Just bought this 2007 XK two months ago.
Maybe I did something wrong, but am hoping someone here can shed some light on what just happened.

I was at the post office. I thought i shut my door, and locked it. I go in and come out. I hit my unlock button and get in. hit the start button. Nothing. no electical activity on the screen or anywhere but, I notice my alarm light is flashing, like the alarm is still on. (My fob battery is new). I hit the lock and unlock buttons a number of times. After about 5 minutes of freaking out (thinking I was gonna need a tow) Then....I hit the unlock button and the locks move, rejoice! and I hit the start button and it started. I drove right home to post this. (when stored I keep car hooked up to CTEK)

Any clues if I did something wrong? Or anybody run across this?
-Thanks

 

I have a 07 and it did this one time same thing, do as i do and don't worry about it, These car have some electrical issues from time to time, but always seem to go again,sometimes it can take a few minutes unless your battery has completely died. When you are not using it or parked up at night make sure you put a cteck charger on it.

 

Next time (hopefully never), try sticking the Smart Key into the receptacle inside the center armrest. Maybe there was a glitch in the signal between the Key and the Car.

 

This.

I've encountered this once in my short time owning my xkr so far and this did the trick right away.

 

Try pressing the start button BEFORE you step on the brake pedal.

 

All this talk about electrical problems why doesn't everyone just get a tow-bar on and pull a generator.

 

There are no electrical issues with these cars in general period. Plug in your ctek/battery tender or what ever every single day and you will not experience these phantom electrical gremlins (providing you have a good battery to start with). Trust me on this one... if you do not charge every day weird occasional will be the norm. IMHO 95% of late model Jaguars bed rep is due to battery, battery, battery.

 

I do keep it plugged to CTEK when I park it in my pole barn. It's the battery that came with the car when I bought it recently, so not sure if its in tip top shape.

 

me too!

 

IMO, this is probably true, but it's ridiculous that you need to keep the charger hooked up to a car that is driven daily. I don't like to take the Jag to nice hotels because if I valet park, there is a great probability that there will be some sort of gremlin (god knows they probably don't lock the cars) or dead battery issue. Same goes for restaurants and the like.

Not as much of an issue for the XKR, but if I had an XJ (which also suffer the same issues) it would be a big irritation!

Please tell me one other brand that has cars that have widespread irritating electrical problems when not hooked up to a car charger every day. And I'm not talking about plug-in electrics or hybrids!

 

Have the battery tested, but if there is any doubt as to its age or condition, it is best to replace the battery as soon as possible.

As other members posted above, many of the issues with electrical faults can be traced to the condition of the battery. A failing or weak battery can also cause random DTCs to be set along with the situation you recently encountered.

One other item is to check the condition of the system earthing points (grounds?) for corrosion or evidence of dampness.

 

"Please tell me one other brand that has cars that have widespread irritating electrical problems when not hooked up to a car charger every day. And I'm not talking about plug-in electrics or hybrids"![/QUOTE]

Let's see...Mercedes, BMW, Audi,.....which is why they have the same CTEK chargers branded as their own (just as Jaguar does) because all these modern cars depend on fully-charged batteries putting out full voltage to feed the electronic systems. If your battery is of unknown age, replace it and use the charger when the car is not in use. Virtually EVERY electronic complaint of these cars is down to less-than-optimal battery voltage supply.

Daily use (and use of a charger) of a car which has a failing battery will not solve the basic issue: a battery which cannot maintain full voltage and which therefore cannot keep the electronic systems happy. The result is random system symptoms.

 

Let's see...Mercedes, BMW, Audi,.....which is why they have the same CTEK chargers branded as their own (just as Jaguar does) because all these modern cars depend on fully-charged batteries putting out full voltage to feed the electronic systems. If your battery is of unknown age, replace it and use the charger when the car is not in use. Virtually EVERY electronic complaint of these cars is down to less-than-optimal battery voltage supply.

Daily use (and use of a charger) of a car which has a failing battery will not solve the basic issue: a battery which cannot maintain full voltage and which therefore cannot keep the electronic systems happy. The result is random system symptoms.[/QUOTE]

FYI , late model Ferrari's also have a Ctek charger supplied with the car. It is also integrated as you get a symbol on the dash indicating that the Ctek is plugged in and that you need to remove the plug before driving the car.

 

"(but it's ridiculous that you need to keep the charger hooked up to a car that is driven daily.)"


I could not agree with you more... however the original poster wants to know how to resolve and I can tell you after 20 years and 16 different Jags if he would just replace his existing battery with a new quality unit (I don't care how good his existing battery is just replace it) and plug in his tender every single day "weird electrical thing" will be a nothing but a memory... guaranteed.

 

Just because they are supplied with one as an option does not mean that they require them to be plugged in at all times when not being driven. You know, usually these options are intended for cars infrequently driven or laid up for the winter!

Mercedes was smart enough on some models to have an auxiliary battery on the car that supplies the power for all the demanding electronics. It would not surprise me if other manufacturers do the same.

My X350 had zero electrical problems and it was never connected to a charger of any kind. I have to believe it had similar electronic demands as the X150 as it had the same engine, CATS, climate control, nav, and even air suspension.

As much as I love Jags, there is no way I'd recommend one to anyone who is not willing to put in the time and the energy to understand and meet the car's needs. And that's just about everyone I know...

I read MBWorld occasionally and I can't seem to recall a rash of threads about dead (<6 mo old) batteries in cars that are daily driven. There are countless threads on JF about this issue, and this forum is probably a tenth of the size. That should tell you something right there.

 

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I must be very lucky.. (knock on wood)... but my original battery (2006!!) is still in the vehicle.. and its not on any chargers in the evening..


I had the above mentioned thing once I think.. but that in 2.5 years.. only thing I encounter is that my window does not always drop on opening.. (making it harder to close it).. that my steeringwheel doesn't always drop and that the battery was drained after the car was in a container for 2 months during shipment.. but so far.. it starts every single time (and I hope it continues to do so.. as my license plate covers the manual override keyhole..)

 

The Jaguar will always start - that is not an indicator of battery condition - the symptoms you describe are perfectly in line with the symptoms of low battery voltage "low" simply meaning "below optimal". You need a new battery.

 

I have to say: if your XK dies unless you keep it on a charger all the time, I think you have a bad battery or some unusual power drain. Mine is driven about once or twice a week, usually only about 30mins each way, and that is sufficient to keep the battery charged and the gremlins away.

 

After a drive and clean up of my 2007 XK I wanted to drive it into my garage and found that my car was completely dead. Noting worked, couldn't close the door (because window would not drop the 0.5 cm) and could not open the trunk to check the battery.
However, putting the key into the central armrest brought the car back to life !

Also have the alarm signal re the pedestrian safety system coming up lately. Any idea's on how to kill that without having to do big useless repairs ?