Battery Drain Issue
#1
01-13-2014, 09:50 PM
Battery Drain Issue
Went out to garage and stone cold dead once again. I have read through most of the posts on this issue. The car has been in 3 times already and received 2 new batteries. They claimed to have done the related service upgrades. This battery lasted a little over 2 months. Admittedly, I do not drive the car that much. It sat in the garage about a week, and it may have been unlocked. In any case this is getting quite frustrating, as this will be the fourth time bringing in for same issue and they clearly have no idea what the issue is. I love the car other than this, but c'mon the thing should stay charged longer than a week. Any ideas?
#2
01-13-2014, 10:23 PM
Veteran Member
Ask some specific questions from the service, like:
Have they checked the battery drain by placing an Ammeter in series with the battery while all lights, ignition etc are off and the car is locked? They should read no more than 50 milliamps (0.050) amps. If they are reading way above that value, it will explain the dead battery issues. If there is a drain, the Ammeter WILL show it.
I went on a 3.5 weeks long vacation in December and my XF started just fine upon our return, even though there were some freezing nights during that. It was NOT connected to any charging. My XJL also started fine, even though I frequently get low battery alarms on that one.
Albert
Have they checked the battery drain by placing an Ammeter in series with the battery while all lights, ignition etc are off and the car is locked? They should read no more than 50 milliamps (0.050) amps. If they are reading way above that value, it will explain the dead battery issues. If there is a drain, the Ammeter WILL show it.
I went on a 3.5 weeks long vacation in December and my XF started just fine upon our return, even though there were some freezing nights during that. It was NOT connected to any charging. My XJL also started fine, even though I frequently get low battery alarms on that one.
Albert
#3
01-14-2014, 10:20 AM
#4
01-14-2014, 11:54 AM
If the car isn't driven for more than a week then you should put a battery maintainer on it. I agree that it seems abnormal. When I store my XF I keep a maintainer on it at all times. I only drive my XF in the summer and I drive it every day when I do. Also if you only drive it for short trips you may not ever get enough charge into the battery to cover what you end up pulling on startup.
This is the maintainer I use and it works great, but any maintainer should work: DieHard Battery Charger/Maintainer: Start Every Time With Sears
Always make sure the doors are locked so the electronics shut down and reduce battery drain.
Obviously, there is a battery drain issue that is still present but it may not be something Jag can fix. It may be normal for the XF but in your case the sit times or short drives make it worse. With the steps above you should be able to avoid a dead battery.
This is the maintainer I use and it works great, but any maintainer should work: DieHard Battery Charger/Maintainer: Start Every Time With Sears
Always make sure the doors are locked so the electronics shut down and reduce battery drain.
Obviously, there is a battery drain issue that is still present but it may not be something Jag can fix. It may be normal for the XF but in your case the sit times or short drives make it worse. With the steps above you should be able to avoid a dead battery.
Last edited by Blackcoog; 01-14-2014 at 12:00 PM.
#5
01-14-2014, 02:27 PM
#6
01-14-2014, 03:09 PM
Since I drive my electric car around town on errands, my Jag sits a lot without starting. If i don't plan on using it within a few days I have it on a battery tender. This also prolongs battery life too because lead acid batteries like to stay topped off. Draining them down and charging them back up shorten battery life.
#7
01-14-2014, 07:46 PM
Veteran Member
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#8
01-14-2014, 09:55 PM
Veteran Member
I took some Ammeter reads under various load conditions and was totally blown away by the huge amounts of power used by something as simple as turning on the accessories to listen to a radio/CD. Seeing that I understood why the guy told me to ALWAYS run the engine when ever turning-on any accessories. I also understood why I would be getting a low battery alarm in only minutes without the engine running. I still have a lot of trouble accepting that if I want to listen to music in my car while my wife is out shopping, I have to power the electronics with an 8-cyl, 385 HP engine.
Albert
#9
01-16-2014, 09:04 AM
Battery Drain
Hi,
I am at Jaguar dealer right now having them check my second adaptive headlight error message after they just replaced headlight assembly on left side one month ago when I was receiving the same adaptive headlight warning symbol.
Every car in the showroom at Jaguar is on a C Tek Battery Minder. My local Audi dealer also has all of his showroom cars on battery tenders.
Before Jag I had a BMW with similar battery drain issues. Recommended by dealer to put it on battery tender a couple of times a week since I used it every day but did not drive very far. Also recommended to keep comfort access key fob and bluetooth phone at least 100 feet away from car when shutting down for the day. Also recommended to lock car each time upon exit since according to them by locking car you are doing a full shutdown of computers which does not happen just by closing doors. I followed their instructions and never experienced a battery problem afterwards. A battery tender is a very wise investment and I continue to use the BMW branded tender on my Jag with no battery issues so far.
Based on my experiences this is not a problem unique to Jaguar. I know that BMW's and Audi's are having the same problems. Good luck.
Ed
I am at Jaguar dealer right now having them check my second adaptive headlight error message after they just replaced headlight assembly on left side one month ago when I was receiving the same adaptive headlight warning symbol.
Every car in the showroom at Jaguar is on a C Tek Battery Minder. My local Audi dealer also has all of his showroom cars on battery tenders.
Before Jag I had a BMW with similar battery drain issues. Recommended by dealer to put it on battery tender a couple of times a week since I used it every day but did not drive very far. Also recommended to keep comfort access key fob and bluetooth phone at least 100 feet away from car when shutting down for the day. Also recommended to lock car each time upon exit since according to them by locking car you are doing a full shutdown of computers which does not happen just by closing doors. I followed their instructions and never experienced a battery problem afterwards. A battery tender is a very wise investment and I continue to use the BMW branded tender on my Jag with no battery issues so far.
Based on my experiences this is not a problem unique to Jaguar. I know that BMW's and Audi's are having the same problems. Good luck.
Ed
#10
01-16-2014, 09:12 AM
You do not have to have the ignition on to listen to the stereo. After switching off just push the on / off (volume) button in the centre console. That switches on the audio system and nothing else. I routinely listen for 30 to 40 mins before it automatically switches off to save battery.
#11
01-16-2014, 01:17 PM
Yes, after I get it back from Jaguar, I think I will get the battery tender. Problem is it is not the easiest to open the trunk, access the battery etc. to hook up the tender. Has anyone used the type of tender that hooks into the cigarette lighter? Is there an option under the hood to hook up?
#12
01-16-2014, 01:23 PM
Yes, after I get it back from Jaguar, I think I will get the battery tender. Problem is it is not the easiest to open the trunk, access the battery etc. to hook up the tender. Has anyone used the type of tender that hooks into the cigarette lighter? Is there an option under the hood to hook up?
#13
02-26-2018, 09:38 AM
Same issue with my XKR 2010
Hi , so I have had a similar problem , I bought my car new in Sept 2009 and battery worked fine then once it died and I had it changed , I had nothing but issues ,
It usually went like this oh great my car sat 4 days it's dead , hmm if I charge the battery will I ruin the electrical ? Better tow it to Jag to be safe , I had the new battery about two months when it started all the BS , they replaced it and sure enough same issues , so they put on some device that was supposed to detect where the drain was coming from , they couldn't figure it out so guess what, I've been living with the car like this for the last 4 years , So i make sure it doesn't sit more then two days with out driving it , if it dies I charge it or keep that over nite charging divice on it , also if misc icons come on the dash or if the control screen goes out guess what I unhook the battery and reboot it and everything goes back to normal , at the end of the day this was a easy fix and all and all I don't have major issue so far , reason why I'm on the forums today is because I'm changing out the battery today and doing research , this battery lasted 4 years and is due for a new one because I'm getting lots of icons coming up and not sure if they are legit or the battery operating at 25 percent , I will find out soon , I've been having restricted performance and an engine lite on , it goes on once in awhile , the car seems a bit sluggish I have about 80,000 miles on it now and I'm sure there are some things that could be changed out .. all an all the car hasn't been that bad except for when I moved to Florida and had the AC fixed at Jag , keep in mind I live in Dry Nevada and moved to humidity , well the dash board started to peel from the humidity and Jag said it would cost 4000 to fix , I'm like hellllll no , and first of all it your crappy car design fault , they offered 2000 , I still was like helllllll no , anyway I will call the Jag Corp and try to see what I can do , they say oh it has so many miles I'm like so what what car dash peels back ? And I baby this car . Sheeesh
i plan to keep my car at the end of the day I could pay a lot for another lease and my car is almost paid off , figure I'd spend less on repairs then new lease or finance on some regular car , my Jag still looks hot 2010 and all ..
Went out to garage and stone cold dead once again. I have read through most of the posts on this issue. The car has been in 3 times already and received 2 new batteries. They claimed to have done the related service upgrades. This battery lasted a little over 2 months. Admittedly, I do not drive the ca that much. It sat in the garage about a week, and it may have been unlocked. In any case this is getting quite frustrating, as this will be the fourth time bringing in for same issue and they clearly have no idea what the issue is. I love the car other than this, but c'mon the thing should stay charged longer than a week. Any ideas?
Last edited by Candyrock; 02-26-2018 at 10:04 AM. Reason: Wasn't finished
#14
02-26-2018, 11:28 AM
Never followed up on this and have now actually sold the car. But the culprit appeared to be an Ipod music device that was left in the car plugged into the usb port was slowly draining the car battery. Again, I do not drive a lot so that was enough to drain the battery. So would double check to ensure that nothing is plugged in anywhere that could possibly drain the battery.
#15
02-26-2018, 12:32 PM
Replying about your comment on battery and the USB ,
Yes I have a Nano plugged in to USB or actually the other one made for that too , I was told it could be the blue tooth running from my phone .. I'll be careful with both just incase , Thank you for your reply
Never followed up on this and have now actually sold the car. But the culprit appeared to be an Ipod music device that was left in the car plugged into the usb port was slowly draining the car battery. Again, I do not drive a lot so that was enough to drain the battery. So would double check to ensure that nothing is plugged in anywhere that could possibly drain the battery.
#16
02-26-2018, 01:13 PM
#19
03-24-2018, 09:10 AM
IPod Draining Car Batttery
I own a 2015 XF 3.0 SC AWD. My car has 18,000 miles onit and I drive maybe 20-30 miles per day.
I too was experiencing battery issues when I took the car to the dealer since still under warranty. I also left my IPOD plugged in all the time and even when car was not in use.
They traced the problem to a bad battery (the larger one was bad but the smaller battery was OK.) which they replaced with an Interstate AGM 950 CCA battery.
While at the dealer I questioned the service manager about my practice of leaving my IPod plugged in all the time. He said that he did not think that this mattered but just to be cautious he recommended that I unplug Ipod from USB port when car not in use. I now do this and every week or so I put the car on a Battery Tender for an overnight charge.
It has now been a few months since battery was changed (with Ipod being disconnected when not in use) and I have not experienced any electrical issues at all.
I had done a lot of research on this IPod issue and no one (not even dealer) was able to provide a really definitive answer about leaving IPod plugged in all the time. I was told; "it shouldn't", "it won't" I'm not sure" but no clear cut answer was available while I was researching this so to play it safe, I started to disconnect my IPod when car not in use.
I too was experiencing battery issues when I took the car to the dealer since still under warranty. I also left my IPOD plugged in all the time and even when car was not in use.
They traced the problem to a bad battery (the larger one was bad but the smaller battery was OK.) which they replaced with an Interstate AGM 950 CCA battery.
While at the dealer I questioned the service manager about my practice of leaving my IPod plugged in all the time. He said that he did not think that this mattered but just to be cautious he recommended that I unplug Ipod from USB port when car not in use. I now do this and every week or so I put the car on a Battery Tender for an overnight charge.
It has now been a few months since battery was changed (with Ipod being disconnected when not in use) and I have not experienced any electrical issues at all.
I had done a lot of research on this IPod issue and no one (not even dealer) was able to provide a really definitive answer about leaving IPod plugged in all the time. I was told; "it shouldn't", "it won't" I'm not sure" but no clear cut answer was available while I was researching this so to play it safe, I started to disconnect my IPod when car not in use.
