I had a new battery installed in my 09 XF Supercharged two weeks ago and everything seemed fine. This week has been a scary disaster and I don’t know if it’s related, so I’m here.

Ok, so yesterday I was driving to work and all kind of fault lights started illuminating on the dash. The gauges went all the way to the right and then both stop working. I think every “fault warning light that was installed went lit up over and over. Made me think that it may be the battery. AAA came out and checked the battery and I was told that it’s ok. The car drove home fine but a block from my house the windshield wipers begin to work and they were turned completely off. My gas monitor went to empty and the tank is full. It was like the car was possessed! I got home and parked the car and went to get something out of the car about two hours later to find that the headlights and tail lights were on. I went to turn them off and they were already switched off. I attempted to start the car but it did not start. The “Transmission Fault” and “Ignition On” lights came on flickering back and forth and then car started to beep as if it was a time bomb. I swear I’m not making this up. I could not get it to stop and the lights never went off. I d/c the battery to make
it stop.

Does any of this sound familiar to anyone. Sorry for being long winded, so to speak, just wanted to make sure I have all the facts. Thanks for any help you all may have.

 

Welcome to the forums QueenSuga,

As you've also posted a separate Intro, I've moved this one from New Member Area - Intro a MUST to X250 forum for advice from members with the same model.

Graham

 

I'd start with some continuity tracing and look for a faulty ground wire. Maybe the connection to the battery, maybe other end where that wire connects to the body. Check the fuse boxes for any corrosion. One in passenger footwell is known to get a bit damp sometimes. Also the modules and electronics under the passenger seat which can also get damp and corrode.
I would start with that sort of check as it sounds like good battery but poor grounding connection

 

Thanks BritCats. I was able to get it to light up and get codes yesterday. There were five U-codes. I have to find the paper that wrote them on to look them up. I need to already have an idea of what’s going on before taking it to the mechanic which at this point , it’s obvious that I’m going to have to have it towed in. I just don’t know how to trust when it comes to them but that’s a whole other forum. I will look iat those fuses today, if the weather permits.

 

Did you ever got this problem fixed?
I am having the same problem bought 2 new battery and when connected the headlights, tail light would be on and won't turned off. also gas tank won't open. the car would crank but not start and all types of fault will show up such faults as you mentioned. the trunk/ boot would not open with the button inside of the car it only opens with the key put from the key fob. PLEASE HELP!! it's frustrating.

 

Going through virtually the same on my XF SV8 - I have just changed all the modules under the driver's seat (UK RHD). I think I have a water ingress problem from the sunroof - one or both of the drain tubes may be blocked. If you have a sunroof, may be worth checking, then you will have to dry out the interior carpets.

 

I have a very similar problem but different events leading up to it. My alternator gave up a year ago, usual fault codes etc and catastrophic system failure. I had the alternator changed, two battery monitor sensors and a new battery later, it still had the battery warning light on the dash but drove and charged perfectly. I kept an eye on the charge from a charger I had in the car. Constant 14V whilst driving, 12.4V before starting. After a year of driving around like this I decided to do something about it. I saw something on another forum on how to do a battery monitor sensor reset. So I thought I'd try. It has resulted in multiple dtc's on the dash, not there before, and the car won't start. Anyone have any ideas on how to sort this? Trying to find mobile auto electricians is proving very difficult.
thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 

@Mikeyfell, use a voltmeter to check the voltage across the battery terminals with the ignition in the OFF position. There should be a minimum of 12.6 volts present for all systems to function normally. If the voltmeter indicates less than 12.6 volts, charge the battery for five hours at 2 to 5 amps and retest. If there is still less than 12.6 volts according to the voltmeter, the battery is suspect and must be replaced prior to attempting any further diagnosis.

 

Hi NBcat, thanks for your reply. I had another vehicle boosting it whilst trying to start it but still wouldn't go. I had a guy I know from a garage come to read and clear codes but most of them wouldn't clear or just came back immediately. There was no issue with the vehicle (apart from the battery light being on for a year),battery or voltage before the reset.

 

What DTCs were stored and keep recurring? Please list them here.

 

They were all U codes and virtually all of them. Mostly communication faults.

 

What did you actually do in an attempt to "reset" the battery monitor?

 

Followed this process but the radio didn't need a code and the park brake notification didn't come up, engine wouldn't start or turn over, just loads of faults came up.....
Let's walk through resetting the Jaguar XF's battery monitoring system (BMS). First, make sure You've got the radio code for Your XF before You disconnect the battery, as well as an accurate clock handy. When You've got the new battery installed, set the time and enter in Your radio code. If You don't have one, just put some random stuff; after three times, the display will show PLEASE WAIT, and You can use the backdoor code: press ">>", "PTY" and ""A.MEM" at the same time, and wait for 2-3 seconds: Your radio should turn on. Now You'll need to reset the EPB: Start the engine, and You should see a message stating NOT CALIBRATED or APPLY FOOT AND PARK BRAKE on the instrument cluster. Lightly press the foot brake, and apply the parking brake using the EPB switch. Release the foot brake. NOT CALIBRATED should no longer be displayed. Apply and release the EPB 5 times to ensure no error is present. After this, the BMS itself should be functioning properly, and the ECM should not be displaying any DTCs.

 

Oh, good then ! (There are a few suggestins on the internet that can cause more harm than good, especially if misconstrued even further in the execution- what you did was "fine" IMHO).eg I'm not a fan of the "hard reset" suggested by some. It sounds like you don't have a record of which codes were present so I'm only guessing on what you have interpreted but it does seem like you *may* have a faulty module- you've probably read the same posts that disconnecting your battery for any reason even if done perfectly can trigger an issue if there is a module not happy in life, often seems to be the CJB as the culprit.
.... yeh, don't think I've helped but hope someone smarter than me has an answer for you !

 

Communication faults could just be voltage too low, charge it full before attempting anything.

Did you replace the alternator with OEM JLR or aftermarket.

The alternators on these cars can roast modules and entire junction/fuse boxes on their way out. If you are getting a wall of codes even with a fully charged battery then there is a major component failure. The reset you performed seems benign and not really applicable to the XF. The usual touching battery leads while disconnected has more risk than that. You would need a SDD scan at a good JLR independent garage to work out what failed.

 

Thanks for the reply. It just seems strange it has happened now when it was running fine. I had it read (again) about 6 months ago and it only showed the battery issue but it was charging ok. I'm going to arrange to take it to a garage to see what has happened, hopefully by tomorrow.

 

Thanks for the reply.
The alternator was replaced by a lucas unit and has worked fine. No other issues apart from the battery light for a year. I had some high usage functions I couldn't use, like heated screens and heated seats, whilst the battery light was on, for a whole year. But I've managed without them so far. I saw on other forums etc that these high power functions wouldn't be available with the battery light on, (possible bms issue) and so thought I just have to suffer it, at least for a while. I'm taking it to a garage specialising in diagnostics today or tomorrow so I'll hopefully find out soon.
I just need to get the park brake released now!