slight crimp in the harness right above the drivers side window where one of the top's hinges is located. Clearly, the hinge weakened one of the very thin wires inside the harness. You will have to slice open the wire wrap to expose the wires inside and find the break in the wire. I will try and submit a photo later.