I’m not sure the age of the battery, owner said he replaced it but he owned it for two years, as for the manuals I have them all. Is there a way to tell if the battery will fix the issue without having to pay 200 dollars for a new one? Also it had sat for 8 hours when I measured it.

 

The definitive battery test . . . beyond its actual standing voltage which you measured at 12.37V . . . is for Cold Cranking Amperage (CCA), This can be done for you at any good auto or battery shop, usually as a free service. This tests the battery under load and gives a measure of battery health by comparing result to original capacity.

Cheers and best wishes,

 

The whole battery mystery has been noted quite often. So much that I started this thread as a scorecard on the subject:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...attery-193787/

You had mentioned the serpentine belt was squealing. That will definitely need some love if the noise continues. Even if the noise goes away, make sure the charging system is up to snuff. If the belt is slipping, the alternator may not be spinning at the proper speed.

It's easy to check with your spiffy new multimeter. Set it up for DC volts and read directly at the battery. On a 2003+ car, you should see about 14.5v right after engine start. After several minutes, the voltage should slowly taper down around 13.7v. If low, that could certainly cause low prestart voltage. Remember, don't base battery health and state of charge on the starter cranking speed.

Beautiful car, by the way. Can't say my first car looked remotely close to that. If I had such a nice car at 16, I could have been rejected by a much nicer class of women.

 

Karl, once again, you have us boggle-eyed and full of perspiration.
Thank you for reminding us of the finer things in life!

Cheers and best wishes,

 

Do you guys think it could be fuel pump related? I had another issue again today, got out of school car didn’t want to start took 5 times to get it to turn over. Not exactly why fuel pump came to mind but it did.

 

Can you please elaborate on “get it to turn over”? That phrase can mean three basic things:


The starter cranking speed was normal but the engine would not run on its own.

or

The starter cranking speed was slow/sluggish.

or

No response or just a click/thunk when the key was turned to the start position.


Big difference in how to troubleshoot for each scenario. Don’t want to send you down the wrong path.


I would also suggest getting a basic scanner that can read live data. For example, I have a simple doohickey that I leave plugged into the OBD port. Information is displayed on an app on my phone.

Any time my car misbehaves, I can review fault codes and live data right away. It certainly reduces guesswork, such as gambling on a hunch about the fuel pump.

 

The starter goes normally, the car just doesn’t start. It also only happens when I’m parked outside/on an slope? Also I plan on getting a scanner but would that even be able to detect a fuel pump issue? I don’t have a check engine light or any lights on the dash.

 

This is by far the worst one yet, went to start it, I was told by someone else that if it’s a fuel pump you should turn the key on for the battery then back off then it would start and this happened…

 

By chance has your area seen a lot of rain? If the problem only occurs after parked outside, rainwater may be collecting in the trunk. This can wreak havoc with the control modules back there. The trunk seal is notorious for not sealing well. Lift up the trunk floor and look for water in the spare tire well.

As far as using a scanner, a basic model like I have won't give you a simple answer for a no-start condition. But if you suspect a fuel pump problem, for example, a scanner is invaluable. Turn the key to the run position, but not yet start. This powers up the scanner so you can read live data. The fuel pump would have been commanded to run briefly to pressurize the injector rail. Simply read the live data to see if the fuel pump actually ran AND put out normal pressure.

Fault codes for a no-start condition? Typically won't happen. There's a little gotcha to consider. I call it the DMV principle. It's just something to keep in mind when troubleshooting:

Please understand the OBD II system is designed primarily for monitoring and reporting faults related to emissions. If you have a fault preventing the engine from starting, in the OBD II mindset, that's not related to emissions. Even if the computer knows why the engine won't start (a required input is missing or invalid, for example), it won't tell you via the normal OBD II interface. It's kinda like getting in the wrong line at the DMV office. Even though the slug lady behind the counter can access the entire computer system from any terminal, you wanted a new driver's license but are in the line for renewing vehicle registration. She crosses her arms and isn't going to offer the information you need:



I'm not 100% sure, but i think some dealer-level software can retrieve other engine data that might explain a no-start condition. But for us mere mortals, we can still do a pretty good job by extrapolating the stuff we can access. Just be aware of the (minor) limitations of most scanners.

 

thank you for this information, I’m not sure if I talked about it but my area did see a lot of rain last week when it was outside, I thought I mentioned it but there was was water in the trunk and condensation of sorts on the side of the battery, I dried it when I saw it last week but it hasn’t rained since then and the problem is still occurring. Also can you take a look at the video I posted? It sounded like rod knock when I started the engine and I’m worried about it. Also do you have a link for a good obd scanner that’s not super expensive that can read the fuel system?

 

Sorry, wasn't able to open the video. My anti-virus protection goes straight to Defcon 4 with any file like that.

In an earlier post, you said the serpentine belt was squealing. Is this the same basic noise, perhaps getting worse? Have you looked into that yet?

How about the charging system? Have you checked that yet, as detailed in post #23 above?

I realize it's easy to panic, but you're far from reaching the "Running around like a chicken with its head cut off" stage. Answer the questions and we'll do our best to help.

 

Even though you mopped up any visible water, I bet there is still plenty of vapor being released from water in hidden areas. Take another look and I bet you will find more condensation. If the weather is nice, try parking in the sun for a few hours with the trunk and floor open. See if that helps. If the weather won't cooperate, try parking in the garage and use heat lamps and a fan. Either way, tape the trunk lid switch in the retracted position to keep the trunk light from draining the battery.



Time to break out my tranquilizer dart gun. Trust me, it's for your own good. Don't pull out the dart. This training video shows what to expect




Rod knock? Never known it to go away on its own. Typically it's relatively quiet on a cold start, when the oil is thick. As the oil warms up and thins out, the noise increases. You've described just the opposite. Can't view the video so can't say what you've actually got, but rod knock is WAY down the list of possibilities.


I've had a BlueDriver XT for several years, but I'd suggest something newer. It's slow to power up, so reading prestart live data can be a little tricky. Getting kinda glitchy, too. Others may have better suggestions for you.

 

thanks for the advice. Also the video is most definitely not the serpentine belt, I’m also just a kid with his first car and couldn’t completely wrong, is there any other way I can message you the video? It sounds absolutely miserable like it’s gasping for air when it starts. Also for the battery charging, it’s a little lower than what I’m reading is normal. This morning before I recorded the video the voltage was 12.32. I also tested a few days back and when the car started it went up to 14.45. But then again that was when it was in the garage and there wasn’t any squeaking from the belt that time.

 

I know your new but please stop posting useless videos.
You have an expert helping you named Karl. He has decades of experience with these cars and has seen almost everything.
If you follow what he is saying and answer his questions you will make some progress.
You have a battery that needs replacing so start there. The voltage when running does not tell you anything about the condition of the battery.

Next you need to measure the fuel pressure and report back. You can borrow tools from most auto parts stores for free. I have seen the fuel pressure tester in the loaner program. You might need to get an adapter for the tester. Or you can get a scanner as Karl suggested that can read live data including fuel pressure.

I do not see where you have replaced the fuel filter? Do you know where it is located? Always a good cheap thing to do especially in your case when the car is new to you and there are no maintenance records. Again many threads on where it is and how to change it.

We have a giant thread just on which scanners work on Jaguars. Take a look and see if you find one to your liking. Remember there is no "best" scanner. Things change all the time and as always it depends on how much you willing to spend. That's why that thread has been running for 10+ years.
Jaguar Scanners

Be sure to follow his suggestions about water in the trunk. This is another well known cause of many different problems. Any idea why the water is in there? Yes you have a leak so add that to your to do list. Don't forget the value of this forum. Search on water in the trunk and see what others have found. It might save you a bunch of time!

Keep at it but you need to work on this one problem at a time. So again replace the battery and see what happens. Report back with the actual numbers. Battery resting voltage after the car has sat all night. Then get a scanner and report back your findings.
.
.
.