I have a 2001 S-Type we bought in about November 2009. I have several problems with the car, including battery drain. I replaced the battery a few months after purchase, thinking it was the battery. But because we have a/c problems and we live in Louisiana, its not advisable to drive the car except on occasion. Unfortunately, after about 2-3 days of nonuse, the battery drains to the point of not starting the car.

I have used the search feature of this site, but have not come up with any ideas, other than to check the drain on the battery... and where do I go from there!! I want to say I remember seeing something about battery drain and some wire in the trunk that needs to be replaced, but can't find that thread. Any ideas?

Perhaps someone put Lucas Electrics in this car!!?? My old 1966 XKE was a nightmare of unexplained electrical problems that showed up suddenly and went away just as suddenly!!

 

Hi Mike, Assuming your new battery has no dead cells; begin by checking the battery terminals; clean and tight. Charge battery at 2 amp.hr for a full day. Be sure the interior lights are shutting off too. The alternator must be checked for proper voltage out-put. Start with these few details then check back.

 

I too have been experiencing the same issues with my 2002 S-Type. I only have 50,000 miles on my car but have replaced the battery at least 4 times. Took it to the dealership which could not locate any issues and to a local repair shop as well - they found cell issues and replaced the battery on the last one. (this was about 2-3 months ago) Last week - dead battery again. I am still trying to determine for myself what the cause could be. Last week when the battery died I discovered about 2 inches of water under the tire in the trunk from major rains we received just that week prior. Looking back, the last time I had the battery replaced was 6 months ago and at the same time the shop informed me that there was standing water in my trunk. We had just had an unusual episode of snow that week prior. Could be the water shorting something out? I still need to figure out how the water is entering my trunk as well. Any advise or experience from someone out there would be appreciated.

 

You'll find helpful threads about how to find and seal the leak if you engage in some hand-to-hand combat with the forum's Search feature

 

Here is a TSB for water leak diagnostics issued in 2003

bob gauff

 

I am having the same issue with my car, i am new to this forum and unable to read your PDF, what is the way to do so? thanks

 

Follow the newbie instructions you got when registering.

 

Motorcarman, thank you very much for that fantastic Pdf on the leaking issues and where to look and what to check. Very informative and really appreciate it.

Just a side note for the not so savvy computer guys out there, As I collect all of these different great files on what to do and how to fix, I will suggest for all when downloading these things, to have better access and remember what it is for later viewing or sharing, I right click the file and you will take note one of the options towards the bottom of the list is "rename". In this instance the file has a name that can be confusing when relating to leak issues. Click rename and then rename it to what it actually covers. Then file it in a folder on one of your hard drives titled the car name or something you feel comfortable with. Then I would suggest you back the file up on another hard drive. Just remember, windows allows you to name the file up to 260 characters so you can have some detail. I renamed the file "where to look for leaks on Stype" and now when I need to find it, will be easy. Even if I misplace it by accident on the computer it is easy to search out by just typing "leaks" in the search box when you go to Start, computer, and then the box in the top right corner of your screen.

Many of you have been great with responses to helping me out with the Jag and if you do have any questions in reference to computers or any issues that can come up, shoot me a PM and if I can help, I'll walk you through the fix.

 

Did so but with no luck! Maybe because I am stil a junior member!

 

I can't put this any better than to say you haven't actually followed them fully. Look for recent posts by h20boy and look closely at his signature lines.

 

Here's a hint -

There is an undisclosed "qualifying period" that each newly registered member must complete prior to allowing access to the member photo gallery, configuring your 'garage', starting a classified ads, viewing images, accessing server-hosted links, or sending a Personal Message to another member via our forum comm systems. The qualifying period is a spam-reducing effort that has been extremely successful, and will only be waived/terminated early in a thread that deals with the issue in the Forum Help section. Our admin can manually adjust your account to bypass the mandatory period. This 'period' includes a preset number of days (3) that you must be active, and a minimum post count of ten (10). Once these are surpassed, the magic happens and you'll have full access. I assure you, the time and post count is trivial to a genuine new member, but extremely effective against spammers.

Copied from here -

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=22253

 

Bearing in mind the lengthy details, with the prominent heading, I've always wondered why it's described as "undisclosed" LOL

"Often unread", wellll....

 

I did wonder about the undisclosed part too.

 

Finally got it. Thanks!

 

Well, the battery is dead! again, I will put it on a trinkle charger and see what will happen. Does anyone know a reasonable parts supplier? Maybe the Alternator is the problem. I am new to the Jaguar world, and my experience so far is limited to asking the Jaguar dealer for a small plastic interior part, was offered at $65, and after some search I found it new in its orginial box on EBay for $3.50!

 

are you making alot of short trips...do ya have your stereo cranked all the time? Sometimes this causes a battery that cant fully charge,and we got alot of contraption's that consume power on our cars.Other than that is it possible you have a bad alternator ground?

 

napa!!

 

Hi,
Not an electrical expert but passing on some information from the UK forum.
There are 2 electronic control units or modules, which should shut down completely after 40mins following the switch off of the ignition system. If either of these units do not shut down properly there will be a drain on the battery. One, the Rear Electronic Control Unit, is located in the floor area of the Boot(Trunk) and the other the General Electronic Control Unit is in the foot well area of the front passengers side on uk cars, or maybe in the footwell of the drivers side on USA cars.
The following is a copy a post covering this problem.
www.jaguarforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=2155&highlight=drain saves me typing it all out again.

If you have a read of this post by 12RM, 7th one down, this may be of assistance to you.
They cured the problem by renewing the Rear Electronic Control Unit or Module situated in the boot or trunk as you call it. Mmmmm, same language but different.
Hope this is of assistance
Regards,
Inver.

 

Thank you so much for the post, Inver! It certainly makes more sense to me than any other diagnoses I received from mechanics and the jag dealership here. Seems they were just interested in replacing my battery and anything else they thought I would pay for. I will be taking your advice to a qualified mechanic to see if we can pinpoint the problem to the modules you mention. I guess it would do any good for me to ask the cost of the parts since we are both using different currency LOL! Yes, and same language, but different! I've learned a lot through my British sister-in-law so try me! Have a great weekend and if I can get to the bottom of the problem I will post the results. Thanks again! TXredhead

 

Gentleman

This looks like a very relevant post for me, as my car has drained its battery if left for more than a week to 10 days.

One question though - if you open the trunk to access the trouble shooting area of the wiring - does the car not draw current again?

I will look into this on mine when I get a chance and report back what I find.

Regards
Pete in Toronto