So prior to purchase and now after purchase I read through as many posts as I could. Reading through again there are lots of posts about this is what I did to fix mine and that didn't work and lots and lots of tidbits. So I thought I would document start to finish this journey of the dreaded "low battery start car" warning message in hopes of a I am praying is a roadmap to success and fixing the issue. It's also a list of everything I have read on the forums to fix this issue.

While researching the F Type I wanted to know the common issues with the F Type before I purchased. I had looked at 911's and after a year and five cars and paid PPIs couldn't find one that looked like it wasn't going to need a $40k rebuild. I strayed off looking for other options and came across the F Type and wow! I didn't know Jag made this car. It had everything I was looking for, power, looks and those hips. Nothing seemed to scary or massive on the forums for repairs, comparatively. After a month search bought a 2017 F Type Premium with just over 32k about a month ago, two owner. Car has had no issues and ran great since I bought it. I took it to an Indy which is hard to find in the NE area of Iowa. The car was at 33k and been a year since an oil change. Had them do the differential oil, engine oil, inspect the plugs and injectors, pressure test on the coolant system as well as the 32k inspection. They were a great price (red flag possibly) and this import specialist seemed pretty concerned with proper maintenance. I mentioned when I dropped it off I was concerned about proper handling of the ODB (read lots on that when I was doing my research). Pick up day came and while I was paying the mechanic happened to come in. I mentioned the ODB concern and what I saw on forums. He said never heard of that and the ODB knows the proper handshake method. He seemed a little annoyed by my inquiry. I was playing hooky from work to take an Uber 45 min to pick the car up. I go to the car and low and behold there is the low battery warning please start the car, never saw this prior. I had to get back to work and felt I had read enough on how to deal with this. Jumped in the car and drove it 45 min home and it still showed the low battery after the 45 minute drive. Immediately put in on the trickle charger on the lead points under the hood. I had it on this charging point prior and after about 3 hours it went green. So I checked on it periodically and still red. Next morning, still red. I called the Indy and told them what was going on, they seemed indifferent to the issue. So end of the day about 32 hours on the charger I decided to try the disconnect of the main battery. I read everything from 20 seconds to an hour for the disconnect. So I opted for the longer period and disconnected the earth ground for a little over an hour. Hooked everything back up, jumped in all hopeful that this was it. Annnnd, there was the warning message again, low battery please start the car. So I put it back on the charger, having read that some people have found success with disconnect then charge, or disconnect then drive. Presently three hours after back on the charger and still red. So path forward plan is as follows and a list of what I have seen on the forum that has worked in some cases:

- Wait 24 hours on the charger and see if it goes green after recent disconnect.
- Disconnect again then drive. (read this has worked for some)
- Take for a battery test to see if the battery has gone bad conveniently after a service.
- Replace battery if bad.
- Buy an ODB and learn the proper disconnect process. Hard reboot of the system.
- Last and final leap is to find a new Indy and hope they listen to me long enough to understand the issues and challenges with the F Type battery.

I love the car and everything about it, and not just another BMW or Porsche on the road. This seems like an annoyance compared to what I have seen with other cars I looked at. There are enough smart people out there on this forum that have found solutions but seems solutions work for some and not for others. This issue appears to be an enigma of British electronics. I had a 72 Triumph Spitfire that I had to change the fuses on about a weekly basis in my past. So I will continue to update this process on this thread with fingers crossed something works and I can document the process to what might of worked in the hopes to provide a comprehensive list to others. Usual disclaimer if not allowed please remove and if found redundant with the other posts please remove. Hopefully what I learn as I go forward will help the next person has a comprehensive list of what to try and save some searching.

UPDATE: After the first disconnect for an hour the warning was still showing. I put it on the charger overnight and there was no change when I went to bed. I checked on it first thing in the morning and no change. three hours later the trickle charger was showing red still when I hopped in the car to go get the battery tested and magically the warning disappeared. I decided to get the battery tested anyway. Test showed a good battery and 100% charged. I made a couple more stops of running errands and no more warning. So this is where the documentation will end for now hopefully and the lesson I took away is the battery disconnect may take some time to clear the warning apparently. I am still looking into an ODB which may be a more efficient way to fix the issue if happens again and well, I'll be able to monitor the health a little closer. Hopefully someone may find this useful at some point.

 

You probably have fallen foul of the incorrect OBD disconnect - just disconnect one of the battery terminals for about 30 seconds and reconnect to fix the problem. Then give the battery an overnight charge and you should be good to go. The telltale of the fault is that the light in the hazard switch doesn't go out when the car shuts down after about 15 minutes.

 

If it still has the original battery, I’d replace it - it would be 6-7 years old. Mine was still going strong after 7 years, but I replaced it preemptively with a $199 Autozone battery.

 

I would start with either a full charge or replacement of the battery. If the only warning is the "start car" message, do it before reduced voltage starts setting other erroneous codes.
Also, if you get tired of those black Velas, I've got some chromes in the shed! Cheap cheap!
Good looking car!

 

Hi SCM, yeah tried that with no luck and moving onto the next next step today. I'll try the disconnect again and then drive it for about an hour. I've seen that in forums as well. I did read about the hazard switch and forgot what the timing was on that. Thanks for that, I'll check that.

 

DJS, that's where I think this is going is to a new battery. I wanted to go through the laundry list of recommendations and compile them in one spot. Not sure if it is the original battery but guessing it probably is and would be due. When I do the next step of another disconnect then drive for about an hour I am going to stop off and have the battery checked. Thanks for the response.

 

davidmaria1, thanks for that advice. I didn't think about the voltage dropping to far. I have been keeping it on a maintainer and hopefully that will keep it up enough until it is sorted. Next stop is a battery test and then see what that tells me. I am guessing this might be the original battery and may be due. Just odd timing of going to the mechanic and the next day I get that error.

I love the black Velas, in fact I am thinking of deleting all the chrome on the car. Haven't decided yet. Like that black cat of yours as well. Thanks for the feedback.

 

When I bought my 2018 FTR in Dec/22, it had a Low Battery / Start Car message, too after driving the car home from the dealership (1 hour drive). I called the salesman about it and he said he's seen that before from cars that sit around and don't get driven for a while. He encouraged me to drive it for a few days and if it didn't resolve itself bring the car back for a battery replacement. After a few days the message went away. 3 weeks later I was away from the car for 2 days and came back to a totally drained battery and had to get it replaced. My sense is that your battery is on its last legs and you will need to get it replaced before you get completely stranded like I did.

 

If you are trying to charge with a trickle charger (presumably set to AGM), this could be the problem if the battery is quite depleted.
Before you buy a new battery (which you may well need), charge it on a regular high output charger.
You should be able to estimate the state of charge from the charger amp draw.
Obviously, if the current draw does not diminish over the course of a several hours (not a day!!) then the battery is toast.

 

Dillweed I need to check how old the battery is, I haven't had time yet but I suspect it may need a replacement which is my next maintenance item to check. But good to know that this may just be a symptom of the bigger issue which is a battery about to checkout. Thanks for the info and background.

 

CJSJAG, today the test showed 100% charged and good. But I am probably still going to take your advice and look into the battery a little further just to be safe. Thanks for the idea. Luckily the warning cleared after sometime.