Hi everyone!
Can somebody send me or upload here a picture of all the ground connections that these cars have? I found DonB’s pictures he uploaded on the old site but couldn’t see them in large size. I’m still dealing with the FF23 and wanna make sure all the ground points are solid. The engine gets too much fuel. The idle fluctuates between 500-1000 rpm and black smoke comes out of the tail pipes. I replaced the O2 sensor (Bosch), heater relay clicks, FPR is also Bosch and no fuel comes out of the vacuum hole. CTS was replaced some years ago. But I’m not sure about the air temp. sensor that sits on the intake elbow. I sprayed electrical cleaner on it when I cleaned it. I can’t remove it, it just spins in the hole. How sensitive is the tip of that sensor? Did I damage it with the electrical spray? Can that sensor make the ECU to deliver more fuel triggering the FF23?
Thanks any advice in advance!
Have you checked the temperature sensor? Its the one with two terminals on the thermostat housing, sounds like it might be keeping the car in cold startcondition.
Hi Robin!
I haven’t checked the CTS yet. I’ll do that and report back.
Cheers!
Hi Joe,
I don’t think you have damaged the tip of that air sensor, or that it has much, if anything at all, to do with the intermittent FF23 you keep getting.
The air temp sensor on my car has been disconnected during the past 8 years and it never triggered ff23. I found the plug by accident about two years ago when I was doing some other work, it was sealed with a plastic cap and taped up out of sight underneath the air ducting. I made some enquiries at a Jaguar service centre, they told me they had come across the same thing lots of times but were unsure on my car if was done at the factory or not, but they had seen lots of cars with that lead and plug taped up like mine, some not even having the hole in the trunking for a sensor to be fitted in the first place !
As you know earlier this year I too was having a problem with intermittent FF23, sometimes 3 to 4 times a day, but usually every two to three days I’d hear the engine note flutter while sitting at lights and that blasted CEL light would come on. I noticed the connection to No.1 injector seemed twisted compared to the others and when I fiddled with it the engine note changed and the light came on. I straightened that plug and cleaned all the others, then mixed a bottle of Cat Clean in the fuel and went for a drive. That was 8 weeks ago and the FF23 has not come back since. I’m not sure if it was the injector plug connections or the Cat Clean that did the trick, but it is such a relief to drive the car without that annoying FF23.
I hope this will give you something else to check, good luck.
Casso, thank you for your reply!
The injector wires are not twisted and I checked each injectors with my stethoscope. All of them were clicking. I ordered a new CTS since it’s cheap. What additive did you use? Cataclean?
Joe, yes it was Cataclean that I used. To be honest I’m not sure it was that stuff that actually cured the CEL, but it’s definitely gone.
While I had the problem I wrote to the xj40 technical guru in the JEC to see if he could offer any further advice.
He said sometimes the cause for FF23 can be a real pain to find but suggested a few things to look at.
One was to check if the leads to the injectors were ’ tracking’ or shorting on any other leads, because he’s found that can be a cause. It was when I was checking for that I noticed how twisted the connection plug to No.1 was, and when I was fiddling with it I could bring on the CEL.
Other suggestions he made were to check the oxy sensor is oscillating correctly.
Scrutinize the exhaust down pipe for hairline cracks.
Remove the injectors and have them cleaned at a pro shop.
Try an in tank injector/fuel system cleaner.
I hope you get to the bottom of it soon, I know how annoying it is !!
Thank you for the advices Casso! Although the injector wires are not twisted as in your case, I noticed the insulation is cracked on some of them revealing the copper wires just a little bit. I already have the Bosch EV1 plugs in case I have to replace them. I’ve been dealing with the FF23 for months and every time the engine started to shake and the idle fluctuate the CEL turned on with the FF23 code but after that the engine became very smooth and the car was driveable but not lately. I’ll try the Cataclean but right now the gas tank is pretty full.