Car Wont Start after 10 days away

londonxk8 · August 8, 2016

hello - just returned from a 10 day work trip/holiday, and the car battery seems dead (alarm wont disable, no lights come on with the keys in the ignition). i just purchased the car a couple months ago, and the seller said a new batter was just fitted. any tips on what to do?

another issue i was having over the past few weeks (could be related to the battery) - was that the passenger side electric window wont goes up too high, and wont seal the door. i tried resetting the window (holding the button all the way up and down for the windows to re-learn the proper settings). however, the issue did not go away.

anyways - any help much appreciated

Claws · August 8, 2016

Hi Jason

Try charging the Battery

Steve

londonxk8 · August 8, 2016

Hi Steve - i can do that,although the battery was just changed 2 months ago. Although the seller did admit to putting in a cheap battery - so perhaps that is the issue. Any particular batter recommended for a 2002 xk8? thank you

Claws · August 8, 2016

In regard to a recommended battery for an XK8, sorry Jason I couldn't help with that, all i can say, I know my one is a Bosch.

Can I ask whilst you were away, was the car locked and 'Alarmed' for the whole period? that could possibly be the reason for a flat battery, especially if its a cheap one, I would charge your battery fully, and then try your window, if the battery was on its way out it may not have had enough Umph! to close the window, especially if its a little stiffer than the others, if it still fails to close after a full recharge of the battery, you can probably remove that as a possible cause, then you explore other possibilities

If you got the battery 2 months ago (from new I presume) it will still be under warranty if its failed (as in there is something wrong with it) perhaps its not rated to the car, you have a big lump of an engine to spin over, and no doubt lots of toys to power as well. I'm no expert, but I would think you need a decent 'heavy duty' one

O.T.H · August 8, 2016

Hi jason --I'm in full agreement with Steve on this you must have a good battery, cheap

ones just do not do the job ??? I had one on my cat when I had it first and was adviced

by someone in the club to get the correct size and the Iv'e had no more problems .

Frank

Old Peter · August 8, 2016

HI Jason,

Frank and Steve are absolutely correct. And a cheap battery is no good on Jaguars at all.

We had a member some years ago who had bought a 3 litre s type and the electrics stopped working, even though the car would start. The battery that was new would not have powered a 1960 mini.

The battery on my V6 s type 2.7D is a Varta 95ah fitted by Jaguar. You will need a battery with at least 95ah for a V8.

Regards,

Peter.

londonxk8 · August 8, 2016

Hello all - thank you for the advice. I'll put a proper batter for the car in, and hopefully that also solves the window issue as well.

my neighor helped me get the boot open, which was a bit of an ordeal! in the end, he connected the jump to the fuse box to get it open. the batter was branded "MEAN", which neither of us had ever heard of. so going to get a proper battery and think this will solve quite a few issues!

Jason

Claws · August 9, 2016

Let us know how you get on

londonxk8 · August 9, 2016

ordered a Bosch Bosch S4 Battery 019 with a 4-year guaranteed. the picture attached is how we got the boot to open.

battery arrived tomorrow so will let you know if this solves the other issues too (window on passenger side). thanks for all your help!

Nige005 · August 9, 2016

A bit odd re the Boot thing Jason. A clever work around but don't you have a key opening for the Boot Lock ? My 1998 one has one. Admittedly it's a bit hard to see, it's in between the X and the K of the XK8 badge at the bottom of the Boot Lid.

Oh, and about your Sport Button snag No idea really but it would probably just amount to removing the centre console bit and replacing or fixing a broken bit of plastic.

Carry on the good work, Battery for you next !

londonxk8 · August 10, 2016

Hi NIge - i didnt realise thre was a key opening for the boot lock, but it was needed as i realised i coulndt get back into the car through the work around once the battery was out!!

thank you, its in a clever little spot thats for sure

jason

Nige005 · August 10, 2016

1 hour ago, londonxk8 said:

Hi NIge - i didnt realise thre was a key opening for the boot lock, but it was needed as i realised i coulndt get back into the car through the work around once the battery was out!!

thank you, its in a clever little spot thats for sure

jason

No problem. The previous owner of mine, who is a friend anyway, took about four years to find it !!!

PD Miller · August 10, 2016

On 8/9/2016 at 2:12 PM, Nige005 said:

it's in between the X and the K of the XK8 Badge

Mine is a 2001 and the boot lock access is inside one of the circles of the number 8 on the XK8 badge, . I think it's the lower one but not sure,They must've changed it at some point but I'm sure you'll find it.

londonxk8 · August 11, 2016

yes found it - its in the xk8 badge! never would have found it, but now that i know where it is - seems so obvious! got the new battery in - now just have to solbve the ABS light and the passenger window (still not working properly). going to take open the door with the help of my neighbor and see if we can figure it out somehow. for the abs light - going to see if we can clean the sensors - if that doesnt work will try to take out the module and see if cna get it repaired. thinking to buy a code sensor - if anyone knows a good one for the xk8 please let me know

many thanks

Nige005 · August 11, 2016

16 minutes ago, londonxk8 said:

yes found it - its in the xk8 badge! never would have found it, but now that i know where it is - seems so obvious! got the new battery in - now just have to solbve the ABS light and the passenger window (still not working properly). going to take open the door with the help of my neighbor and see if we can figure it out somehow. for the abs light - going to see if we can clean the sensors - if that doesnt work will try to take out the module and see if cna get it repaired. thinking to buy a code sensor - if anyone knows a good one for the xk8 please let me know

many thanks

Jason, STOP !!! Before you start taking the Door Card off remove and clean the Connector Plug on the " A " Pillar that connect the car electrics into the Door. This is very simple and may save you a lot of time ! Do it on both doors if you have but do the Drivers one first and then test. If you still have problems then do the Passenger one. If you still have problems after doing both Connectors then then start digging into the Door itself.

I'd put money on the ABS fault being caused by the ABS Control Module but cleaning the Connectors for each wheel is a good starting point.

No idea about a Code Reader, my local indy is happy to do it for me for free so I haven't had to look into this.

Good luck !

PD Miller · August 11, 2016

On 8/9/2016 at 2:12 PM, Nige005 said:

I bought a Sealey for about £25 a couple of years ago and it seems to work fine on the XK. Probably paid for itself when it picked up a faulty knock sensor then an EGR fault on an X Type. More recently I got an Icarsoft which is specifically for Jaguar Land Rover and gives live data etc, that was about £100 but might be cheaper now. There's lots of info on the forums about them so there's plenty for you to read if you're not into the Olympics . I had a faulty ABS sensor on the XJ and the Icarsoft picked it up no problem.

Good luck.

Pete

Nige005 · August 12, 2016

14 hours ago, PD Miller said:

I bought a Sealey for about £25 a couple of years ago and it seems to work fine on the XK. Probably paid for itself when it picked up a faulty knock sensor then an EGR fault on an X Type. More recently I got an Icarsoft which is specifically for Jaguar Land Rover and gives live data etc, that was about £100 but might be cheaper now. There's lots of info on the forums about them so there's plenty for you to read if you're not into the Olympics . I had a faulty ABS sensor on the XJ and the Icarsoft picked it up no problem.

Good luck.

Pete

This all sounds good.

When I had the Traction/Stability/ABS fault come on ( again ! ) whilst I was out and about I called in at the local indy as I was nearby. He put a generic Code Reader on and it just came up with a Code that was basically " Comms Error, " The Reader was talking to the Car but not helping much with any diagnosis. Had similar with other makes of car so real world advice from a Forum like this is invaluable.

Later on when I returned to the indy he put the proper Jag one on and it revealed the fault immediately, very impressed with that. Nice bit of kit with dedicated tough display and a wireless connection, live data and everything, even CBeebies I think, which would be good right now to avoid the overblown school Sports Day claptrap everywhere I look...........

londonxk8 · August 16, 2016

Hi Nige,

Noted about the door - thank you!

Strangely - i got the valve replaced in my RIM which was leaking, and the ABS light has now come off. Had an hour drive, and the light was off the entire time. not sure if somehow connected (or not), but time will tell! thank you for the advice on the code reader, may buy the icarsoft one!

thanks,

jason

Nige005 · August 16, 2016

13 minutes ago, londonxk8 said:

Hi Nige,

Strangely - i got the valve replaced in my RIM which was leaking, and the ABS light has now come off. Had an hour drive, and the light was off the entire time. not sure if somehow connected (or not), but time will tell! thank you for the advice on the code reader, may buy the icarsoft one!

thanks,

jason

!!! Who knows but fingers crossed !