I am trying to replace the early 90s radio in my XJC. Unfortunately the installation job for that radio was not good and there is an excellent chance I will stuff up the wiring when I try to sort it.
A search shows plenty of XJS wiring diagrams but nothing specifically related to the Series 2 V12 - I am sure one will be here somewhere - I mainly need the car radio, speakers and aerial wiring.
Can someone please point me in the right direction.
Garry
…I would be surprised if any wiring diagram would not work, Garry…
The main ‘problem’ is to match the wiring colours of the radio with that of the car. The first should be described in the radio’s manual, which describes what power the radio needs, and its outputs.
Ie, constant power for the radio’s memory - connected to the constant power, brown on the car. Then radio power ‘in’, usually car white/pink from ign key in position 1. And a *white/pink * out, ‘ant out’ on the radio, powered with the radio turned ‘on’ to control the antenna.
The loudspeakers should be marked on the radio, and the ‘old’ wires reconnected, unless more powerful speakers are fitted. The antenna coax should be reused on the new radio…
It takes more time to write it than to do it…
Frank
xj6 85 Sov Europe (UK/NZ)
Thanks Frank - unfortunately I dont have a wiring diagram for the current radio in the car so cannot then identify what car wires it is connected too. A Jag wiring diagram will tell me what colours I need to look for - eg I think I have the four speaker wires but not sure which one is which. For sure with multimeter and pulling panels off I can eventually track all the wires down but it is easier if I had the colours of the wires to look for.
How confident are you that;
Constant 12v will be brown (it is purple on the cigarette lighter)
Switched 12v is white and pink
Antenna is also white and pink.
That is a good start to start looking.
Thanks
Garry
[quote=“AussieEtype, post:3, topic:437843, full:true”]
How confident are you that;
Constant 12v will be brown (it is purple on the cigarette lighter)
Switched 12v is white and pink
Antenna is also white and pink.
[/unquote]
Cannot be absolutely sure of anything these days, Garry…
The diagrams show brown/purple for radio constant standby power and white/pink for the radio to be looked for - as a start…
To expand; brown and white are ‘source’ power colours; the first indicates direct battery power, the second refers to the ignition key. For identification purposes the colours change after passing through, or going to, a specific item - usually by adding a colour to the source colour.
So white/pink implies first step on the ignition key - no power to radio with ign ‘off’. However, some owners prefer power to the radio at all times - and use a brown source. For identity purposes; the permanent power connection to the radio is brown/purple in the diagram; ie the brown colour may be a faint stripe. The same for the cigar lighter; it has an inline fuse, so it may be straight purple at the lighter or brown/purple.
While the logic of the Jaguar colouring may be fairly consistent; as more equipment were added, compromises were made by necessity. So for more obscure additions; the specific diagrams is necessary - and Jaguar was not famous for updating diagrams. Nor were POs additions through the years - ultimately multimeter testing is a last resort…
And colours fade over time…
Frank
xj6 85 Sov Europe (UK/NZ)
Thanks for that Frank - very informative.
Once the rain stops I will get stuck unto the job with multimeter in hand.
Cheers
Garry
Ok did a lot of checking and installing today - looks as if previous owners have just used bits of wiring they had lying around because nothing ties in at all colours wise.
Used a little 9v battery connected to the speakers wires I was able to determine each of the speakers, the multimeter sorted the odd colour power and switch power wires - black and red was earth and the last unknown is obviously the antenna line.
The new radio has its own cables for the DAB aerial and phone speaker so they should be an easy instal.
Once again Frank - thanks for the information.
Remember to connect speakers so they are in phase, Garry…
Frank
xj6 85 Sov Europe (UK/NZ)
Yes thankfully the speaker wires in the car were at least marked + and - ive. Radio now connected and works but not installed - still got to connect the DAB aerial, the microphone for the phone hands free and some wires that came loose somewhere - eg a wire to the climate control fan switch.
In doing the wiring for my new radio, I had to take the passenger floor ventilation console side cover off. In doing so I found this large socket (centre of pic) that does not seem to be connected to anything. It is a bit hard to gain access in there but there is nothing obvious.
Any ideas?
That socket looks like the one to be connected to the air conditioner amplifier which, in many cars, has already failed. Several companies manufacture replacement amplifiers, which are significantly smaller than the amplifiers installed at the factory all those years ago. The usual instructions given with the replacement ones were to disconnect this plug from the factory installed unit, then just leave it in place, then plug in the new amplifier which is much smaller than the factory one. Replacement units came in various shapes and sizes depending on where they were made. I have a small tube shape replacement manufactured in Australia, but I’ve seen others in different shapes and sizes as well.
As others have said, Garry; your AC amplifier is missing…
A PO may have made other arrangements - or your AC is not working. Search JagAir or elsewhere for aftermarket replacement. OEM not available - or make your own arrangements…
Frank
xj6 85 Sov Europe (UK/NZ)
Thanks for that input on the plug. I dont know what was done by the previous owner but the entire A/C system has been upgraded and seems to work well - will be tested in a couple of months when we get up to over 40c every day.
Interested in the comment about a small replacement cylinder amplifier - when running the DAB aerial cable I removed a small cover to the left of the glove box (RHD car) there was a cylinder there about 1" in diameter and 3" long with cable running along the glove box panel to the A/C unit - so that maybe it.
So I will ignore that loose plug.
Thanks
Garry
Curious to know how it’s possible to work without the A/C amplifier as it’s what drives the servo and the servo would be stuck in one position.
No one is saying the amplyfier is missing - I found something that is as described by MRCHB and my car is Australian - so most likely it.
Looks like you probably found it then. I’ve had mine for more than 6 years now, and it is still working as it is supposed to. I should advise you, however, that if your a/c was ‘upgraded’, the factory installed R12 refrigerant was replaced with R134a which does not provide strong enough cooling when sitting in slow traffic conditions but will provide better cooling when driving on the open road.
Yes - it has a higher rated compressor so might help a bit - I bought the car in our fall and I wasnt impressed and through winter it really did not come into play - now we are into spring I have noticed it working pretty well. I think part of the issue is that my other car has its lowest temp setting as 16c where the XJC has a lowest setting of 65f which is 18.3C so the lowest temp is still 2c higher than most modern cars. Also it is hard to tell when it is taking in fresh air or is recirc - again on my modern car I can select this and usually run on recirc on very hot days - not selectable on the Jag.
However with the weather getting warmer the A/c does seem to work OK so I will see how it goes over our very hot summers - likely to be the hottest on record and we already easily do 40c+ on most summer days.
Cheers
Garry
Regarding the white plug in your pic, it IS the plug for the amplifier that is the “brain” of your system that tells the servo/climate system what to do. Aristides was asking how could the system be working great without anything plugged in! I would be curious to how someone has “rigged” the system (with an aftermarket amp) to make it work! How did they do the wiring? Do your center vents open for fresh/AC air and do the center vents close for heat? Do the fans vary the speed to meet the settings?
No idea other than the system works as it should.
Original rough test was that when the cabin temp reached the set temp the fans droped to low speed, Garry…
Frank
xj6 85 Sov Europe (UK/NZ)
And thats how it runs - and it does auto switch between cool and heat when the cabin temp falls below that set, that is it maintains the required temp as best it can.
Anyway new radio all connected up and works very well - I need to reconnect a loose wire to the A/C fan switch that has pulled out and work out how to get the passenger A pillar internal trim off without wrecking things - the E-TYPE is just soo much easier to work on.
