Good day to all.
as many of you know, I had a new set a headlight installed and the shop told me my original battery was bad and they replaced it although my original was not that old. ever since that, my car just went dead over night and it required a battery jump 3 times already (a car to car jump, jump pack is not even powerful enough)

I returned the car to the shop and tested everything and could not find the exact problem but they realized my old CD player/Navigation unit on the left side of the trunk keeps running even with the key turned off.

I am scratching my head because i WAS only doing my headlight , was that just a bad coincidence? I am getting very lost and frustrated, please help.

thanks

Vincent

 

new development but more bad news

my machanics is testing the system and he tried the unplug the CD player Navigation unit and now the whole security system stopped working also. long and painful nightmare.

we are suspecting once we changed the new battery , there has to be a hard reset procedure so the car computer needs to be reset.

it seems like the car WILL NOT go into the sleep mode once I turned off the key and locked it.

Am I going in the correct direction, I need a quick guidance.

 

Yes I'd definitely do a hard reset to start with & let the car reprogram itself. Then I'd backtrack my work ensure all connections are stable & fuses are good.

 

Hi, Charles

fuses are all good. but the main issue now is somethings keep running even when my car is parked. I believe it is the CD changer/Navigation/security unit as I can hear the noise.

car is going to into the sleep mode when parked

 

In my case (SC engine, Daimler Supoer V8) the fast battery drain when parked and locked was caused by the charge cooler electric pump and the throttle body motor coming and staying on by themselves. Listen for any sounds from the engine compartment.

 

Good luck figuring out why the CD/Navigation is failing to shut down when key is off.

As you probably know, there was nothing wrong with your battery that you replaced.
It is not uncommon for mechanics to blame & replace the battery when the issue was elsewhere. Alternator, loose belt, etc.

You may need to take your Jag to the dealer to trouble shoot this electrical problem.

 

I doubt a Jaguar Dealer will be helpful regarding a 20 year old car. You can call a dealer and inquire but they will likely discourage you from bringing the car in for repair.

 

​​​​​​​Yeah I'd try a well reviewed car audio/alarm shop. They tend to be real thorough w/ circuit gremlins.

 

Why?

Do you think most of their technicians are unfamiliar with the X308? The ones who know a lot about repairing X308s are mostly retired?
Disturbing.

 

Hi Charles this whole thing happened just because I had my audio shop installed my new headlight.

they couldn't figure out what's the problem is with the battery drain situation
​​​​​​​

 

I am familiar with the X308 and I am retired. (Left there in 2006)
I sometimes go back to the dealer for parts and I asked the parts guys (that have been there for 30 years) if anybody I know is still there.
They told me that all the guys there now are young guys and don't know much about cars older than about 10 years.

The service advisors discourage customers with old cars. Most customers are advised to take the older cars to independent repair shops.

When I did work there, the service advisor would ask me or the other guy that had been there for 30 years if we wanted to work on some 20 old Jaguar like a Series III sedan.

If my workload was light I would agree to looking at the car. Most of the young guys would come over to look but said they they would not touch it.

 

Hi Vincent,

Based on your suspicions, it should be a simple matter to test your theory by pulling the fuses for the radio/cassette head unit and the power amplifier and see if the battery drain is resolved. They can insert an ammeter at the battery negative cable to measure the quiescent current.

The Jaguar wiring schematics are better than most and you can download the ones for your car at this link:

Jaguar X308 Electrical Guide 2000

Cheers,

Don

 

Because 1) chasing electrical gremlins is likely to run up a sizeable bill, 2) a lot of the parts for the x308 are obsolete and the dealer is not set up to scrounge for used parts, 3) the "book hours" they quote for the repair doesn't compensate them for old, crispy plastic electrical connectors snapping and crumbling and rusty bolts breaking and lastly 4) after they've done ten hours of diagnosis and then tell you its going to cost another $2,000 to fix it, a good percentage of people with a barely $2,000 broken car often walk away and leave them with a mechanics lien on a car they can't wholesale for what they've already got in it. They may not even have the software still set up to plug in some old cars but the first four reasons have been standard since they stopped using acetylene gas headlamps and switched to electric. Dealers just never have wanted to mess with cars more than a few years old. They've usually got all the warranty work they can handle anyway and that they know they're going to get paid. And if they do the warranty job quick, the customer may lease another $60-$120K Jag from them. Those of us with cheap, old cars are just steerage class passengers to the dealers. They're happy to have us at the parts counter below deck, but you have to clean your own cabin.

 

Hi Vincent,

In response to your PM that you were having trouble downloading the Electrical Guide from the link I posted previously, see if you can download the attached file.

Cheers,

Don

 

i received your PDF. Thanks again sincerely

 

I would suspect it has something to do with the installation of the new headlights. My suspicion is they plumbed into an electrical feed that they shouldn't have, and this is causing the problems. Take the vehicle back, and get them to show you exactly what they did.