Hi, I recently purchased a 2016 Jaguar F type R

Drove it for like a week and had to travel for work, when I came back car won’t start. Bought new battery and solved the problem. Unfortunately, had to travel again for 3 weeks and came back and car will just make clicking sounds and turn off. If I just press the start button once, radio, lights and ac works but won’t crank, any ideas why is this happening? Thanks a lot in advance for any help

 

You have a battery (the new battery), that was not fully charged at installation. These cars, like all modern luxury cars, are full of electronic modules that need full battery voltage all the time. If the car is normally driven often enough and far enough, no problems. But if you start with a partially charged battery (and new batteries are almost NEVER fully charged) and the car is used rarely and/or only for short runs, problems will crop up. Just like the problem you have now.

So job #1 is to fully charge the battery. The car will start. Take it for a run. Now, when you have done your run and you shut the engine off and lock the doors (note that), watch the illuminated red triangle on the console. That triangle should go dark within 15 to 20 minutes, which means that all the modules have shut down and the car is in sleep mode. If the triangle remains illuminated, then you have a current draw which needs investigation. A common cause of current draw is an OBDII reader that has been plugged in but not shut down before being disconnected - and often this happens when an emissions test is taken. So the car never goes to sleep.

There are many threads about this. One way to guarantee no problems is to use the car enough to keep the battery charged (but the issue of a current draw needs to be sorted out first). Another way, favoured by many, is to install a battery minder, the favoured one being the CTEK unit, and to use it when the car is not being used. Every luxury car manufacturer sells the CTEK unit under their own brand names because they all have this issue of voltage hungry modules and cars not being used enough.

Finally, relax. There is likely nothing wrong with your F-Type other than insufficient battery voltage. Back to job #1: bring the battery to full charge (disconnect it first, charge it, reconnect). Watch that red triangle to see when the illumination goes off. If it does not go off, we have to look at the issue of a continuing current draw.

 

And don't close the trunk/boot lid while the battery is disconnected! A piece of old carpet or similar over the trunk/boot latch will prevent accidents happening.

 

Excellent answer (as always) from Gregory - although I've never disconnected the battery to top off a charge on a CTEK. Look in the sticky "How To" section for instructions to install pigtails on your battery for easy connection/disconnection. If you have a second machine with intermittent use, such as a lawn tractor, generator, snow blower (probably not in TX), get an extra pigtail for that, too. Does wonders to maintain charge and extend the life of their batteries.

 

I use a pull cord to start all those 'appliances' at our house.

SOMEBODY needs to do a DIY on how to install a pull-cord onto an F-Type!

 

I didn't buy a CTEK or similar charger for well over a year. My battery died and I bought a new one. Less than 11 months later that battery was dead. I drive the car minimally but thought since I took her out 2-3 times a week to the gym or a drink (all very close to my house) I was ok. As mentioned above, these cars draw off the battery and even short drives will not help keep the battery charged let alone leaving in the garage for 3 weeks. Purchase a charger and you will be in good shape. I plug mine in just about any time it sits for more than a day.

 

Clarification: You do not need to disconnect the battery when using a CTEK unit - but using a battery CHARGER (as opposed to a battery maintainer like the CTEK) it is safer to charge a dead or near dead battery isolated from the car's electronics.
For those who might think that this is a "Jaguar thing", a bit of proof that other cars also need the CTEK treatment in dealing with their electronic needs:



Lamborghini:


Audi:

The obvious one:

But I have been told that they are perfect!?

Even Rolls Royce:



This is my favourite example: the CTEK unit has morphed into a Ferrari genuine part!:



And from your favourite Jaguar dealer:

 

thanks for the fast response, I removed battery and took it to autozone to get tested and recharged, when tested it showed that it’s 100%, reinstalled battery and still nothing, just that click sound and that’s it, what should I do now?

 

If 100% confident that the battery is good, check the battery connections, then find the chassis ground connections and check those.

 

Everything good, I don’t know if the video attached to this thread of exactly what it does, but here’s again

 

Is it really January 1, 2014?

The largish red power cable that goes from the trunk to the right side of the engine/starter might have a corroded end? Worth investigating.

 

Also consider that if the brake switch is not fully depressed the engine will not start. Try pressing harder on the brake pedal when starting. If that does not work check that the brake lights are coming on when you attempt to start the car.

Maybe something as simple as bad brake switch or we have even seen them just get out of position. Well worth taking a look at the switch and wiring.
.
.
.

 

Could it be a jammed starter motor?

 

Yep, good chance this is the problem.
Very common on XFs and happened to me a couple of times on my old XFR - hit the start button and zip, zero, zilch, bupkiss.
What worked for me was to stand on the brake pedal as hard as I physically could, then suddenly she fired up and everything would be OK for the next few months until out of nowhere it did it again. I never did get around to fixing the brake pedal switch before I sold the car.

 

Check your grounds, including the one attached to the transmission bellhousing. If those look OK, pull the starter and test it. On mine I pulled the starter first and it functioned fine, was the bellhousing ground. BTW starter is quite easy to get to.

 

sorry, been a crazy couple of days, my phone broke and just got it back. So here’s the update. Pressed the brake as hard as I could and the car turned on! Unfortunately, lights started flickering. Took it to the dealer and it’s been there for almost 48hrs. And still trying to figure it out what might be the problem, they said it might be a software update needed but told me they’re not free?

 

Ok….you pressed the brake pedal hard and the engine fired. So, no problem with the starter or its circuitry.

Flickering lights will not have anything to do with the starter but might well have something to do with a loose or corroded ground connection, loose battery connection, or (less likely) the battery itself.

Occam’s Razor: the theory which, in essence, says that the simplest explanation of solution is likely the correct one.
It might just apply here.

 

sounds like electrical - did you/they check the grounds as mentioned above?

If those are good, indeed could be the brake switch being faulty, although I doubt that would cause the lights to flicker. What lights BTW? Interior lights or headlights? The latter could coincidentally be the switch in the light stalk.

 

Not sure how it can be the brake switch? If it wasn't registering then the dash would say 'press brake pedal to start'. It wouldn't have the starter click. So I'd still guess it's a ground or other electrical issue