After setting up for a month discovered battery dead totally. Anticipating a new battery and hoping to drive to the auto parts store for the install, attached Duralast DL-80 charger. Immediate clicking in boot fuse box. Opened box and felt vibration in time with clicking in the 4 relays within the box. Disconnected charger and came here for help understanding what is occurring and direction I should pursue to get Old Girl purring again. Thanks in advance for advice, bNc

 

Disconnect the battery, then try charging. Are you sure you have the correct polarity?

 

Yes on polarity, red on red, black on black, assuming the internals on this brand new "automatic" charger are wired correctly (smile) Will disconnect and try again. Thanks for the advice. Sometimes the obvious is overlooked (feeling dumb) Thanks again, bNc PS: upon entry, noticed same reset clicking behind glove box? Thanx

 

There's a very good chance you have a dead cell in the battery.

I and a few others, highly recommend some form of battery tender. I myself use the brand name Battery Tender (I have 3). These cars (much like Corvettes and I have one of those also) are notorious for bleeding batteries to death. I recently replaced my 11 yrs old Die Hard and went with an AGM Interstate Battery.

I travel a bit for work, so my car can sit up to 3 months. So getting 11 yrs out of battery using a Battery Tender, I feel, makes a statement.

 

I would strongly advise taking the old battery out and just swap it with a new battery where the car sits.

 

Thanks to everyone for your tips and thoughts. Did replace battery,,, but, still discharges if not run for a week. Finally, today discovered the glove box light stays on with box door closed. Must be the culprit. Would welcome any suggestions on how to resolve. Thanks in advance. bNc

 

In our 98’ XJR, even with the glovebox “closed”, the light stays on because you have to push on the left side to fully “close” it. I think over time the whole assembly warps a little bit (??) and that’s why it does that. To be honest, there are several modules in our cars that can malfunction and won’t go to sleep mode properly which drains the battery. That would need further diagnosis with a multimeter to see what your draw specifications are.