Dashboard
First lets talk about preserving the dashbord. Greg Meboe
submitted this procedure to the list:
I believe the veneer finish on our cars' dashboards and
consoles can be protected. I would guess that the primary failure
mode of the clear coat is not by UV degradation, but rather from the
plasticizers evaporating out of the finish. As the wood expands and
contracts beneath it, the once-flexible-now-brittle finish begins to
crack. That's my thought anyway. Perhaps UV degradation plays a role
in this, but the cracked sections of the dashes I look at don't seem
to be yellowed or cloudy, only cracked.
To prevent this, a plasticizer could be applied to the surface
of the finish, perhaps every few months. I've done this to our car
with the hope that it will prolong the life of the clear coat. I'm
using a commercially available "new-car scent", since the 'alluring'
scent in new cars is plasticizer evaporating out of every plastic
molded piece in the interior. It smells awful though, and we had to
drive with the windows cracked for a few day. I'll begin to look for
a more effective (and less perfumed) plasticizer when I need some
more.
Apart from that, I'd just say don't let your interior get too
hot, as this would allow plasticizer to escape the finish more
easily. No direct sunlight on the wood etc.
I believe most car waxes are designed to fill irregularities in
the paint work to achieve a shine. The only product I know of that
advertises to "feed the paint" is Meguiars #7. It's kind of oily, so
it may contain a mild plasticizer.
Cracked
Dash Varnish
The dash, after about 10 years of sunshine will develop cracks in
the varnish. In some cases the veneer will actually crack away from
the base wood. If only the finish has been damaged it can be renewed.
For details read how Larry Martz
refinished the
woodwork on his 1959 Mk IX Jaguar.
However if it is bad enough to bother you it is probably worth
replacing it completely since the labor to remove the dash is great
and the cost of a new dash is, by comparison, low. I found when I
ordered my new one it had a heavy burl in the wood while the original
had been a straight grain. This alone was worth the price of the new
piece. You will be doing a great labor to take it out and replace it
so why not go for a new one rather then even more labor to refinish
the old one? Pauls Discount Jaguar Parts has these as well and again
at far less than anyone else I priced. But always shop around.
In some parts of the world, some parts are cheaper than in others,
so always check out your local suppliers but always compare apples to
apples and don't get sold some cheap oranges if you want apples.
Radio
Anti-Theft Code
The radio on the 1985 and newer XJ6 has a built in theft
prevention device that makes the radio unusable if it is stolen. It
can also make it unusable if you disturb the radio. To get it
back in service is easy if you know your radio CODE. If you dont, now
is the time to contact Jaguar and find out what it is for your
vehicle.
With that information in hand you can reset the anti theft device.
Turn on the radio and if the word Code is displayed on the screen,
enter the code numbers by pushing the appropriate buttons on the
front of the pannel. The code will include numbers from 1 throught 5
as there are no larger numbered buttons on the radio. If this does
not do the trick then you will have to turn off the radio and turn it
on again. This time touch nothing until it has been on for at
least 65 minutes. Then carefully enter the code.
Air
Conditioner and Heater Box
One of the big items in this area is the air conditioning and
heater box under the dash. There is alot of technology here and alot
of expense when it comes to fixing it.
Bob Reily has compiled a document that covers his
repairs to the
XJ12 heater.
A/C Evaporator Coil
Perhaps the single most expensive repair on an XJ6 is the
replacement of the evaporator coil. It requires many hours of labor
to disassemble the dash, remove the front seats, etc. All this is
required to just get access to the heater and evaporator cores. The
evaporator coil itself is a very small part of the expense, the labor
counts for almost 5 times as much.
If you are told that you need a new evaporator you should first
check to see if it is true. If there is still freon in the system you
should be able to "sniff" a leak at the center vent in the console
with a hand held freon sniffer. These devices are very sensitive and
they are available very reasonably from parts houses. I purchased
mine from J.C.Whitney in Chicago and checked the garages diagnoses.
They were right and the sniffer set of the alarm when ever I got it
near the center vent but made no noise when I checked several other
junctions in the system. The cost of the sniffer is well worth it if
you find you don't need an evaporator coil and if you do need one,
then at least in the future you will be able to diagnose your own
freon leaks.
Valves
and Flappers
The valving and flappers on this system are very complicated, but
they are repairable and adjustable and their diagnoses is rather
straight forward if you have the proper information to work from. The
flapper valve system in the XJ-S is identical to the system in the
XJ6. Kirby Palm, in his book
Experience in a
Book: Help for the XJ-S Owner does a great job of explaining this
system and its adjustment. If you are going to tackle this job I
would strongly suggest that you get his book from the internet or
from him. In the back of this book you will find his addresses and
ordering information for his book.
Diagnosing A/C
Problems
I find that in trying to diagnose the heating-A/C system, a small
thermometer is very useful. Preferably one that can be inserted into
the vents without fear of dropping in it. A dial type with a probe on
it works well since the dial will not allow it to pass all the way
through the vent screen.
Using a thermometer will allow you to make reliable measurements
of the results of any repairs you make. Temperature as measured by
"feel" is such a subjective thing that you really have to have a
thermometer to know what you are feeling.
Some interesting
temperatures: If the A/C
is working properly the temperature out of the center vent when
measured several inches inside should be below 60 ºF and can be
actually below 32ºF. I have measured 30ºF in my A/C at
times!
Be careful with the thermometer when putting it into the center
vent. There is a vacuum operated flap that can snap shut on your
thermometer and damage it. If the system is set to the lowest
temperature and the fan is on "HIGH" it is not
likely that the flap will close.
Fuel
Cut-off Switch
The Series III XJ6 came with an inertia operated fuel cut off
switch that will cut off the fuel pump in case of an accident that
created enough impact to trigger it. This switch is at the far end of
the dash on the left in RHD cars and on the right in LHD cars. It is
against the door post between the door post and the dash end. On top
of the switch is a manual override switch to be used to reset it.
Theft Deterrent
The fuel cut-off switch may or may not make the car safer to
drive, but it makes a nice theft deterrent. You can manually switch
off the fuel pump when you leave the car so that any thief that may
gain entry to the car will be unable to start the engine. The only
problem I had with this is that occasionally I would return to the
car and forget that I had set the switch to off.
Bad
Bulb Indicator
Another gremlin that many older XJ6s suffer from is the bad bulb
indicator on the speedometer that lights up when a bulb burns out.
This indicator really does not know if a bulb is burned out or not.
It just knows if the current drawn by one side of the circuit is
greater than the other side. Thus if you put the wrong size bulb in
one of the parking lights it will light, but it may take more current
than the correct bulb. This will light the indicator which senses an
imbalance.
If all your bulbs are burning but the indicator says otherwise,
check to see that all the bulbs are matched pairs.
Sliding
Lever Below the Radio
Now, what does that sliding lever below the radio do, the one
marked with a red and a blue arrow on opposite ends? Well, as someone
on the Jag-Lovers list said once, "If it doesn't seem to do anything
it is working." There is alot of truth to this. It is supposed to
regulate the temperature of the air exiting at the vents in the dash.
If you put it to the blue arrow the air at the dash is cooler than
the air in the footwells. If you put it at the red arrow the air at
the dash is warmer than the air in the footwells. At least that is
what the book says. In real life the difference is hard to detect. I
put mine at the blue arrow all the time on the belief that in summer
I want A/C in my face and in winter I want heat at my feet.
Movement of this slider does not change the temperature in
the car, it just changes the relative temperature between the dash
and the footwells.
Flickering
Oil Pressure Light
Another gremlin that haunts the XJ6 is the flickering oil pressure
light and the sudden drop in oil pressure sometimes sensed on hard
deceleration and cornering. This sudden drop in pressure means you
are low on oil. Add a quart and it will go away. If you filled it
when you started it may mean that there is a leak or it may mean you
have gone too many miles and need to change the oil as well. It may
also mean that you have oil pump problems, but usually if that is the
case it will not occur only when cornering and stopping.
My experience with Jaguars in general is that if you can get 1,000
miles to a quart of oil you are doing OK. Many Jaguars do much better
than that. Those are the ones without the anti-rust/oil leak
system... When the consumption of oil gets to 500 miles to a quart it
is time to find out why and do something about it.
Leather
Preservation
The beautiful leather and vinyl interior has a tendency to
deteriorate in almost all climates. In wet climates leather will rot
and in hot dry climates the stitching dries out and fails. Here in
Texas the problem is the latter.
To prevent the leather from getting hard and dry I rub in mineral
oil occasionally. This keeps my leather soft. To prevent the
deterioration of the stitching I have made a cover for the cockpit
that keeps the sun out. It is best if you can keep the car garaged,
but I have too many cars and not enough garage. I also try to keep a
blanket draped over the back seat back which is the area that is hit
most by the sun. The dash top on an XJ6 is so easy to replace that I
don't worry about it.
Refinishing
the Leather
Greg Meboe submitted this piece on how to dye your leather:
In reply to several list members who requested a description of
how the seat re-dye job was performed, here it is.
I started by pulling all of the seats. It was easier than I
imagined. Once they were on the bench, I brushed them off, and we
began by putting a little of the water-based, non-caustic CT-600
cleaner on a rag and wiping down all of the surfaces. This was
followed with a few damp cloth rinses, then drying with another rag.
This however, didn't seem to pull the dirt out of the leather
'grains.' So we put the CT-600 in a spray bottle, lightly coated the
seats with it, and scrubbed lightly with a soft nylon scrubbing
brush. This we followed with a few damp cloth rinses, and finished by
drying with another rag. The leather was so clean and supple after
this cleaning, we could have stopped right there if there weren't
patches where the original dye had worn off.
We cleaned the vinyl sides of the seat with lacquer thinner and
a scrub brush, which was quick and effective. Gerard warned against
using lacquer thinner or other organic solvents on the leather
itself, since the wait time for all of the thinner to evaporate from
the leather would be more than a week, whereas with the water based
cleaner it was not a problem if rinsing was thorough.
We waited a few hours to apply the dye. We used cheap
disposable foam brushes, and did about three or four thin coats to
all of the leather surfaces, waiting 1/2 to 1 hour between coats. The
atmosphere was warm and dry (in-law's kitchen table). We coated the
vinyl with two to three thicker coats, as the grain of the vinyl was
much more pronounced than that of the leather.
I used a Bissel carpet cleaner on the carpets and headliner,
and we re-installed the seats. Overall working time for Dianne and me
was 4 days. We had to disassemble the rear seat bottom (a moderate
pain, but we did it in front of the TV so it went quickly) to replace
a corner piece of leather which had a gash in it. Reassembly of the
rear seat bottom was not difficult, just time consuming to ensure a
wrinkle free cover.
Again, we're very happy with the results. We'll wait a few more
days, then soak the seats with Lexol Neatsfoot Oil to try to moisten
the leather all the way through. This should keep them in good shape
for awhile.
There were some cracks in the seats, and the dye was able to
fill these to a degree. Gerard mentioned that he could use a leather
crack filler, but I decided not to go with that. For this job, I
wanted to maintain the softness and suppleness of the leather, at the
expense of a few cracks. Perhaps the crack filler would have been
just fine, but I kept imagining wallboard filler paste, so we decided
to stick with the dye. I think it's flexible enough to stay in the
cracks for some time. We'll see how it goes.
The interior really does look brand new. Even the vinyl has the
proper flatness, or 'leather sheen' to it. I've seen 3 or 4 different
interior leather dyes, and I believe this one is the best so far. The
cost came out under US$100, or just over that if you count the
US$32.50 the upholsterer charged me to sew the leather piece into the
disassembled cover. So we're happy. I imagine when I get out of
school and get a real job, and the kids (future) have trashed the
leather, I'll spring for new leather covers altogether, but until
then we have a very much presentable interior at a fraction of the
cost. I was even thinking I'd make vinyl upholstery for the baby seat
and dye it to match the rest of the interior. Perhaps I'll put a
leaping kitty on the front 'grab rail' of the baby seat?
Replacing
the Leather Interior
Despite all the precautions the interior will deteriorate and
after 14 years it was necessary to replace the seat covers in my
'1982 Series III XJ6. Obtaining the materials is not hard, there are
many suppliers of quality interior materials. The set I purchased
came, ultimately, from the Jaguar factory though I purchased them
from Pauls Discount Jaguar Parts of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The cost
was about half of what some of the bigger name places were asking for
NON Jaguar replacements.
I elected not to install them myself when I found that a local
upholstery shop would do it for less than 25% of the material cost.
The job was done fast and accurately even though it required some
modification of the seat covers as received. These things are hand
cut and so it is possible to get one that was incorrectly cut and
does not match. If it does not you can return it to the supplier for
replacement or just have it made to fit as I chose to do.
If you decide to do your interior I would suggest that you
consider strongly getting new seat cushions as well. They are the
rubber foam filler in the seat bottoms. The old ones are usually in
very poor condition after 10 to 12 years and it makes no sense to
replace the cover and leave the cushions sagging. You should purchase
ready made ones from the place where you buy the covers since they
are especially shaped and would be very difficult to fabricate by
yourself. It is my understanding, but I have not confirmed this, that
PDJP is the ONLY place where you can still get these original Jaguar
foam cushions.
The leather parts of the seats and the vinyl parts on the sides
are what you will get when you order them. There are vinyl panels on
the backs of the front seats as well. These you may not get unless
you ask for them. If yours are badly faded it is not expensive to get
them and then everything will match.
Series
III Drivers Seat Power Control
After getting the upholstery done the car came back and the power
seat didn't work. It turns out that all that was the mater was that
the wires had not been reconnected to the switch after the seat was
returned to the car. Naturally I had no idea where they went. But you
will, because I have since found the answer and will pass it on to
you here along with the location of the fuse. This information is,
alone, worth what you paid for this book.
Looking at the back of the switch there are four terminals wired
as such. The upper left side connector is wired to the white wire,
the upper right side is wired to the green wire, the lower right side
is wired to the brown wire and the lower left is wired to the red
wire. Notice I started at upper left and went clockwise around the
switch with White, Green, Brown, and Red.
Now what if it still doesn't work? Check the fuse. OK, but where
is the fuse, its not mentioned in the manual? Like many fuses in the
Jaguar this is an inline fuse that is under the left side of the
console. On RHD cars I would imagine that this fuse is on the right
side of the console but I don't know that for a fact. To get to it
you will need to remove the vinyl cover on that side.
Lighter
Fuse
While on the subject of the inline fuses and the center console,
there is another on the opposite side of the console from the seat
fuse. It is the fuse for the cigar lighter. If you use a mobile phone
or other such accessory that gets plugged into the cigar lighter you
may blow that fuse one day with a non standard cigar lighter plug. I
did. Now you know where it is so you can replace it.
Cruise
Control
I had a problem with the cruise control engaging 10 mph above
where I set the thing. When I pushed the set button the car would
accelerate ten miles per hour and then settle down into cruise
control.
Greg Moboe sent this information on setting the thing:
Your cruise problem can be fixed easily. Remove the cruise
amplifier mounting screws (behind the RH glove box). Pull the amp
down and remove the cover. When you get the circuit board exposed,
note the potentiometer nearest the corner. This is the desired-speed
adjustment. Adjust it while driving the car and playing with the
cruise. It is very sensitive. Some cruise amp covers have a cut-out
to access this potentiometer without disassembling the cruise
amp.
John Proctor adds this further information on the cruise control:
There are two pots in the electronic control unit and these
adjust the pull in point and the hysteresis of the control loop. I
don't have any schematics for the unit so I can't tell you which one
is which but one will adjust the difference between the speed you set
and the speed the controller maintains, your problem, and the other
will adjust the delay between loosing speed and the point at which
the control loop tries to bring the speed back to nominal. The
controller is located under the passenger side scuttle below the
glove box. A small black plastic box with a lot of wires emanating
from it via a single connector.
The engage switch represents a weak link as the wire coming
back to the switch body seems to break frequently. I just kept
repairing it until I got sick and tired of it and the turn signal
switch gave up too. I replaced that several months ago and it is
still working ok, touch wood!
I would suggest that if you do this while driving you should
have a friend do the adjusting while you drive or vice versa.
Tom Graham has put together a MS Word document about fixing cruise
control problems that you can
download.
After-Market Cruise
Control
Larry Lee written an entire installation procedure for an
after-market cruise
control for the XJ6. It uses the Dana cruise control available
from Sears.
A
Horn That Stays On
A big expensive bug in this area is the horn that stays on, or
honks when you turn the steering wheel. There used to be a kit to fix
this bug but it is no longer available. When it was available it was
only really good for a few years. Now the only repair is to replace
the upper steering column. A new upper steering column is expensive
so you want to know that it is the steering column that is at fault
before you replace it. A used parts dealer can usualy provide one for
about half of the cost of a new one.
Cheaper Repair
Another, less expensive repair is to place a button under the dash
near the steering column where you can reach it easy and bypass the
switch in the steering column with a wire from the new switch to the
horn relay. This is not elegant, makes the horn hard to find when you
are in a hurry and offends my sense of beauty, but it can be done.
One owner wrote to tell me that he found that the nut that held
the upper end of the horn rod in place had come loose on his car and
just removing the cover from the center of the wheel alowed him to
tighten the nut and cure his problem.
Sunroof
Drains
Another source of water on the feet is the sunroof drains. These
plug up commonly. They are relatively easy to unplug. Open the
sunroof and then with a long soft piece of wire with a loop bent into
the end of it (the loop prevents the wire from digging into the side
of the soft rubber tube and tearing it) look into the front two
corners and push the wire down the hole you find there. This should
clean out the drains for several years.
Power
Window Switches
I have heard of several people who have had trouble with the
window riser switches. So far, in four Jaguars, I have not had any
problems with them. But if I did, they can be expensive, in some
areas of the world, I think I would go to an electronics store and
buy a complete set of rocker switches that fit the holes and replace
them all at the same time so they would all match. There is also the
possibility of getting them from a used parts supplier, and I have
heard a complete set can be had at a very good price. If you can't
find them from any of the suppliers, there must be hundreds of
different size rocker switches, some of them even illuminated, and I
am sure there is at least one that comes close enough to the proper
size that the hole could be modified for a fit. I have seen one that
is just a little too big that could be accommodated with a file.
Kirby Palm suggests using the switches to operate ralays so that
they do not have to pass the full current of the window risers. Thus
the switches would last longer and the windows would move faster. If
he ever does it I will get him to add an appendix to this book on how
to do it.
Driver
and Passenger Footwells
Moving on back a few inches we come to the footwells for the front
seat passenger and driver. In this area it is common to find rust due
to the sunroof drains, the cowl drains, the A/C drains, and the
windshield leaks. All of these have been previously mentioned. With
all these ways for water to get into the footwells, it does. Jaguar
in their wisdom glued strips of sponge rubber to the floor in little
groves. These appear to be designed to trap and hold water so that
the floor will rust out. The backing of the carpet is also made of
sponge rubber to retain water.
I am still searching for a substitute for the strips. One person
has suggested Styrofoam. The main purpose of these strips seems to be
to make the floor level so I suppose wood would do the job as well.
If you have rust there and it is not yet all the way through, it
is repairable. I pulled the carpets up and dried out the entire area.
Then I removed the sponge strips and again dried the area. After it
was good and dry I chipped up all the scale and vacuumed up the dust.
Then I got serious with a wire brush on a hand drill to get
everything that was loose. Again I vacuumed and followed with a wipe
with an alcohol dampened cloth.
Now after everything was dry I coated all the places that no
longer have paint with Duro Extend to fix the surface. after it dried
I sanded and cleaned the surface again and reapplied the Duro Extend.
After the second coat dried I painted it with several coats of enamel
paint.
Treating it this way should prevent further deterioration barring
more water in the footwell. If you continue to have water in the
footwell there is nothing that will protect the metal forever that is
why it is important to eliminate the source of the water at the same
time as you repair the damage.
Back
Seat Footwells
Here I don't think you will have any trouble with rust unless you
park your car with the nose high so that all the water runs to the
back. There does not seem to be a problem with leakage in the back of
the car.
Air
Conditioner Drains
While on the subject of wet footwells and drains, there are two
drains from the A/C unit under the dash that are prone to get plugged
up. These two drains can be reached from beneath the car where they
come down on either side of the transmission or from the cabin by
removing the footwell vents from the side of the A/C unit and
reaching down inside the unit. It is much harder this way and I don't
recommend it.
You will usually find this problem when you make a tight corner
and the spouse lets out a squeal as the water sloshes out the vent
onto her new shoes. It is a much better indicator than a light on the
dash because it demands attention... NOW.
On to the
Back of the
XJ6
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