So this past Wednesday I picked the XKR up from the dealer after having the steering column replaced. Dealer is approximately 20 miles from here. Car drove fine on the way home. Then on Thursday I noticed that the infotainment system was taking it's time coming on. I didn't think that much about it. So on Friday I drove the XJ to work and when I got home I wanted to take the XKR to the store and nada! It started to turn over and then quit. Lights on dash came on bells dinging but no engine. So I shut the car down and mumbled WTF!!! By this time it was to late to call the dealer. Several hours later I went out to the garage to check on it and it had gotten worse the remote would not unlock the doors but the weird thing was the tail lights and license plate light were on! So I looked inside to see if I had left the lights on and I hadn't but what was interesting is the back ground blue lights where the gas cap & trunk module are located were lit. Well by this morning it was dead as a door nail. Had to use fake key to open door and the trunk.

So it seems to me that something was draining the battery from the day I picked it up at the dealer. Even while the car was turned off and nothing was left on to cause this.

I will probably have to get a flat bed to tow the car back to the dealer. A neighbor across the street brought his volt meter over and there was only 2.85 volts left in the battery. He said he could jump me but the battery was so low I wouldn't get very far.

Any ideas?? How can I put this back on the dealer? Car never showed any warning lights.........

Does this sound like an alternator problem. Thanks for letting me rant! I feel a little better.

 

I would call the dealer and tell them to come and pick the car up. Tell them there is some kind of electrical problem with the column . Tell them it has drained the battery and you can't start the car. Also tell them the battery was in excellent condition when you bought it to get repaired. Talk to the service manager 1st and escalate from there.

 

Totally agree with the above.......this is probably an incident caused somehow by the workmanship completed when at the Jag dealer. The car is under warranty so they have the responsibility to resolve the issue/matter. Be thankful for that.

What is the "pain in the ***", is the notion, the car won't start, so this creates frustration and anxiety and creates an unknown set in your mind of WTF happened.

Now you have to go through all the BS to get the issue resolved and carry frustration until it is resolved. Life is good, but man these Jaguars can drive an owner to drink.

I think anybody that owns a Jaguar just might need a "shrink" in his address list. I have read to many of these problems in the past month just from the very few active members here on this forum.

OMG, I may need to make an appointment. I am afraid my good luck on my XKR won't last.

 

"Now you have to go through all the BS to get the issue resolved and carry frustration until it is resolved. Life is good, but man these Jaguars can drive an owner to drink."

I AM DRINKING!!! LOL!!

 

Red wine today and beer tomorrow. Enjoy

 

[QUOTE=Jffcurt;9956

Does this sound like an alternator problem. Thanks for letting me rant! I feel a little better.[/QUOTE]

95% sure it isnt an alternator prob. Many people believe the alt wrecks the battery. Howver, a bad battery will ALWAYS destroy an alternator if the battery continually tries to draw too much from the alternator, by being recharged off a charger or running at minimal voltage/ amp levels for a prolonged period

 

Buy a new battery and be sure to hook up a smartcharger to the car all the time when not driving. It's an easy application to hook up the trickle charger and easy to plug in and play. Most people here have been using the CTEK 3300 charger which is available at Amazon.com

I have had my 2009 on a CTEK 3300 smartcharger for the last year since I have owned the car and NEVER had a electrical incident. The CTEK has been a topic of many discussions here on these forums. Yes, there are other brands of smartcharger but Jaguar uses CTEK and sells their own private labeled CTEK also.

 

I am going through similar stress with my car.... ughhhh

 

Thanks Richard but this is due to the repairs they did on the steering column. I never had a problem with the battery until this. I have a CTEK charger but haven't had to use it because i drive the car regularly. Almost every day. I'll call the dealer tomorrow and let you all know what they say.........

 

Richzak. From your picture, it looks as if your comfort cord is coming out of the bottom of your trunk. Are you still having to open and close your trunk to connect the comfort cord to your charger? The only reason I ask is I'm concerned with all the opening and closing of my hatch and the wear and tear on my lock mechanism when connecting the charger.

 

BocaTrip:

I no longer have to open and close the trunk to connect the CTEK comfort cord to the charge connection. I had concerns about constantly opening and closing the trunk lid.

When I did a OBD2 scan on my car, my readout stated that I had started the car 115 times. So I figured the trunk goes up and down many more. So I re-routed the CTEK charge cord by opening the trunk, removing my donut spare and then finding a rubber grommet that I pulled out, put the cord thru the grommet, replaced the grommet and the cord now comes out under the trunk. I drilled a small hole thru the bottom grille and ran the wire thru the hole then expoxied the CTEK plug on. In the photos below, I had not expoxied the plug in yet. It is now doen and very secure. I used JB Weld expoxy. It was a nice, neat install.

It works great, easy to bend over and plug in, secure, and no longer any need to open and close the trunk.

 

Great idea! Did you make a hole in the trunk rubber grommet or just placed the chord on the edge and squeezed it in on the circumference of the grommet?. If you made a hole, how big and did you waterproof it? How did you get the wire through the hole of the bottom grill when the adapter on the end of the chord is so wide? I'm anxious to do the same thing but also don't want to be looking at the plug from the rear. I believe I have a different bottom grill than you. Mine is flat black. Maybe there is a way to attach the plug undernear the grill where it can't be seen, but I still want to have easy access to it. If there is any way possible that you can get any additional close up pictures of the mounting of the plug it would be very much appreciated. Thanks for the great idea. I was waiting for my rear hatch to stop closing!

 

Boca:

I cut the CTEK Comfort Connect cord cut about 2 ft from the plug in.

I removed the rubber grommet from the trunk and then pushed the cut cord end of the CTEK Comfort Cord thru. I then replaced the grommet and applied waterproof silicon in the hole of the grommet to make the area waterproof.

In order to get the cord thru my hole that I drilled 3/16" to 1/4", in the outside lower rear grille and simply ran my cut cord thru the grille and hole and up thru the grommet in the trunk. I had to cut the CTEK Comfort connect then place the cut cord thru the hole, then reconnected the two cut ends of the cord with small electrical connectors.

Works great. The rubber grommet is easy to find, as mine was in the middle along the rear trunk wall. In my case there was a piece of felt between the trunk floor and the spare tire. The rubber grommet was under the felt.

I am at my mountain home until Friday. When I get back I can shoot a few more picks for you.

This is a great resolve and the plugin is hardly visible from the rear when not plugged in.

Hope this helps and is not confusing. Installation and routing the cord took about a one hour max.

 

Thanks Richzak. I see the grommet. My question is really about the attachment of the plug to the back plastic cover. It is plastic and I would like to see how secure it would be knowing that I will be constantly plugging it in and out. I was even thinking of stowing it behind the lower cover (attached somehow) and pulling it down when charging, but that would just be an additional unnecessary step. As far as cutting the comfort cord, I would probably just wrap it together with a plastic tie and use it that way. I'll be looking forward to your pictures when I can view them next Monday. Thanks again for making life easier!!!

 

Normally I am into and out of my trunk (boot) no fewer than eight times per week and sometimes more than ten or twelve times a week. I am not concerned with wear and tear on the trunk opening/closing/locking mechanism. My guess is that Jaguar tested this system quite extensively, maybe as often as the systems for the doors. I guess I am saying that opening and closing the trunk/boot lid should not create a problem if it is not abused.

 

The car is back and working. Dealer said that the tech should have checked the battery after installing the steering wheel column. Said he left the doors open, the lights on and probably the radio. And BTW Jaguar Road Assist was very good. They had someone pick the car up on a flatbed within an hour.

 

Great idea! I would have some concerns about corrosion of the cord (since part of it is on the exterior now) if you live in an environment with a lot of snow/salt. Any thoughts?

 

Alan:

CTEK provides a locking rubberized cover that goes over the opening of the CTEK Comfort Extension end. It will block out water/snows and mositure, which we dont have (snow) here in Southern New Mexico.

I'll get a photo added ASAP.

 

WOW! My thread (pity parade) got turned into a CTEK advertisement... LOL!

 

Bocatrip:

Here's a few more photos taken today per your request. The CTEK is a clean installation thru the trunk wheel well. I used JB Weld Epoxy to secure the plug-in to the lower outside rear. It holds well, and takes just a minimal bend over to connect the plug into the mounted CTEK plug-in. You will see the gray colored JB Weld epoxy hardened in the last photo. I used GE clear silicone inside the trunk well and squeezed it into the grommet hole that the CTEK wire goes thru to make sure no water gets up into the hole of the grommet. I wish I had done this some time ago, as the process is so much easier to plug-in and plug-out the CTEK smartcharger. Now takes less than 10 seconds and no need to open and close the trunk lid.

Help these photos are what you were looking for.