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I am looking for a battery charger for my 2015 F-type; the CTEK 3300 seems to be a popular choice around these forums.
The next question is how to connect it. I would like to use one of the Auxiliary power sockets inside the car; I checked them and they seem to be unswitched. Can anybody more experienced confirm this?
If not, I guess I could figure out a way to connect directly to the battery, my understanding is that the CTEK comes with terminals that screw onto (somewhere). I have also read that the CTEK 8' Comfort Extension is a nice thing to get, although I am not real sure just what it accomplishes.
Be aware that it's not a 'charger' per se, but a 'tender' instead. Very different animal. A standard charger is not suitable for even short term storage duties.
I think there's numerous posts on the various schemes on how best to attach a tender. I did one for the S-types, I'm sure I've seen an excellent one for your F-type.
I use the Battery Tender Plus, which is also highly-rated and probably less expensive. Below is a photo of the hook-up on my car which charges both batteries. This is per JLR wiring instructions for the battery tender they used to offer.
Remove the recessed tray in your trunk, and this is what you'll see. The red (+) lead is attached opposite the yellow wire in the photo, and the black/ground (-) lead is attached to the car's grounding cable directly below. You can then replace the tray and leave the plug-in lead (pig-tail) exposed in the trunk compartment. It's very convenient to just open the trunk plug it in, and the trunk will close over the power cord. This installation takes less than 10 minutes.
All plugs in the Jaguars are off when the ignition is off. They may stay hot for a little while, while the car is still in stand by mode. They are not hot like in a Porsche so you cannot use the outlet plugs to charge the car.
Best is to hard wire a pig tail lead as Foosh showed and let it stick out the edge of the carpet in the trunk. I always plug all my cars into tenders when in the garage. Just connect, close the trunk and lock the car.
I use the Battery Tender Plus, which is also highly-rated and probably less expensive. Below is a photo of the hook-up on my car which charges both batteries. This is per JLR wiring instructions for the battery tender they used to offer.
Remove the recessed tray in your trunk, and this is what you'll see. The red (+) lead is attached opposite the yellow wire in the photo, and the black/ground (-) lead is attached to the car's grounding cable directly below. You can then replace the tray and leave the plug-in lead (pig-tail) exposed in the trunk compartment. It's very convenient to just open the trunk plug it in, and the trunk will close over the power cord. This installation takes less than 10 minutes.
This is the exact setup I use on my car with a battery tender plus and it works great. You can buy one for $50 and it comes with the pigtail attachment to hardwire it to your car. Easy install!
In my F-Type R coupe, the pics that Foosh showed of his install looked a bit different than in mine. I am not sure if Foosh's F-Type is a convertible. I wasn't sure where the connection block in his pic was since it didn't look quite like my car and the ground was in a different place.
I ended up connecting the (+) to the main battery and the (-) to the chassis ground. When I put the car in ACC mode, I get an orange battery and warning symbol. It goes away when I start the car. Is this normal?
also... these is a disconnected pig-tail connector near the battery. Anyone know what it is for? Is it switched power for an accessory?
--- Also ... there is not a pass-through like it is shown in the F-Type charger install guide. In the coupe the hatch will squash the cable and if you go through the recessed area of the plastic, the trunk lock will get caught up. I left the trunk open and the trunk lights stay on. How are people with coupes doing this?
See pics...
Last edited by 355rockit; Apr 3, 2015 at 07:22 PM.
Okay... I feel like a silly rabbit... The connector was in the fuse box laying flat on the trunk. I have it rewired now. Still uncertain as to how to route the wire outside the car with the trunk down. I did find that if I don't have my key nearby when opening the trunk, the trunk lights stay off.
-- update: I still get the orange battery warning light after hooking up and then disconnecting the charger, but goes off when I start the car. Is this an issue?
Last edited by 355rockit; Apr 3, 2015 at 08:39 PM.
I have a convertible, but the coupe is the same. The reason it didn't look the same is because you didn't remove the cover to the battery bus, which would have revealed what my picture showed. That is where the positive lead to the battery tender should be wired.
The battery bus is where both batteries are connected to all other systems, and it is to the right of the main battery. Your picture shows it with the cover on, and you have the positive lead connected to the main battery. The way you have it wired in your picture will not charge both batteries. Connecting it inside the battery bus will charge both. If you have it wired correctly, you shouldn't be getting a warning light.
The trunk will easily close over the power cable to the bat. maintainer, at least for the Battery Tender Plus. I route the power cable on the left-hand side below the gap between the trunk lid and fender. There's nothing there but weather-stripping. What kind of maintainer are you using?
If you have it wired correctly, you shouldn't be getting a warning light. The trunk will easily close over the power cable to the bat. maintainer.
I still get the battery warning light even when connected just like you have in your picture (Yellow = positive lead and negative to body ground). Battery seems to be charging fine per the battery level lights on the Battery Tender.
Alright, just checked my car. That light is always on when you press the start button with your foot off the brake. It's normal, and it was there before you wired the maintainer. You probably just didn't notice.
When I bought my Coupe I had the dealer take the Battery Tender Plus pigtails out of my XKR and install them in my F Type Coupe. He installed them exactly as you have them installed. No problems.
When I bought my Coupe I had the dealer take the Battery Tender Plus pigtails out of my XKR and install them in my F Type Coupe. He installed them exactly as you have them installed. No problems.
After hooking it up 'the right way', I let it charge overnight with no issues. Thanks Foosh and all...
When I bought my Coupe I had the dealer take the Battery Tender Plus pigtails out of my XKR and install them in my F Type Coupe. He installed them exactly as you have them installed. No problems.
Yes, you likely wouldn't have problems, but it will only charge the main battery that way. It's also harder to neatly route the pigtail out of the rear trunk that way for easy plug-in.
I got a reverse polarity light when I hooked my c-tek up this way. Any thoughts as to why? Instead of opposite the yellow wires should it be opposite the main red wire?
I got a reverse polarity light when I hooked my c-tek up this way. Any thoughts as to why? Instead of opposite the yellow wires should it be opposite the main red wire?
As stated in a thread somewhere, the positive wire can be connected anywhere along the bus bar. It's one solid piece of metal and will work the same no matter where you connect to it.
The negative has to go to a ground. (Make sure its a good ground and not painted.)
I can strongly recommend the Jaguar OEM version of the CTEK. Why? They provide a kit that makes it super quick to connect, versus lifting carpet etc.
Yes, they do charge more - but the convenience is well worth the extra and becomes less likely to forget from what I used to do which was say "Yeah I'll get round to it."
I can strongly recommend the Jaguar OEM version of the CTEK. Why? They provide a kit that makes it super quick to connect, versus lifting carpet etc.
Yes, they do charge more - but the convenience is well worth the extra and becomes less likely to forget from what I used to do which was say "Yeah I'll get round to it."
The "Jaguar OEM version" is no longer available at Jaguar dealers in the US. However, it is no more convenient than the Battery Tender, and it does exactly the same thing. There's no "lifting carpet," and it connects more or less the same way as a CTEK. Open the trunk, and plug it in to a connector.
The procrastination has to do with initial wiring and installation, which is equally simple on both. I used the Jaguar kit instruction to wire my BT.
The "Jaguar OEM version" is no longer available at Jaguar dealers in the US. However, it is no more convenient than the Battery Tender, and it does exactly the same thing. There's no "lifting carpet," and it connects more or less the same way as a CTEK. Open the trunk, and plug it in to a connector.
The procrastination has to do with initial wiring and installation, which is equally simple on both. I used the Jaguar kit instruction to wire my BT.
Yeah I had been holding off for a while but once I took a look and figured out how easy it was, I just jumped in and did it. The only delay at that point was ordering a new ring terminal wiring harness for the Battery Tender Plus unit I already had.
Once it came to installation time, it ended up taking like 10-15 minutes all told. I connected mine to different points than the OEM charger instructions since my car layout is slightly different, but basically its installed the same way. You just connect the positive ring terminal to any point on the positive power bus/bar and the negative ring terminal to a nearby ground.
It has been working fine since I installed it, which was like 4-6 weeks ago.
And I didn't have to remove carpet, just the panels over the battery, which are designed to be removed and replaced as needed.
Installed my ctek last night. Truly easy in just a few minutes. The battery conditioned overnight as advertised. I had actually bought the ctek on Amazon after seeing it on the JLR site when you poke around in the accessories for the other models. They have not fully updated all the pages to remove it. It's visually identical to the CTEK 3300 which I bought after seeing it. Amazons price nearl $40 less than what JLR was showing on the outdated site.
Battery charger?
