My 04 XKR is a super low miles survivor car that I've been keeping that way. When it's not out on it's Bi-weekly sunny summer day short drive she is connected to a CTEK Battery Maintainer.

I was doing the monthly checks and fluid top off's today which includes the battery. Does anyone have an idea of the life expectancy of an OEM XKR battery It seems like 10 years is a push but it's still doing it's job.

Will it be the top hoses or the Battery that constitute it's first repair?

 

The OEM Varta batteries are high quality and can last 10 or more years when well cared for.

 

When you do need a change, consider an Odyssey PC1350 - I put one in my XK8, and it made a significant difference for me. I don't have a garage, so plugging in a CTEK isn't an option. Because I'm home-based and not a daily driver, plus I used to travel quite a bit, I tended to end up with a dead battery, but not with the Odyssey. Slightly shorter than the stock battery, so needs a few washers to pack the battery clamp nuts.

 

You are on Borrowed time my friend, and was shocked that an above poster called a Varta a high quality battery. 99% of them fail prematurely in our various Lotus cars, many don't even make it 1 yr! Radio Shack sold Varta mini batteries for watches etc and they typically last half the time of a Duracell etc. I know because I kept a log trying to figure out why someimes a battery would last 3-4 yrs and other times it was 1 yr old. Same with their car batteries. QC is NOT good. I'd replace it before it fails ugly and affects your ECU...etc

 

Varta makes a lot of batteries. I was only referring to the one that was OEM for the early XK8/R and S-type. When its is kept on a battery maintainer or the car is used regularly, kept topped up and not exposed to temperature extremes it can indeed last surprisingly long as others have also shown.

I do agree that the OP would be well advised to have a load test performed on the battery given its age to determine its health.

 

My OEM battery was exchanged after 4 years for a new AGM Varta battery, developed for start and stop tasks of new generation cars. Since then no electric gremlins that were typical before. Its high capacity and the biggest one that I could pack into the space provided.

 

Thanks for your responses which lead me to put on my old Engineering hat.

As a lead acid battery is cycled, Sulfates are deposited on the Lead Plates during the discharge cycle and then re-dispersed into the Electrolyte during a full charge cycle.

Battery plates Sulfate during the discharge process and return from the plates to the Electrolyte during the full charge process. Under optimum conditions the sulfates return to the Electrolyte during the recharge process and the battery lasts forever. Automotive batteries are designed to supply high current for a short period vs. the design of a Deep Cycle Battery that supplies low current for a long period.



Hardened sulfate also forms in a battery that is constantly being cycled in the middle of its capacity range (somewhere between 80% charged and 80% discharged), and is never recharged to 100%. This especially applies to today’s high performance cars with a lot of electronics that put a constant drain on the battery. Over time, a portion of the plate's active materials turns into hard sulfate, which increases the resistance at the plates thus decreasing current capacity. If the battery is continually cycled in this manner, it will lose more and more of its capacity until it becomes useless. Exposing the plates to air (low electrolyte) will sulfate the plates very rapidly. Temperature also has a lot to do with the same process. A battery will discharge significantly faster sitting in the hot sun that it will on a relatively cool overcast day.

The highly recommended Odyssey PC1350 is rated for 40 (abusive) discharge cycles before is sulfates so bad that it becomes useless, I’m sure that it’s a wise replacement as. I’m not sure what the OEM Vatra is rated at but I would assume that the design engineers took the idle current drain into consideration. There are many variables to consider. One of them is the fact that our Jag’s Voltage Regulator gets fooled into thinking that the battery is 100 percent charged when it really isn’t, and prematurely cuts the higher current supply off that is need to totally de-sulfate the battery. Add in baking in the hot sun (for some of us), sitting days on end idle, then a partial recharge after a jaunt, neglecting Electrolyte levels and topping off with mineral water from the drinking water supply, and we all will see various battery life cycles.

My 10 plus year old Vatra doesn’t need a load test. A simple Hygrometer sample gives me the battery condition. It gets a load test every time I get in, put the top up or down and then start the car. The only Gremlins that I’ve ever seen were hiding under the bed when I was drinking too much.

If you don’t have a garage or shaded area to park in, or don’t use your Jag as a daily driver, do yourself a favor and buy an extension cord and let MR. CTEK perform that de-sulfating for you. It comes with both Charging clips and a very handy bolt on harness that can simply be connected to the CTEK charging cord. The pulse that the CTEK puts out after it’s full charging cycle costs a heck of a lot less than a new XKR battery or roadside service.

Enjoy your Summer and buy your Perelli Snowtires early.

 

An excellent post and one a lot more people should take note of.

 

battery from 2007 jaguar lasted 5 years (about 15 k miles) batteries go quick in Az. Every 2 yrs is all you get in AZ

 

my xk is almost 7yrs old now. i have owned her for 18mts now. i replaced the battery 4-5mts ago with a bosch s5 battery lasts 5years . in the past with other cars i have found that if the battery is weak or old can give electrical probs. charlie

 

Hi Charlie,

What part of the country are you from ? I live in Western, NY where summer temps aren't to extremes. My XKR's original battery is a little over 10 years old. I just replaced a cheap $73 battery in my van that lasted 12 years of abuse leaving it parked unatended for 4 months at a time. I killed that one by letting it 100 percent discharge too many times. I think that climate has a whole lot to do with sufating as well as maintenance. Best Regards, Jim

 

hi jim im from airdrie in scotland, it rains most of the time. although its nice weather at moment temp about 20-28c. in the winter it falls down to -1-10c, but not as bad as ny or as hot either charlie