The joy of a new battery. All electronic Jaguars

[J44EAG]

Guys.

Batteries are the bain of my life. Cars, boats, cranes and other plant.

Lack of use and regular controlled charging are the biggest issues combined with harsh operating conditions and irregular maintenance. Hardly a day goes without someone marching up my gang plank crying buckets about some evil old engine refusing to crank. Winter weather exacerbates visits to my Flagship to almost epidemic levels. I cannot survive without a drop test unit to form a quick and conclusive diagnostic appraisal.

I found myself wielding the tester again on Sunday, this time for my own use. Engine cranking on J44 from cold began to become less vigorous on the Saturday. Headlights seemed less powerful and central locking was less responsive. DSC warnings started as a typical pointer towards a defecting battery.

Following a battery failure earlier this year I`d hauled out a spare leisure battery out of the boat as a quick "temporary" fix. Temporary became permanent as it often does and the battery stayed in the car. Leisure batteries are not ideal for cranking and baulk at high spike electrical demands caused by the use of a high current load such as a starter motor. It does battery plates in that type of battery little good and failure is inevitable. Still, that battery did get me out of a hole for a few months.

A chattering solenoid and failure to crank caused me to get out the drop tester. 12.8volts but only a warm load element on the tester. The voltage dropped alarmingly on testing and the needle shot back up to12.8volts as I released the load. Voltage but no capacity. A jump start got the car going with 13.4 volts showing with the engine running. An overnight charge gave me two more starts before the battery failed almost completely. Just the dash lights illuminating.

Normally I`d use my trade card at a local Halfords and buy an 019 battery with three year warranty for £88. This time however I decided to by from a local trade source who also offered me discount, a four year warranty, delivery and a higher grade Varta Blue battery for £108. The guys I brought from said they had least come backs with this premium make.

Surprisingly, I have noticed a difference in the way the car now runs around town. A trip over to Southsea this morning found the car rather smoother and power delivery akin to liquid silver. The reversing sensors have stopped their manic racket when going astern and headlights are definitely brighter when I drove the car tonight.

So I suppose an abject lesson in fitting the right part for the job and resisting taking short cuts even if only on a "temporary" basis.

Kva rules ok again now. Especially in the winter when cold weather can finish a battery off in a few moments. The battery dump in the yard grows higher!

Mike

[PaulE]

If top quality and reliability are main considerations, plus unique design, check out the OPTIMA brand before spending anything . The Redtop is the one for use as a starter battery, but keep it, and any other battery, charged up fully with your intelligent charger (available fron Annie at the Club shop) if not using the car daily.

[oldtimer]

Hi Mike ,
How did you get the Battery out, do you have friendly Gorilla?

Pleased J44 is running sweeter, it wil be interesting to see if you remain electronic gremlim free for a while

As for the huge pile of dead Batteries, whats the price of lead these days!

Regards Oldtimer

[J44EAG]

Hi Guys.

Yes. the battery is a fair old lump and not that easy to maneuver in a tight space. It does help that my upper portions do in fact resemble that of a gorilla. I`m built like a tank!

The worst part of installing a battery in an early model S-type is the battery tie down strap arrangement. This is a bent wire with two formed bolt loops, one at each end. One end bolts horizontally to the offside rear chassis leg, crosses the battery at 90 degrees whereupon it is bent 90 degrees downwards and plummets into the wheel well vertically down the side of the battery. Another 90 degree bend is formed which terminates in another loop through which a long shanked bolt passes. The bolt passes through a plastic block before disappearing into a threaded hole in the wheel well base. The thread sticks down exposed under the car and can corrode very badly. The top of the bolt is a miserable 8mm and is woefully small for receiving turning torque needed to remove it if any corrosion is present under the car. I spent at least an hour getting that damned bolt out the first time I did a battery change.

Best advice if you have never had that bolt out is a very thorough clean up before removing. You will have to crawl under the car to do that. Loads of copper grease should be applied to the thread before, during and after removal of the bolt. The bolt head will often wear during removal due to small size and soft mild steel construction. Mole grips may be needed in order to wind the bolt in and out during removal. This job can be a real cuss as space is tight. Grease that bolt well before assembly and grease up the thread underneath the car to avoid future problems. How I hate that wretched bolt!

Winter months see a large increase in dead battery volume in our yard dump. We can`t be bothered with them and so a couple of didicoys take care of their disposal. One mans junk is another mans gold.

Mike

[Montana5]

Scrappies are now paying between £5-£10 for old Car Batteries.

Before my early retirement a few years ago, I tested and installed Batteries for the Telecoms industry, quite often we would have sudden failures of single cells, (1 Battery system comprised of 8 x 6 volt Cells, each Cell the size of and slightly heavier than a Car Battery) on almost every single failure up and down the length of Britain, this was attributed to Yuasa Cells, some were even less than a year old, when this happened, at worst the complete Telephone Exchange went off air, it got to the stage that we were able,to identify good and bad years of manufacture, however it took some years for Yuasa to admit to the problem and start a nationwide Battery replacement programme, meanwhile they kept on failing and rather than take a chance in replacing just one Cell, we would replace all 8 with a more reliable maker like Chloride.

Several weeks ago, I read about the Boeing 787 Dreamliner being grounded due to a fire caused by a Battery, jokingly I e-mailed a few fellow ex colleagues and although we had no knowledge of the manufacturer at that time, we all in jest said the same thing... Yuasa, well low and behold, as more details started to come through it turns out that the Battery Manufacturer was indeed... Yuasa.
It seems that the blame is not totally conclusive, however I don't care what the findings are, its clear in my mind who to blame.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z2JgRzAY8B

Its at this point in this little ditty that I would point out that one of our fellow S Type BB members, upon reading this is probably saying to himself...oh s**t, sorry about that SteveKK

I'll see if I can find a date on the old one when I replace it tomorrow. It looks like a genuine Jaguar battery in there and I've got a Yuasa 091T as replacement.

Regards,
Steve

Doug.

[SteveKK]

At the moment if the battery spontaneously combusted I'd almost be in a better position, as the car still refuses to do anything other than display error messages!

Regards,
Steve

[J44EAG]

One year and two months later, the Varta Blue which I paid £108 for has just failed completely. Just like that! And I`ve lost the receipt!! I can`t be bothered to go and haggle the toss at the local parts outlet.

Just ordered a new 019 with three year guarantee from Battery Superstore via ebay, delivered for just over £58. Should be with me on Thursday. Ten minutes after ordering, I had an email saying the battery had been dispatched. Can`t beat that for service. This time I`ll file the receipt with more care.

I know a bit about batteries, have more test gear than half the World and they still play me up.

Its only money..........

Mike

[oldtimer]

Good God Mike, not another battery

[SteveKK]

Glad to say I'm still in good shape, apart from warped front discs. I think the original Jaguar battery I removed from the car is probably still serviceable, but that could be partly due to the CTek charger and a rubber mallet.

I've found that a completely dead battery can be revived by 'using' the rubber mallet to hit the bottom of the battery, thus breaking the short circuits caused by sediment and then the CTek charger to fully revive the battery.

As to the problems with my car, I am rather late in reporting back to this forum, but it was faulty wiring behind the bumper that caused me so much grief. Finding a local Jaguar specialist is a must for any owner.

Regards,
Steve

[J44EAG]

My fourteen month old Varta is completely stuffed, Steve.

Not heard of the mallet trick but worth a try when I heave the battery out when the new one arrives hopefully tomorrow.

Yes, Phil. Yet another new battery.

J44 does not have much regular use and the battery seems to suffer very badly. Sadly it is not looked after by a Ctek. That fact breaks all my own golden rules on battery maintenance.

The car lives in our marina car park which doesn`t have a 240 supply unless I trail two long extension leads out of the workshop for a Ctek or similar unit. I think this coming winter I shall have to make a point of getting the car into the yard on a weekly basis for a top up charge to prevent this expensive battery fail scenario every year or so. Never had a car which consumes a battery like an S-type left idle. I`d disconnect the security system if I could be bothered to find out how to do it..Perhaps there is a fuse or a relay I could pull. Anyone any ideas on this?

Will be interesting to see how long the new battery lasts. It has a three year warranty and I shall be keeping that document very safely.

Re the supplier of the new battery. It is battery megastore on ebay. Not superstore as I previously posted. If the battery is a good`un, with the warranty, them around £58 delivered makes it excellent value.

Mike

[oldtimer]

Hi Mike,
Just been re-reading about your battery failure.

I'm prompted by a recent conversation with a pal of mine who keeps a very posh car (name not to be mentioned on here) that he keeps in a local lockup with no electrical supply. He inevitably suffers battery problems due to lack of use.

Have you ever considered a solar panel? I have seen these powering certain road signs.
As only about 1.5 amps is required does it sound an outrageous suggestion. There are two questions I would like the answer to. Firstly, is it a feasible proposition and secondly can the cost be justified.

P

[J44EAG]

Yes, to both, Phil.

Considered when I fitted the new battery and quite feasible and very sensible.

Oddly, the old Varta had a few minor issues from new. A couple of minor slow cranks even over last summer. I wonder if it was a duffer?

I`m sure I can find a second hand low amp solar unit somewhere here within the marine community. That sort of stuff pops up for small beer from time to time. I`ll have an ask around.

Mike

[oldtimer]

Very interesting Mike,
Sounds like an opportunity to assemble a purpose built kit. I guess there are many folks well beyond the Jaguar fraternity plagued with this problem.

I shall watch this space and see what emerges.

P

[J44EAG]

All that would be needed is one of these simple units. It won`t break the bank at around £14 with free post and packaging. It would certainly help preserve the battery during the winter which of course is the time when batteries give up under the strain.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRAND-NEW-1-5 ... 0741682264

Mike

[thomas45]

Having installed a new battery I decided to buy a solar panel to assist in keeping the charge up as the car is not exercised enough. This panel I got from Maplins is a 2.4w costing #25 (no pound sign!) Of course there are cheaper ones and more expensive ones also.
Anyway this particular one dosent have any indicator as to functioning but probably it works. However, I came to the conclusion that it can only be of any good use when the battery is disconnected. I have no idea of what power the cars security system uses but it seems like the panel could not make much impact. Perhaps some of our electrical wizards will clarify.
Meanwhile I depend on my trusty mains charger if needed at all.
Thomas45