Hey.

New to the forum and recently bought an S-type 4.2 - 03.

Thing is i had to change the battery just the other week and i have only been driving shorter distances since then and 2 days ago i got:

DSC not available
ABS light
Check engine light

Have read lots of different threads in the forum that says how sensitive Jaguar is regarding low battery voltage.

Checked the battery and it was 12.40V. Doesnt seem "low". I dont have a charger at home right now.

Anyone who had similar issues.

 

It's somewhat low, but then the question is what happens when a very big load is applied.

You can test it / have it load tested.

Its voltage will sag, of course, so the question is how low and that partly comes down to a combination of things like it is already a bit low and is it the proper big capacity battery that should be fitted.

What we know from years of experience is that is likely the battery.

It could be something else (poor connection somewhere, maybe) but the battery is easily #1 suspect by far.

 

You could have the battery tested to make sure you don't have a bad cell. Also have the codes checked, since you have 2 codes related to ABS system, and most likely its caused the Check Engine light come on, I'd see whats been logged then go from there.

 

Thanks for the replies.

Since the battery is only one week old i will try to get it changed at the store tomorrow morning and get a new one and take the easy way out. And ofcourse invest in a battery charger (and possibly OBD reader), since this isn't my day to day vehichle.

Again thanks for the help.

 

Since it's not your day to day vehicle, you're best off having a battery tender attached when the vehicle is not being used. Before you change battery get a tender and let it do it's thing for a few days and see what happens.

 

+1 on that. Most stores don't keep their batteries fully charged, so it's very likely it only had a partial charge when you purchased it. A few short drives won't be enough to fully recharge it, either.

 

12.4 v is too low for these cars. When fully charged the battery should be 12.6. As the battery is in the boot/trunk you lose 0.1 v approximately due to the resistance. Then the voltage is too low for all the black boxes.

The biggest problem is that the charging system was designed for lead antimony batteries. These batteries are no longer available so we fit maintenance free batteries usually lead calcium. These batteries require a higher charging voltage around 14 v.

Our older cars produce this voltage for a short time and then it lowers the voltage to around 13 v.

This means that when you drive the car irregularly and for short journeys then you have to charge it.

 

+1 on a battery tender. (CTEK brand is the one most widely used by forum members.)

As the S-Type is not your day to day vehicle, it will prevent a lot of mysterious electric faults and error messages.

Graham

 

I'd expect 12.4 to be OK but ONLY if you have a hefty battery (post #2) of suitable CCA, Ah etc.

 

I actually ordered a CTEK charger today, hopefully I'll get in in the beginning of next week.

After reading a few posts regarding DSC/ABS warning I've decided to clean and check the speed sensors around the car. Just to be sure.

So tomorrow will be to change the spark plugs and clean the speed sensors. Nice way to spend "Good friday"!

Wish me luck!

 

Why spark plugs?

 

The "new" battery was actually a low price brand. According to the specs it was 90Ah. But I returned it today and paid 40$ more for Bosch S5013.

I was in a hurry last week and the low price market was the only one that was open that time of day. I wont do that again.

 

I bought the car from an estate sale (i believe its called). When I got it home i changed the oil, fuel, air and cabin filter plus the engine oil ofcourse. And all except the oil and oil filter had not been changed in a long time. The air filter housing were filled with dirt and insects.

So considering that I want to be sure that everything is ok.

 

You may want to add a transmission fluid change to the list. It's NOT in the Jaguar maintenance schedules but has been shown to extend transmission life.

Graham

 

The spark plugs easily last the factory interval of 100,000 miles/160,000 KM. As Graham mentioned, the transmission fluid might deserve some consideration.

 

On a practical level, I'd suggest holding off on both tasks until you can confirm the new battery took care of your initial problems.

For example, let's say the ABS sensors were fine and the low battery condition was the only problem with the system. Meanwhile, a new fault inadvertently gets introduced when reconnecting the wheel speed sensors. It could be something as simple as an individual pin not making a good connection upon reassembly. You could end up chasing your tail for days troubleshooting something like that.

I'm a professional mechanic and my crew's half-joking motto is "As little as possible for as long as it takes". I've seen so many instances of new problems introduced while fixing another. Whenever possible, use the "test as you go" philosophy before trying something new.

Back to the battery voltage discussion. I've seen the suggestion in many threads to check the battery voltage. Please be aware this is a ballpark value only and does not confirm the state of charge is actually good. If the voltage reading was low, that would be conclusive that the battery was defective or undercharged. But if reading "good", all that means is the battery isn't glaringly bad.

 

I've been reading some about the transmission and when I jacked up the car and went under the transmission oil pan/trey it looked much "fresher" than the rest of the car. So I really dont know what to do about that to be honest.

The car has 230000km behind it as of now and it shifts very smooth and what appears to be on time. The only thing I've noticed is that it doesnt start directly always.

 

So about 143K miles?

Spark plugs were due at 100K. Maybe you can find records to show if they were done.

Trans oil due every 60K (some say 100K) and is NOT on the servicing schedule (or not on any I've seen) so tends to be overlooked. Probably is dire but you won't know till you check / replace it.

 

Thanks for the input kr98664. Maybe I'll leave the sensors. But I actually think that the spark plugs is a good idea considering the mileage.

I think that I'll have to change the oil in the transmission as well, just to be sure. The filter is integrated in the oil pan/trey?

 

There was a response from ZF about changing oils every 100,000 km 62000 miles or every 8 years.

There is a copy here of the email
response from zf on oil change. the correct milage or number of years