Hi all,
i seems to have problem with my battery.
this is the 2nd time i left the car 2-3 days without running.
it seems the battery was drained, do you think there are any electrical leak somewhere that drain the battery?

is there anyway to diagnostic the problem if taken to the dealer?
thanks

 

Are you still operating with the original battery?

 

Where Bob is leading with that question is - if it's the original battery then it's likely not holding a charge much these days and never will again so time to go shopping.

If you are not handy with a multimeter, pull out the battery and take it to Advance, Auto Zone whatever is close and have them load test it.

 

I just got a replacement at Pep Boys, Bosch, to head off any issues before winter came. It was pretty reasonable. Probably less than going to Jag dealer to find out if you have an electrical leak. If it's 5+ years old toss it. If that doesn't fix things then at least you won't being paying Jaguar prices for a battery when the dealer replaces it as a their first diagnosis procedure. Battery replacement on this car is a little bit more involved than most cars so be prepared for a touch of hassle. Nothing terrible but I don't think I'd let the typical yahoos at the parts stores do it. I thought about doing mine in the parking lot of the parts store but I was glad I did it at home where I was much better prepared.

 

thanks all
this battery seems new.
i took it out in the garage.. since the jag wont start.
i bring it there and it only has 3 v of charge, so they need to charge it first and let me know.

if nothing wrong with the battery, probably need to bring it to a tech service and check for electrical leakage that kept on draining the battery.

Ps: that battery is a monster.. almost 60 lbs. fit for the STR..

 

3V? It's probably toast.

Beats me how you'd test it RELIABLY but that's what you need (if it even charges OK, after say 24 hrs). The old-fashioned "test" no longer seems to work reliably.

I like Bob's way.

 

Yup.. the battery is toast...
i got a replacement from Autozone.
going to install soon... hopefully everything is ok..

 

Optima Red Top here.....no issues after the stock dead weight was replaced!

 

Riski - why did you pick the red top? I went with the biggest yellow top that would fit. Helps a bit with my aftermarket stereo. Had to bend the stock battery support in a vice to get it to clamp down right.



Take care,

George

 

Yellow top was not needed.....

 

Aw shucks ...

 

wait... wait you guys..
we can use Optima on STR?
the guys at Autozone did not want to sell me the battery since it doesn't fit my STR.
can you help me with the spec on the optima.
or any kind will do?

 

I went with the Autozone Duralast Gold. I have no extra frills so it fits our needs. About $140.00 minus the $20.00 Zone rewards.

 

I have the biggest yellow top beast one that will fit. It also has the posts in the right places so you can use the factory cables without modification.

You DO have to modify the factory battery hold down, but you can bend it in a vise to get it to work, see my picture for details.

My battery is this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Optima-Batteri.../dp/B00099VM9U

Take care,

George

 

sams and cosco have the best prices on optimas. And we DONT replace batteries at the dealer as the first line of diag, we do put it on a Midtronics tester that tests cranking amps, voltage and reserve power. and presently we're replacing alot of NEW batteries on 2011's for not being up to spec

 

Why buy this?

I did notice that there is a restriction on the battery.

"Not for sale on Catalina Island"

Oh that's not good ...

WTF?

 

I don't know what it is now but the Bosch was right about $100 @ Pep Boys when I did mine in August. That's still an expensive battery.

My old one seemed fine and I do have other batteries that have lasted as long as 10 years in some of my collector cars but I didn't want any issues with the electronics and it had been 5+ years. I'm using the old one to operate the winch on my race trailer.

Bob S.

 

It does seem that "newer" batteries just aren't made like they used to be. Or all the new fangeled electronics just eat them up. I had to replace my Caddies 5 year old factory battery last month. Went with a NAPA that time.

 

Just to clarify a bit. That's on a car driven less than 1,000 to 1,500 miles a year. I also disconnect the battery after every use. Not a ton of electronics but power windows, locks etc. Ten years is a long time, too long. But I did pull it out before it failed completely.

 

Well in My case, I have 2 aftermarket stereo amplifiers, nominally drawing about 10-15 amps of additional current, the rear seat entertainment screens (infrequently on). Two cell phone chargers (which are plugged in permanently) etc. There are SEVERAL advantages to a dry / gel cell battery. First more cranking amps and reserve capacity. Second Completely Maintenance free. The vented Jaguar battery reminds me of the vented Mercedes batteries that had a habit of exploding in the trunks of cars if they were run too dry. Third it's a bit (albeit not that much) lighter than an OEM battery.

The biggest advantage is the Deep Cycle technology. Not only is there a much longer reserve period, BUT you can basically drain these batteries to nothing, and recharge them and they are good to go, you will NOT kill a cell and have the battery discharging into it.

Regular batteries fail because eventually the acid eats the lead plates inside of them.

Lead Acid battery technology hasn't changed much in the last 50 or so years. The battery relies on a chemical reaction which leads to a phase change of the acid, mostly due to the production of heat as a byproduct. In a lead / acid (wet) battery, this results in off gassing - the release of corrosive gas. Theoretically you need to replenish the acid supply as it's boiled off. When every car had it's battery mounted under the hood in the engine compartment, this was considered a non-issue. With the advent of batteries being mounted in other locations, trunks, under rear seats etc, venting became important, and they run a vent to run the gasses to the outside. IF the batteries aren't properly vented, pressure builds up inside the battery and they can and will explode. Google mercedes battery explosion to see what happens if the vent gets clogged / pinched.

A dry / gel cell battery such as an optima, uses a similar reaction but the phase change is different, the acid goes from a crystal to a semi liquid (hence the name gel cell). As such none of it is ever off gassed, and there is no need for venting. In addition you never lose any of the acid, so there is no maintenance needed.

These larger lead / acid batteries found in luxury cars (due to increased electronics) all have servicable ports on the cells to add battery acid. They aren't completely maintenance free. My guess is that the automakers haven't embraced optima or some of the other dry / gel cell batteries due to cost. $100 retail v/s $245 or so retail. As long as the battery can make it through the warranty period, they are in the clear.

As far as the prohibition on Catalina Island (of all places), I don't know if that's some weird amazon rule or Some California palm tree hugging, but Catalina is probably one of the furthest places I can drive to in the continental US, so I'm not really worried about it.

George