Car has a new battery.Was working fine. Just clicks now. Put in a new Bosch starter yesterday. Still just clicks. I can't believe nobody knows 12 years later what the issue is. I love this car, but it's about ready to find it's way to the LEMON pile. Anyone??

 

Cars, because you just did a new battery, I am placing money that you have a bad battery cable (tends to be the negative cable, but, could be the positive cable). If you have a multimeter, this will help you prove what is good and what is bad.

The first check that I would tell you to do is to simply put the multimeter across the battery terminals and verify that you have 12.6 VDC (only touch the lead of the posts, not the battery connectors to make sure you are getting the reading of the battery itself). If you are getting 12.5 VDC or lower, then your battery is not at 100%. Recharge the battery and then start over, seeing if you have the no start condition and reperforming the above step.

The next step would be to have 1 person hold the multimeter leads to the battery posts (again, not touching the cable connectors) and attempting to start the car (making sure that the battery is fully charged). Did the battery voltage stay up above 12.0 VDC, drop to less than 11.0 VDC, or go to between 11.0 and 12.0 VDC? if above 12.0 VDC, this would then be leading towards either a bad cable or a bad starter. If going below 11.0 VDC, then you have a bad battery (yes, it may be new, but a battery can fail at any moment). If in the 11.0 to 12.0 VDC range, then it is what would be expected.

If you are suspecting a bad cable, then move the multimeter so that you put the black lead on the negative post of the battery (making sure not to touch the cable connector) and the red lead to any spot of bare steel. Attempt to start the car. Did the voltage on the multimeter jump over 1.0 VDC? If yes, then that cable is bad. Ideally I like to keep this voltage to under 0.5 VDC to minimize stresses on the alternator and ECM. Next, move the red lead to the battery positive post (not touching the cable connector) and the large post on the starter. Again, attempt to start the car. Did the multimeter jump over 1.0 VDC? If yes, then the positive battery cable is toast. Replace. If it is over 0.5 VDC, may want to consider replacing for the above reason.

Do you need to buy Jaguar battery cables? By no means. Many member have gotten the generic battery cables from their local auto parts stores and installed them on their cars with no issues for around $40 for both cables.

If you are getting good voltage up to this point, then odds are, you are looking at either a high resistance connection on the starter or you simply got a bad starter from the auto parts place (can happen).

 

Thanks for the response.
It was poor timing for it to fail on us. Hence the frustration. I know full well the potential of this vehicle with the proper modifications. I'm going to Get some generic cables just to "quickly" rule out the cable issue...

 

Be sure to come back and let us know how it goes

Good luck