I have a 2006 Jaguar XK8 with 70,000 miles on it now. Latley after about 20 min. of driving it I am getting an amber warning, DSC System Fault, and the ABS icon light goes on,. When I reach my destination and restart the car it goes away for a while, sometimes a day or two. The brakes work fine, just had them replaced last Summer and the tire pressure is fine, no apparent leaks. Has anyone had this problem before? What causes it and how much am I looking at fixing it?

 

It's probably dirty wheel speed sensors. Here are some instructions on how to clean them:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=37434

It's possible to clean the front ones without removing the wheel. Just turn the steering wheel to the right to access and remove the left sensor and vice-versa for the right one. Make sure you clean the little cog thingy, too. Just spray some brake cleaner on it. In fact, it might be possible to clear your problem by spraying brake cleaner onto the sensors and cog thingys without even removing the sensors.

If that doesn't fix the problem, it might be a bad sensor. They cost about $200 and you can easily replace them yourself. You could also try unplugging the connector in the wheel well and then plugging it back in. It's not a likely cause of the problem, but it's possible that the connector just needs to be reseated.

The third thing it could be would be the ABS module electronics. There's a relatively common problem with a solder joint that breaks inside the module. It's possible to do it yourself, but it's not as easy as cleaning the sensors. There's another writeup here in this forum on how to do it. Try the sensors first. If that doesn't work someone can point you to the ABS module repair.

 

My vote would be that wiring has to be included in the list of prime suspects; specifically those flex sections that connect the sensors to the rest of the wiring harness. If this is it, it's much more likely to be a front than a rear wheel.

Two flavors: a wire can be broken inside one of these sections, or a connector contact can be marginal. In either case the fault may not appear until the car is in motion. Trying some continuity tests while wiggling these wiring sections can sometimes expose the bad guy.

If the fault appears before the car starts moving, I think dirty sensors can be eliminated (ain't no signal from clean or from dirty sensors until there is motion)

 

Yep... It could definitely be that connector. I was basing my guess upon the fact that he said the problem occurs after driving for a while. I've read that the sensor connector issue happens more frequently when driving slowly with the steering wheel turned fully to one side or the other, like when backing out of the driveway.

Here's my ranking of possible causes from most likely to least likely:

1) Dirty sensor
2) ABS Module
3) Wiring
4) Bad Sensor

I put the ABS module second because it could be that he hits a bump 20 minutes into his drive to work, and the bump jostles the ABS module enough to break the contact momentarily.

 

Oh yeah... go to an auto parts store and get your battery load tested. That could be a problem, too.

 

Sam,

Works for me. Do you agree that if the fault pops up before the car moves it can't be dirty sensors? This seems like it has to be so, because the AC signal that a sensor creates, and that dirt can interfere with, is not present until there is motion.

The ABS module could of course detect a short or an open circuit without motion, but dirt would not effect those.

Seem right?

 

Absolutely.

 

Thank's for all your help guys? I will try cleaning them first and go from there.

 

My 2000 XK8 threw a code indicating that the R/F flex section was bad. I got one for about $45 from these guys:

http://www.jaguarparts.com/partscat.html

It cleared up my problem. It's a snap to replace, a Girl Scout could do it.

I changed the battery and cleaned the sensors as well just to be safe. I went for 6 months with no problem, then it began to give me the ABS/TRAC amber warning. Before I could get to doing anything about it, it stopped.

I've come to believe that if the battery is just the slightest bit less than full charge - like when it's been sitting for a few days - the ABS/TRAC warning will trip.

Next, I'll resolder the connection points on the ABS controller.

 

Hi Guys

I joined the forum simply to add my experiences here as I've gleaned a lot of information through the forum and thought it was time to give a bit back.

My 2004 XK8 has had the ABS and DSC system fault warnings appearing intermittently for a few months now, recently the warnings started to appear far more frequently and I felt it was time to address them.

I first removed the wheels and cleaned the speed sensors as per instructions from the forum and Youtube.

I then suspected the common dry solder joint problem in the control module and thought about removing it, as this is likely to involve separating the brake lines I decided against it and thought I would get a mechanic to read the fault codes from the car for me to ascertain if it was indeed a module fault.

The local mechanic read the codes and pin-pointed the problem. One of the rear speed sensor rotor rings that are attached to the drive shaft was heavily corroded and no longer providing a signal to the wheel speed sensor.

Removal involved oxy acetalene cutting to split the ring so was a little involved but total cost for parts and labour was just over £200 and all has been well for sometime now.

I hope this info may be of help to someone sometime.

Paul

 

Hi all,

I have a 2003 xk8 and have the same fault, I took it to a specialist who tested a number of things (I had previously cleaned the wheel speed sensors and previously replaced 2 harnesses with no joy) and he is 99% sure it is the module.
I cannot find one to match second hand (There is a bar code and another ref number on the module, which one do I use to try and locate the correct version?) but know they can be repaired without recoding....apparently?.... from what I have read. Does anyone recommend a place that repairs and tests the DSC module?
These things are around £1000 from the main dealer so that is out of the options list!

Many thanks for any assistance.

Chris

 

Happened to me 2 years ago...in my case, it was the beginning of the reluctor ring failure, eventually it'll split into 2. It started as intermittent DSC fault but I was driving out of state one day and suddenly everything went into limp mode. I took it to the closest tranny shop and they said my tranny is toast and said that it'll be $3,500 to replace with used one....luckily I gambled and have it freight out of there to my trusted indy in PDX and within 4 hours they identified it as the reluctor ring and a reasonable $398.

Not trying to scare you but I find your experience is similar to mine.

 

Chris, if you took it to a specialist he must have run the codes. If you post them here we may be able to help, but without them we're just guessing. A typical fault is the solder connection for the abs pump, while another is a brake switch failure. But there are many other possibilities.