Here's my latest issue with this car.

I went to start it after leaving work today and when turning the key all the way to start, nothing happens. The lights on the dash blink and there is a ticking noise from behind the dash but the car doesn't even attempt to turn over. Also once I turn the key back to off, all the gauges flutter for a few seconds and the locks cycle.

I tried a jump start and bought a new battery but neither solved the problem. Is this some sort of immobilizer issue? For the past couple days whenever I went to start the car, I put the key in as usual and turned it to start but it wouldn't crank. I would have to turn it back to on and then start again before it would crank. Today I figured I would try to address that so I put a little WD-40 on the key before putting it into the ignition and now it simply won't turn over at all.

I have yet to try my other key, I have to retrieve it first. Does anyone have any idea what is going on here?

 

Did you charge the new battery for (say) 12 hours? They're often NOT properly charged even when the seller says they are.

 

It *sounds like* not enough battery power... ie there is enough to power the dash etc but as soon as you turn the key, connect the solenoid that gives power to the starter motor it effectively shorts out the battery - try starting with a booster pack, check battery charge, and if like my case replace the battery...

 

I was hoping it would simply be a new battery, but I'm starting to think it's something different.

I've got the new battery plugged in to a charger now to see if maybe that will fix the issue. However, the car wouldn't start with a jump while connected to either the new or old battery.

Right now, I can do everything except start the car. I can turn on all the lights, radio, climate control, and even shift gears. Just as soon as I go to turn the engine over, I get nothing except flashing lights. Even the headlights will flash if I have them on.

I used the engineering mode on the instrument cluster to determine the battery voltage. I was getting around 11.2v in that scenario, which increased to around 13.2v when I had the jumper cables connected to another vehicle.

 

Just checked manual and the immobiliser light will flash if the key is not recognised

 

11.2 is flat. Dead. New battery is dead or flat.

 

11.2 is with the original battery, I forgot to get a reading with the new battery. Oddly enough, the new battery appears to be weaker than the old one. With the old battery, everything turned on in the car but it just wouldn't crank. The new one makes the interior lights a bit dimmer, the radio will not turn on, and the instrument cluster says "Gearbox Fault" for some reason. But, I will try it again after it's fully charged for 12 hours or so.

As far as the immobilizer, I will look into that light (I'm assuming you mean the one near the gear shift) the next time I try to start it. I wasn't looking at that before, just the lights on the instrument cluster which were pretty much all flashing.

I was really starting to think it wasn't the battery, because I drained it once accidentally while working on the car. That time it would at least try to crank a little before giving out, but now it just flashes the lights and makes a slight clicking sound that is coming from somewhere in the dash.

 

Ok, I can confirm that the immobilizer light (along with several others) blinks when either key is used to attempt to start the car.

I believe one key needs to be reprogrammed because the buttons on the remote don't work but the other still locks/unlocks the car normally. Each is able to turn the car "on" so that the heat, radio, lights, etc. all come on but not the ignition.

I've left a voicemail with the dealer so hopefully I can get this figured out tomorrow.

 

Were you able to figure the problem out?

 

Hi emaraszek, and greetings,

11.2V on the old battery; and you feel that the "new" one is inferior! Guess what? It probably is ... and yours would not be the first case of a near flat "new" battery. As in the adjacent thread by anonymousdroid - your symptoms are absolutely typical - and the fix just as predictable. Charge it or change it!

Jumper cables are often no antidote for a flat battery. Follow advice from JagV8 in his earlier post, and charge it until a full load test will hold at least 12.5V - or more - depending on temp, you should be able to achieve near 13V.

Best wishes.

 

As of now, I am waiting for a tow to the dealership where they will take a look at the car. If it is as simple as a new battery, they'll switch that out for me and I'll be on my way. However, I still suspect there is something else going on here which may involve dealer-level diagnostics and programming. After speaking to the service manager yesterday and describing the steps I already took, she also suspected a security system issue. We will see though...

I'll update this thread as soon as I have more information

 

Hello again emaraszek,

Reading your latest post suggests you are very wise - of course there could be an underlying security lockout issue, key fob lockout or other issue. However, when following a methodical diagnostic process, it is important to inspect or measure, then change, only one thing at a time.

You did this (textbook perfect) - and you posted ...

(1) dash lights flash; relays click; but car will not start;
(2) measure car battery under load (11.2V) - flat battery; probably dead;
(3) replaced with "new" battery (not measured, but felt "worse");
(4) if it were charged; measured; and still not start - THEN we have a problem;
(5) until then, we simply cannot tell - and any codes are likely to be false.

A pity you were not able to complete step (4) above - it may have saved you time and money.
Cheers ... and do keep us posted.

Ken

 

I have the same problem . let me know what the dealer did .thanks

 

Ken - Thanks, I wish I would have had the time to charge the new battery fully and try that before going to the dealer. However, after the new battery made the problem worse I started to suspect it either wasn't the battery causing the issue or that I was sold an incorrect battery. In either case meaning I should return the battery.

Hopefully it is just the battery so I'll only owe the dealer the cost of a new battery plus labor. But at least if the problem is something security-related the car is in the right place to have it addressed.


Mike - As soon as I have more information I'll post it here for everyone. Hopefully it's a simple (and cheap) solution

 

Hi Guys,
I had an issue where mine failed to start a while ago and it led to a NIGHTMARE!
All of your symptoms smack to me of a simple but dangerous situation.

First off:
Did you stop quickly when you parked up and park was not engaged when you arrived for work and switched off the ignition?

OR, do you remember if you switched the ignition on FULL TURN without letting the ECU check list start up?

This is important as I believe 1 of the 2 items above happened.

Can you remember? If you can, it may save a lot of money and risk?

Regards and Good Luck, Stu

 

Guys, 2 of you have a similar problem,

When you are switching ON, halfway through the ignition, then when you try to ignite the engine on the full position, is there a slight humming sound apart from the solenoid fluttering? I think this is important?

 

Hey guys, you were right, it was just the battery.

The dealer was able to get it to start with a jump but it tested bad so I told them to replace it. Got it back and it's back to normal again. They even topped off the windshield washer fluid and did some other routine maintenance for me. I wish I would have just bought a battery from the parts department, but lesson learned.

Thanks again to all who responded!

 

Great news emaraszek, but don't beat yourself up - we have all been bitten at some time. Be thankful that your car's symptoms pointed so predictably to the solution.

It has, once again, been a reminder to all that, as many of our cars reach 6-10 years old, battery related failures and potential "false flag" fault messages will increase. More so in very cold winters. Where our OP was doubly unfortunate was that his "new" battery was also a "dead" battery and that may be uncommon - but not unknown!

It seems that vehicle mileage has little to do with sudden battery failure - but that very cold winters and infrequent driving and/or maintenance are silent killers.
Cheers.
.

 

I think you're right on this weather killing batteries. Before I was having these issues, the car had been in the shop for a week while I was on vacation so that I could have a transfer case seal replaced. So not only was it not driven for a week during this ridiculously cold weather, but I also believe it still had it's original battery. I had never changed it in 2 years of ownership and it was a Jaguar branded battery, leading me to suspect it was the original.

With all the recent work I've put into the car (body work after a collision in December, all spark plugs plus a coil changed, transfer case and transmission resealed, and now the new battery) I should hope it will be dependable for a while now...

 

I'm sorry to have been proven right - but when my battery went.. it was a genuine Jaguar battery likely original.. it just went suddenly almost exactly the same symptoms so it made sense that your prob was likely the same :-(