Hey,

I'm new to the forum, and am super happy to have purchased a beautiful 2014 XJ Supercharged with 57k miles on it. I have had the low battery light coming on anytime I'm in my car without starting the engine, so I tried to trickle charge it overnight (didn't know to lock the doors, so not sure how effective that was). After having a trickle charger hooked to it, now my volume know, Climate knobs, basically every knob and button below the center screen, and above the center console with cup holders and shifter, no longer work, EXCEPT the hazzard lights button. I'm assuming a blown fuse? Can someone help with this? I can get to a lot through the touch screen, but not climate, and not Eco mode (as if any of us care about that) or some other features. What do I do?

 

Did you charge the battery by connecting to it in the trunk? Also, the smaller "stp/start" battery may be bad. If you need to replace the main battery be sure to get an "AGM" type battery as normal less expensive batteries are not up to the loads needed.

We would appreciate as a new member that you go through then new member process https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/n...-intro-must-5/

 

So the battery under the hood is that just the eco-start battery, and the other in the trunk does everything else? I connected to the battery under the hood to trickle charge it, never went into the trunk. I'll go follow the new member process now. Thanks for the response.

 

What type of "trickle charger" are you using, and how did you wire it to the battery? You should use a battery maintainer instead of a trickle charger.

I recommend the CTEK MUS4.3, which I bought on Amazon and use daily on my XJ. For details, including installation photos, see https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...lation-130801/

To minimize battery drain, you should always:
(1) lock your car, even when parked in your garage, to shut off the computers that stay active in convenience mode;
(2) never leave your Smartkey fob in your car, as that keeps the computers awake;
(3) keep your Smartkey fob at least 15 feet away from your car; and
(4) use a CTEK battery maintainer to keep your battery fully charged, particularly if your XJ is not driven at least 25 miles daily.

Connecting it is easy, just make sure to connect the negative (black) CTEK lead to a chassis ground and not the battery. Otherwise, you can damage the battery monitoring module. I used the alligator clips and have had no problems, but you can also use nuts to permanently secure the + and - pigtails.

Regular use of a CTEK or other quality battery maintainer (I don't recommend the Battery Tender brand) will extend the life of your battery and minimize electrical gremlins.

 

Both Batteries are in the trunk under the floor and next to the spare tire. The pins under the hood are to use only to get sufficient power to open the trunk if the batteries are dead. Any charging should be directly from the batteries in the trunk.

 

I’d try disconnecting the ground on both batteries.

Then, go enjoy a cold beverage of your selection at a leisurely pace.

Reconnect the batteries, start the car, and see if your current problems went away or we caused new ones.

 

Good day!

Did you solved the problem with Climate control / Buttons ? I have exactly the same problem, but since I just purchased the car from USA I have no idea what led to this problem, but the fact is that the battery was flat / had weak charge level. Could you please guide me how you solved the problem. Thank you very much in advance, your assistance would be much appreciated

 

Any problem like this, the first thing I would do is reset the car by disconnecting the battery (batteries).

 

Thank you Mark, I will give it a try once back home

 

Artiom,

Your Personal Profile shows that your XJ is 5 years old. If it has the original battery, I would replace it now, before winter, even if it will take a charge because it has been discharged and weakened. You must use an AGM bsttery. The XJ is very sensitive to a low battery, which can cause a variety of electrical glitches. To keep the new battery fully charged at all times, I recommend that you use a CTEK battery maintainer. Short daily commutes won't keep it fully charged.

See: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...lation-130801/

Stuart

 

Thank you very much for your reply Stuart

Indeed seems that the battery is still original, coming from factory, I will replace it to AGM one and will try to use battery maintainer as per your advise. I think it will be quite important in my case, since the car generally is being used only during the weekends, during the week I commute by train to work and back as it is much more convenient here in Switzerland.

 

I’ve solved the problem but ultimately took the car back to the dealer and they had to replace the entir lower unit with climate dials and knobs. Sorry I don’t have better news. They paid for it so I don’t know what that would cost.