I was out of town for few months and when I came back the battery went completely dead. Tried calling the insurance to jump start the car, they did and the car started fine after connecting both the portable charger plus the jump cables connected to the car of the person who came. I kept it turned on for 45 mins before trying to turn it back on but the car did not start giving me clicking noise. At this point I realized either I have to get the battery to a AutoZone and charge it or find a replacement. Since the car is a 2008 XJR I figured I will change the battery as I did not change it since I bought the car in 2018.

Any recommendations on the make and model of the battery? I want to purchase the best available as I don't want to deal with the battery issues for the next 4-5 years. I am located in USA and live in east coast where winters are a bit harsh so please keep that in mind before suggesting.

Few suggested I should go with YUASA YBX 3665 but it's only available in UK.

Thanks,
Subbu

 

Fit a Varta and forget about it for at least a decade

 

Can you let me know where I can buy Varta and which model? I searched Amazon, partsgeek, autozone and advance autoparts but could not find it.

I searched Varta automotive and provided my vehicle details and it showed VARTA Silver Dynamic 577 400 078 is recommended but I could not find anyone within US who sells it.

 

The best possible replacement is a lithium from Antigravity, however they are costly. Besides storing endless amounts of energy they will save 35-40lb compared to a normal AGM while also have their neat re-start feature. Basically if the battery drops to a certain point it will cut off power to the car so you have enough to crank it.

https://antigravitybatteries.com/pro...tive/ag-h8-rs/

If you leave the car for long periods of time, invest in a quality battery charger. Check out the Noco brand.

 

nsub,
The exide battery from Home depot - of all places - is both cheap and a very good match for your Jag. Higher surface voltage than reg lead acid

I've used one now for a couple of years....

 

A good brand from Yusa over Varta or Bosch
but get a 12v at least 95amp batterie. Leaving the car unused is never a good thing.

 

Batteries available from the US are made by one of like 3 companies and they are all generally fine. Get a properly sized agm one from Walmart and go.

 

Hi Brekyrself,

The battery you suggested is 4-5x costlier than a regular lead/acid battery. Have you been using it on any of your cars to provide feedback?

 

you do not need an antigravity battery. Thats just blatant overkill for a normal sedan.

Again, any readily available AGM in the right size will easily last you 5 years if you treat it properly.

 

Many of us use them in sports/race cars for the weight advantage/power density for the size. You can read through a long thread here from first hand usuage: https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...arage-1147649/

He asked for the best possible battery so I simply provided the option. Lipo batteries are the future and provide many benefits however are currently much most costly compared to standard batteries.

End of the day, Subbu mentioned leaving the car for months which killed the battery. A normal lead acid battery or agm needs have a battery tender on it so it does not completely discharge.

 

The original specified battery was Silver Calcium (possibly Varta). This chemistry seems to be no longer available.
The next recommendation (in this forum) is a Calcium battery.
I have read of several people here using AGM battery, 100% positives and 0 negatives in my recollection.

The XJ charging system is said to charge to a higher voltage (~14.5v according to me, up to 15.3v according to documentation likely temp dependent.)
This IS on the high side, but the saving grace is that the charging system only charges at that voltage for 5 Minutes, after which it drops back to a more leisurely 13.5v or so.
This is why I believe it doesn't really matter what battery type you buy.

Just make sure it's a Big Mother, or you'll regret it...

(At some stage Exide Global Extreme or similar was recommended, but I got sidetrackerd and then confused reading about Exide's 3 bankruptcy's)

Incidentally, I'm claiming a record for the highest idiot battery replacement cost ever (excluding Lithium stuff). My Mercedes A180 (just a small hatchback) new battery cost $NZ780 ($USD467) installed. Although it's under a Mercedes-Certified Warranty, meaning I had to go to back to Mercedes for a Mercedes-labelled battery, of course the battery is classed as a "consumable". Grrr. It doesn't pay to buy a 5-yr-old car, because that's just when things like battery might need replacing...but a 10 or 15yr-old XJ that's OK then!

 

So far I have stumbled upon these batteries

https://www.batteriesplus.com/produc...onCode=VI33856


https://www.autozone.com/batteries-s...cca/937696_0_0

https://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart...0-CCA/40647529

But leaning towards Duracell from batteries plus but would appreciate experts opinion and suggest. If you have any other brands please send them through so that I can look at it closely.

Thanks,

 

Just had to replace the battery in my 2008 XJ VDP. My mech installed a Bosch - not sure what model but the specs are Battery-Primary CCA 900, Ah 100, RC 185. Cost was $300 parts and labor - $230 for battery, rest was diagnostics and reprogramming it.

 

@Jberry20 - Do you happen to have the link to the purchase place?

 

I bought it from my local mechanic shop here in Massachusetts. You would probably have to google around to find someone close to you who sells Bosch batteries. I have no idea if they sell retail or only through the 'trade'. My guy also put a Bosch in my wife's '14 XJL earlier this Spring. He told me he used to sell/install Interstate batteries but had too many early replacements. Jags seem to be super sensitive to battery condition - not sure why - and he does not want the headaches even if Interstate rebated some of the cost under warranty.

 

By all means, buy a new battery. In the grand scheme of things, they're not that expensive. But... have you tried one of these new "intelligent" pulse repair battery chargers? They do appear to work wonders. My 30 year old battery charger just up and quit on me a few weeks ago because apparently I left it outside in the rain one too many times. They just don't make anything to last anymore. But I digress. The point is, I had to buy new battery charger and I was surprised at A) how cheap they are these days, and B) that many of them had this new "pulse repair" technology built in. I thought it was probably snake oil, but I tried it on the car that had just gone dead and was amazed. So, I tried it on a car that has been sitting for over a year and the old battery was well past dead, and again was amazed. So... I tried it on an old battery core that has been sitting in my garage dead for at least 3 years because it wouldn't take a charge. I had replaced it and never took it in for the core charge. It took FOREVER for it to finish its pulse thing and fully recharge, but I am shocked that it seems to be fully charged and holding a charge now. I even put it back in a car just to see how long it would last and so far so good. I really am amazed.

I don't mean this to be a advert for pulse repair chargers. I have read about why and how they supposedly work, but I don't know if any of that is true. I only know that I can't stop playing with it because it seems to have resurrected some old batteries as if by magic. But, if you don't have any other reason to replace your battery other than it has gone bad and won't seem to hold a charge after a long sit, then I'd give it a try.

 

@jeremy_watson - Initially thought of getting a battery charger and try it before exploring buying a new battery. If you have any good pulse battery chargers that you have tried please send me the links so that I can give it a shot before purchasing a new battery. Again please remember I'm in USA so any links from UK will not be feasible to buy here

 

I don't know the max voltage the car electronics will take, just that the alternator/regulator has a max of 15.3v. To be on the safe side I have chargers which go to about 14.6v. If I was going to pulse repair I'd be inclined to disconnected it from the car. This has nothing to do with whether pulse repair works or not.

CTek, Noco, Powertrain come to mind, as does Projecta (Australia). Some of the Chinese chargers have exaggerated specs and/or lots of switching noise.

 

I bought this one about a month ago;
It was cheap and I didn't expect much. In fact, when it showed up it was so small compared to my really old fashioned one that I thought it was a joke. But it did a great job, and it's still working. So take that for what it's worth.