I unhooked the car from the trickle charger last night and when I tried to start it this morning, all kinds of warnings came on....DSC Not Available, Car too low, Air Suspension Fault, etc. and the engine would only make clicking sound and refuse to turn on. Considering I only had the air shocks and compressor replaced a few years ago and drive the car infrequently, I doubt it's anything mechanical. What do you guys think? It's back on the trickle charger and will try to start again tonight.

Thanks,

 

Don't get excited - I have more questions than answers.
The Owners Handbook specifically states:
"Caution: The battery must be disconnected and removed from the vehicle before charging. Failure to do so could result in damage to the vehicle's electrical system."

I presume this is excess caution - or that digital chargers may take the battery up to 14.5 volts or even more. If it only charges to 13.5 volts I don't see what they (Jaguar) are making a fuss about.

Like the OP (I presume) my pet is likely to spend more time being admired than driven, so I am likely to want to trickle her. :-)

But if the starter just makes a clicking sound, from general knowledge it's a bad battery.

 

How old is the battery?

I suggest that you have the battery tested under load.

If they want to use a small hand held electronic box to test it-that's NBG.

 

Thanks for you guys' input. The battery is >5 years old but always full on a trickle charger. Just tried to start again but still got the clicking sound and warnings. Guess it's time to change the battery despite no warning sign of it going bad.

 

Wolfy, it looks like you have an Interstate battery, which is produced by Johnson Controls (PowerGrid plates) which is a standard lead/antimony plate. Antimony flooded batteries will be boiled off/damaged by overheating by charging voltages produced. You may want to consider using a calcium plate design as specified by Jaguar for just this reason. The only ones I know here in the US market is either Exide Global Extreme which you can get at HomeDepot, or Bosch S5, and in EU use Varta which all have calcium based plates.

The CTEK charger you have is the correct charger for the Jaguar, but the charging voltage is 14.4/14.7/15.8 V. This is actually not the best choice for antimony designs which should never exceed 14.2V.

Antimony = not more than 14.2V
AGM = not more than 14.2~14.4V (depending on manufacturer)
Calcium = not more than 14.8V

Jaguar charging voltage set point 14.7V

15.8V is used on initial low voltage battery condition to burn off sulfating on Calcium plate, which is one of the advantages of calcium plate technology extended life.

 

Thank you so much. Can you tell me which is the right battery?
https://www.homedepot.com/s/Exide%2520Global%2520Extreme%2520car%2520battery?N CNI-5

 

40 month free replacement/jump, 9 year prorated. Use this one; (ignore the pic on their site, it will say Global Extreme and is the correct size H8/L5/Group49)

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Exide-Ex...F49+%7Brest%7D+

 

Put in the Home Depot Exide battery and the Kitty roared back to life, all normal again. You guys are the best!

Thanks again