Peterryan

Hi Paul, I know from personal experience about electrical issues on these cars. Your best option , if you wish to avoid huge garage bills is to get an OBD2 reader and a multi meter. An OBD2 that will handle this sort of thing is about £50. A better one which will reset abs, airbags etc is about £250. Multi meter is about £20. These combined with the wiring diagrams at jagrepair.com will solve all but the very worst issues. If you don't know anything about electrics, they are not as scary as they sound. There is loads of info and guides on the same website, but if starting from scratch be prepared to spend a lot of time getting used to all the jargon etc, but if you have these cars it will be time well spent. I have self taught myself and it is so worthwhile. Only yesterday my engine management warning light came on. An hour later all sorted using OBD2, multi meter and wiring diagrams. Turned out was nothing more that a sticky relay. Most electrical issues on these cars is bad connectors etc and nothing serious, usually free or very cheap to sort out if you take the time to learn. In the meantime, if you study the wiring diagrams at jagrepair.com, if you list what is not working, there may be a common power source to them all, which will give you a clue as where the problem is. Good luck. Peter

Hello everyone. I have just finished recommissioning this very special XJ8. Hope some of you find this of interest. It was built by Jankel under Government contract LV/MIL/53, dated 16/02/01. It is the 1st of 7 cars built and was owned and operated by the Ministry of Defence. It is one of 6 cars assigned to ministerial protection duties, the 7th was assigned to Royal protection duties. The sister car LB02LCW was Tony Blairs Prime ministerial car. In more recent years the car has seen service as a private security car and training vehicle. Trying to find information is difficult as it is still covered by the Official Secrets Act. Features: Fully armour plated cabin and bullet proof glass Full protection for fuel cell and filler ECU's and fuse boxes mounted in armour plated housings Additional armour protection under car for fuel and brake lines Gross weight 3100 Kg It has a boot mounted fire extinguisher and a hand held extinguisher under the front passenger seat Kevlar plates are used on the floor under the seats Security cameras mounted front and rear Siren and loud speaker Police ariel Attention lights behind front grill Extra switchgear mounted in overhead consul and under centre arm rest console The bullet wound in rear left window was sustained whist on active duty in South Africa. Only the outer pane of glass is damaged, the other layers of glass are undamaged. I left it unrepaired as a car with a bullet wound is so much cooler than a car without one, plus it is an important part of the cars history and should be preserved. The car has just benefited from an extensive service and recommission and has a fresh MOT. Having lived with this car for a while, the main feeling you get is that it is like a real life James Bond car. It is a Government car covered by the Official Secrets Act. It does look standard on the outside, but is so not standard under the skin. It does have special controls hidden away inside the cabin. It does not feel the same to drive as a normal XJ8 because it has so much more inertia and momentum than a normal XJ8. I have also noticed that people stop and stare when driving it on the road, and come up to me to ask about the car. It does have a real presence and purposeful look when on the road. This car will be offered for sale soon. If anyone is interested, let me know and I can forward details to you.

Hello everyone. I have been very lucky enough to buy a 2002 XJ8 in British Racing Green, which is one of the bomb proof cars used by the Tony Blair government as one of the official ministerial cars. The reg is FB 02 LCX. The chassis number is SAJAC22M02LF44026. It is one of only 7 XJ8's that were converted by Jankel under contract number LV/MIL/53, dated 16/02/2001. It is item number 1 of 7. Asset code NB1126-4104. NSN 2310-99-908-6103. I have no idea what asset code or NSN mean. These are the numbers from the Jankel chassis plate. It is a truly wonderful piece of brilliant British engineering and is full of amazing stuff !!! I would love to find out some more of the history of this car. If anyone has any information on this car, or has an idea of where I can find information, I would be very grateful for any help. Yours sincerely Peter