Hi


I have recently (a week ago) bought a 2007 XKR and had nothing but problems with the battery. It drives ok (when its eventually started by charging the battery overnight) but goes flat the following night.


Am I leaving something on in the car that I don't know about? I've taken to leaving it unlocked so that I can get in the boot to charge the battery.


Can anyone offer me advice please?


Many thanks

 

I would have both your alternator and battery tested. It could be a problem with both items at the same time or just one of them.

 

agree with Michael!
You must leave charger on 24 hrs a day! and leaving car unlocked increases load on Battery; however,you can always charge using the external charging bolt UNDERr trunk, left hand side.
When buying a used modern Jag always buy new battery and a Ctek Charger.............no kidding!
It's only money...
Cheers, Adrian

 

You will get a few replies about a Ctek. Some folks here will recommend that you keep one your Jag each night you park it to keep the battery fully charged. Others will say that you should only use it if you drive your Jag 'occasionally' and want to keep your battery fully charged. Then there are people like me that do not believe in using it at all. I have never used a CTEK and have left my Jag for up to 3 weeks without driving it and it started up with no issues. I personally feel that if you need a device to keep your battery at full strength then you have a problem with your car that needs to be fixed. But that is just my opinion.


Others will say that the car is laden with electronics and puts a heavy load on the battery that will cause all types of problems [error messages etc] if not fully charged, and that it needs a charger to stay 'fully charged'. I personally don't think it has any more or less electronics than any other modern car, and the battery and alternator can easily handle everything just fine as long as they are in proper working order. I don't think your Jaguar should need an external device to keep the battery at full strength. Let us know how it works out for you.

 

I can only agree with Britannia!
It happened to me with a car a year old!
A Ctek is definetely a good buy if you dont drive the car regularly (as i do) and to keep the car locked.If you dont,the car wastes energy to look for a keyfob she can't find...

 

As others have mentioned have the battery checked. We assume that it had been replaced but you should know how old it is and how good it is. Also use the + charging post in the left side of the boot under the plastic grill to charge the battery. If it is fully charged at 12.6V then lock the car and you should be OK for several days. Then also check the output of the alternator and it should be around 14.2V during normal driving.

 

Clarifying a couple of things for the OP and needing some clarification.

Britannia and Michael are referring to a battery maintainer, not a charger. Leaving a charger on your car 24/7 will likely lead to an explosion.

And on another note, a maintainer and a trickle charger are two different devices. You want a maintainer. Most folks on this forum are partial to CTEK.

Leaving your car unlocked will put some additional demand on you vehicle's electronics for another 30 minutes after you turn off your engine and you now know where the external charging terminals are.

Let us know the age of your battery. It may just be old.

If you have any DIY ability and a basic multimeter you can check your battery as follows, as well as your alternator, but you'll need two people.

Multimeter set to 20 volts. All tests done with test leads on the posts of the battery, then again at the terminal leads (cables right next to the battery to confirm excellent continuity).

Car off - battery should read 12 volts minimum

Before charging - attempt to start car. If voltage drops below 9.4 volts, battery needs replacing.

Car started - take a drive and get her warmed up, keep it running and reconnect your voltmeter. Battery reading should be between 13 - 14 volts. This indicates the alternator is working. If you test the alternator directly, output will be 14.2 volts as Jagtoes indicates.

Shut off engine - voltage drops below 12 volts - battery issue

There is an alternative to all of this with an OBD II device such as ELM 327 and a torque app on your phone which will give you readouts. Cost is under $20 U.S.

 

Richard,

Welcome to the Forum, and congrats on your new toy! I hope you have as much fun and enjoyment with yours as I've had with mine. Sorry to learn that you're having battery problems, but that should be easily remedied. My advice ...

ALWAYS:
1. Lock your XKR, even when parked in your garage, to shut down Convenience Mode.
2. Keep your SmartKey at least 20' away from your XKR, so it doesn't wake up Convenience Mode and draw power. I keep mine in a small metal box in my kitchen.
3. Keep a spare CR2032 SmartKey battery in your glove box.

NEVER:
1. Leave your SmartKey in your car. Doing so will prevent Convenience mode from shutting down and will drain your battery.
2. Leave your door open or the lights on with the engine off for more than a few minutes. Otherwise, you could drain the battery.

From my viewpoint, using a CTEK MUS4.3 battery maintainer/conditioner is like having an insurance policy against aggravation - it's a small price to pay for the peace of mind knowing that both of my Jaguars will always start and won't have any electrical gremlins. Easy to install, and so far, so good! The CTEK displays battery condition, so you know well in advance before it needs to be replaced.

There are lots of old threads on this Forum to search for advice about installation options.

Stuart

 

Greetings. Cold weather hit Texas and my car battery died yesterday. Road assistance came out and replaced the battery. I followed all reset instructions in the manual but the key fob still must be placed in the slot and key fob does not operate to lock car. I replaced the key fob batteries and still must insert fob in slot to start and can't lock with remote.

Any assistance or advice appreciated.



razntaz in Texas

 

FYI - car has 60K and runs and purrs like a kitty should but just have key fob issues.

 

FYI - again --- sorry - when I push the lock button on the door handle - it won't lock either.

Thanks again

 

I may be mistaken, but I think for even that to work, you need a functioning fob with you.
There's a thread here that discusses fob battery issues, so take a look for that, where it basically says to open the fob and make sure the battery contacts are actually contacting the battery (may need to bend one slightly).

 

Absolutely correct on this.

 

Not unreasonable advice but with a decent battery the car should cope fine. Mine never gets locked overnight and I have no issues.

Unless you press one of the buttons on the SmartKey or use the door handle I don't see how the SmartKey can wake the car up because the car shouldn't be looking for it.

I tried this tonight and my unlocked 07 XKR with keyfob left on the center console shut down after the usual 20 minutes or so so it doesn't actually seem to care of the fob is left in or near the car.

I later locked the car then unlocked it again, lent in through the open window and put the SmartKey on the centre console again to see if it would look for the key before autolocking. As I hadn't opened a door or boot it just went ahead and locked the car again after about 15 seconds and then dropped out of convenience mode shortly after that.

The one time it will look for it, and I have just tested that it does, is if you pop the boot open on the locked car then put the SmartKey in the boot and close it again, the boot won't autolock. It gives two beeps on the horn instead and remains unlocked. Once I opened the boot and took the fob out it locked the boot again.

 

Worth watching on