I was caught in a slow moving traffic jam for about an hour,
It was a very warm day with hardly any air movement.
The temperature gauge would move just slightly past the ‘N’
position and then I would feel the fans cut in and it would
drop back down to it’s normal position which is usually just
below the ‘N’, so I assume all is ok with the cooling system.
After about 30 minutes, the orange fuse warning light came on
although everything seemed to be as it should, I checked
the VCM and it showed fuse 2. It went out again without me
doing anything, but then flickered on and off every few
minutes until I was out of the traffic. The rest of the
journey home was uneventful. I have since checked all the
fuses and they are all alright.
The next two months are really busy for me and the car, and
I expect to be adding at least 5000 miles across Europe so
it is vital I eliminate any looming problems beforehand.
Any advice on what could have caused this would be
appreciated, could it be a sign that one or both fans are
reaching end of life?
Thanks in advance for any replies.
Casso.–
Casso
Liverpool, United Kingdom
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In reply to a message from Casso sent Tue 28 Aug 2007:
I’ve never heard of a fuse being ‘intermittent’. If, as you
suspect, one of the cooling fans was about to expire so that
it was drawing more current than that for which the fuse is
rated, the fuse will blow - and it can only blow once, not
resurrect itself to put the light out again.
More likely is that one of the fuses in the left side box
has a bad contact in its holder or a dry solder joint at the
back which goes open circuit when it gets hot (through
arcing, not in-car ambient)
If you have pulled all of the fuses out of their holder and
put them back in again, you have probably solved the problem
the contact is now good.–
The original message included these comments:
After about 30 minutes, the orange fuse warning light came on
although everything seemed to be as it should, I checked
the VCM and it showed fuse 2. It went out again without me
doing anything, but then flickered on and off every few
minutes until I was out of the traffic. The rest of the
journey home was uneventful. I have since checked all the
fuses and they are all alright.
Any advice on what could have caused this would be
appreciated, could it be a sign that one or both fans are
reaching end of life?
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In reply to a message from Casso sent Tue 28 Aug 2007:
Sounds like heat-related expansion of a dry joint. I’d have
the fuses boxes out and re-solder ALL the connections at the
rear.–
JagFab, 1988 JaguarSport XJR 3.6 (RHD)
London, United Kingdom
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In reply to a message from Casso sent Tue 28 Aug 2007:
The first thing I would suspect given your fault details would be
that the fuse in question (possibly, as you surmise, the cooling
fan fuse) has a bad connection to the fusebox blades, and is
heating up at the bad connection under load, causing increased
voltage drop across the fuse, which indicates to the control unit
that the fuse has failed.
If that is the case, and you leave it, it will get worse, and
could damage the fuse box.
Pull the fuses from No 2 fuse box, with particular attention to
the fan fuse, and check that everything is clean, tight, and making
a good connection.
Even though the fan fuse appears sound it may pay you to replace
it with a new one.
Dave–
The original message included these comments:
After about 30 minutes, the orange fuse warning light came on
although everything seemed to be as it should, I checked
the VCM and it showed fuse 2. It went out again without me
doing anything, but then flickered on and off every few
minutes until I was out of the traffic. The rest of the
journey home was uneventful. I have since checked all the
fuses and they are all alright.
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In reply to a message from Casso sent Tue 28 Aug 2007:
I think like all the other guys here that the solder is the
culprit, but I would be a bit safer and spray some connector
cleaner and WD40/similar after this. It won�t make harm…–
Huaorani Warrior, '92 XJR 4.0, manual gearbox, VIN 653523
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In reply to a message from JagFab sent Tue 28 Aug 2007:
A big thank you to both Bryan and Jagfab for such a fast
response
to my post. I feel a lot less worried having read both replies.
I know a fuse cannot blow and then reset itself, that is
what was baffling me, however the dirty contact or dry joint
theory
makes perfect sense so I am off to remove the fusebox in
question and give it a thorough examination, I will let you
know what I find.
Since my last post in April, when I had a moan about these
cars never working entirely fault free, ( and Bryan tore me
off a strip for suggesting it ! ) I have enjoyed the longest
period in my ownership when everything on the car has worked
perfectly, I intend to keep it that way.
Thanks again
Casso.–
The original message included these comments:
Sounds like heat-related expansion of a dry joint. I’d have
the fuses boxes out and re-solder ALL the connections at the
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Generally fuses are either good or bad, rarely intermittent in themselves. That being said however i have heard cases where a fuse is broken but still makes contact. Since its cheap would probably be a good idea to just replace it.
While doing that check that it is making good contact in the fuse box. Also possible that you have a bad connection to the fuse box.
It sounds most like a bad connection somwhere. Do you notice if when the fuse light is on is the circuit dead. In other words is the circuit truly open or does that computer just indicate that it is?
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Fuse 2 is the RH fuse box at the base of the pillar. Pull the fuse
in that box related to the fan or fans and replace as a PM move
(yours is different from mine).
Otherwise I see no relation between the two other than coincidence or
the hot day. Sounds like you could also have a bad wiring connection
at the back of the fuse box on one or more of the fuses. Pull them
all and examine. Clean the contacts and coat with dielectric grease
if you find no burned fuses and wait to see if it repeatsl
Jay 90 VDP Majestic
At 08:58 AM 8/28/2007, Casso wrote:
1993 4.0 sovereign - 170,000 mls.
I was caught in a slow moving traffic jam for about an hour,
It was a very warm day with hardly any air movement.
The temperature gauge would move just slightly past the ‘N’
position and then I would feel the fans cut in and it would
drop back down to it’s normal position which is usually just
below the ‘N’, so I assume all is ok with the cooling system.
After about 30 minutes, the orange fuse warning light came on
although everything seemed to be as it should, I checked
the VCM and it showed fuse 2. It went out again without me
doing anything, but then flickered on and off every few
minutes until I was out of the traffic. The rest of the
journey home was uneventful. I have since checked all the
fuses and they are all alright.
The next two months are really busy for me and the car, and
I expect to be adding at least 5000 miles across Europe so
it is vital I eliminate any looming problems beforehand.
Any advice on what could have caused this would be
appreciated, could it be a sign that one or both fans are
reaching end of life?
Thanks in advance for any replies.
Casso.
–
Casso
Liverpool, United Kingdom
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
Visit the Jag Lovers homepage at http://www.jag-lovers.org for
exciting services and resources including Photo Albums, Event Diary
/ Calendar, On Line Books and more !
Visit the Jag Lovers homepage at http://www.jag-lovers.org for exciting services and resources including Photo Albums, Event Diary / Calendar, On Line Books and more !
Visit the Jag Lovers homepage at http://www.jag-lovers.org for exciting services and resources including Photo Albums, Event Diary / Calendar, On Line Books and more !
Visit the Jag Lovers homepage at http://www.jag-lovers.org for
exciting services and resources including Photo Albums, Event Diary
/ Calendar, On Line Books and more !
Visit the Jag Lovers homepage at http://www.jag-lovers.org for exciting services and resources including Photo Albums, Event Diary / Calendar, On Line Books and more !