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First Real Jaguar Day...

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tony barnhill

tony barnhill

Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
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...in my recently acquired '85 XJ6 - finally got everything sorted out &, man, I love that car...probably put around 200 miles on it today - all curvey, country roads...made the mistake of letting wife drive it & now she wants it! I even got a speeding ticket - 70 in a 45 zone...but the road was sooooo nice...& that Jag just loves to duck into a curve, squat when I punch it & scream out of the apex & just purrrrrr....

Even had it out after dark - all the lights work though I do need to adjust the headlights & the lights along the gear shift aren't working......& where are the lights that come on when you open the doors?

Did I say how much I really love this car?
 
Tony, you're hooked!
grin.gif
 
Yep, you better believe it - & I've got an appointment at Coker in Chattanooga to have a set of B. F. Goodrich red line tires installed - looking forward to the drive....

bfg-redline-large.jpg
 
Exotexs said:
yeahh well, I just hope you don't mount them in ugly wheels.....

Ex
Click to expand...
Ex - if my Jag wheels are 'ugly' then, yep! :cheers:
 
My wife was driving a 73 GT6 when I brought home a 73 XJ6. I drove daily until her GT6 broke and I let her have the Jag. Could not get her back into the GT6, so I bought an 86 V12 S. She wouldn't drive it, was afraid of it. Both are long gone now ( Jags that is!). Have fun Tony!!!
 
Thanks - today I've been out & about with the sunroof open....a blast!

Here's a question though: this morning it was hard to start & while I waas turning the engine over, the speedo & odometer were revving up/turning...once the engine started, they settled down...what's up with that? But its not done that anymore today - however, the battery guage bounces around. Rebuilt alternator is putting 13.69 into the battery at idle.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]what brand rebuilt alternator?[/QUOTE]
The OE Jaguar one - I had it rebuilt.
 
Exotexs said:
the speedometer needle was revving while the car was parked?
the odometer too? (the mechanical mileage counter?).

or are you saying the Tachometer was revving up and down by itself? was the engine revving up and down by itself?
Click to expand...
No, the speedo was revving & the odometer as I turned the key trying to start the engine...I know it sounds strange - only did it once early this mornng.
 
Keep an eye on it may be the recifier. Jag altenator has lots of replacable parts, not all electronics are OK. Same as the older jags there is a voltage stablizer in between the speedo and tach. Put dry fingers on edge of speedo and twist left will come out easy and in between the 2 is the stabilizer mounted to the back of the dash. Not an expensive part. These usually show by having all gauges do something weird.
 
Keep an eye on it may be the recifier. Jag altenator has lots of replacable parts, not all electronics are OK. Same as the older jags there is a voltage stablizer in between the speedo and tach. Put dry fingers on edge of speedo and twist left will come out easy and in between the 2 is the stabilizer mounted to the back of the dash. Not an expensive part. These usually show by having all gauges do something weird.

Kind of amazing how these heavy cars handle on those nice curvy roads. Keep the bushings looking good, brakes to snuff and good tyres and you can run most those back roads however you want. Also, keeps the old backside comfortable at the same time. Getting older comes the bigger cars albeit a performance car. Be careful it will peg over 110mph.
 
I thought about the voltage stabilizer but didn't mention it because I didn't know the XJ Series 3 had one. I do know my '65 S type has it.

doesn't make sense for the speedo to move as you crank the engine, other thoughts came to my mind, relating to the transmission, where the speedometer transducer is mounted, but it may just be the voltage stabilizer since the ammeter is also acting up. Try substituting with a used one, contact David at Everyday XJ. Maybe Larry can post a picture of the v.s. or explain what it looks like.

https://www.everydayxj.com

Ex
 
Well, I can checdk for the voltage stailizer..just called Engel & they didn't know anything about one.

I've a parts car so will check it Monday when I go to the yard to see if it has a stabilizer

One thing that bothers me: m I can lift the black top off the mass air flow sensor & don't think I'm supposed to be able to get in it! I'll pull one of those off my parts car also.

Interestingly, the speedo only spins over in the morning! & the voltage guage acts weird all the time.
 
Check the chassis ground cable. It is on the RH side at the bottom of the bellhousing. It is supposed to be a braided flat cable, and they get loose and corrode. When you crank the car some voltage is feeding back thru the ignition circuit. The volt gauge typically will be slow to read, and won't move much as it is reading battery voltage.You might try the gauge from the other car. It sounds as it yours has an internal fault. The speedo and tach just puh in and turn to release, and then you can reach thru and undo the volt gauge
 
Volt guage is slow to move

I was wondering where that chassis ground cable is located...thanks!

The more I drive it, the better it gets...its just beren sitting too long (remember: '85 model with only 65,000 miles!)

Just had new keys made for everything...the key for the door locks the door but all the other ones don't lock...electrical?
 
under passenger side, connected to transmission bell housing/engine bolt and then to body. Big stainless steel strap with two ½" bolts. Use a steel toothbrush (!!), and brush the 4 contact areas shiny. Then do the same with the bolts.

On the top, of the rear, of the cylinder head, near the battery, there are also 3 ground straps bolted together to the cylinder head with a ½" vertical bolt. Remove bolt and using the same steel toothbrush, clean all the Ring Terminals and the contact area shiny. Same with the bolt.

On each side of the rear of the engine, sticking out from the firewall/bulkhead, there are two 12 volt Junction Posts covered with rubber Boots; First disconnect the Battery cables; then carefully move the rubber boot back, then remove the ½" copper or brass nut and washer, then use the same steel toothbrush to clean shiny all the ring terminals. Do it to both junctions posts.

This will revive the electronics in the car. Bulbs will shine brighter, a/c blowers will spin faster. (just kiddin').
 
Thanks! I printed that out & when the weather warms up after this little cold spell that's coming in right now, I'll tackle that project!

Man, I love the BCF!!
 
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