Have not driven my 2012 XJ for a while, knew I had no emergency key, Unfortunately, the battery is dead, and I have no idea how to get in the car. I had a similar situation with my wife's ford SUV and was able to get power to the battery side of the starter solenoid, allowing me to pop the locks, open the door, then the hood, to charge the battery. Does anybody know of any such location to get power to the car, so I can pop the locks or trunk with a temporary power source? I am sure the starter is not accessible, but do not know if there is any spot underneath the car I could connect a power source. I have seen discussions of ordering an emergency key with the VIN, but our North Suburban Chicago dealer has closed. Any ideas are appreciated.

 

I don't have the confident answer you are looking for, but I am thinking you could find a location from under the car to tap into the cable that goes from the positive terminal of the battery in the trunk to the remote +12V post in the engine bay. Just an idea. I could be wrong.

 

If i remember right you have two points to access positive terminal under the car. Starter solenoid and positive power feed connections on right side wheelwell, under the wheel inner liner (not 100% sure of this).
I wouild first check the starter solenoid. It might be bit tricky position against of engine mount. (passenger side)

 

Hire a locksmith that can slim-jim the door. Or if you are feeling bold, get a wire coat hanger and try it yourself first.

 

The hood should be mechanical. I'm attaching how to open trunk with dead battery. PS--Do not use this to start the jag only open trunk

 

Thanks. That is the dilemma . . . I cannot get in the car to open the hood to attach a charger to pop the boot to charge the battery since I do not have the emergency key. I am going to pop the wheel off to see if I can get it to the battery side of the solenoid. I had to do this once on a Ford.

 

I think this will be my next approach, kind of . . .
Our local dealer closed, as there are no current cars. I was able to talk to parts dept at one and they said they can order an emergency key if I bring the title to them for $150.00. I am guessing that is a lower cost than a locksmith would charge, and I will have an emergency key, then. Or it is a wonderful piece of "yard art", lol.

 

The key is in the FOB? Do you have the FOB? Not sure how the key would fall out of that?
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Definitely go this route, you want to have the key regardless and $150 is a great deal since you do not have one to copy.

 

I think it would be still worth the effort to get power back to the battery by connecting to the power wire coming down the RHS of the car . Below are 2 pictures showing the power to the starter motor on my 2014 XJL 5.0. You can do it without removing the inner fender as there is a flexible rubber cover over the outer stud connector.

power connector looking from behind

power connector looking from left

I removed all the corrosion from this connector as part of my winter program

 

Thanks for the follow up and photos. That was the kind of info I was hoping for. I have had to do this on both my wife's Navigator and my son's F-350. On those, the battery wire went straight to the starter, so had to remove the under car shields partially. This is just a junction block? Thanks, again.

 

It is and it passes the current through the aluminum frame and on to the starter motor.

This is where it connects to the starter

 

Thanks. That is precisely what I am looking for. I will try to shimmy down there this weekend with a DC source, and see is it will unlock. I anso decided that after having the car for 10 years without, it would make sense to have an emergency key. Surprisingly, the nearest dealer was able to order one with an ID and my title for $137.00. If I would have known, I would have ordered one long ago.

Thanks again for the help!

 

Does that price include programming? If so, drop the name of the dealer in this thread. That's a fantastic deal, we are usually seeing $250+ for a virgin key and programming.

 

There is no programming for the emergency entry key - it's just a keyed piece of aluminum.
To get a copy of an existing one from a locksmith shop that is equipped for laser cut keys can be up around $50 from some.

 

Correct. It is laser cut using a database of VINs and ready to use.

 

It lives! Not only have I learned where the junction stud is behind the front rt wheel, my key came in already from the dealer. Shockingly, after charging the battery for an hour my trusty 5.0 s/c fired off in about 3 seconds of cranking after hibernating for 4 months. Now if the price of premium petrol will drop under $5.00 per gallon, I may park my EV and drive it for a while.

 

Nobody buys an XJ to save money. Drive it and be damned.

 

Here's a video someone made on the topic. 'Hope it helps...

 

Thanks.