Using a standard, made for Jaguar XJ6 battery, how long would you guys suggest is a reasonable time to leave a car unattended and still expect it to fire up at the turn of the key? We'll assume that there are no other problems with the vehicle that would stop it from starting.
My problem is that I have to be away from home for about 6 weeks. I can lock the car away but I can't organise a key turn every 2 weeks or so 'cos all the folk living nearby that I trust will be with me.
The last time that I left her was for 3 weeks and she fired up just like a new car. Or should I just remove the battery?
Cheers,
Steve

 

5tevie:
6 weeks is about the limit to be CERTAIN a car with no electrical problems, with a good battery, will start. If you decide to "mothball" it, just remove one lead from the battery- no need to remove the battery from the car. BE SURE TO TRY YOUR BOOT KEY BEFORE CLOSING THE LID!

 

I also believe weather conditions are involving with this battery life .Cold weather requires more attention to the battery

 

Well, yes, weather has an effect, but AFAIK, where Steve lives the weather is not so extreme. And, to be just a little picky, we are not talking about battery life, but rather state of charge. And we are not talking about self discharge in 6 weeks, since Steve has a brand new battery, but rather the XJ6 current draw in the off condition.

 

Update ......
I finally got my chance to go out to the Jag and see what happened when she was shown the key. There was a little bit of subterfuge used in the opening post but the fact remained that there was cause for the car to be left totally unattended for about 6 weeks. In actual fact, it was nearer 8 weeks. It was all down to 2 injuries that befell me. One meant that I couldn't see much at all and the other one had me tied to a bed. (It may sound like fun but it wasn't)
So anyway, I went out to the Jaguar this morning and used a key in the driver's door to open her up and then turned the key in the ignition to disable the alarm. At this time, I didn't notice if ALL the regular dashboard lights had turned on when I turned the key but there were now the usual lights still glowing brightly.
The bad news is that a further turn of the key made the lights go out but there was absolutely no sound from the starter motor, engine or anything.
The first thing that flashed through my mind was that the battery needed charging (using an external battery charger) but I turned the key back to the "OFF" position and then gave her another go and she fired up first turn and settled on 2,000 revs with my foot totally off the Go Faster pedal.
Now here comes the reason for my next question.
She sat there, perfectly happy to turn over at 2,000 revs with no help from me. Not 2,100 or 1,900 but 2,000 on the dot. Anyway, my aim was to leave her ticking over until the water temp got half-way to the vertical before switching off. BTW, the oil pressure gauge and the Battery charge gauge were both showing good readings.
But then the engine note changed and the revs dropped down to 800 revs and stayed there. My guess is that the engine said, "OK, that's enough of the automatic choke so I'll switch it off and run without it now"
If that's what happened, I'm happy with that but can anybody confirm it?
Cheers,
Steve

 

5tevie-
There is no "automatic choke" per se, but a virtual one, in that the fueling is changed for temperature conditions. As to why it didn't crank at first, maybe in your trepidation, you willed it not to- or maybe it was something else :<)

The car may very well sense low voltage and adjust the idle speed up, or it may be temperature related, but mine does the same thing after a sit.

Glad it is working fine. If the car does not have the oft reported high off state current problem, then your reasonably good battery will be fine for a number of weeks. I t would probably be a good idea to take her for a run for 15 or 29 minutes to charge it up and enjoy being out and about.

By the way. Does being "tied to the bed" include leather whips and such?

 

Sadly not, sparky.
It involved having my left kidney removed through a hole in my back. (see photo)
Mind you, at my age I ain't sure which would be more stressful.

 

Hope you are well and on the road to recovery Stevie. My dad got that done but is back to full fitness - took a wee while all the same. Still helps me out on the Jag though.