Ok, ATF it is. Since no fluid has been added in many years, would it be wise to add fluid and freshen things up?
Factory shop manual calls for Univis J13 hydraulic fluid. I donāt know if ATF is equal.
Good afternoon Paul.
Two questions todayā¦number one is regarding my turn signals. They work on the outside but do not flash on the dashboard, either one. They used to intermittently but no longer. They have always flashed quickly as though on other cars a bulb is blown. Could it be the relay and if so, where is it? Second, I know your wife has a convertible and I am sure you have cleaned and protected the top in the past. When the weather allows, I would like to do the same but there are so many brands, I donāt know which one you recommend. The top is dark blue and I certainly do not want to use a product that risks colour fading nor blotching.
As always, thank you in advance,
Rick
Rick,
Regarding care of the convertible top, I just follow the instructions provided in the Drivers Handbook on page 119. I donāt have to wash the car often here is southern California but when I do I do it by hand using water it with a small amount of mild car wash liquid. I have never used any special chemicals on the our tan convertible top as I feel that the only benefit of using them is the lightening of my wallet. The Driverās Handbook recommends against using a variety of chemicals.
Regarding your turn signals, I believe that you just removed and reinstalled your instrument panel. Perhaps one of the instrument panel connectors on the rear is not seated correctly, perhaps the turn signal bulb housings are rusted like the one you sent pictures of, or perhaps the turn signal flasher is failing. Improper exterior bulbs could cause quick bulb flashing, as can a failing flasher relay (inside the dash on the left (drivers side) in a LHD car). Perhaps it is a combination of things. I recommend that you check the archives as turn signal issues have been discussed many times before, but if you donāt find a solution there please start a new email thread with a new subject line having to do with turn signals.
I encourage you keep your posts limited to what is in the subject line. When you have questions about unrelated matters just start a new email thread. Otherwise it gets difficult to follow and anyone searching the archives will get confused or miss valuable information. This email thread is about the convertible rear windows and you changed it to convertible top care and turn signals, which have nothing to do with the original subject.
Paul
Rick,
According to page 107 of the the XJ-S Repair Operations Manual (ROM) supplement for the 1988 Ā½ cars and later, the correct fluid for the convertible top is (Univis J13). When we first got our 1990 XJ-S convertible in 2005 I searched the Jag-Lovers archives and learned that others used Automatic Transmission Fluid or Power Steering Fluid. I used one of them (probably red Power Steering Fluid). The XJ-S ROM has several pages on the convertible top (pages 105-114) and under the procedure āConvertible Hood Hydraulic System Bleedā on page 107 a sentence states āfill to the MAX level markā among other steps. So that is what I did about 15 years ago and havenāt had any issues yet and the convertible top is raised and lowered regularly in our mild climate.
BTW, if you donāt already have a copy of the XJ-S ROM you should really consider getting one. Having one handy means you can find answers to questions like this (and thousands more) in just a few minutes of reading.
Paul
Itās always better to start a new thread for a new topic.
The dash indicators not flashing, or flashing just once, is Jaguarās bulb failure indicator for the XJ-S. Carefully check that all your bulbs are good. And note that, for the system to work properly, those bulbs all need to be to spec. Itās tempting to replace them with generic 1157ās or whatnot, but those bulbs donāt pull enough current and cause this bulb failure indication.