Booted Out

Una and I decided to drive her 1995 XJ6 up I-95 for her birthday dinner at Byrams Lobster House. The car started up normally but after a few miles on the interstate I noticed that the battery warning light was on and the voltage had dropped. We discussed going back home but had dinner reservations and decided to press on. I knew that a car can run on battery power alone for at least two hours, even with headlights on. Pressing on was mistake number one. The head lights started to dim, the voltage dropped into the red zone, the dash lit up with flashing alerts, finally the engine died just before the Maury Street exit, a few blocks from downtown Richmond, I coasted to a halt on the shoulder and put the transmission into park. Putting it into park was mistake number two.

I celled my friendly tow folk at Chesterfield Towing, then tried to remember the location of the emergency flasher switch in the dark, on my Ford it is a raised button on the column so you have a tactile clue, on the Jag it is one switch among many. Having no flashlight in the car was mistake number three, so I resorted to pumping the brake lights in lieu of emergency lights , but the battery soon was totally dead. As we waited in the dark for the tow truck, the eighteen wheelers were roaring by a couple of feet away. I got nervous remembering that cars on the shoulder exert a magnetic force, called 911 and asked the city for a patrol car to sit behind us. I was informed this was a State Police responsibility. The State dispatcher said a car would be sent.

The tow truck arrived and hooked up, the operator ("Cowboy") asked me to take the Jaguar out of park. Have you ever tried to get the transmission out of park with a dead battery ? The interlock locks solid in park, whether a designed-in safety feature, I don't know. Fortunately the winch had enough power to drag the car onto the rollback, but as the tow truck drove back to my house, I was wondering how to drag it off. I was also wondering why the battery died so quickly. Incidentally the State never showed.

Back at home, Cowboy had a portable power pack, he opened the boot on the Jag and jumped the battery, the transmission could now be placed in neutral, and he rolled the XJ6 off at the end of our driveway. I had promised Una a birthday lobster, so we transferred from Browns Lane to Detroit, drove back to Richmond and had a nice if somewhat late dinner. On our return, I decided to charge the battery, I had a charger but not a long extension cord, and took the battery out of the boot to charge it it overnight in the garage. Rain was forecast so I closed the boot lid. This was mistake number four, my score was adding up rapidly and I was now booted out.

Next day I had a charged battery, I took it to Autozone and it tested OK, but the electronic boot lock needed power to unlock, and I had to unlock the boot to restore power. Sort of a Catch 22. Surely Jaguar would have arranged that the boot can be opened if the battery fails. Fortunately the doors could be unlocked, when I opened the bonnet I found the alternator belt missing. It had been squeaking for a while when the car was cold despite a couple of adjustments, and I remembered it did not squeak when we headed out to Byrams. I went back in the house and quizzed Una, yes she had noticed a funny red light on the dash for a while, so the belt must have been gone a while. I guess one can't expect a wife to be beautiful and talented and a Jaguar mechanic.

I remembered the 'hot positive terminal' hidden on the firewall under a rubber boot. After jumping power to this terminal ( be very, very sure to get polarity right), I unlocked the boot and replaced the battery. Next came the alternator belt, it's the one at the back so you have to remove the front belt first. The front belt tensioning pulley seems impossible to move (most tensioners swing on a pivot), but Jaguar had a better idea and the tension pulley screws up and down on a carefully hidden threaded rod, accessible from under the car. The pulley centre bolt unlocks the rod adjustment. Once this is understood, changing the belts is easy if tedious. Hopefully I can avoid getting booted out again!