Hi all

It's my first post actually, so please forgive me in case I posted my thread in the totally wrong section :-)

For about a year I'm proud owner of a Jag XKR from 2004 with less than 46k miles which looks almost new. But unfortunately that doesn't protect me from several (weird!) electrical problems:

Flickering lights:
I guess you can set up an entire new forum just for this! I changed the alternator, replaced the battery, changed all light bulbs (i have the xenon ones) in the headlights - no single change at all! It's a nightmare. So, any hints?

Servomotor of the steering wheel:
I mean the motor which moves the wheel back and forth, up and down. We all know it has a auto function - key out, steering wheel moves up and back, key in, it goes to the last saved position. Well, it should. Sometimes it moves a little bit down and forth, sometimes it moves in the position I want...you never know. Fact is: when I push the memory button in the door it moves to the position I saved. It just doesn't want to do it by its own. Does anyone has the same problem or knows what it could be?

Key transponder:
When I want to lock/unlock the car I have to stand very close to the drivers door (which is left for me). First I thought it's the battery in the key. So, I changed it in both. That didn't change anything. 5 meters away or even standing behind the trunk - nothing happens when clicking the key. I guess it's the transponder module or the transponder coil. Any experience with this problem?

I hope that's not too much for my first posting :-)

Regards from Switzerland

 

Welcome to the forum mc_jag,

You posted in exactly the right place for questions about your 2004 XKR. Members here with the same model will be able to help. It's always best to start a separate thread for each topic instead of covering multiple issues in the same thread.

When you get a minute, please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some info about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

 

Hi Graham

Thanks for your reply! Will do that

 

On the flickering lights - Do you mean all of the lights that should be on when you turn the headlights on ? It could be in the light stalk. There are wires that are soldered onto the stalk at a little circuit board that can break loose. I had this problem with the wire for the "auto" headlights. Try jiggling the stalk. There are posts in the archives on this.

 

Hi Jim

The situation is that all lights are on when they are supposed to be on. When the engine is off they all just work fine. When you turn on the engine the flickering begins. So, I guess something is going wrong when the engine (or the alternator) is generating the energy and it's not coming from the battery. I changed the alternator to a brand new one but that didn't help. My new guess is the alternator supression module (Jag part LJA1820AA). Could something be wrong with this little thing?

 

To fix the steering wheel issue see here...
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...lution-145376/

 

Dude, stop throwing money and expensive parts at the car that are most likely not the problem; and at the same time working in areas of a 12+ year old car, that can introduce more problems along the way. All of your problems are heavily covered in the forum and fixes for some items, can be as easy as tightening the clamps on the mirror bracket.
1. The Flickering Lights: Does this happen in the 'auto lights on' stalk setting i.e. the third click on the stalk, and left in this position for the auto lights to come on and off by themselves? If that is the case, and the lights do not flicker when you turn the lights on manually, (first click on stalk is 'running' lights, second click is 'headlights', third click is 'auto-on' position), the second click position, and only happens in the 'auto-on' position, then it is the rear-view mirror causing the flickering. I figured this out on mine on the drive home after purchase, the lights would flicker over a bump, or if I touched the mirror, I switched them to manual, I like to control my headlights anyway, and have not had a problem, there is a fix in the 'how-to' section for the loose mirror bracket.

2. Tilt Wheel: Highly covered in the forum; I will not even attempt to explain.

3. Key Remote: Most likely dirty contacts mixed with bits of black 'rubber' and dust from normal usage. Pop open remote, remove board, pull off rubber button pad and clean inside of rubber buttons with rubbing alcohol and Q-tips, not acetone as you will melt the rubber, these 'rubber' pads have conductive pins inside, and there is build-up between them and the circuit board causing your transmitter issues. My lock button was so 'used' and 'ground down', that it had trapped most of the pins that emerge from the 'bubble' on the back of the button pad, and had to be scraped away.

4. If you have any further issues, I would highly advise you to consult the forum about your issue BEFORE taking your car to the dealer. The Dealer has their best interest in mind, not yours, which is squeezing as much money out of you as possible, for a problem that they know only takes five minutes and zero dollars to fix.

 

I agree with 03XKR, and just want to add-don't throw away parts that may be salvageable by you or someone else. With a little effort or ingenuity many "broken" parts can be serviceable.

 

Hi all

Thanks for all of your replies! In general I try to fix all problems by my own. Jag dealers (at least in my region) just suck. I know a very good independent garage which helps me with the stuff I cannot do by my own. But the rest - handcraft :-)

Regarding to your post 03XKR: The flickering light always occurs. Doesn't matter in which position the switch is. The only difference is between engine on or off.

Found some threads about the tilt motor. So, thanks for the hint!

I will try to clean the remote as you explained. I would freak out if that's the reason :-) Will give a feedback asap.

 

Also, did you get a history with the car. I have found that all of my little problems that I have with my 2003 XKR stem from warranty or recall work performed by the Dealer; as all of the problems, cosmetic and otherwise, are confined to the areas where this work was performed by the Dealer prior to my ownership. I did not get a full history when I purchased my car, but by calling the Dealerships that performed the scheduled maintenance on my vehicle, and the recall list on the forum, I was able to piece together what had been done as far as warranty and recall work. Now I have a 'list' to follow, and little fixes to be done everywhere they performed their shoddy 'get it in and out' recall work. I have taken lots of pictures along the way of wire harness sections 'wadded up' and stuffed back up under the dash just enough to get the bolster back on; these are the fixes I am currently working on, straightening wires and securing them back to their mounting clips, I hope to post pictures soon, it is quite frightening.

I ask because you may be able to narrow down where to look for the lighting problem. If work or service had been done on your vehicle around the lights or in the area where a body ground strap needed to be removed, loose body grounds do weird things, as well as loose connections to the high voltage fuse block behind the spare tire with the 'strap' fuses, the positive battery cable goes directly into this block, and is commonly overlooked when having battery/charging issues. Maybe the lighting module was removed at some point and the ground is not tight enough, or it has loose cabling, this would vibrate with the engine running causing intermittent contact and 'flickering' lights.

And, to save the best for last in my short personal experience with my new XKR, I came out a week or two ago to find a bolt laying on the ground under the front of my car. I know it was not there the day before, so I opened the hood and began what seemed would be an endless search for where it could have come from. I have recently begun to experience a different kind of flickering in my headlights only, they were 'jerky' and the auto level was really high. Then I find this bolt, so I start matching side to side, and quickly found the hole for this bolt. It turns out that it secures the glass headlight assembly to the car at the top of the front bulkhead, so not only was the driver's headlight unsecured, hence the 'jerky behavior', but the passenger side was loose, and working it's way out as well. After re-inserting the bolt, and tightening both assemblies down until secure and even, I get absolutely no 'flickering' or 'jerky' behavior from my head lights, and the auto level is not illuminating the tree tops.
Either way good luck

 

I just took a look behind the spare tire and found this cable....

What is that for?

In two weeks I have more time to analyze this fuse box. But that cable makes me curious.

 

Update about the Key Remote. I cleaned them but unfortunately without any effect. One of the keys is likely new anyway. As I already wrote I also changed the battery without any positive result. So, I guess it's either the transponder coil or the module. Can anyone tell me where it's located in the car? The coil costs about $20. So, lets try it...

 

Absolutely, I do not know what that cable goes to, but mine is plugged in, I think you might be on to something. That cable goes through the body, right in front of the battery, at the bottom of the trunk floor, and maybe, just maybe, plugs into the GPS antenna that is in the compartment that your top folds down into, that dead area behind the 'back seat', the antenna is near the middle, under the carpet, closest to the trunk.

 

Is there a way to take a pic to show me where this cable is supposed to be plugged in?

 

Yup, give me a minute to go out and photograph the plug in my car.

 

Wait a minute, your's is a coupe; mine a convertible, so, things look different in my trunk. It seems I have several smaller fuse blocks running along that area in my trunk, but that cable in your's has a 'body' grommet on it, made to fill and secure in a cut out hole. It definitely goes through the metal somewhere in your trunk. The SS wire wrap insulation leads me to believe it is somewhat exposed to weather, maybe it goes up to the third brake light, or the solenoid that pops the trunk open. I will have another look around my trunk, I have at least 3 cables that are unplugged at all times, but I think those go to DTC readers, however none have metal wire wrap. Oh and being that you have a coupe, your GPS antenna is on the 'parcel' shelf behind the 'back seats'; sorry about the confusion, I thought you had a convertible as well.

BTW, have you downloaded the Owners and Shop manuals for your specific model year from the 'how-to' section? That may shed a bit more light on the problem.

 

Hi mc_jag,
The key transponder coil is around the ignition switch, and is how the car knows when you have the correct key in the ignition.

The antenna for the remote key fob is located at the top of the rear window in the coupe, and you should just be able to see the connector poking out the centre back of the headlining. Make sure it hasn't come adrift as that could be the cause of poor fob range.

HTH,
Mike

 

Update about the tilt wheel: It's fixed! :-)

Thanks to the following post:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...68/#post342851

Awesome! Thank you to everyone who helped!

I haven't fixed the weak unlock signal or the flickering light. But at least one chapter has been closed so far...

 

I have a 04 XKR the top fuse on the trunk wall fuse block is getting hot. I'm taking it off to clean the lug and contact points in case of corrosion resistance. Anybody have any other ideas as to what could be causing the heat issue.

thanks

 

The battery cable lug crimps sometimes go bad (it can be at either end of the cable, so the fuse side is possible). Removing the cable and squeezing the lug crimp in a vise sometimes helps, otherwise the cable may need to be replaced.