There does seem to be a little bit of hysteria about it on the forum but I spent the first year and a half of ownership of my '07 XKR having intermittent electrical issues. I eventually took the advice if the forum and bought a CTEK charger. It definitely helped but it certainly didn't fix my issues. I could leave the car charging all weekend then have the touch screen hang or have one of the other classic symptoms occur when I went to start the car.

The battery was showing none of the usual signs of struggling that an ordinary car would have but the XKR made it very obvious that there were issues. They seem to be incredibly sensitive to tired batteries and have problems long before any car I have had before. I am sure if I put the battery in to my wife's car (Subaru Outback) it would carry on happily with it for at least another year or two.

Five months ago I finally tracked down an AGM battery and now have no issues what so ever. I also don't bother with the CTEK any more and this is with a car that only does 4-5 miles a day and is left unlocked over night (shock horror!).

From my experience, if your touch screen displays the Jaguar leaper for more than a split second after the engine starts you need to do something about your battery. Mine would sometimes display the leaper for 5 seconds or more and also occasionally hang. No hanging with the new battery and the touch screen menu appears as soon as the engine starts. I suspect that the AGM technology is more suited to our cars because they can supposedly supply a higher rate of current on demand and can recharge faster.

I would rather change the battery every couple of years than have to plug a charger in every night. If you need to do that on a car that is used daily, there is something not quite right! If it is a garage queen or layed up for the winter then of course a battery maintainer would be useful.

 

U-102768

What a very measured and considered view, it was very refreshing. I do not disagree with using a Cetek or similar maintenance charger and actually use one on my E type that just sits in the garage all winter with the odd turn over. But to drag the car into the garage every night seems to be a bit of overkill. I am sure sometime in the future I will experience the problems mentioned and will try the trickle charger to resolve it. But as you have stated getting the righ battery for the job will do more. Time will tell and and I may come creeping back with my tail between my legs.

Tony

 

A new AGM battery fresh off the shelf will provide a great source for supplying power to the electrical system of the Jaguar. However, over a period of time, even an AGM battery will need battery maintenance.

The thought of having to "drag" your Jaguar into the garage to plug in a battery maintainer, might show a lack of effort or laziness on ones part. Instead of "dragging" my Jaguar XKR in the garage I simply "park" it in the garage, get out and take 5 seconds to simply plug my CTEK maintainer into the socket. One press of the key to lock the car. I have mine set up where I never have to open the trunk lid to connect it. My plug-in is mounted outside of the car. I use the garage to park my cars. I would never leave my Jaguar XKR sitting outside when I have an empty garage stall to pull it into.

The CTEK maintainers are also made to maintain an AGM battery. If an AGM battery did not need battery maintenance, CTEK would not build that feature in the to their respective chargers.

It is amazing to me, how or why some people will disregard an easy process to repair or maintain a item that they personally own, because don't want to take a simple extra effort, or just be lazy. It's kind of like using a tool or wrench and when your done, you never put it away.

 

Honestly, if the Jag weren't as awesome as it is, I wouldn't put up with the electrical hijinks. I am considering an X351 XJ as a stablemate but will probably remove it from consideration since they require similar electrical attention. Since it would be a daily driver (or at least frequently driven), I can tell you right now my wife would drive off with the CTEK still plugged in! Not a problem with the XKR because it is rarely driven these days and it is off limits to the wife!

 

Richzak

It is not being lazy and I do put mine in the garage every night. I just feel you do not need to do it every night and you should not have to. Ok if you are leaving it stored for winter or long periods but the world will not end or should not end if you miss a week.

 

I was worried about that as well as it is too easy to just jump in and drive off so I put a baseball cap on the rear windscreen when it was charging so I wouldn't forget.

 

And if by chance you think that a Jaguar is the only modern car that needs this sort of battery attention, and that if you buy a German rival you won't have the same sort of issue, you will be very surprised. There is a reason why the premium marque manufacturers all market the CTEK chargers under their own label!

 

I have been continuing my experiment observations for the past couple of weeks. In my 2010 xk it definitely seems that the CTEK changes to green in a shorter amt. of time if the car is unlocked. I believe this is because of the security system not running when it's unlocked. If the car is garaged and you are not concerned about security then I don't feel there is any reason to unlock the car if ctek connected as far as battery is concerned. Always lock it if the CTEK is not connected. My experiment is now coming to a close. Thanks for all the comments.

 

100% correct Gregory.

I own a 2014 Porsche Cayman 981 (German made) and the car uses allot of power for the computer system, sensors, and electronic modules.

My 2015 Corvette C7 came with a battery protection pkg, and GM officially went with the CTEK brand. The smartcharger has the Corvette logo, but is is a CTEK3300 charger.

I have 4 CTEK's working which even includes my 2014 Ford F-150 Supercrew pickup.

IMO, I would not be without these smartchargers on all of my newer model year cars. While some might feel these smartchargers are not a neccessity, I feel they are an accessory that every newer car owner should use or have.

 

Some of us poor folks don't got garages...

 

Very simple solution - my wife never drives my XKR or XJ. She says they're both too low and she feels safer driving her MDX. Fine with me!

 

Same here! My wife has gotten used to the ease of getting in-and-out of her RX350; plus she feels she can see the road better than she can in our other three cars. She has driven quite a few sports,GTs, and American muscle cars over our years of marriage because those were the only kinds of cars I liked and would purchase (I had company owned/leased sedans most of my working career). Now it is up to me to keep those other cars plus MC on a battery maintainer - presently using a CTEK 3300 and "Battery Tender" to do the job.

 

That would be great if I could afford an XJ AND an XKR and another car for my wife to drive!

 

v8cat,

Must be a Georgia thing with wives preferring SUVs. I could never find a comfortable driving position in my wife's previous RX350, and prefer her MDX with its larger cargo capacity notwithstanding its worse gas mileage.

I suggest you reconsider the continued use of your Battery Tender. My Battery Tender Jr. melted and was a fire hazard. See my 2011 review on Amazon as well as the 77 comments: Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Battery Tender 021-0123 Battery Tender Junior 12V Battery Charger To date, 457 out of 510 people found my review to be helpful. The comments are informative and entertaining.

Note that the warranty replacement unit was no better; it overcharged and boiled the electrolyte out of the battery. That should never happen with a smart charger and is a common problem with the Battery Tender Jr. For me, Deltran = Never Again.

I currently use a BatteryMINDER brand smartcharger on my XKR and a CTEK MUS4.3 brand on my XJ. I bought them on Amazon and am pleased with both...so far.

Stuart