Urgent Help Required, Dead Battery, No Access To Boot with Emergency Key ???

[RJMcGrory]

I really don't know what to do now, I've driven short journey's with the car, although I took out the car for a half hour drive on Thursday and a 15min drive on the Friday, the car is a 2005 55 Jaguar XK150

 

I left the car over the weekend for the first time, tried to access the car on Monday morning and nothing,

 

I tried entering the car from the passenger side using the emergency key, success I have access, interior lights wont come on, window wont clear, absolutely nothing is working,

 

I try using the emergency key on the tailgate, nope cant do that either, seems they thought it would be a great idea to have an electronic release for the back of the vehicle...

 

so looked up some options online, found a video on Youtube,  the rear seats come out and there is a positive and negative terminal to attach to, here is the video to understand fully...

 

only trouble Is, I just tried using a battery charger left it for around 2 hours and nothing, cant get access to the hatch. I tried hooking it up directly to another car battery and the car still would not do a damn thing, no interior lights, no screen, no start, nothing

 

what the hell!!??!! I only just bought the car around a month ago...

[The Voices]

The key should work on the manual key hole behind the rear number plate ?

If this isn't working, there is another option.

If you lie on the floor and look up under the rear bumper on the passenger side, you will see a 'positive' battery terminal (best place I can explain its location is 'behind the back wheel')

It may have a rubber cover that you need to remove.

 

You can then use this terminal and any convenient earth point to attach a 12v supply to allow you to open the boot and get to the cars own battery. (we used to use jump leads and a spare fully charged battery for this purpose)

Hope this helps ?

 

[RJMcGrory]

Thank you for the reply,

 

I'm not really understanding the key situation, It seems to me like you turn it towards the drivers side (Clockwise) it goes a quarter of the way and then just does nothing, I try turning it until it stops and lifting at same time and the boot is just complete sealed shut, it seems to me like its still controlled by the electronic release, if it isn't then Ive just found something important that's broken that needs fixed...

 

Ive looked under the car passenger rear and yes I see there is a point to Jump start, Ill maybe try hooking up to another car again but since it never worked last time with the back seats then I feel its just going to be the same result again, I have ordered a strong Jump pack from eBay and also a new battery to go along with it just in case it happens again, I probably should order one of those plug in cigarette lighter adapters that tells me the voltage reading so I can keep a good eye on it,

 

Ill keep this post updated, hopefully I find a solution to this issue,

 

cheers again !

[Wrinkly]

2 hours ago, RJMcGrory said:

Thank you for the reply,

 

I'm not really understanding the key situation, It seems to me like you turn it towards the drivers side (Clockwise) it goes a quarter of the way and then just does nothing, I try turning it until it stops and lifting at same time and the boot is just complete sealed shut, it seems to me like its still controlled by the electronic release, if it isn't then Ive just found something important that's broken that needs fixed...

 

Ive looked under the car passenger rear and yes I see there is a point to Jump start, Ill maybe try hooking up to another car again but since it never worked last time with the back seats then I feel its just going to be the same result again, I have ordered a strong Jump pack from ebay and also a new battery to go along with it just in case it happens again, I probably should order one of those plug in cigarette lighter adapters that tells me the voltage reading so I can keep a good eye on it,

 

Ill keep this post updated, hopefully I find a solution to this issue,

 

cheers again !

What you really need, even buying a new battery, is a CTEK charger/conditioner . The MS 7 and MS 10 models also act as a Supply, (to start the car), as well as a Recon setting.

Jaguars being Jaguars (Bless Them) are very dependent on fully charged batteries otherwise all sorts of silly things happen. I use an MS 7.0 on my S-Type (which are very prone to battery discharge when they are not running). I put mine on the car at least once a week and as a minimum overnight, it keeps the battery in A1 charge and condition. Well worth the investment.

 

Best Wishes and Regards, John

[RJMcGrory]

Ok here's an update,

 

I've hooked the jag up to another running car, this was from the rear of the vehicle this time, we left the car running for around 10-15 minutes, revved the engine to see if it did anything,

 

The car is completely dead...

 

 

[Jimbov8]

Check the ground points behind the headlights and in the front wheel arch.

[RJMcGrory]

**Update** 

 

Managed to finally get the boot open using the back seat method mentioned above and as shown in the video,

 

I used a battery charger again to try at least charge the battery, the charger I was using wasn't really rated to charge a very large battery like the one in the Jag, I noticed that when I flicked the switch to the battery charger, the doors made a noise and if the door was open the window would go down ever so slightly, I tried running out to the back as soon as I flicked the switch to try the boot but could never open it with any luck, I needed another person, 

 

I got some help later on in the day, I flicked the battery charger switch and had someone stand at the back and press the boot release button at exactly the same time,

 

I'm glad that it's open now but the new battery was meant to arrive today and didn't show up, typical, so now I'm stuck with a car with a half open window with an open boot for the night, 

 

oh well...

 

I'd like to thank everyone for the suggestions, I will look into the CTEK that a lot of people go on about in the forums, there is a trickle charge system installed in the car, or at least, red and black wires for one, with nothing attached to it, so it seems someone has installed their own effort of one in the past, it would be handy to keep an eye on the voltage as to know when I should keep it plugged in for a day just to top the battery up and keep it in good condition, 

 

I'll still keep this updated incase replacing the battery doesn't work for whatever reason but I'm sure it is just a dead battery, I had a look at the battery inside the car and I couldn't find a date of any kind so I couldn't really tell how old it was,

 

I can safely say though that every car I've ever bought, main dealer, independent dealer or private seller has needed a brand new battery because the current one in the car was on its way out, I've always bought bosch so if anyone is interested I've bought a bosch s5 013 battery from eBay. 

 

Thanks again for all your support,

 

Regards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RJMcGrory]

Ive bought myself a little 12v reader that fits in the socket inside the car to keep an eye on the voltage,

 

It ranges anywhere between 11.9 to 12.4, Id say most of the time it sits around 12.1, this is when the car isn't running at all,

 

When the car is running it shows around 14.4,

 

Ive read a lot of mixed stories about battery voltage and what it should be with the engine completely switched off, but according to my instruction manual given with the LED 12v reader, those readings I have displayed should be normal ?

 

if it is then perfect,

 

if not then I've somehow bought a brand new battery that's already on its way out,

 

regards,

 

 

[Old Peter]

Hi Ross,

I don't think that the battery is failing.  I have the 12v reader and have been told that it reads when the engine on. I get 14.4 when the battery is switched on..

The battery is OK.  A battery charger such as a  CTEK will tell you the battery level.

Regards 

Peter.

[Jimbov8]

13 hours ago, RJMcGrory said:

Ive bought myself a little 12v reader that fits in the socket inside the car to keep an eye on the voltage,

 

It ranges anywhere between 11.9 to 12.4, Id say most of the time it sits around 12.1, this is when the car isn't running at all,

 

When the car is running it shows around 14.4,

 

Ive read a lot of mixed stories about battery voltage and what it should be with the engine completely switched off, but according to my instruction manual given with the LED 12v reader, those readings I have displayed should be normal ?

 

if it is then perfect,

 

if not then I've somehow bought a brand new battery that's already on its way out,

 

regards,

 

 

If you continue to keep your battery at between 11.9v and 12.4v then I’m afraid you will be replacing it every 2 to 3 years. At 12.4v the battery starts to sulphate and that is what strangles the life out of it.

Keep the battery fully charged at 12.8v by using a maintainer and you’ll have far less problems.

[RJMcGrory]

Hi, thank you for the replies,

When I've driven the car a good while 40mins or so and I switch the engine off, it reads around 12.8 or 12.9

The next day is when it drops to around 12.4 and after a few days of no use, 3 days or so is when it shows around 12.1 or 11.9

 

Guess I will need one of those chargers to maintain the battery, 

 

Kind regards,

[Wrinkly]

1 hour ago, RJMcGrory said:

Hi, thank you for the replies,

When I've driven the car a good while 40mins or so and I switch the engine off, it reads around 12.8 or 12.9

The next day is when it drops to around 12.4 and after a few days of no use, 3 days or so is when it shows around 12.1 or 11.9

 

Guess I will need one of those chargers to maintain the battery, 

 

Kind regards,

Ross

Your best bet is a CTEK MS 7  or MS 10. I use one for my S-type (which are renown for battery discharge. I use mine on the car at least once a month for 24 hours and it keeps the battery in A1 condition.  They also have a RECON setting which takes care of sulphating and can also be used to start low batteries. Well worth the investment. Are used by many members on this Forum.

Best Wishes and Regards John

[Jimbov8]

4 hours ago, RJMcGrory said:

Hi, thank you for the replies,

When I've driven the car a good while 40mins or so and I switch the engine off, it reads around 12.8 or 12.9

The next day is when it drops to around 12.4 and after a few days of no use, 3 days or so is when it shows around 12.1 or 11.9

 

Guess I will need one of those chargers to maintain the battery, 

 

Kind regards,

You have got something wrong with your car. Either a failing battery or more likely, a parasitic draw.

A maintainer will only mask the problem, though still a good idea to get one.