98 XJ8 fuel lid locked can't open to put gas in

Hi John,
These cars have a delay of about 10 minutes to lock the fuel door. The thinking is that you can get out, lock the car, go inside a gas station and pre-pay, then come back out and open the lid and fill up.

Basically, lock your car and walk away for 10 minutes, THEN check it.
It should unlock normally with your remote when you unlock the car.

If this doesn't work normally, then I seem to recall that the locking relay for the gas flap is RM1 in the fuse panel on the driver's side in the trunk. You might want to pull it out and put it back in, give it a light tap etc. Just make sure it's ok, or replace it.

Start with checking the delay first.

I dont' know if this is any help but I had a similar problem with my XJ8. It seemed to be connected to the lock/alarm system on the car. If I locked and unlocked the car using the remote, I could then open the door over the gas cap. Hope this helps. Jags are always an adventure.

There are Valet keys (often with a green knob) that will
only unlock the front doors and the ignition but not the
glove box nor boot/trunk.

When either the front door locks or the console button is
pressed, all the doors should lock. Likewise, when either
front door is unlocked, all the doors fuel filler lid and if
selected, the boot will also unlock.

Boot lock has three positions. Unlocked to the left,
automatic with the doors in the center, always locked to the
right. Simply remove the key in what ever position you desire.

The locks can get confused and not work correctly. Simply
sit in the car and manually lock all the doors. That will
usually get the locking module sane again.

The door to access the fuel filler compartment locks as part of the central locking system. If it is working properly, the fuel door is locked whenever the car doors are locked. However, if it doesn't lock when you lock the car, and you don't want to repair the central locking system (or part thereof), you will have to buy an aftermarket locking gas cap, since Jaguar doesn't offer one. You can find aftermarket gas caps at many online stores and catalog stores such as J.C. Whitney. Good luck.

inside the car in the the gas cap area there should be a cable that you can pull on that will release the gas tank door..

think a lever by driver side seat for fuel door

dhmwv: your fuse box is located in the passenger's compartment under the dash to the left of the steering column.

Unhook from opposite end odf cap . Just gently lift plastic cable holder off of grommet

Removed lock solenoid actuator and tested off vehicle, cleaned up terminals and pulled some fuses and relays cleaning wherever I thought necessary, also cleaned locking rod at filler cap with maintenance spray and lubricated mechanism inside boot underneath filler area. Both items now working but still not sure what the cause was.Suspect dirty terminals but these were not readily apparent

Hello, I'm not sure if you are talking about the lid that you have to open to get to the fuel filler cap or the cap itself. If it's the fuel filler cap that you are talking about, you will need to take a pair of channel locks or equivalent and grab the two metal pieces that are about 3/8" wide, hold the cap with one hand and turn the pliers with the other until it snaps back on top of the ex centric.
If it's the actual lid that won't open, it is a vacuum problem. You can try to leave the car running, then work your locking system back and forth with the key in the drivers door. That should get the trunk unlocked. If you can get the trunk open, look to the upper right in your trunk and should see a round pull knob, pull it and your lid will open.
I hope this helps.
CYA Gator241