Hi Guys My name is John and I am from the Central Coast of NSW Australia, I have an XE 20t 2017 which due to illness I have not been using much is there any way that I can charge the battery without disconnecting everything ?

 

I have no experience with this particular car so the best advice I could give is a general knowledge of charging batteries and my first place to go for information is the owners manual. Many times it will talk about how to jumpstart a car and that should tell you about the dangers of hooking up an external power source your vehicle (if there is one)

 

Thanks but the manual is of no help at all !

 

Hey Aussiejohn, sorry for your illness and I hope you have a smooth recovery. I suspect that your manual will say something like you need to remove the battery for charging. IMO this would be unnecessary. Here in the upper Midwest USA, cars are routinely put in storage for 3 to 5 months over the Winter. No one I know removes the battery--it is not wrong, just extra work. However, there are several basic safety precautions and processes that you should follow when setting a car up for long term storage.
.
1) Purchase a "smart charger/maintainer". This is the kind that maintains your battery voltage but also senses the voltage and adjusts its charge output to avoid boiling the electrolyte or over charging the battery. Some owners plug the charger in for a day or two every couple weeks. IMO you can leave a smart charger plugged in until the car is ready to be retuned to use.

2) Most all chargers come with alligator clamps for temporary attachment of the charge leads to the battery. Temporary is the operational word. If you are anticipating a long non-use period for the car you should consider ring terminal connectors (which may be also supplied) to the battery posts. The charger/maintainer should live outside the car. Most have some form of status indicator that you can see at a glance. The extension cord to the charger probably should be connected to a GFI type outlet if possible.

3) The car is headed for some form of long term storage. You should consider several other actions that help the car through the long period of non-use. Full tank + fuel stabilizer and drive the car for 20 minutes to get the stabilized fuel into the engine, change the oil before storage, plug the tailpipe with steel wool (to prevent vermin nests), Inflate the tires at least 8 PSI over the usual (to help with flat spots), Clean and wax it and consider a car cover for inside storage (outside covers are more expensive protect the car in many ways but may provoke some disappointing wear on the finish), if inside, place mouse traps/bait traps around car, place the car in Park but do not set the EB (it might seize when engaged for many months), consider chocking a wheel. I would not start the car periodically once you have placed it in storage. It only adds stress to the metal parts that have had their oil thinned away and adds moisture to the system that will not have time to evaporate because the car is not up to the usual operating temp.

Good luck and have a speedy recovery,
Regards

 

Many thanks Doc that is the most comprehensive advice I have ever been given

 

Just add a little visual aid to Doc's post.

This is how I hook a CTEK up to our XE. Positive connected to the remote positive terminal, negative clamped to the shock tower bolt.


For a permanent connection, I have a CTEK adapter fitted to my Mustang, makes it very simple to hook up when needed.

 

Thanks DB20 that is very informative just what I was looking for and thanks for your photographic work !

 

I’ve used a Battery Tender Jr for winter storage of my F-type, with a wired pigtail like DB20s. Be aware that if the battery is low, it might take several days for these small charger/maintainers to fully charge the battery. Just ordered another Battery Tender, for my lawn tractor (which does snow removal in the winter.)

 

My pleasure, happy to help.

 

Just what seems a dumb question but the pics appear to be from under the hood but my battery is in the boot (trunk)

 

Yes, but the photos show the positive terminal inside the engine compartment that connect to the battery. So you can charge by couping to this and coupling the negative to any negative point on the car, like an earth.

 

That spiral looking post shown in the pic is a dedicated negative/earth point for battery charging and it serves no other purpose, so no need to go hunting for any other earth point. I have attached a permanent charger pigtail lead to the engine bay posts in my F-Type and it was a piece of cake attaching it to that post (via a supplied pigtail lead with circular attaching points on the other end), the post simply screws off, you slip the circular attachment around the bottom end then screw it back on.
Permanently attaching the positive end was a little more difficult, I drilled a hole in the positive terminal (soft aluminium so not too taxing) and used a 10 mm washer, bolt and nut to hold it on nice and tight.
I then fed the pigtail end out under the side of the car and tucked it up under the edge of the bonnet/hood in a spot where it doesn't fall out but is easy to flip out when needed. I can now connect my tender/charger in 20 seconds flat without opening anything or even needing to unlock the car!

 

More pics...........

 

Our XE comrades have been very helpful in posting answers to your question and have explained and shown you excellent ways to hook up a battery charger to your XE. I know that you have been frustrated as you've recognized that the owner's manual is deficient when it comes to the details of long term battery charging in any practical way. A search of the XE Forum here and for other information on the Web provides additional information regarding the manner in which other owners have connected charger/maintainers to their XE jags.
There are two basic pathways to get an XE battery on charge, neither are spelled out in the owners manual. Experienced owners have set up their systems based upon common sense and practicality and not what is officially recommended by the manufacturer.

1) There are remote posts that live under the bonnet (hood) as pointed out. They are meant for jump starting but many owners use them for trickle charging the battery. It is easy to set up a charger in this location with the alligator clamps or with slight modification, with bolted on leads.
2) As you have pointed out, the battery lives in the trunk under the spare. Your battery most likely has a module (BCM) on the negative post. This is an important consideration when connecting charger leads in this area. Remove the spare, bolt on a red ring lead to the positive post of the battery but do not attach the black ring lead to the negative battery post. It has been suggested that connecting the negative lead from the charger directly to a battery with a BCM on it risks provoking some glitch in the electrical and computer systems of the Jag. Bolt the black negative (ground) to a protruding bolt on the floor of the spare tire bay adjacent to the spare. It should be found on the passenger side.

A couple other considerations. In your original post back in June you posted a picture that I believe is your home. It looks like you have a lovely carport. If this indeed is your setup and if you do not also have an indoor area to garage your XE, you will need to protect your charger unit from getting wet in a bad storm. Some owners place their charger under the bonnet or in the boot. I do not recommend doing that. You can't see the unit without opening up stuff and if your car is covered you will need to remove the cover. You can place the unit on top of a wheel, tucked underneath a fender. This will keep it dry. It may be less visible but it will be safer.

Many owners are not fans of storing a car under a car cover outdoors. There may be issues with moisture accumulation underneath the cover causing problems with the finish and oddly some products (despite being "water proof") ask you to regularly remove the cover to inspect for moisture. Other owners have noted that eventually dust and dirt find their way underneath a cover when stored outdoors. When wind moves the cover slightly, abrasive forces occur that damage the finish of the car. Other owners love their covers and swear by them. If you do plan to store your car under a cover outdoors, get the best one you can afford--they can be several hundred dollars. Simple good quality dust covers for cars that are stored indoors do not damage the finish of a car.
Regards

 

You are absolutely correct these guys have been more than helpful and I appreciate every one of you I did not realise that there was another terminal under the bonnet as well as the battery in the boot I have now located it all, Again thanks everyone again you lot are brilliant now I need to go to the auto shop for a decent charger !

 

Going on-line gets you this, the online version of the Owner Handbook, and the battery section: -

https://www.ownerinfo.jaguar.com/mod...t/20730_en_GBR

It contradicts itself by telling you not to charge the battery in the car, (due to explosive gas forming), and then in another section telling you how to connect a slave battery for a jump start that does the same thing as a charger, albeit for a short period. Then there is the stupidity of having jump-started the car, the alternator charges the battery and generates the same explosive gases !!

 

The emission of potentially explosive gases by the battery will, as other posters have said, take place whenever the battery is being charged, whether that is by a charger or by the car's alternator. That's why the XE (and plenty of other cars with the battery in the boot/trunk) has a battery vent pipe which exhausts under the rear bumper. As long as that is connected there is no danger of a build up of explosive gases anywhere. So why the handbook warns of this as a danger is a mystery, but I suspect it is lawyer-driven to avoid any possible liability in case of a mishap.

 

Here we are all set up in the garage and charging, thanks a million guys !

 

Nicely done, and good choice of charger too!