So my 07 XK has been sitting idle for a couple of months. Battery was dead. Upon examining the battery I noticed the drain-vent hose from the battery was disconnected and it was dripping which caused some minor corrosion. I disconnected the terminals and boosted it and it took a charge just fine. Question is why was it dripping and where does the fluid go in the tube as it disappears into the rear quarter panel area? I am wondering what would drain the battery as it was turned off and the key was not around.

 

The XK has a propensity for draining the battery when sitting idle for long periods of time. The worse your battery obviously the faster it will drain it. For all it is worth, killing a battery ONE time can quite possibly reduce or even completely ruin a battery. Jaguar batteries appear to be especially bad about this. In all fairness most of the batteries made today (the normal ones...there are some specialty batteries that seem to do ok on a deep discharge) are almost worthless after a complete discharge. I suggest a trickle charger when not planning on using for a few weeks...It is cheap insurance and I have batteries several years old maintained in this mode...

 

Has anyone else had the problem with not shutting their door all the way and draining the battery as a result? I just bought a 2008 XK conv a week ago and had this problem after just a few days. I had to to do an overnight trickle charge which rectified the problem. It seems like neither door automatically shuts all the way unless you really pay attention and shut it firmly.

 

I took a peek and it looks like my 08 has a Jaguar OEM battery. Both Sears and InterState list batteries that are direct replacements for the XK. Unless I can confirm that the battery in my 08 has been replaced I plan on doing a preemptive strike and replacing it on "my terms" before getting stranded.

Tom

 

how about use dry cell battery if u drive little only?

 

My battery was totally flat again last week and when I went to charge it I noticed it was covered in condensation!

Has anybody seen this before on a battery and/or knows why this happens?

Thanks,
Graham.

 

When I bought my 08 XK a few months ago, the car was having all sorts of electrical "gremlins". I searched through several websites (including this one) and found out that many XK owners were having similiar problems. Furthermore, the problems virtually always disappeared as soon as a new battery was installed.

I went out and purchased Autozone's best quality battery for this car for $108.00 on sale. The dealership agreed to install it for their labor cost (the guys at Autozone were not comfortable dissassembling half the trunk to get to the battery).

Problems SOLVED! The car (and all of its accessories) have been functioning PERFECTLY ever since....

One more thing, buy a battery maintainer. They can be had for $20.00 to $40.00. They charge and "maintain" the battery when the car is not driven for awhile. If I am leaving the car in the garage for more than a week, I connect the maintainer and forget about it....When I get back, the car starts right up, everything works, and life is good, VERY good...

 

Wow! Lots of questions in this thread.

Batteries are vented because during the charge/discharge cycles they "gas-off" explosive hydrogen gas and acid vapor, which is corrosive. [Remember the Hindenburg?] Years ago when all batteries were exposed under the bonnet that was no big deal; but when they are closed up in a box or contained in a nice painted boot, it's another matter. When high charge/discharge rates are going on the gassing really gets with it and it might weep a little. If you ever see a battery without a vent or one disconnected, FIX IT.

Cars of the last 15 years all have normal parasitic current draws. It has to do with keep alive memories for settings and networks that have tasks to do after you shut the thing down. We used to say a month is about all you could expect in storage before there was not enough power left to start a car, any more that is down to about 2 1/2 or 3 weeks. The best thing you can do is get a FULLY AUTOMATIC battery maintainer, not a trickle charger. The difference is the trickle charger NEVER quits charging while the maintainer will charge if necessary and shut of, or float, if the battery is fully charged. If you use a maintainer, that beautiful Jag will always be ready at a moments notice.

Attached is some heavy reading about batteries, testing and parasitic draw that might help folks that like details. Be sure to keep a beer or glass of wine handy, could be some dry reading!

One document is a Jaguar/Land Rover combined issue, it has some more diagnostic info than the other, but the Jaguar one has more current figures for Jags.

Enjoy!

 

Graham has anyone answered your question? I've had recurring power seat failures and was instructed to temporarily disconnect the battery. When I removed the cover, I noticed the sides of my OEM battery was wet too! (Not the top and no where else, just the sides of the battery ... like it was sweating.) That doesn't seem normal...

 

Hi there,

Unfortunately no answer to the wet battery issue. We're obviously unique

My seat problem was not fixed by a reset either so looks like an ecu or wiring issue. Ah well, that's what the Dealers are for I guess

Graham.