Success!

A few bits of info first. After charging the disconnected battery all night, on testing it was showing 13V. When connected to the car it showed 12.42V. When starting the car, it dipped to 11.16, then upto 14.44. In convenience mode it showed around 12.48V.

So, how did I get the program to work? Trial and error I'm afraid! I decided to try to use the old garage remotes, which don't work with the new door, to program the car transmitter. My thought process was, I could follow the full process, learn the old remote codes and then teach these to the Universal Receiver. This would then allow me to use the car transmitter and the old remotes to control the new garage door (through the Universal Receiver).

So, I did the following:
1. Turned on the car engine. I wasn't prepared to risk doing this in convenience mode as I didn't want another flat battery!
2. Follow the car manual instructions to clear the programming (press the 1 and 3 buttons....).
3. Press the old remote and car garage door button at the same time. Tried this multiple times, but the slow flash never changed to a rapid flash, so the car wasn't learning the code from the old remote. Then tried moving the hand held remote into different positions; close to the car transmitter, further away, to the left, to the right and suddenly, the car transmitter light flashed rapidly. I was pressing and releasing the button on the remote control, not just holding it permanently pressed, although I had tried to keep it permanently pressed also. So, not sure why the programming suddenly worked!

If I then pressed the car transmitter button, it showed a solid red light, which, according to the car manual, meant it had been programmed. Now, because the old remotes don't control the new garage door, pressing the car transmitter did nothing. Next I tried pressing the learn button on the Universal receiver, then the middle button on the car transmitter. Nada. The Universal receiver led should go out when it learns the code, but it stayed on for the full 30 seconds. Tried this a few times, with no success, also moving the Universal receiver around in the hope that a "strong" signal may work, however, I had this inside the car with me, so it doesn't get any closer/stronger than that!

So, as this didn't appear to work, I followed the Universal Receiver instructions, which start with pressing all three buttons simultaneously for 20 seconds, while a solid red led shows, then the led starts flashing for 10 seconds, then goes off, at which point the buttons are released. Now, the instructions don't explain what this is doing. It is different to clearing the codes and my suspicion is this is telling the HomeLink transmitter to generate a code itself. Next, it was a case of transmitting the code from the car to the Universal Receiver by pressing the learn button on the receiver and then pressing the transmitter button on the car, then releasing, then pressing, then releasing (3 times). Tried doing this a number of times and each time the led on the Universal Receiver would turn off (before the 30 seconds were up), which suggested that the Universal Receiver WAS learning the code. However, when then pressing the car transmitter button, nothing happened!

Tried this learning process numerous times, moving the universal receiver around and eventually gave up.

Turned the engine off and then something remarkable happened. As a last ditch try, I pressed the car transmitter button and the garage door started to close. Pressed again and it stopped. I could see the lights on the Universal receiver circuit board responding to each press. Hey presto, it worked!

No idea, why it suddenly started working when I had given up trying.

Interestingly, the old remotes do not work with the HomeLink Universal Receiver. This suggests that despite teaching the car transmitter the old remote codes, these were lost by the "press all 3 buttons" process, which I think must have generated a new code for the car transmitter.

Now I need to determine the best place to install the Universal Receiver in the garage to give the best range for the car and it should then be job done.

I will probably still get the battery charger so I don't have to borrow my friends each time the battery goes flat, so would welcome feedback on the chargers I'm considering.

I think I'll wait until next weekend to try the mobile pairing using the guidance given, but I don't hold out much hope as I've tried this many times since I got my Samsung in November last year. My old HTC One Android would pair, but the downloaded phone book was garbage, so I never knew who was calling me, although I could make calls by typing in the numbers manually. The Samsung just refuses to pair, full stop and no codes are requested.

 

I think you may be confusing 2 different charger applications. When the group here talks about chargers we refer to "smart chargers" or battery maintainers. These are 5-7 amp units that will maintain a batteries charge for cars that are only driven a few times a week. The chargers that you are looking at are for either start boost or high current charging. You will find most on this site will recommend CTEK as the smart charger of choice. There are various models but most have the 8 step type of charger. Look up the Ctek MSU 4.3 www.ctek.com

 

I'll just throw this out there to see what others think.....
My father-in-law bought a new Ford Explorer about a year ago and had never had a built-in door opener before so he had the gawdawful huge transmitter stuck to his visor. I showed him the Homelink and he had no idea what it was.
ANYWAY, I tried to do a quick program on it and it wouldn't take for some reason. I knew I was doing the very simple task correctly so I checked the (GASP!) User Manual.
Evidently the Homelink that was factory has different firmware or something as the Manual stated:
Button One for Genie Openers
Button Two for Chamberlain and Craftsman Openers
Button Three for Black and Decker Openers.
I had no idea about those caveats, but since he has a Chamberlain opener I tried to program his Button Two instead of #1.
Lo and Behold!!! Everything worked perfectly.
Damn those User Manuals with their useful information!
I'm not saying this is a problem for anyone here, just an observation from personal experience.

 

User manuals and install manuals are for wimps not real men

 

If you use a trickle charger or battery maintainer, you don't need to disconnect the battery when charging. In fact, you're better not doing so, because when you disconnect the battery the car loses a whole bunch of programmed and learned parameters. You then have to re-set stuff like your seat memories, and the ECM has to re-learn the engine parameters.

As for using the car while on charge: well, I guess the issue might be sucking too much current out of the charger. However, any half-decent charger has overload protection, so it will just cycle itself off & on to avoid overheating. I have a trickle charger that ain't man enough to charge my XKR battery from flat, but I just leave it connected and it flips off & on until it gets enough juice in to reduce the charge current & stay on until the battery is charged. So, try it & see how your charger behaves; it should be fine.

 

Hi jagtoes, no, I'm not getting confused. In my opening question I asked "...but I'm looking to purchase a battery charger/booster....". Ngarara suggested I search the forums for "CTEK", but it quickly became clear this wasn't the type of charger I wanted. My jag is used every day and gets a good run, so doesn't need to be trickle charged/conditioned. I'm looking for a charger that will help me get out of the situation where the battery goes flat when, for example, I try to program it to control the garage door or connect to my phone, or have the windscreen replaced

 

OK no problem as I guess you know what you need. I would assume if you drive your car 3-4 times a week you won't need a smart charger but if you have drained your battery where you need a large charger then it would have been easier to have kept is on a smart charger every day. It would be interesting to take a poll here to see how many use a smart charger on their cars. Another benefit is you could have had the smart charger plugged in while you were playing with the garage door opener and you wouldn't have needed to recharge the battery. Remember every time you drain a flooded type battery it take life out of it. Enjoy the drive

 

Have to agree with jagtoes.
While I was making some mods (installed LED taillights, GVIF, HKS Camp2, backup camera, ACM module), I was opening and closing doors, moving seats, ignition on/off, lights on for extended periods, over more than a week, without starting the car. Kept the car on the battery maintainer the whole time, and it started right up when I was finally ready to back her out of the garage.

 

jagtoes, you're right, it would have definitely helped to have had the car hooked up to a charger while I was trying to program the garage door transmitter.

The reason I didn't is that I "forgot" about the battery issues on the XK. The last time I had a battery issue was a couple of years ago as a result of the windscreen being changed and the doors being left open for a length of time. As a result of this I replaced the OEM battery as it was 6 years old! Driving 50 miles a day means I just don't have battery issues, until this weekend.

So, from my point of view, it just isn't worth putting the car on conditional charge each night purely to avoid a potential issue where I might be doing something out of the ordinary. However, next time I need to do something like this I will ensure I either keep the engine running or put it on charge - assuming I have purchased a charger by then I still haven't decided which one to go for.

 

So, my jag is now back on the road having had its punctured tyre replaced and I went out for a run in it today for the first time in a week. Started no problem after the battery recharge last weekend, however the airbag amber light stays on and there's nothing I can do to turn it off. I'm assuming this is a side effect of the battery going flat and being disconnected.

I really, really don't want to have to pay my local H A Fox dealers to check and reset it as I'm convinced there's nothing wrong with it. I seem to recall having a similar problem a couple of years ago, the last time the battery went flat. Is there anything I can do to reset the airbag warning light?

 

It may reset on its own - some fault codes stay active until there have been a certain number of starts with no fault.

 

I'm not certain, but I think you may be able to turn off that warning light with an inexpensive Bluetooth ELM327 OBDII reader connected to your smartphone running the free Torque app.

 

Being "convinced" there is nothing wrong with it is not a safe way to drive. It might have a sensor in the steering wheel that failed and in the event of an accident - you might not have airbags. The dead battery might just have been a coincidence. If your safety is important to you have it checked out by your mechanic and have it properly diagnosed and if necessary - fixed.

 

A cheap code reader will give some indication of what the car thinks the problem is.

 

I see this is an older thread.

I hope you didn't ditch your Cat over such a silly problem.

1- There should be an error code for the charging issue.
2- An /07's electronics is unlikely to be compatible with technology that is light years ahead of that vintage. It requires too much juice and will create a short that will definitely drain even a new battery. I had to replace all the wiring and sensors for the the entire sound system in my '05 when I added an updated dash unit with bluetooth. Many other-market product suppliers are not familiar with Jag's in general, much less al older one. Most don't even realize the battery is in the trunk (facepalm).
3- Did your garage door opener kit come with the usual remote most people keep clipped to their sun visor? If so, there's no need to match it to your Jag. Save yourself any more headaches. It will work with any car you drive as long as you have it with you.

If you haven't found an independent shop, do. My guy is a wealth of wisdom. You'll save so much you'll be happy to give them your business.

 

??? It appears that your comment was posted here in error, as the last post was over 4 years ago.