Hello forum,

I'll be leaving my XK for 3-4 weeks and I'm planning to disconnect the battery completely because I learned from this forum how important a healthy battery is for these cars.
Since I don't have access to an outlet in the parking garage, I'll bring the battery home and connect it to my battery tender.

I have few questions tho:
-Are there any precautions I should take or things I need to do before disconnecting and removing the battery from the trunk?
-How can I lock the car once the battery is disconnected?
-Should I expect any unusual behavior from the car once I reconnect the battery?


Thank you!

 

I wouldn't go through the trouble. Charge it on the maintainer overnight before the trip and leave it. If you are worried or had past experience of it not lasting 3 weeks, Get a portable battery jump starter, or even better IMO is a capacitor type jump starter. You can leave it in the boot as it doesn't need to be charged. When you do need it, the low battery (not totally flat but low enough to start the car) will charge it enough to start your car. I have one and have used it a few times. I don't have this exact one because mine is older but same brand. Works great.

 

antidepressants?

 

fixed.
That was odd. the forum re-directs the amazon share link to some ad page. I had to put the full link in.

 

No sir. I was telling the OP to try them while away from his Jaguar for 3 weeks.

 

The same thing happened to me when I tried to add a link to an Amazon product I recently bought. I gave up trying to figure out how to prevent that from happening again. See the quote below.

 

 

Thanks for the heads up on the portable battery jump start. Great solution. Have to solve a massive 320 mA drain before mine will store for any length of time. Fortunately have a 2 yr old 770 CCV AGM so can start the car even if 12.0 volts. Charges at 14.2.

No XK for 3 weeks? Can sign up for counseling by phone. Check in to discuss anxiety or depression issues. Keep videos on your phone.

Unusual behavior by the car? Maybe retaliates w/ random check engine lights or goes into limp mode.

 

You are worried about a mere 3 weeks away from the car?? I don’t get it.
If your car and battery are good, (reads 12.6v, resting) after a mere 3 weeks she will start without having sat with a maintainer. Nor being disconnected from the car.
Mine sits for months on end, without any issue…. in fact, all my vehicles do.

 

Congrats. Depends on the parasitic drain. My 07 charges to 12.8 (a little low), Alternator runs at 14.2. Massive 320 mA drain kills the battery quickly.
For comparison, my 06 XK8 battery charges to 13. Alternator runs at 14.2. Drain is 30mA. It can sit for months.

 

It seems the current title of this thread doesn't quite capture the essence of the discussion. haha

Thanks for all the "tips, tho.

Since I'm new to this car (only having it for 2-3 months with daily use), I'm unsure how it will behave if left parked for a "longer" time. I'm hoping 3 weeks won't be a problem, as long as there aren't any unknown battery drains. My Varta MF60044 battery is around 2-3 years old (give or take). It's 850A, so hopefully 3 weeks won't be an issue.

Handbrake on, double lock. Wish me luck.

 

OK. Tip. Lock it and go away for 3 weeks.
Incidentally, the 850A rating is only applicable if the battery reads 12.6 v. If it reads around 12.3, you have about 425A.

 

I should check this with multimeter directly on the battery itself while the car is not running, right?

 

Yes, and AFTER letting it sit undisturbed for several hours.

 

3 weeks seems like a roll of the dice whether it'll start without throwing error codes.

 

I recommend baited rat traps, one at each wheel.
Rick

 

@mosesbotbol , there is no issue if the battery is good.

 

But to be on the safe side, be sure you have the "emergency" key-blade handy, just for jollies, to get into the boot. You could also just use the charging lug (underneath, back of left rear wheel-well) if battery does go flat.

 

I like the idea of getting one of the little jump start batteries as its a pretty cool gadget to have in an emergency anyway. Some of them can also charge your phone and other devices. Imagine keeping your laptop running for a couple days during a power outage. But one thing to think about before ever disconnecting your battery on a modern car is "When is your next emissions inspection due?" because some cars like Jaguars have to go through a whole battery of tests before they are ready to pass emissions and it can take weeks of driving around town before all the necessary conditions are met to register all the tests complete for a "P1111 Pass" code. If your inspection is due within like a month of your return, then definitely don't disconnect the battery, or otherwise get it inspected BEFORE you leave. I figure even if the battery were to drain low enough to need a jump start, it would probably hold enough charge to at least retain the computer memory and latest emissions drive-cycle status codes.