By bypassing the starter relay I was able to get the engine cranking but it refused to start. Persistence paid off eventually, with the addition of 5 gallons of fresh premium gas, the engine came to life. It ran rough and sent puffs of white smoke out of the tail pipe for a while. After a few minutes of running it settled to a nice smooth 700 RPM idle and the exhaust was clear. Never did get the red "P" on the J-Gate and now I see why...after the engine started the car began creeping forward even though the shift lever was in Park. In fact, the wife drove the car around the block in Park.
So now we have a situation where there is no Park, Neutral or Reverse, only Drive, regardless of the position of the shift lever. So, before I begin tearing into center console, any clues as to what I should look for?

Submitted by JVillano60@gmail.com on Fri, 05/23/2014 - 14:05

Well, we have put about 75 miles on the car since resolving the starting problem. It now starts readily without touching the throttle, the transmission shifts firmly and we have had no problem with it.
Now the next issue to address is a strong fuel odor in the cabin. It seems to develop after driving for five miles or so. Outside the odor seems strongest towards the rear of the car and not in the engine compartment at all.
I got under the car but could not find any evidence of a fuel leak - tracing the fuel lines from the tank forward they appear dry, with no leakage on either end of the fuel filter.
On top of the tank is a large, black plastic "cap". Connected to the cap is a short piece of rubber hose, connected to a steel tube that is welded to the top of the tank. At the other end of the steel tube is a quick disconnect that connects the tube to a hard, black plastic tube that trails off behind and under the tank. The plastic tube is badly kinked in a couple of places and I doubt much is passing through it. It doesn't appear wet, but I'm wondering if this is part of the vapor recovery system and if that system is the source of the fuel odor. What would happen if I plug the rubber hose connected to the black plastic cap, as a means of testing to see if this is the source of the odor? Also, I'm wondering how air enters the fuel tank to compensate for the use of fuel?

Submitted by vineyardman68@… on Sun, 05/18/2014 - 00:57

Glad you solved your problem, however, I would not drive the car until I find out what caused these problems to happen. You could be in traffic where it could happen again, or worse yet, go into reverse while sitting at a red light, the results could be damning---at least to the fellow behind you.

Just MHO

cheers.

Garfield

05 XJ8L & XK8

Submitted by JVillano60@gmail.com on Sat, 05/17/2014 - 21:27

This evening I crawled under the car and found the shift cable connected as it should be. However shifting the transmission by hand had no affect on the shift lever. I was able to shift it into Neutral under the car but could not reach park? The car started normally in Neutral however, so this part of the problem had been solved. Disassembling the ski slope I found the rod projecting from the shift lever not engaged in the plastic dog which operates the shift cable. After correcting that the shift lever operated normally, the car started in park (the big red "P" glowing as required) and drives just fine in all gears. Success!

Submitted by JVillano60@gmail.com on Fri, 05/16/2014 - 10:51

After thinking about it overnight I have begun thinking the shift lever cable is broken, disconnected or out of adjustment. I wasn't getting the red "P" because the BPM is not getting a P/N signal from the transmission. The transmission is apparently in Drive and that is not being affected by the shift lever. I noted this morning that the lever feels disconnected; there is not "detent" feel when moving it from one position to another. Hope I can access the cable via the ski slope rather than having to crawl under the car.