Thought I might save some XK8 owners some grief. About a week after I purchased my 2001, I went to start the car. When I turned the key, I lost all power. No dash lights, no interior lights, NOTHING except two red lights on the dash (the oil pressure gauge and voltage gauge). I had the top down and it was about to rain. Thank God I found the information needed to get the car started. I opened the trunk, uncovered the battery compartment, and wiggled the neutral battery cable. All of a sudden, the trunk lights turned on and I could hear the CD player in the trunk turn on. Even after cleaning/sanding both ends of the neutral battery cable, I would have to still wiggle it to get power. It was a mystery to me how a large braided cable could lose connection. During this time, my car would occasionally go into "limp mode", the ABS would not function, or I would get an airbag error. I ended up "jumpering" the connection between the body and the on-board charging connection. Since then, I have have not had to wiggle the neutral battery cable, have no errors or engine codes of any kind. I can only conclude the neutral battery cable was bad due to galvanic corrosion (the on-board charger looks like it has a brass/zince connection). Just thought I would post this due to problems that sounded similar to mine, as sometimes it would start 5-10 minutes later.

 

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MJMCK87,
I am haveing the same issue with my XK8. I am at a loss pertaining to your reference describing where the connection between the body and the on-board charging connection would be.
Would you be so kind to provide a picture or a decription where the "on-board" charging connection's location.
thanks

 

Hi.


Had exactly the same problem. Cleaning and tightening the battery clamps solved the problem.
But, I didn't think the thin walled battery clamps looked very rugged. Also the red positive cable become warm ( 50C/122F ) when turning on lights with engine off.
Changed out both the red positive cable going from battery to the megafuses and the negative braided to a type with thick walled clamps.

 

Hi,
I replaced both cables today. Lets see if it works.
t

 

Hi,
I have experienced similar problems on my XK8s (1997 and 2000) as well as with my XK (2011). Like me, you may not be using your XK8 on the daily basis. The result of a non frequent usage is that battery's voltage is weakening quite often below the required level (12,7 Volts) to have everything running fine. Sometimes, the voltage is just enough to start the engine but you can see all type of failure messages (gearbox, ABS, etc..). So my advice is to have your battery checked with the adequate tester to eventually discard it and fit a 100Ah 840A new one. All your problem will go away.

 

Neutral cable ?? = Earth cable ( 7 year old post !!)

 

I'm having he same problem as the OP. Any idea what/where he meant the he wrote: "I ended up "jumpering" the connection between the body and the on-board charging connection"? Could "on-board charging connection" simply refer to the battery negative post?

 

You will do no harm if you use a jump lead from the negative post of the battery to the body of the car ( spare wheel securing bolt thing)

 

I just replaced the ground strap with a solid heavy cable. Battery cables aren't going to break you. If it gets hot, replace it.

 

That's what I figured, but the terminology threw me.

 

I wish. The battery is new.

 

I undid all the ground points in the trunk and they were all clean and shiny. I'll check to se if they heat up. Also checking the connectors for the monster fuses back there. If still nothing, I'll crawl under the car to check the engine ground.

 

Weather and lack of time have conspired to limit my progress on diagnosing my electrical issue. I did try leaving the headlights on for about five minutes and the battery cables did not feel any warmer. Both cables and their connections look brand new, so I'm doubting its a battery cable problem. Hoping to find a bad connection when I pop open the main fuses terminal on the bulkhead. In the meantime I have a question. When I turn the ignition on, all the hums and buzzes and clicks sound normal. When I attempt to engage the starter, everything except the oil and battery lights go out, but there is one barely audible single click from around the glove box just as it all shuts down. I don't know which component makes that click and am wondering if it could be involved in my problem. Any thoughts appreciated.

 

The sound at shut down might be the ECU fan turning off, or the climate
control shitting down & moving one of the vent doors. Both will make noise in that area when power turned off in my 2002z

Z