A few months back I asked my local Jaguar dealer to install a new battery that I had purchased from a local autoparts store. The battery recently went bad (voltage dropped by more than half under a load test), so I returned the battery under warranty and received a new replacement.

After some thought I decided that I could buy a whole lot of beer for what the dealer installation charge would be, so I decided to do it myself. Knowing the battery was located in the trunk under the liner was a bit intimidating to me, but I decided to "go for it".

It could not have been any easier.....!!

So for any who might be interested, here goes:

1. Open a beer (preferably Guiness in honor of this fine car)

2. Remove the floor panel over the spare tire as well as the luggage cover (resembles the cargo cover one would find in an SUV). Lift the luggage cover up and out.

4. Remove the four round plastic knobs at each corner or the vertical panel facing you at the rear of the compartment (the rear of the back seats) remove these by unscrewing counterclockwise, pull out, and put in your pocket.

5. The vertical panel will now come free when pulled to reveal the battery directly in front of you.

6. The battery has security bolts on the front retaining bar and 10mm bolts on both terminals and the right hand safety retainer.

7. The positive terminal is on the right, the negative terminal on the left (don't forget to plug the vent hose into the side of the new battery).

8. If you do not first attach a power source to the car's electical system, you will have to reset the presets (radio stations, etc). This took me very little time (5-10 minutes).

9. Reinstall the trunk liner, etc.

10. Drink your second beer.

 

Stillwaters, like your style! Thanks for the info. I might have to have my second beer after pulling the old battery out and lifting the new battery into position. Cheers.

 

Timely post, I'm in the same boat. I believe my 08 still has the OEM battery and after my Nav/Audio/LCD screen locked on me twice (the first time the dealer claimed they needed to wipe a=the cars software and re-load which took about 6 hours) I pulled the negative cable on the battery the second time. That returned my LCD screen.

All I know is the battery is ALL black with no visible markings. I'm told they are on top of the battery. Can you confirm what the OEM battery looks like?

I'm looking to buy an InterState AGM replacement.

Again thanks for the great post.

Tom

 

Good info Stillwaters, but I'm not certain that Guinness was the best choice to honour an English car.

 

Tom, the OEM battery looks like this.

 

Sweet, am going to "borrow" the wife's small make up mirror so I can take a peak at the top of the battery.

Thanks so much.

Tom

 

It's funny that your OEM battery is not maintenance free ones ? Varta is an excellent brand though

 

Oops,

Did I say Guiness? I meant Bass Ale...

 

I think I could turn that into a three beer job.

 

Finally got around to looking at the battery, what a PITA to get to and see the top. This is exactly what is in my car, of course there are no month/year codes that would tell me if it's the original OEM or a newer replacement battery.

But after two episodes of my Nav LCD screen/system locking up I wonder if that wasn't the battery telling me it's time to be replaced.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't battery replacement covered under the B2B warranty?

Tom

 

hi
teh original battery in my 03 str is whitish thru which u can barely see
it says made in germany with jaguar stickers on top and part no and rating and stuff
the dealer is giving replacement for 202$ and is in stock
but want to go for yellow top ?

 

Tom, I had to replace mine. While at the dealer, I discovered that the battery that was in it was not the OEM battery. They told me that had it been the OEM, they would have replaced it under the warranty. Consequently I had to pay for it.

So, you should be covered under your warranty.

 

8mm socket or wrench , for both bolts , it was the case in my 03str

 

a fun fact , i bought optima yellow top thinking one of the best , but both optima and varta are made by johnson control and varta oem battery have same technology ,

Johnson Controls Inc. | Brands

oem 650 ca , 90ah , 170 reserve capacity battery is pretty gud , the one made in 2002 is still in my 03str and cranking strong after 8 years , new one is 202$ from dealer + tax , will go for the oem only on the day it shows weakness
the oem specs for german cars are very very high compared to aftermarket specs in US , so i will go with oem from dealer anyday and price difference isnt much
i got d34 yellow top for 208$ + tax(after our shop discount ) , and it has lower AH and Reserve ampere rating then oem and more expensive , returned it seeing the lower ratings and after finding both brands are made by same company ,
my battery died on me once , i drained the battery listening to music too long , was trying to program the garage door opener , took me 2 hours , bummer :P AFTER that battery wasnt picking up , cranked with laziness and felt it was dieing , thought needed new one after serving 8 years , got yellow top but returned as soon as i got it ,
then tried professional battery charger at our shop , has been fine since ,its 9th year now from its manufacturing date stamped at bottom , i find it really hard to believe

 

What is a yellow top?

 

Optima Yellow Top Battery - Deep Cycle YellowTop Batteries

 

Thanks! It appears that they do not offer a battery for any 2007 Jaguar. The Battery Selector doesn't even have Jaguar on the list!

 

Will this cause confusion for the car with the power top? I've heard many times that people have trouble with the power top after replacing the battery and I don't want to go through the hassle of recalibrating the top if I don't have to!

 

Any idea which battery is best for the XKR? I need a model number!