I have been getting a warning light the last couple of days that this system is not available. Sometimes the yellow indicator goes away, but usually comes back a little while later.

Car also hasn't been starting the first time I push the start button when getting in.

Hoping this isn't a sign of electrical gremlins to come......

 

I would use a Ctek charger to top up the battery ASAP. The car needs a 100% fully charged battery or it will throw codes. I had similar issues before I started using the CTek.

The other thing I would suggest is take it in for a checkup while the code is displayed.

 

Agree, I've been plugging in my Battery Tender Plus maintainer whenever the car sits for more than a couple of days, and in 15 months, my car has yet to trigger a trouble code.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I drive the car every day, so it seems a little ridiculous that I'd have to use a battery tender. If it keeps happening, I will bring it in to the dealer.

 

You shouldn't have to use a battery maintainer on a car driven almost every day. I was assuming you didn't.

 

Hmm same message I saw when my car wouldnt start. I just figured it was due to the fact that it was in a garage and couldn't get a signal.

 

What does the SOS do? (Too lazy to read past page 120 of the owners' manual)

 

I drive mine almost every day and the charger always takes more than 24 hours to indicate fully charged. I agree it shouldn't be this way but the facts are that it is this way.

 

Yes, you're right. When I was experimenting months ago, my BT Plus also took up to 24 hours to trickle charge the battery even though I drove it the same day. Even so, I usually don't plug it in unless it's going to be idle for 3-4 days or more, and I haven't ever had a starting problem or code lights lit up.

 

Your car probably spent less time sitting in inventory than mine. I think my battery sat in a partially discharged state for a few months before I got the car. Anyway it is happier when fully charged.

 

My car sat on the dealer lot for about 6 months (Jan-June '14) before I purchased it. Convertibles don't sell well in the winter here. In fact, the battery was completely dead (car wouldn't even unlock), when I first wanted to test drive it.

BTW, I'm now at 30+ hrs, on the BT, and it's still not at 80% charge. After driving it around 50 miles on Friday, I plugged it in Friday night before going to bed, and it's now Sunday morning. I think a lot of these cars are delivered with AGM batteries, that have deteriorated as a result of being run down sitting on dealer lots.

 

I looked on 120 and still don't know what "s.o.s." is!

 

I hard wired my Ctek per the jag charger instructions today. Then after the charger indicated a full charge I drove the car with a voltage gauge in the cigarette lighter.

It read 12.6 or 12.7 volts at rest before starting. It went up to 14.7 for a short time then gradually settled in at 12.1. It occasionally spiked back up to 14.7 but then right back down to 12.2 or 12.1.

I think the higher voltages were when the second battery was in the circuit. I think it may switch in and out periodically. It seemed to happen every five miles or so.

I think my battery is toast and I think it may have fried the regulator as well.

I going to try to get new batteries tomorrow and if I don't see over 14 volts after that a new regulator as well.

Hopefully this corrects the warnings I am getting. Mostly dealing with the e-diff, parking brake and special modes. They don't happen unless I forget to plug in the charger, or unless I put the top up and down more than a couple of times a day.

I bought my 2014 model car in early October of 2014. The battery junction box has an inspection sticker that says it was inspected on november 17, 2013. I assume this means that my battery was nearly a year old when I took delivery. I haven't tried to locate the final build date for the car. It was sitting in a showroom in Idaho the whole time and had less than 300 demo miles on it when we got it.

I agree that the batteries suffer from sitting in a state of discharge. Hopefully it is not too big of an issue to get a new battery on jaguar's dime.

 

Thanks for the write-up and the useful data from the voltmeter. I agree those mid-12v ratings at rest after the battery was topped off are suspect. Before starting, I'd expect see a 13.1 reading or so at that point.

BTW, mine finally reached 100% 38 hours after being plugged in immediately after driving it. But then again, I've never had a code or had the car fail to start in 15 months.

Obviously, even though my car sat outside on the dealer lot through a very cold winter and probably ran completely down several times during that period, the battery is still "good enough" I suppose. However, I don't expect it to last 3-5 years like they do in most cars.

 

A fully charged AGM battery should be at 13.5V (2.25V/cell). You most likely have a bad battery cell that is shorting out and preventing the charging system from reaching full potential (generally 14-14.5v). The times you are seeing the higher voltage is when the charging system cycles to the ECO battery. You probably need a primary battery, but not a regulator or an ECO battery. ....And they say we don't need gauges in our cars...

 

Well it's sitting at the dealer overnight. I won't be picking it up until it has at least a new primary battery. I told them I wanted a new battery with or without warranty coverage. I don't have time to argue with them this week. The car was dropping below 12.0 volts on the drive to the workshop this morning.

The F-Type V6S loaner was at a pretty consistent 13.1 volts with the same voltage meter on the way home. Apparently my car is at least one volt short of fully energized. Interestingly, my American car reads 14.4 volts on the same device. My German car reads 13.7.

The reason I am concerned regarding a possible voltage regulator problem is because on my prior Mercedes a weak battery burned out the regulator. Apparently there is a carbon contact that burns out if the battery is weak. That was on a Bosch alternator. The jag uses a Denso alternator. Hopefully the regulator is more robust on this unit. I have not found too many postings with complaints about failed alternators or regulators on 5.0 jaguar engines; there is one recall for a loose power cable on the alternator on a few 2015 F-types.