[xj40] Dead radio

XJ40
1

1991 Sovereign with CD radio

I have 12 volts to the plug on the back of the radio, but
only the light in back of the switch works - otherwise the
radio is totally dead. It won’t turn on and light up the
display or produce noise at all.

Is anyone able to help with that problem? In other words,
can it be fixed?

Thanks,

William–
William Wenzel
Prairie du Sac, WI, United States
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2

In reply to a message from William Wenzel sent Mon 3 Jan 2005:

Will,

I’m certainly no expert on these matters, but I offer this in case
it may help. Others may have a better feel for the problem.

Does the socket on the back of your radio look like this?

A B C . . D E F

G H I J K L M N

If so, do you have 12 volts on a Brown/white wire to pin ‘J’? If
not, check fuse C2 in LH fuse box.

The radio backlighting is fed from the instrument panel via a
Red/green wire to pin ‘I’. Do you have voltage on that?

The ignition switched feed from the radio relay (green base in
relay panel behind passenger side knee bolster) is via the Light
Green/orange wire to pin ‘K’. Do you have anything on that with the
ignition key at position II? If not, check fuse C1 in the RH fuse
box.–
The original message included these comments:

1991 Sovereign with CD radio
I have 12 volts to the plug on the back of the radio, but
only the light in back of the switch works - otherwise the
radio is totally dead. It won’t turn on and light up the
display or produce noise at all.
Is anyone able to help with that problem? In other words,
can it be fixed?

–
Bryan N ('91 Sovereign 4.0 L)
Cambridge, United Kingdom
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3

My '93 XJ12 stands unused for up to 7 months at a time, and always
has a flat battery when I come home to it. A replacement battery
cured this, but since fitting the new unit, the radio has ceased to
work - there appears to be no power to the unit at all. I read
about a common link to a module that controls the AC as well, but
as this has never worked since I bought the car (and UK needs only
heat, so this had moved to the bottom of the list) I can’t really
test this. No specialists around here want to touch the radio
blaming a ‘‘�300 dash-out job’’, and ‘‘they all go eventually’’ etc.

As ‘‘they all go eventually’’, is there any experience out there that
can start me off in the hunt for the problem?

Happy New Year everyone–
ChinaTom
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4

What year is the car?

There is a relay that supplies power to the a/c and the radio that could be
the cause of your problem.

David Hurlston
ViaData LP
Sugar Land, Texas-----Original Message-----
From: owner-xj40@jag-lovers.org [mailto:owner-xj40@jag-lovers.org]

  • there appears to be no power to the unit at all. I read
    about a common link to a module that controls the AC as well,

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5

In reply to a message from David Hurlston sent Mon 1 Jan 2007:

It is 1993 (headlamp surround is body coloured). The a/c light
illuminates on the panel when pushed, but nothing actually happens
to the temperature in the car.

How can I rest the relay - I have some electrical know-how
available.

Happy New Year–
ChinaTom
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6

Sorry - I see you stated the year in your first post.

My car has the relay in the relay rack underneath the passenger side dash.
The relays move around with the model year so it may be somewhere else on
your car.

If you can locate it, feel the relay to check that it operates when the
ignition is turned on. If it does, look for 12V at pin -87 to power the
radio.

If no 12V, try substituting with one of the other relays of the same color.

If all of that checks out OK, then the problem may indeed be with the radio.
300 pounds to change it seems unreasonable. I haven’t had to change mine
but I really doubt the dash has to come out.

David Hurlston
ViaData LP
Sugar Land, Texas-----Original Message-----

How can I rest the relay - I have some electrical know-how
available.

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7

At 13:26 2007-01-01 -0600, David Hurlston wrote:

If all of that checks out OK, then the problem may indeed be with the radio.
300 pounds to change it seems unreasonable. I haven’t had to change mine
but I really doubt the dash has to come out.

The centre console panel must be removed. Not a major undertanking, but
there are a few steps involved. I have some photos of the removal process
among the ones for replacing the clock lamps:
http://jaguar.professional.org/snaps/index.php?dirname=xj40/clock_lamps/

(note that those are not in sequential order - the snaps are sorted by name)

— '88 Jaguar XJ-SC 5.3L V12 (LHD) ‘Black Cat’
Sean Straw '85 Jaguar XJ-S 5.3L V12 (LHD) ‘Bad Kitty’
Sonoma County, California '91 Jaguar XJ40 4.0L (LHD) ‘Trevor’
http://jaguar.professional.org/ '69 Buick GranSport 455 V8

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8

In reply to a message from ChinaTom sent Mon 1 Jan 2007:

The radio in this car can be removed in about five minutes and is
very easy to do? Are you sure there is no power? Look at the radio
panel and see if it says code required. These radios will default
to non-operation if the power is switched off such as a flat
battery. Your radio code is under the hood on a sticker. It is
four digits that need to be entered to restart the radio

Hope this works for you.

Trennie–
The original message included these comments:

My '93 XJ12 stands unused for up to 7 months at a time, and always
has a flat battery when I come home to it. A replacement battery
cured this, but since fitting the new unit, the radio has ceased to

–
trennie
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9

In reply to a message from trennie sent Tue 2 Jan 2007:

Hi, thanks for the advice here. The radio is definitely not
receiving power - the display does not illuminate whereas it used
to when re-coding the radio after a flat battery.

I am currently looking at the relay as mentioned in a previous post
and testing it - as soon as the rain stops, I’ll get back to it and
report the results.–
ChinaTom
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10

In reply to a message from ChinaTom sent Tue 2 Jan 2007:

the relay you are looking for is part #DBC 10009…it is located
under the passenger side dash and has a yellow connector…there
are 4 large relay modules in a row that becomje obvious when you
remove the dash pannel…the one all the way to the left is the
DBC 10009…it controls several things including the power to the
radio…i have had issues with this relay and I know it controls:

  1. power to the radio
  2. power to the climate control blowers
  3. power to the electric seats
  4. power to the cigar lighter
  5. power to the tail lights and side lights

there may be other items it controls but I am sure of these…–
The original message included these comments:

I am currently looking at the relay as mentioned in a previous post
and testing it - as soon as the rain stops, I’ll get back to it and
report the results.

–
Cliff - '93 XJ40 Sovereign (4.0L)
Lancaster/South Carolina, United States
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11

In reply to a message from Cliff Archie sent Tue 2 Jan 2007:

OK, the relay is clicking, and although we could not locate pin 87
precisely, we tested the connector block at the rear of the radio
and received 12v everywhere we expected. We therefore conclude that
the radio has expired, and I can confirm that removing the radio is
a 5 minute job! Now I know why my local specialist is so rich…

I will locate a replacement radio and report back.

Thanks for all the help here - the photos were really useful.

T–
ChinaTom
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12

In reply to a message from Cliff Archie sent Tue 2 Jan 2007:

When I changed my battery on my 91 sov 3.2 rhd. my radio was dead.
I disconnected the battery and reconnected it and it worked ok, I
have done this twice so far. Try this before you start paying out.

All the best

Gary–
Biker064
London, United Kingdom
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13

In reply to a message from Biker064 sent Tue 2 Jan 2007:

Everytime I go back to China and leave the car, I disconnect the
battery. I have done this 3 times since the radio problem first
occured, and nothing has made the radio illuminate or ask for a
code. I really do think the unit has failed internally.

The only other unusual thing that I can think of was when I was
connecting the GPS system to the cigar lighter, and a penny dropped
into the barrel causing a pop and a puff of smoke. The fuse warning
light immediately appeared and after replacing the fuse, the cigar
lighter functioned as normal. I wonder whether this may have had
other effects on the system. But, there is 12V at power in pin on
the connector block at the rear of the radio, and all other
electrical functions except the cruise control work fine.

I will now search for a replacement radio, and if anyone has one
available out there, let me know. I can send the old one in
exchange if anyone fancies having a go at fixing it.

Thanks,

T–
ChinaTom
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14

In reply to a message from ChinaTom sent Tue 2 Jan 2007:

I have fitted a replacement radio, and this has half solved the
problem. I now have power to it, and I input the code and the radio
behaves normally. However, I am not getting the right sound. The
rear door speakers put out a very muffled bassy sound, but the
front door speakers and rear tweeters are silent. The leccy aerial
functions properly, and the CD changer works fine. Before I rip the
doors apart the do a continuity test on the speakers, I will just
ask the forum whether this is something I have done incorrectly, or
may it be due to the coincidental failure of all speakers; or is
there a problem with the output from the radio?

T–
ChinaTom
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15

In reply to a message from ChinaTom sent Sat 6 Jan 2007:

Tom,

Not sure what the problem could be, but if you’ve fitted the
same '93 model radio as original, this is the wiring set up
for the plug on the back.

Speaker Connections � �93 / �94 cars

All pin numbers refer to connecter LB36 at the radio.

#7 � Slate/pink - RH front speaker + RH front tweeter
#8 � Slate/orange � RH front speaker + RH front tweeter
#14 � Pink/green � RH rear speaker + RH rear tweeter
#13 � Black/white � RH rear speaker + RH rear tweeter
#6 � Pink/purple � LH rear speaker + LH rear tweeter
#5 � Black/slate � LH rear speaker + LH rear tweeter
#1 � Slate/purple � LH front speaker + LH front tweeter
#2 � Slate/red � LH front speaker + LH front tweeter

Other connections on LB36:-

#4 � Light Green/black � Aerial motor
#9 � Purple/orange � Radio Telephone
#10 � Light Green/orange � 10 Amp fused supply - Radio Relay
#11 � Brown/red � 1 Amp fused supply (radio illumination ??)
#12 � Red/light green � to centre console (purpose unknown!)–
The original message included these comments:

I have fitted a replacement radio, and this has half solved the
problem. I now have power to it, and I input the code and the radio
behaves normally. However, I am not getting the right sound. The
rear door speakers put out a very muffled bassy sound, but the
front door speakers and rear tweeters are silent. The leccy aerial
functions properly, and the CD changer works fine. Before I rip the
doors apart the do a continuity test on the speakers, I will just
ask the forum whether this is something I have done incorrectly, or
may it be due to the coincidental failure of all speakers; or is
there a problem with the output from the radio?

–
Bryan N, '91 Sovereign 4.0 L, (RHD)
Cambridge, United Kingdom
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16

In reply to a message from Bryan N sent Sat 6 Jan 2007:

I have found an old speaker and have tested the various speaker
outputs on it from the radio terminal block.

7&8 (RH Front) no output
1&2 (LH Front) no output
5&6 (LH Rear) same bassy muffled output
13&14 (RH Rear) not tested
6&14 (LH&RH rear) same bassy muffled output (why should that be?)

You suppose that 11 is for the illumination, but on my connector
block, the connection is loose, the terminal can slide in and out
of the block; and once it has slid out, the radio stops dead, and
requires a re-code once the connection is rectified.

Is 12 for the windscreen mounted FM aerial? I had thought so, but
maybe wrongly, as there is 12V on it.

So I have one radio that does not respond to the connector block
being plugged in, and another radio that does. So this rules out
the power supply problem. However, my replacement radio has a
unsolved output problem, and this is my next plan - take the radios
to a repair shop for diagnosis - the car and its wiring appears to
be in order.

I’ll update when I can.

Thanks

Tom–
ChinaTom
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17

In reply to a message from ChinaTom sent Sat 6 Jan 2007:

Tom,

Hold everything.

I may have transposed the connector pin numbers incorrectly

  • the wire colours are correct I believe, so go by those.

I’ll get back to you shortly.–
The original message included these comments:

You suppose that 11 is for the illumination, but on my connector
block, the connection is loose, the terminal can slide in and out
of the block; and once it has slid out, the radio stops dead, and
requires a re-code once the connection is rectified.

–
Bryan N, '91 Sovereign 4.0 L, (RHD)
Cambridge, United Kingdom
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18

In reply to a message from ChinaTom sent Sat 6 Jan 2007:

OK, I’ll hold. But I think you are right with your numbering - it
seems to make perfect sense.

As I would rather have a ‘‘working vehicle’’ than a concourse beauty
queen, I would consider putting a new stereo in the car. We are in
it for up to 8 hours at a time, and music is important once she is
bored of the engine’s melody.

Are there any new units that can accept the CD changer and the
Jaguar connector plug? I am sure this has been asked a million
times before; sorry if so. But I am getting desperate, as I have to
drive to Germany very soon and no tunes means grumpy wife before we
have even reached Huntingdon.

T.–
1993 XJ81 (RHD)
Peterborough, United Kingdom
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19

In reply to a message from ChinaTom sent Sat 6 Jan 2007:

Tom,

I’ve re-checked the CONNECTOR pin numbers I gave you and
they are correct and match the wiring harness colours for a
'93 car (with one minor correction - pin #7 is a
Slate/purple wire, not a Slate/pink as I stated previously).

Note that they are the connector pin numbers on the wiring
harness, not the plug in the back of the radio - that will
be a mirror image. So what you thought was pin #11 is in
fact pin #10 on the harness connector, the 12 volt power
supply from the radio relay, so no wonder it shut the thing
down when you pulled it.

Sorry I can’t help you with an alternative radio suggestion

  • outside my experience - but others on this forum have done
    it recently so they may chip in and help.

Hope you get it sorted before your impending trip to
Germany. Give me a wave as you Little Paxton on the A1 :-)–
The original message included these comments:

OK, I’ll hold. But I think you are right with your numbering - it
seems to make perfect sense.
Are there any new units that can accept the CD changer and the
Jaguar connector plug? I am sure this has been asked a million
times before; sorry if so. But I am getting desperate, as I have to
drive to Germany very soon and no tunes means grumpy wife before we
have even reached Huntingdon.

–
Bryan N, '91 Sovereign 4.0 L, (RHD)
Cambridge, United Kingdom
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20

In reply to a message from Bryan N sent Sat 6 Jan 2007:

It is all my fault, and I am sorry for wasting your time here - I
bought a DBC6437, when I needed a DBC11304. I have a DBC11304 on
order from a nice chap up north, and I should have it in time.

This is a warning to anyone silly enough to believe that if it
looks the same, it must BE the same! 93 and 94 XJ40/81 has a
different radio than those model years before it. Even though the
facia panel and plugs are identical, they are different units.
Apparently a clue is whether the RDS symbol is printed on the
cassette flap or not. 93 and 94 cars have it, previous cars do not.
Another rule of thumb that will, I’m sure have exceptions too.

When I pass the junction, I’ll honk twice (in time to the music,
hopefully)

Tom (in Longthorpe, but usually in Nanning - China)–
1993 XJ81 (RHD)
Peterborough, United Kingdom
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