It was recommended I buy an Ancel LD700 to see if I had any codes to help diagnose a ride control issue on my 2014 xkr convertible. I had never owned or used a meter before. I hooked it up to the port and ran a scan. I cleared any codes to see what would come back. I ran the battery test and it showed 11.86 volts when off and it should be 12.6 volts. The car started fine anyway and showed 12.6 volts when running. I then turned off the car and left the meter connected with the screen on for about 20 minutes while I remounted the 2 rear wheels that I just had repaired. When I went to the start the car again it wouldn't start. The stereo still played and the lights came on but no starter sound at all. The start button was flashing slowly. I then left the Ctek charger on overnight. The next day all the lights of the Ctek were on but it still wouldnt start with no starter sound. Then I tried jumping it with my other car and same thing. No start. Then I left it to charge up with the other car battery for 30 minutes. It charged up to 12.71 volts but still no sound of starting. I feel if I never left the meter connected while the car was off I would not be having this problem. The car would start with a weak battery as it just did fire right up with the meter connected. How can it not start now with 12.71 volts. I have had a dead battery before and just charge it and it starts right up. Any suggestions? Did the meter cause this in anyway? Could I have pushed a button on it that could cause this? How can I fix this?

 

Do I get to be the first to say it?

And guys am I saying it correctly?

If the battery only charges up 12.71v max, probably end of life for the battery or near it.
Should be easily able to get over 13v.

Time for a new battery.

 

Battery is certainly suspect.
My car won’t start after using the Autel ap200. I have to disconnect the cables from the battery and hold them together to ground out all the capacitors then reconnect. But your battery should hold 12.6 measured at the terminals with engine off.

 

+1 on your battery being the primary suspect in your no-crank no-start.

By the way, the battery voltage always measures lower at the Data Link Connector (DLC or OBDII port) due to resistance in the electrical circuits. It's always best to measure right at the battery terminals with a good voltmeter/multimeter.

If you'll remove your battery from the vehicle and take it to an auto parts store, they can load- and conductance-test it with an analyzer and tell you if the battery capacity has declined to less than rated, or if some other fault exists such as a dead cell.

Also check for any corrosion at all on the battery terminals and on the battery negative cable ground point on the body. Even a nearly-invisible coating of oxide can negatively affect battery charging and starting current.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks for your advice. An online mechanic told me that leaving the meter connected for so long may have left some systems awake and drained the battery just enough to confuse the car's electronics. I disconnected both battery cables and touched them together to drain the capacitors like you suggested.They were too short to touch each other so I had to use a jumper cable to bridge the gap. I then cleaned both terminals with steel wool and coated them with contact enhancer. I checked the voltage at the battery and it was 12.23 volts. I went to start the car and it fired right up! Thanks

 

Thanks for the tips. I'll check the body ground point too.

 

Glad you got it sorted. I agree with Don B’s comment. Take your car to an auto parts store and have them load test your battery. 12.23 is too weak.

 

Well I’m leaning towards blaming the ‘meter’.
Just had a similar ‘no start’ issue myself. Failed an emissions test due to some monitors ‘not ready’ as I forgot that I had disconnected the battery some time ago while doing infotainment work, and hadn’t driven much since then.
Had first connected my Autel AP200 to check some things, and then connected another OBD reader and had left it in overnight. The next day the car wouldn’t start and voltage was down to 12.1v. I unplugged the OBD reader (which supposedly has an auto shutoff) and connected my Ctek for a couple days. Tonight the battery was fully charged but still wouldn’t start.
Plugged in the AP200 again and read the codes. Several faults were listed, and I displayed and cleared the codes. Was thinking I should do a hard reset, but gave the starter another shot, and it fired right up!

 

You got lucky with yours that it started up after just clearing the codes. I cleared the codes on mine too and still nothing.

 

I agree it’s too weak. I think I’ll just straight up replace it. It has a genuine Jaguar battery. Is that what you recommend using?

 

I've never had an issue with NAPA Gold batteries. Had one that lasted nearly 9 years. 04 XJR.

 

The original Jaguar battery may have been made by Varta in Europe. Those are truly excellent, long-lasting batteries, but as far as I know, they are not available in the U.S., even through Jaguar dealerships.

In North America, there are only three automotive battery manufacturers left: Clarios (formerly Johnson Controls), Exide, and East Penn/Deka. Between them, they manufacture all the branded batteries sold here: DieHard, Super Start, NAPA Gold and Legend, Motorcraft, Mopar, ACDelco, Interstate, Everstart, Duralast, Optima, AAA, etc. I look for a battery of the correct physical size with the highest ratings I can find for Cold Cranking Amps (CCA), Reserve Capacity (RC, usually given in minutes) and Amp-hours (Ah).

Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) batteries will tend to have lower CCA ratings but higher RC, and can be a good choice for vehicles that are not driven every day, since they can better withstand being deeply depleted. If the battery in your car is an AGM, I would recommend purchasing a new AGM replacement.

Cheers,

Don

 

this is the part number and rating. It says distributed for interstate batteries.
C2P26199 | T8

CCA 800 \ Ah 90

 

It should be easy to find a replacement with similar or better capacity. Check your local auto parts stores. For example, our local O'Reilly Auto Parts has a Super Start Premium Standard battery with 825 CCA and an RC of 135 minutes.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thing is, in the US anyway, CLARIOS (formerly Johnson Controls) manufactures nearly EVERY car battery sold, under myriad brands and names.
Just compare the specs and buy from the lowest cost outfit.

 

I was able to order the same part number from the Jaguar dealer for $293. I didn’t want to take a chance with a different spec battery just in case the electronics are very specifically tuned to this battery’s specs. Thank you for your suggestions.

 

You'll be fine with the Interstate battery, but there is no special tuning of the electronics to a specific battery, just the need for a strong, healthy battery of sufficient capacity.

Cheers,

Don