Ok, I just took the positive off the battery terminal and put it on the bus opposite the yellow wire as described. (It could actually go anywhere on the that bus bar however) I still think both batteries would be charged if hooked up to the big direct battery bus.

From the big battery at the top. You can follow the positive power to the hot battery bus on the top right of the terminal connections. From there, one lead goes forward through the firewall and the other directly to the small battery. There is another positive lead that comes out of the small battery to the other bus on the left of the hot battery bus. The big battery powers the hot battery bus directly and the other bus on the left through the small battery. If I disconnect the big battery at the terminal, both busses show about 2 volts. (Small amount of power from the small battery) When I reconnect the big battery, both busses show 12.8 volts.

Point being the small battery is directly wired to the hot battery bus and thus being charged along with the big battery.

I have no idea about interference with battery monitoring however but just in case, I hooked the charger as instructed.

In a few weeks when I swap cars on the lift and I have access to the bottom I will direct wire a connection to the front passenger side and route it to a position just to the right and under the front bumper so I can easily connect externally.

Walt

 

Yep, that's it, opposite the yellow wire on the empty terminal on the left of your picture in the battery bus.

I have no idea either about interference with the battery monitoring system, but since it also works the way JLR instructed with their float charger, why not?

 

DJS et. al.,

The under-the-hood passenger-side relay block and nearby negative post was recommended by my Jaguar dealer, with its convenient slip-off red cap and twist-type negative post designed for that purpose. I've used smart chargers on many auto/marine applications--some on the battery itself and nearby ground, while others attached remotely to manuf-designed +/- posts designed for the purpose.

Is the Jaguar charging kit necessary? Is this under-the-hood connection ill-advised? From other posts, it appears this connection achieves a similar purpose of charging both batteries. Is there potential damage to the battery sensor or other electronics?

 

I did the attachment under the hood (passenger side and all that.) I have seen recommendations all over the map. I attached a CTEK 7002 float charger using the alligator clips. It took about 12 hours to charge the battery - I had not used the car for about 4 weeks due to horrid weather.

As it stands right now - the battery is charged and my car will stay this way till the middle of April - the exact date will depend on the weather and 2 week forecast. I want the salt to be washed away before I take my V8 S out.

 

Just an 'in general' note... Lithium Ion batteries are quite sophisticated - made up of a number of 3.7 (ish) volt cells wired together, often with cell monitoring electronics to measure the capacity and function and performance of each cell in the pack. Due to their nature/chemistry, they must be very carefully 'smart' charged using an algorithm that varies the voltage and current supplied to the battery during charging to avoid problems that include destruction of the battery and 'thermal runaway' (ie catching fire). They are never just 'hooked up' to an unmanaged power source.

To this end, in the case that there is a lithium battery in the car, it will be managed/charged by some smart electronics, which may or may not be active when the car is 'just sitting there', and must be switched on in order for the battery to charge.

Lastly, modern lithium batteries with no load don't tend to self discharge nearly as quickly old tech lead acid, so there may be no need to 'top up' such a battery under ordinary circumstances.

 

In my opinion, that's perfectly fine. In my case, I wanted to be able to permanently mount the charger's pigtail, rather than using alligator clips. So mounting it in the trunk was better for me.

 

Thanks, DJS. Much appreciated. In retrospect, I was somewhat resistant to snaking electrical connections over the trunk lid insulation. No big deal I guess. The pigtail is certainly cleaner.

 

Agreed, using the under-hood connection for the smart charger is certainly far more simple. However, running the wiring per Jaguar smart charger instructions takes less than 15 minutes.

You don't have to "snake" any connections. The panels and tray simply lift out of the trunk giving easy exposure to all the connecting points, and the panels still fit flush with the pig-tail barely sticking out. It's much also easier just plugging in one cord containing both positive and ground connections, rather than fooling around with alligator clips.

 

Has anyone seen a lithium 2nd battery in their car? Both batteries are lead-acid in the base car, but I've seen reports that some costlier models they have an AGM main battery. I don't recall anyone reporting a lithium smaller battery.

 

No lithium in mine. I have an R and both are AGM.

 

At the time I was considering the F Type, I was told that disabling the automatic engine shutdown was not an issue, but in the future, disabling might no longer be an option. I've heard the same thing with other manufacturers including Audi which I found to be a real PITA with the A8. Anyone with more info on this subject?

 

Deltagroup,

Sorry, but I couldn't figure out how to post pictures in a PM so as I said, I would post pictures here of the Battery Tender (BT) Plus hook-up in this thread.

The pig-tail is pictured on the left of the first picture plugged into the BT. The red (+) lead (middle of picture) hooks up opposite the yellow wire in the battery bus box. The black lead (-) is seen on the right of the picture, connected with the larger ground cable on the trunk floor.

The second picture (in the next post) shows the Battery Tender on the floor with the plug-in lead hanging out of the trunk. When you put the panels back in, you leave the pig-tail exposed, so it's an easy plug-in. They fit flush with the pig-tail sticking out. The trunk lid closes easily over the lead because it is a small cable.

 

Picture #2 referred to directly above.

 

Appreciate the additional detail and pics. Got it now. Thanks.

 

Sorry to resurrect this discussion but I need help please.

Attached my Battery Tender Jr. as described here to my 2014 F-Type convertible & all that went just fine. But when in there I discovered a loose connector just hanging there. (See pictures)

Do any of you know what connector this is & should it be disconnected? I may have bumped something but I really do not recall doing that (& am pretty careful generally).. THANKS! john


general area

the connector (white)

2 conductor & should snap in to something - but was hanging loose like this - unless I somehow dislodged it.

end view

side/bottom view of connector - seems like brown & black/white wires

 

Nothing to worry about at all, that is the plug used by the dealership to plug into their SDD equipment and set the car up for pre-delivery.
Used once only then never used again.
Mods - maybe this bit of info can be made a sticky as this question comes up over and over?

 

Thank you very much - and apologies for posting a question frequently asked - I didn't know really what to "search" for & this thread seemed so on point. Again, was much appreciated.