Hello I've been having some electrical issues since I flushed my transmission and replaced my upper control arms. The Issue is if i leave the car sit for a day or 2 and come back I find that my battery has been drained to the point that I cant start the car anymore. I'm able to jump the car let it charge and don't have an issue with it until I leave it sit for a couple days.

Is it likely just a bad battery and a coincidence that this came up right after the other services?

Also an issue I've been having for awhile now is flickering headlights, I haven't cleaned the grounds behind the lights yet but plan to shortly.

Any tips?

 

Sounds like you need a new battery
I leave my car at the airport for 2 weeks in every 3 without any issues

There is drain on the battery ,as some modules remain powered, but it is minimal.

If you think the issues is not the battery first measure the drain at the battery using a multimeter (inline and set to amps)
If you discover there is an issue a blade fuse ammeter is invaluable

I have one like this Automotive Car Current Tester Ammeter DC AC 80A 48V Blade Plug Sound Alarm CF-08 | eBay

Ive just done my headlamp earth points
While I had no issues I had the headlamps out, so it was a good time to deal with them as a preventive measure

there is one earth on one side and two on the other.On the side with 2 earths I drilled a 9mm hole between the earths and used a 8mm stainless bolt. All the cables fit on the one bolt. Make sure you add a stainless washer on each side and attach a nut. this gives you the new post. 2 more washers and a nilock nut finishes the job. As an extra I made a lead with 3 lugs and linked the old earths to the new one.

On the other side its the same job but only one earth lug

For the headlamps flicker its most likely the bulbs. Id replace both bulbs first and do the earths. If you still have issues next is the ballast replacement.

Also you did not say is both lights are flickering and how.
If it is both try with autolamps off as it may be the daylight sensor. If they are both flickering off at the same time it may also It be the clockspring and or stalk.

Cheers
34by151

 

So I had the battery tested and it came back in great condition. The drivers headlamp actually turns off sometimes and then comes back on. Could the grounds cause a battery drain?

How long does it normally take for the air suspension to go into stance mode when parked? Is it possible that the air compressor would kick in if I had a leak causing battery drain? I've never heard it but I had to disconnect the lines on the front air shocks when I did the upper control arms.

 

Is there more info on this and tracking it down?

 

No a loose ground should not drain your battery but a poor ground may prevent a correct charge (but not at the headlight. That's a different issue. Compressor should level the car in a minute so that shouldn't be an issue.

When you changed your trans fluid, did you disconnect and reconnect the battery? If so, check that the battery connections are good. If they aren't, your alternator might not be charging it. Test the alternator. Put your multi meter on the POSTS of the battery when the vehicle is running. Someone in the X350 will have to tell you what it should read. On my XK it reads 14.2 volts. Next, move the test leads to the cables. It should be the same.

That said, it sounds like you have a parasitic drain. Something isn't turning off when the key is out of the ignition. Unfortunately, the only way to test this is to pull fuse by fuse and using a test lamp or multi meter, see which system is the culprit. It's easy to test, just a PIA because there are so many fuses.

I would personally start by disconnecting the battery and let it stand free. Test the voltage the next day and the next, to see if it's holding a charge on its own. It should read about 12.4 volts and should hold there. If it isn't, you have a bad battery.

 

I doubt you battery load test is valid and I will explain why
The X350 is very sensitive to voltages anything below 11.2 will cause problems
Most battery testers were designed for older vehicles and test the load down to as low as 8 volts.

The Jaguar load test is 300 amp draw for 15 seconds and a voltage reading of no less than 9.6 volts

You can simulate this by measuring the voltage while cranking the engine. Make sure the voltage does not drop to below 11.2 volts

Also from JTIS,

Let battery sit (disconnected) for 24 hours and measure the voltage if below 12.7 volts replace battery

Connect and ammeter and leave the car stopped and unlocked for 30 min, measure the current which should not be above 30ma

All indications are a bad battery, just because it cranks the car does not mean it is good!!!!

Getting back to your lights as both are not flickering it is unlikely to be the stalk or clock spring.
The most likely the HID bulb then the ballast.
That earth has the compressor and headlamp. If you had an earth issue you would be getting air suspension errors and problems with low and high beam. a simple check, when the lamp flickers off is select high beam. If you get high beam you dont have an earth issue.

Id replace the bulbs first and take the opportunity to upgrade the earths at the same time.
While you have the lights out switch ballasts between the headlamps.
If you now get flicker on the opposite side replace the ballasts

Cheers
34by151

 

Some info if you Search for
quiescent

(meaning current / drain)

 

Thanks everyone. I should be able to dig into it this weekend and hopefully resolve the issue. When I have more info good or bad I'll let you know.

 

Ditto on questioning the battery test. I used a 50 AMP tester and it indicated good on the highest scale labeled 500 CCA but using a digital voltmeter at the battery, the voltage dropped to 11.06 volts when cranking.

A new 900 CCA AGM battery still dropped to 11.4x volts when cranking (it started too quickly to get the exact reading) but it no longer sets all the misfire codes and weird messages that starting on the old battery caused.