Jaguar XJS CD Changer Not Working
On the facelift XJS the boot changer is an Alpine unit, and an E-01 or E-02 almost always means a disc or the magazine is jammed inside, not that the radio has lost the changer. Skipping and NO DISC usually come down to a dirty lens or discs it can't read. I'd take the changer out and open it before buying anything; if it's truly dead, a standard Alpine M-Bus changer plugs straight into the factory lead.
How bad is it · Safe to drive
Safe to drive, only the changer is affected
The radio keeps working on its own. Don't force a stuck magazine: the small gears inside strip easily.
Which one applies to yours depends on your symptoms, your model year and what has already been done to it.
Likely causes, most common first
Read the check cost before the odds: a free check that rules a cause out beats a likely guess that costs money.
A disc or the magazine jammed inside, E-01 or E-02
E-01 tells you the radio is talking to the changer but the changer can't carry out the command. The usual reason is a disc left outside the magazine or something fouling the rollers: an extra disc forced into a six-slot magazine, or a home-made label that has peeled off.
E-01 or E-02 as soon as you select CD, and the eject button does nothing; the magazine may come out only part way.
Take the changer out of the boot and lift its covers. Look for a disc sitting between the magazine and the laser, and for label fragments on the rollers.
With the power disconnected, turn the gears by hand: try the large bottom gear first to swing the laser clear, then the small gear that drives the eject rollers to push the disc back. Clear any debris and refit; the mechanism resets itself on the next power-up. The job takes about half an hour. If it froze with nothing loaded, look at the eject spring: it jams often and is cheap to replace.
A dirty laser lens or dry mechanism, skipping or NO DISC
Boot-mounted changers collect dust, and the factory unit is now decades old. A film on the lens makes it skip like a scratched record, then stop finding discs at all; dry gears add to it.
Skipping that gets worse over time, often on bumps or under acceleration, then NO DISC or the changer cycling through every slot.
Rule out loose shock mounts and brackets first, since a changer moving in its mounting skips too. Then open the unit and look at the lens.
Swing the laser fully open by hand with the power off, clean the lens with a cotton bud and a little rubbing alcohol, and put a little white lithium grease on the gears and screws. If you aren't sure the lens is glass, use window cleaner instead: alcohol can cloud a plastic lens. A blast of canned air through the transport helps too, held upright.
Discs the changer can't read
Changers built before 1996, such as the Alpine CHM-S601, play pressed CDs and closed CD-Rs only. A CD-RW looks like an empty slot, and a disc loaded upside down does the same.
The changer skips one disc and moves to the next, or shows NO DISC, while factory-pressed discs play.
Load one shop-bought CD, label side up, and try it alone.
Burn discs as CD-R and close (finalise) the session; keep CD-RW out of these changers.
The changer itself has died: a standard Alpine plugs straight in
The factory unit is an Alpine M-Bus changer with a Jaguar badge, and the laser wears out. Alpine CHM-series changers (CHM-S620, CHM-S630) plug into the factory DIN lead with no adapter. The later Ai-NET models need a short adapter cable.
The radio shows the discs and lets you select one but nothing plays, while FM is fine; or NO DISC with clean, correct discs.
Before buying, check the connector on the old unit: an 8-pin round DIN is M-Bus. Make sure a used changer comes with its magazine, the hardest part to find on its own.
Fit a used Alpine CHM changer, or a new Ai-NET unit such as the CHA-S634 with an Alpine KCA-130B adapter. Expect to drill a couple of new holes for the smaller brackets. A shop rebuild of the original is also possible, but usually costs more than a replacement. Changers from XJ6 saloons of the same years share the round plug and work with the Jaguar radio, and dealers have offered factory-rebuilt exchange units.
The changer lead: a broken wire or a loose pin
One M-Bus lead runs from the back of the radio to the boot. If a known-good changer still does nothing, the lead is the suspect: a broken wire or a corroded pin in either plug. The magazine can still eject, because that only needs power.
A changer that worked in another car won't respond in yours, though its magazine ejects.
Ohm out each pin of the lead end to end before paying a shop. The plug in the boot is a black 8-pin DIN on a dark blue cable, coiled up high on the left side; don't confuse it with the 3-pin ABS diagnostic plug nearby. Its exact place varies by year, under the left boot carpet or tied up by the rear lamp, and there can be two coiled leads there; the second may be for a phone.
A new lead from the radio is often easier than finding a fault in the old one: a CHM changer comes with one, and some fitters mount the changer in the storage bin behind the seats.
A replacement changer the radio won't talk to
The factory radio talks to the boot changer over Alpine's M-Bus. An Ai-NET Alpine, or another make, won't work on the factory lead, and even a unit with the right part number can stay silent without Jaguar's own firmware.
A changer bought to replace the old one does nothing, or the radio never offers CD, though the plug fits.
Look at the connector and the model: CHM-series M-Bus units plug in, CHA Ai-NET ones need the adapter. A radio with a CD button is wired for the changer.
Swap it for an M-Bus Alpine, or one from an XJ6 of the same years; keep the magazine type matched.
A worn magazine or the wrong type of magazine
The early factory changers take the older black Alpine magazine; the later clear ones don't fit. Two magazine styles exist and are not interchangeable, and a worn one jams more often.
E-02 or jams every few days that clear when you eject and reload, or a magazine that won't seat.
Compare the replacement with the original style before buying: fixed separators, or separators that swing out on a small lever.
Worth trying: a fresh magazine of the matching style, then a clean of the transport.
The order to check them in
The point of the order is money: each step either rules a cause out or makes the next one worth doing. Green is free, amber costs a little, red is the one to arrive at last.
Try one pressed CD, label up
Rules out CD-RW and upside-down discs before you touch the changer.
freeReset the changer
Unplug the changer lead for a minute, or disconnect the battery with the radio code to hand, then reload the magazine. There is also a small fuse in the side of the unit, reachable when it slides out.
freeE-01 or E-02: open it up
Take the changer out, power off, and free the stranded disc by turning the gears by hand. Never force the eject.
freeSkipping or NO DISC: clean the lens
Check the mounts, then clean the lens and grease the gears.
freeStill dead: test the lead
Ohm out the M-Bus lead pin by pin, or try a known-good changer.
a meterReplace with an Alpine M-Bus changer
A CHM-series unit plugs straight in; an Ai-NET one needs the adapter. Get the magazine with it.
a used changerWhat it usually isn't
Don't spend money here first:
If none of this finds it:
On jagaux.com
- Jaguar XJS Radio Not Working, Radio FuseIf the radio itself is dead as well as the changer.
- Jaguar XJS Radio Replacement and Stereo UpgradeIf you'd rather replace the head unit: a modern one won't run the boot changer.
- XJS 1994 radio pinout and wire coloursPinout and wire colours at the back of the factory radio.
- Jaguar XJS Radio CodeHave the code ready before you disconnect the battery.
- Jaguar VIN decoderConfirm your exact model year, engine and factory options before ordering parts — free.
Ratings, fuse numbers and torque figures vary by model year and market. Read the legend on your own car before pulling anything, and use the figures in the manual for your car, not the ones in a video.
Check your VIN: exactly which car you have and which bulletins apply to it.