1987 XJS Hess & Eisenhardt

Feb 12, 2007 3 Replies

We purchased our XJS in Dec 2005 in reasonable condition. The speedometer had not worked in over 5 years and the owner claimed he only put on 500 miles a year. When we got the car the heat and AC was not working as well. The car seem to run fine, but got to the point where it would only run with the fuel cap open. I suspected a clogged vent tube at that time. Now for the last 4 months it is difficult to get started, will run for about 2 minutes, then will not start again for several hours.



I have read these cars are subject to wire harness chafing and shorting. There is a pronounced ventage problem with the fuel system. I need some suggestions to resolve the above issues without resorting to a Jaguar dealer.



Thank you in advance Jim


You might want to check with the Jag dealer anyway, because I remember there was a recall for a fuel venting problem back around 1989 shortly after I bought my XJS, a 1984 model.... recalls are free.

I had starting problems similar to yours when a temperature sensor went bad, but it could be other issues as well, like a fuel pump or engine computer... I leave those issues to a qualified shop to resolve for me.

Jim wrote:

Clogged fuel filter and/or water in the tank are also things to check for.

Don Young

I had the same problem and had a new fuel pump fitted. It seemed to cure the problem.

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