The red battery light coming on issue with my 2006 X-Type 3.0 with 66,000 miles continues... Has been almost 3 months.

If I turn the car off completely and leave it alone for several hours, the red battery light usually goes away.

Sometimes, if I turn the car off completely and leave it alone for a few minutes, the light goes away. But on other occasions, the light comes right back on.

To try to fix it, I have done the following thus far:
1. Replaced the battery
2. Replaced the alternator (bought from a Jaguar dealer for $700)
3. Replaced BOTH - and + battery cables
4. Based on the suggestion from baffourg, I replaced the link lead to the fuse box from the battery +
5. The garage mechanic has assured me that the battery voltage is fine.

Any ideas, experts?

 

jmolsom, at this point, you are looking at 1 of 2 problems (assuming all the other parts are good, which I think is a fair assessment since you don't talk about the symptoms changing after replacing anything). Problem 1 is fairly simple in that the wire going from the ECU to the alternator has developed a high resistance in it and it is therefore causing the alternator to not be able to generate enough current/voltage to handle what you need, which would therefore cause the battery light to come on. The simple check for this is to start the car, connect a multimeter across the battery (should read 13.7 VDC at this point) and then turn on the A/C system on Max, the headlights, and both seat heaters. This will put about a 70 amp load on the alternator. If the voltage is still up around 13.7 VDC (anything above 13.5 I would call good), then you can rule out that wire. After that, you are looking at a problem with the instrument cluster. That is pretty much a "pull out one and put in a new one". Not much you can do with that unless you can find a shop that is willing to take your instrument cluster and fix it. But, the shops that i have seen do this require you to ship the cluster off, then a week or so later, you get it back. Your call.

 

I have a 2006 X-Type 3.0 with 65,000 miles. The red battery light playing hide and seek with me :-). To try to fix it, I did the following:
1. Replaced the battery
2. Replaced the alternator (bought from a Jaguar dealer for $700)
3. Replaced BOTH - and + battery cables
4. Replaced the link lead to the fuse box from the +
5. Battery voltage is fine
Now a NEW problem has shown up!
6. In addition to the red battery light, I see THREE other lights on sometimes!
7. The ABS yellow light + handbrake red light + DSC fault yellow light come on ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I call it the trio!
8. The car seems to have a mind of its own in regards to these lights. Here is what I see:
a. Sometimes, no lights on the instrument cluster
b. Other times, JUST the red battery light
c. Sometimes, the trio, ABS yellow light + handbrake red light + DSC fault yellow light
d. Sometimes, the quad, ABS yellow light + handbrake red light + DSC fault yellow light + red battery light

9. If no light are on, and I turn on the high beam, the trio comes on immediately!
10. Maybe since Christmas is around the corner, my car's instrument cluster is just being Christmassy!!!
11. I have driven over 2,000 miles with this situation; the car always starts and always works perfectly. Of course, I avoid going farther than 60 miles from home with this car.

Could this now be my instrument cluster?

 

it could also in your case be an issue with solder migration on the instrument pack circuit board. this was more an issue on other models. But at this point of yor diag I wouldnt rule this out without a close look

 

More Battery Light Questions:

2005 X Type
Purchased Used so I don't know all the history but this is what I have done/found.

Positive cable appears NEW, I cleaned only the battery end. Anti-corrosive spray on the battery end.
Battery is not original, but not new, 3yrs old
Negative Cable is original, I removed completely from the car, thoroughly cleaned all ends (two piece cable) with wire wheel and reassembled with battery anti-corrosive spray over the exposed pieces.

Car seems to crank fine, lights and accessories work fine at speed and at idle

Battery light only comes on under certain circumstances. First start of the day, no light. I can drive for hours and hours with no light. If I stop (after car is warm) turn off the car and let it sit 5-15 minutes, get back in and start it up, light will appear in first 5 minutes of driving. Sometimes turning the engine off and on clears but most times not, it just comes back.

I have monitored voltage using the dash diagnostic mode. This is where things get interesting. Voltage is typically high 13s (13.5-13.8) Sometimes voltage will suddenly drop to 11.9-12.3 and stay there for periods of time and then go back to 13.5-13.8. There is no change to electrical load or road condition that I can see. Even with this low voltage, on the first start of the day (cold car) I get NO BATTERY LIGHT. It ONLY happens after I stop, turn off the car for a bit and then get back in and start it up while its warm.

My next step is to have the battery tested, I may replace the negative cable as it was a bit corroded and perhaps the corrosion goes into the crimped end where I cannot clean it out, but I will see where this takes me.

 

zombezoo, seeing the voltage drop to 11.9-12.3 VDC tells me you are running on the battery with about a 30-70 amp draw coming out of the battery. This would be roughly what the car is drawing based on whether the dash fan is running at a medium speed or high speed or if you have the lights on or not.

So, based on being loaded with this information, your problem most likely lies with the wire running between the ECU and the alternator. Specifically you are after the orange/green wire running between the alternator and the ECU. What I bet you will find is that when the motor is running and the voltage drops to below 12.6 VDC, the orange/green wire will drop to 0 VDC (this will indicate an open in that wire). If you measure that wire at the ECU end and you are getting some about the same as what you are seeing on the dash, then this will confirm an open wire. If the alternator end is up at what you are seeing on the dash, then you are looking at a bad alternator. If the ECU end is reading about 0 VDC, then this is confirming a bad ECU.

Before you start jumping like I mention above, do the more simple things like getting the battery load tested and possible even putting a new ground wire on the car. But, if the problems persist, then do as I say above.