Does anyone know if the power drain from the cigarette lighter is continuous, even after the vehicle is shut down? I have a 2010 XKR convertible and an external Garmin GPS device, which I power through the cigarette lighter. When I shut off the engine, the GPS device appears to remain on. This is an issue for me because I'm trying to troubleshoot why the car won't start after non-use for as little as three days. It appears something is draining my battery, although the battery (from the Jag dealer) is new, as is my alternator.

The tech guy is saying that the battery is being drained (by something) and suggests I lock the car after every use. I hadn't been locking it because I keep it in my enclosed garage.

In any event, any thoughts would be most welcome . . .

 

The cigarette lighter is on when the car is running or in convenience mode and goes off when that shuts down. About 15 - 20 minutes or so. Locking the car helps things to shut down sooner.

 

The cigarette lighter goes off immediately if you lock the car otherwise, as stated by others, it will stay on until the modules start to shutdown as they exit convenience mode.

These cars do have a high drain on them in convenience mode. Even the nav drive keeps spinning so the best thing you can do to preserve your battery is to follow your techs advice and just lock the car when not in use.

I do that on my '10 XKR and in the 3.5 years I have owned it it has only seen a battery maintainer when I am doing work on it. The rest of the time I just lock and leave.

I had the same experience with my '07 XKR. Once I started locking it the low voltage issues went away and the battery maintainer went in the cupboard.

 

Follow that advice AND use a battery tender. Most members use the CTEK brand sourced from aftermarket suppliers. You pay a lot more for the same with the Jaguar logo on it from a Dealer.

Graham

 

Even a new battery may not be fully charged and the XK seems very sensitive to problems arising from even slightly discharged batteries. A battery maintainer is a must IMHO. Follow the good advice here and you should be OK.

Good luck!

 

@Caymanwriter , turn off the gps when you leave the car?
fwiw, I am one of the few that doesn't use a maintainer and leaves the car in the garage for months on end, regularily.
BUT
1 as the garage is locked, I don’t lock the car. thus no drain due to the security system.
2.I have no aftermarket devices connected and draining the system
3 I turn off all car accessories prior to shutting her off
4 the moment I have any battery charge issue, I replace the battery. This occurs about every 4 years.
5 and as everyone has stated, it is imperative the the battery is absolutely completely charged at installation time.

If your car can’t handle a month of sitting, there is an issue and its not the gps.

 

You all, and this forum, are terrific; thank you for taking the time to assist me. Your knowledge, and advice, are most enlightening. I will indeed follow the maxim of "lock and leave"!

 

07 NA 4.2: While testing for parasitic draw, I measured convenience mode (start button in "position 2" as SDD describes it), as initially 9A, prior to shutdown. Pretty significant. Locking dropped it to around 14 Ma within 3 minutes. I superlock it as a matter of habit. To achieve this 14Ma, I shut off climate from the screen, and shut off audio at the switch. I did not measure shutdown time and draw when not locking it, since I would never leave it unlocked.

Later/different XK's may a have different timing and amperage patterns.

 

Thank you for that; may I ask you what "superlock" means?

 

UK vehicles have a FULL LOCK which makes the doors stay locked even from the inside of the vehicle, by pressing LOCK two times quickly. This is illegal in the US.
In the United States (and probably everywhere outside UK), two quick presses of the LOCK button first locks all the doors and the second press sounds the Verification Beep. The beep is merely an audible to verify the Lock Condition.

 

Got it, Cee Jay; thanks!

 

I have read countless threads about battery drain so I consider myself blessed. My 2008 XKR can sit for two weeks and she fires right up! But, I do lock her up every time. I recommended locking the car to a friend with a 2007 XK convertible and her battery drain problem disappeared.

P.S. When I was a teenager, I had a penny end up inside the cigarette lighter of my 1970 Mustang, causing electrical issues. Take a peek inside.

 

Did you find that there was a difference between switching these off and not because I would have thought they would both switch off as soon as you turn the ignition off?