1999 Jaguar XJ8 - Dead Battery and Boot locked.
 

Hello,

My XJ8 Jag has been in storage for a while and the battery has died, I cannot figure out a way to get the boot open as the key won't turn inside the hole... Is there any way to get to the battery or charge it somehow?

Cheers

Hi,
Many people have had the same problem. Open the bonnet, hook a supply up to a positive and negative terminal and then open the boot electrically. The correct terminals are shown in the manual.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO START THE CAR.

If you don't have the manual you can download it for free at the top of the forum page.

Once you have the boot open, fully charge the battery. If you remove the battery you will need the radio code once reconnected.

Then get yourself a CTEK smart charger and you will never haver another flat battery.

Hope this helps,

And learn to use the key in to boot lid once in a while to keep the lock from binding.

I use my key in ALL the locks at least a few times a year to keep them working.

bob gauff

Same thing happened to me. I sprayed WD 40 inside the boot lock and jiggled the key around for a while and it opened.

I cant even insert the key in my boot keyhole. Is that a valet mode mixup somehow?


I occasionally use the valet key as a backup key and find that the system does not reset when I later use a regular key. The cover on the gas cap remains locked, for example, until I insert a regular key into the driver door lock.

Any ideas on why the boot key hole is blocked for any key -- and how to correct it -- welcomed.


Thanks

The other method is to remove the licence plate and fish around with a screwdriver to pop the mechanism open.

Normally the VALET KEY will insert into the lock hole, just not far enough to rotate the lock plates and open the lock.

You can grind the tip to get it to fit all the way in but then it is NOT a valet key anymore.

Maybe someone broke a key section off in the lock or stuck a piece of 'something' in the hole blocking your key????

Perhaps the 'stacked-plates' in the lock assy are misaligned and corroded????

Maybe ask a locksmith to look at it????

bob gauff

You should be able to pop open the boot by using a small screwdriver thru one of the holes in the boot lid behind the license plate.

Look at this forum thread posts (from post# 26 down to post# 18:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...w-fixed-58948/

Jim Lombardi

What about the key?
 

Is everyone saying that the trunk can't be opened with the key if the battery is dead?

No, what I was saying that if you cannot open the boot using your key (cannot insert key into lock or turn the key when inserted into lock), then you might want to use the existing holes in the boot lid to release the boot latch and open the the boot.

I just tried using my ignition key to open the boot by insert it into the key lock located on the boot lid (see illustration below). Key goes almost all the way in, then I turned the key to the right with a lot of force (almost feels like it not going to move, but it did) and opened the boot lid.

Here is the information on this issue from the page in 1998 XJ8 Drivers Handbook:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3r83394x29...ock%20info.jpg

Jim Lombardi

The boot can be opened with the key even if the battery is dead. Fortunately, this is the case so the battery can be accessed when it is dead and the trunk can't be opened electronically. Since most people never use or maintain the manual lock, they tend to freeze up. As I put in my initial post, this happenned to me. Fortunately, I was able to get it open by spraying WD-40 into the keyhole with the small straw that comes with it and gently work the key in and out. Eventually, to my relief, the trunk opened. I think they make products specifically for car locks, but the WD-40 worked for me. There is a positive input near the fuse box under the hood which can be used to get power to the car (don't use this to jump the car), which is another alternative. This was posted on a previous post.

So I managed to easily make the key hole lock work on the boot but who can solve this mystery: When I unlock the boot with a key, and the car doors are locked, the alarm begins bleating growing more frequent unless I press the unlock button on the remote. that silences everything.

What is that about?

Unfortunately that's the way it works.

In post #10 the 1998 Jaguar XJ Driver Handbook page 2-8 (jpeg file in my dropbox.com account) has the following statement:

Unlocking Using the Black-headed Key
To unlock the luggage compartment when the doors are
locked: Ensure the security system is disarmed before
unlocking using the black-headed key.

Apparently you have to disarmed the security system before unlocking the luggage compartment with the black-head key per statement above.

Since you must have had the alarm system armed and used the black-head key to open the boot, the alarm sounded (as it should because the system was armed).

Jim Lombardi

Amen to that "unfortunately"!!

I have never understood what was in the designer's head who came up with that "system." If ever I open any door, trunk, whatever with the car's key it should not activate the alarm system. Why it should think you're breaking in when the doors are locked but you're opening the trunk I'll never know.

Jimbov8, Jim Lombardi and guyslp,

Well, I am glad to know that IS the system. i could see a design that triggers the alarm if something other than a black key is used; lock-pik, tool, etc. But I thought the whole point of an electronic-coded key was for the system to know that the odds are the rightful user is unlocking the boot or the door. Thankfully, when I unlock a door lock with the same key, no alarm sounds even when it is armed.

Probably all been said before, but my battery keeps going flat owing to low usage of the car. So to get to battery to recharge it I open the bonnet/hood and on the offside front wheel arch is the heavy duty battery terminal. Peel back the rubber cover and attach positive to remote charged battery. Connect remote negative to any earth on the engine and push the rear boot/trunk button to open.
To save buying yet another battery I have purchased a pulsating charger so hopefully will re-kindle the old battery in taking a full charge. I will then see if I need to attach a permanent pulsator between the terminals to keep it in good condition.
Hope this is of use.
Culfad

I've spent 2 days trying to get my '98 XJ8 started. I looked at the CTEK page and there are a ton of options. Is there a specific style or model that is being referenced here?