Hi everyone, New member, just purchased a 2010 XFR. Can anyone rec a battery maintainer/trickle charger that will work safely in this hi-tech car? Preferably one that plugs into the 12V outlet (like Porsche has)?

Many Thanks

Mark

 

1st question, if you plug something into that 12v outlet with the ignition off does it work? 'Cos if it doesn't neither is a charger going to.

 

I've had best luck with the Deltran "Battery Tender" trickle charges.

Good question about the cigarette lighter. If the lighter isn't "live" with the key off, the charger won't do any good. You'll have to find a different charging point/port.

Cheers
DD

 

Wow this thing is a tech monster...great point on the live charger. If you open the door it is on (without starting the ignition or pressing the start button). When you lock the door, it goes off.

It sounds like ultimate battery management but I cant tell if its always live. Its like this car knows when I am next to it and actively turns itself on!

How do other owners keep it charged during long months?

Thanks Everyone.

Mark

 

you cannot use the lighter even it it were to stay on with key off(it doesnt) I would hook postive ring terminal to the postive on the battery, the negative needs to be on a body ground not on the battery. The black box on the negative terminal is a direct link to the ECU to know the state of charge both in/out of the battery. This is how the ecu correctly uses the alternator to charge. If you hook to the negative cable the ecu will not SEE that voltage correctly
Nothern Tools sell a good one thats small and has both clip on and ring trpe bolt on terminals. And its around $35-40. I have 3 and have used them for years

 

Thanks!

I figured I would need to hook to the battery. I took a flier on the

CTEK Multi US 3300

I appreciate the battery info. Being a novice, but not a complete car idiot, I assume I find a good ground near the battery then attach to the pos pole on the battery. Any chance I will screw the electronics by this simple add on in this hi-tech car?

Thanks again

Mark

 

My question is how long are you going between driving it?

Couple of tricks. One: if you can avoid it don't lock the car. If it's in a secure garage you shouldn't need to lock it and that way you save juice trickling away from the alarm. Two: if you don't lock the car make sure you don't leave the key anywhere close to the car as the two will talk to each other. Three: if the car is parked close to your home switch off bluetooth on your phone. There have been a couple of incidences where the phone tries to "chat" to the car and wakes up the electronics, thus discharging more juice. Four: disconnect any iPods/iTouch's and radar detectors as these will still trickle some charge away unless you hard shut them down.

The biggie is just drive the damned thing!

 

I agree with 2 and 3, not 1 and 4. Unless on 4 you have them hardwired to an always hot connection. Even with the alarm on the car goes to sleep at less than 22 milli amps. The issue is IMO, is that there is SO much electronics that are always demanding from the cars eletrical system. It has to be in tip top condition all the time. Short trips to the store, work etc do nothing to help maintaina 100% battery voltage of 12.6. and it just slowly looses alittle here, and here and here, and then one day it just wont start, or like we see. Somehting involving a computer(33+ on the new cars) goes haywire and you have a fault. if a engine doesnt get enough fuel or air to run correctly it runs like crap, a computer or really any electronic device doesnt get the required juice it needs it wont run correctly either. I still believe in trickle/float chargers cause they keep a battery at a 100% ready, fully charged state without overcharging

 

Canada has to be about the hardest climate on batteries, five years is an old battery over here. I have never had any issues with batteries failing to receive enough charge to keep healthy on any car over here, including two Jaguars. My XF is quite happy to stay parked for 23 consecutive days with no issues. My SAAB Aero spends at least that long parked outside in all weathers with the alarm active without causing any battery issues.

The alternator output is sufficient to fully recharge the battery within minutes of driving off in most weather conditions. In winter, I regularly use the seat heaters, steering wheel heater, front and rear defrosters and cabin heat on HI for a few minutes after start up and even in short trip driving (under 20 minutes) all winter long I have never had any battery issues with my XF.

The toughest tests for a battery are very cold starts (minus 30C or colder) followed by full use of all heaters and defrosters and very hot starts, plus 30C or hotter followed by immediate use of AC on HI. These conditions are routine over here, year after year. In the UK you would never experience the cold conditions and almost never the hot conditions. I cannot understand why you perceive battery problems to be an issue unless your cars are fitted with smaller batteries and alternators, which is possible.

 

I`ve used a largish solar powered charger connected direct to the battery of my rarely used S type diesel for over 4yrs without any trouble.

 

Well,

I usually put up the "sports" car for about 2 months in the winter. The last 6 years I put the porsche trickle charger on the cayman and it started like a charm anytime.

So I had the Jag dealer put on the wiring harness for me. I bought the cig adapter. I hooked the Ctek to it...no problems.

I then hooked the porsche trickle charger (I like it cause it has a 30 foot charging cord (12V)) and it worked great too.

Looks like problem solved. Brutal, any reason to worry with the Porsche trickle charger on a Jag?

We'll see how the winter goes. When I finally get enough $$ I'll get a third car garage...

Mark

 

So, just to clarify -- if I leave my phone plugged in to the cigarette lighter and lock the doors, it stops charging because the cig lighter turns off once the doors are locked? How about if I just close the doors but don't lock the car?

 

no, other than a porsche charger sucks horsepower from other cars and transferes it into the porsche.........

 

Another big fan of Deltran "Battery Tender" units. It's usually the first mod I do to all my vehicles. Best thing about Deltran are their multi-bank units - you can manage multiple vehicles with one multi-port Battery Tender.

I also leave all my non-primary use vehicles plugged in all the time in order to keep the batteries constantly at full charge. Deltran is very good about having many options for lead wire lengths, extensions, etc avail so doing a permanent lead install can be done rather easily. All lead wires come with weather-proof caps at the end so having the lead exposed on the outside of the vehicle is not an issue.

Installing the lead wires on the Jag was quite a bit more challenging as the battery is in the trunk. Obviously much more difficult to install the lead to an inconspicuous place on the outside of the car. I used the conveyance for the right rear tail-light wires as an access point - then ty-wrapped the lead wire along the inside of the bumper cover, dropping it just behind the right rear tire. While not COMPLETLEY convenient for plug-in and removal, it really isn't that bad to do. Positive lead was attached to the battery, negative lead was attached to main chassis ground.

My goal (and the best thing) is that a charge point is always readily available (simply plug it in), it completely disappears when not plugged in, and will not interfere with car covers or any other accessory. The only con of this install method is the lead wire must be chopped at one end (in order to fish the wires though the rubber grommet), then soldered back together inside the trunk.

Here are some pics of the install and the finished result - they may take a few secs to pop-up: