Hello all.

I have been having problems with the charging system since last year.

First problem was car started dying while on, battery would loose charge completely. That turned out to be corrosion on the fan connector. In the process of getting that fixed, I changed the alternator , the battery, the possitive battery cable with a new OEM one (including the one that runs to the fuse box) and also the negative battery cable with a thick aftermarket type.

All was well until three weeks ago when the battery light came on and I noticed that the (new, OEM) positive battery cable was burning hot. The negative was cool. The light has been on and of since then......it appears today we found the problem:

The resistance on the aftermarket thick negative cable was 30. A known used good OEM one was installed and it's 00.6 now.

Also the crimp area where the cable meets the terminal on the new OEM positive cable is the part that gets hottest withing seconds of turning on the car. A temporary arrangement has been made where there is another cable jumped from the positive terminal to the starter. This cable does not get hot.

So either both new positive OEM And negative aftermarket cables I installed a few months ago where defective or only one was and caused the other to fail. :-(

Has anyone had problems with the new OEM positive cable replacements going bad?

 

Glad to hear you seem to have got towards the bottom of the problem.

I had the alternator replaced in 2011 but not cables or battery. That alternator lasted just over 2 years before it failed at which point I suspected the original cables may have had a part to play in the relatively rapid failure so replaced battery, then all three cables (OEM), and then alternator (after market) in that sequence over a month last summer. Fortunately, the alternator seemed to give a few weeks notice when it is on its way out with whining and battery light activation.
The cables were damned expensive at around $465 from a jaguar dealer but when i pulled the old ones, They looked a bit bespoke so I just bit the bullet and got the OEM parts. No problems at all since then. ... and very glad to have got those bits replaced when I did because with the winter we have just gone through, the charging system has been "stressed" quite a bit!!

 

Hi Spike,
Sorry to hear of your issue and I am glad you brought it up, as I will probably have that to deal with unless I can get to do my wants list, but it shows how some aftermarket products just aren't up to it!

Glad you are getting somewhere though!! Thanks, Stu