I went to Wal-Mart (I know, nothing good ever comes from going to Wal-Mart!) to get some non-car related stuff. I parked in the far reaches of the parking lot to save my Jag from shopping carts and door dings.

When I got back to my car it wouldn't start and odd things were happening. The windshield wiper would move in short jerks even though they weren't turned on! The seat would move, the steering wheel would go up/down and in/out -- but only when the key was turned on, of course. But, the car wouldn't start, the engine didn't make a sound. There were plenty of clicks and groans and buzzing going on when I'd turn the key on, but nothing when I turned it all the way to start. I couldn't get the windows to go down, the radio worked, I couldn't tell if the headlights came on.

So, I went back into Wal-Mart and got a small tool kit so I could disconnect the battery to see if resetting it would help. It didn't help.

I called AAA (First time since 1998!) and figured I'd have to have the Jag towed somewhere to get it fixed on Monday -- bummer for me and our mother's day plans. But, the guy did some kind of testing and determined that the battery was shot -- he gave me a jump and I drove across the street to PepBoys.

I found the battery I needed and the girl told me that she'd get it off the shelf while I went out and pulled the dead one out of the car. When I brought the old one in she said that it was less than 3 years old and should be under warranty. They hooked it up to their battery tester and determined that it was bad and GAVE ME A NEW BATTERY FOR FREE!!!! I couldn't have been happier!!!

The story continues...

After getting the jump from the AAA guy, the CEL was illuminated. The AAA guy didn't have a reader so I figured I'd ask at PepBoys (the AAA guy told me that it was probably due to the battery failure and it'd clear by itself when I installed the new battery - but it didn't). I drove out of the PepBoys parking lot with the CEL on and went across the street to Advance Auto Parts and had them read it -- well, I had them TRY to read it. They couldn't get any codes from my car.
She figured it was Jag-specific and I'd have to go to the dealer to have it read (right!). I asked her to tell me how to clear the CEL, she said "company policy against telling people how to clear the light!" I said thanks, and got in and started the car and NO CEL!!!!

So, now I'm back to loving my car!

Any comments? Like what might cause the CEL to light up, or anything I should do to my car now that I replaced the battery? I'm all ears.

Thanks for listening to my saga!

Mike

 

It would of helped if they'd pulled the code - as it is there's hundreds to guess at.

Have you installed anything electrically to the car lately ? it's a an odd one with a battery just kicking the bucket like that, mebe a dodgy earth?

Maybe the moral is buy a cheap OBDII reader there's a thread on here with the makes/models that work with our cars, I use a Memoscan U581 good tool for a fast scan (it's the one I set the throttle position with )

 

We go through a lot of car batteries in south Florida -- maybe it's the heat and humidity?

If I got a cheap (or not so cheap) scanner, should I be able to read the code still? Or does that depend on whether or not the Advance Auto Parts person reset it without telling me?

I have not installed anything electrically (or otherwise) on this car. I did replace the spark plugs last weekend.

 

...and the AAA guy claims that he checked out the electrical system and there was no drain on the battery -- whatever he means by that.

 

Yes. Heat is harder on batteries than cold. Battery manufacturers make market specific batteries because of this reason. There is a suffix in the size code. Cold climates get more plate density for cold cranking amps, and hot climates get less plate density to allow room for more electrolyte because of evaporation.

The AAA guy was probably right, the CEL cleared because the problem no longer existed. What he meant by "checking the drain" was checking whether the battery current drain was higher than normal with the ignition off. He was looking for a problem that would cause a good battery to die.

 

Thanks. I always feel better after talking to you guys!

The AAA guy seemed real competent and even knew the battery was in the trunk! LOL

 

Hi OldMike
Acton Code Reader CP9125 is now on sale at Advance Auto Parts website for $49.99 (their normal price is $59.99). Unfortunately since it is being discounted they are not allowing promo codes on its purchase.

It is still a great bargain at that price. JC Whitney's price is $70.99 and Ebayers pricing is from $70 to $100.

I purchased this same code reader over a year ago at advance auto parts online. They were allowing the promo code at that time.

I paid $33.04 for the code reader ($49.99 less promo A123 $16.95) plus tax, also a bosch oil filter for $5.94 ($8.99 less promo A123 $3.05) plus tax.

This code reader works properly all the time, Amazon reviewers give it 4.5 stars out of 5 star highest rating.

Also this code reader can be used to erase trouble codes. When I was having issues with the instrument cluster module throwing out P1638 with Restricted Performance fault, I erased the P1638 code and continued driving normally without the Restricted Performance. The P1638 keep coming back at 3 to 5 day intervals until I had the instrument cluster module replaced with a used one I purchased on Ebay.

This code reader saved me a lot of car tows.

Jim Lombardi

 

Ok, I took your advice and picked up the code reader that you mentioned -- thanks!

With a quick read of the manual. I plugged it in and got the P0560 and P1111 codes - the rest of the stuff I am leaving until tomorrow.

P0560 - System Voltage Malfunction
P!xxx - Manufacturer Specific

So, what does this tell us, if anything?

 

You guys probably already know all this, but it's new to me. I went to the JTIS and found this -

When the DTCs relating to a rectified concern are cleared, P1000 (system checks not complete since last memory clear) will be flagged. This DTC does not indicate a failure, just that diagnostic drive cycles need to be performed. This vehicle's on-board diagnostic system will confirm that ll the diagnostic drive cycles are complete by flagging P1111 (system checks complete since last memory clear).

 

Hi
The Jaguar DTC (Diagnosic Trouble Codes) Summary has the P0560 code description as "Vehicle voltage malfunction"
and possible causes as

"ECM battery power supply: open circuit, high resistance with ECM Connector pin number(s) EM81-17"

"ECM ignition power supply: open circuit, high resistance ECM Connector pin number(s) EM82-09 -13 EM83-20"

I am not sure all this means other than it had a low battery (dead battery) condition recorded.

I would erase the P0560 fault code with the code reader and see if it reappears after a day or two of driving your car.

Jim Lombardi

 

Thanks - I will do that tomorrow and keep an eye on it.

Sure is weird the way this all happened. No sign of a weak battery and then all of sudden the big problem! I'm just glad it happened this way and at this time (I wasn't in any kind of hurry so I had all day to deal with it!).

Glad to have this forum for guidance - I really appreciate everything everyone has said.

 

Hi Mike, I can honestly say from experience that these cars give you no warning that their batteries are going to die. The same thing happened to me one day only instead of being at the back of a large car park like you, I was parked on Lark Lane which is one of Liverpool's more salubrious shopping areas. It also happened to be on a Sunday lunchtime in the middle of summer, so there were many people and I was parked right outside the window of a mad busy Indian Restaurant. Seated in the passenger seat was my girlfriend whom I had just taken shopping.

It honestly doesn't look or feel good when you're being watched as you check relays and fuses under the bonnet of a big Jag because there is no crank for no reason. In the end the breakdown guy turned up and jump started me, and tested the battery for me. Turns out it was the one that came with the car from new in 2001, and this was in 2010 so it did well to last that long.

 

Thanks Stu. In my experiences with other cars, the battery seems to get "weak" and the cranking last a bit longer as a "hint" that the battery is going to need to be replaced soon! I was shocked when this car went from "no problems" to "not starting" within an hour! How glad I was, though, to find out it was nothing more than a dead battery with no other problems! The cat growls like a wild animal now!

 

And even better that Pep Boys was across the street, *and* that the replacement was under warranty.

 

1998 XJ8 V8 4.0 had a drain caused by the telephone system stationed under the armrest, it drained the 2008 battery so low it wasnt coming back PS IN FLORIDA. I placed a NAPA OEM battery in three hours ago and car still said dead battery. All inside components ork fine, all positive posts are getting current, alt getting current all fuses good except a 5 amp in the rear healboad from the telephone short other tahn that I am stumped I cannot even think of what this could be, please let me know if you have heard of this.