1996 Jaguar XJ6, will not crank over

X300
1

Hello everyone. I am new to the forum and new to Jaguar as well. I know this seems to be a common topic but most of the threads I looked up were not specifically identical to mine. I just bought the car today, in it’s current state. According to the previous owners, one day she went to leave for work and it just wouldn’t start. All of the dash lights come on, CEL stays on, and the volt + fuel gauges move. The windshield wipers, courtesy lights, and central locks do not work, and only one headlight comes on, there are also no chimes of any kind. The red “P” on the shifter does light up, and I hear the fuel pump kick on as well as the engine fans which stay running however long the key is on. I connected my OBD 2 tool and only picked up a cylinder 3 misfire code which i cleared. The ECM appears to have been replaced by a remanufactured unit, as it is dated 2001, and 1996 on an older sticker at the bottom, it also appears to still be in new condition ( no visible signs of corrosion ).

According to the previous owner the car was taken to their mechanic, who said the ECM was bad, or there was an issue with it, and they had a specialist they used for that. After a year of waiting they paid the diagnostic charges and brought it home. It shows signs of this as every interior panel in the way of the computers or fuse/relay panels have been removed, as well as the trunk fuse/relay/module area appears to have been looked at. The car has now been dormant for 3 years.

At this point it seems like the body control module to me, and I am tempted to pick up a used one, plug it in, and give it a go. What steps should I take before this one? What areas are most likely to be the problem?

Overall the car seems to be in decent shape and shows little sign of corrosion or rust anywhere. There are 137,000 miles on the odometer.

Does anyone have a picture of the starter relay and location? I checked the one I thought was right and swapped it with the one next to it

I am trying to get this car on the road quickly and economically so that my wife can use our other vehicle while I’m at work, so if anyone knows where to look, please help. Thank you!

2

The electrical guide has a picture in the FRONT MATTERS section of ALL the relays and modules locations.

A search of the internet will enable you to download a copy of the 1996 sedan Electrical Guide. Jaguar 1996 XJ Sedan Electrical Guide .pdf

You can remove the relay and place a ‘jumper-wire’ in the 3/5 or 30/87 slots to energize the starter. This will bypass ALL safety components so make sure the car is in P/N.

bob

3

Okay thank you! When I find time around work I will look that up and give it a go to see if the starter will activate.

4

Okay, response take #2 - after a good night’s sleep and in the daylight I tried this again. Using a Jumper wire at the correct relay, the car cranks over just fine, I was even able to start the engine a few times off of starting fluid. I have the fuel pump fuse pulled currently because I don’t trust the state of the gas tank. This car sat under a tree for 3 years and so far all I’ve managed to do is break off “most” of the filler cap which has become permanent. Knowing that the car WILL start and run from the relay, and that key features like shift lock, windshield wiper, turn signals, door chime, dome light, still do not function at all?

5

I managed to score a used body module from a warm dry climate (Southern California) for $50 shipped so I’ll report back if I have any luck with that. Does anyone have any other suggestions or input?

6

Update: My secondhand body module seemed to do the trick! Engine cranking, turn signals, wipers, lights, etc are all functional now! After a thorough cleaning of a fuel system, my old Jag Should be good to go!